Plans

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Die to Self, Live for Others

• II Corinthians 5:15And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
• I Corinthians 10:24Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. 6:19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
• Galatians 6:2Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
• Ephesians 4:29Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
• Philippians 2:1If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in very nature God,
  

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!

• I Peter4:7The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. 8Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. 11If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen
• II Cor. 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

Life as it Should Be

Lion Chasers' Manifesto

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death.
Grab life by the mane.
Set God-sized goals.
Pursue God-ordained passions.
Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention.
Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution.
Stop repeating the past and start creating the future.
Stop playing it safe and start taking risks.
Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences.
Enjoy the journey.
Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can.
Live like today is the first day and last day of your life.
Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God.
Burn sinful bridges.
Blaze a new trail.
Criticize by creating.
Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks.
Don't try to be who you're not.
Be yourself.
Laugh at yourself.
Quit holding out.
Quit holding back.
Quit running away.

In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson.

Spiritual Walk Links and Sayings

• Longsuffering and how to act

• "You cannot overcome what you are willing to tolerate!"
• "We must get to the place where we get our joy from obedience."
• "When a student takes a test, the teacher is always silent."

• Discontent
  

Cost of Love

Love does not exist without pain. People morn with those who morn. You feel their pain. If you never suffer, you never loved.

Where You're At

Embrace the season you are in. Many times we wish we were on the next season wishing this one was over. By living this way we wish our whole life away and miss every opportunity God gives us.

Ecclesiastes 3

A Time for Everything

1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

9 What does the worker gain from his toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. 13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.

Truth

Enjoy the little things- one day you'll look back and realize they're big things. From Jenni Weiss' blog.