Five Minutes

Five Minutes

 

If you wake up as weary as you were when you went to bed the night before, try to recall what you were thinking about during the last five minutes before you went to sleep. What you think about in that five minutes impacts how well you sleep, which determines what kind of day the following day will be.

 

When you sleep, your conscious mind is at rest, but your subconscious mind remains active. Psychologists call the subconscious the "assistant manager of life." When the conscious mind is "off duty", the subconscious mind takes over. The subconscious carries out the orders that are given to it even though you are not aware of it. For example, if the last minutes before going to sleep are spent worrying, the subconscious records and categorizes that as fear and acts as if the fear is reality. Thus muscles remain tense, nerves are on edge, and the body's organs are upset which means the body is not really at rest. However, if those last five minutes are spent contemplating some great idea, an inspiring verse, or a calm and reassuring thought, it will signal to the nervous system, "All is well" and then put the entire body in a relaxed, peaceful state. Many of the days that begin badly started out that way because of the night before, during those critical last five minutes of conscious thought.

 

You can input positive healthy thoughts into your conscious mind and pave the way for quiet, restful sleep by simply meditating on God's Word as you drop off to sleep. For example, Psalm 91:1-2(NKJV): He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust."

Is It A Catastrophe?

Is It A Catastrophe?

 

Worry is often linked to the fact that we don't know how to respond to potential, past, or current events in our lives – or what to do about potential consequences. We don't know whether the long-term effect of a situation will be good or bad.

 

A man in China raised horses for a living and one day one of his prized stallions ran away. His friends gathered at his home to help him mourn his loss. But the next week, the horse returned, bringing with it seven strays. The same friends gathered again, this time to celebrate his fortune. That afternoon the horse kicked the owner's son and broke his back. The friends came again to express sorrow and concern. But a month later, war broke out and the man's son was exempt from military service. Again, the friends came together to rejoice.

 

Often at the time we are going through an experience, we truly can't tell a catastrophe from a cause of celebration. God asks us to trust Him with each circumstance as it arises and to walk out each day with faith. We are to expect the best, believing that God can and will work all things for both His and our eternal benefit. I've suffered a great many catastrophes in my life. Most of them never happened. …all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 (NKJV)

 

A Happy Heart

A Happy Heart

 

George Muller would not preach until his heart was "happy in the grace of God." Jan Ruybroeck would not write while his feelings were low, he would retire to a quiet place and wait on God until he felt joy in his heart. It was the happy laughter and joy of a group of Moravian believers that convinced John Wesley of the reality of their faith and helped bring him to a point of genuine spiritual conversion.

 

Joy is both the responsibility and the privilege of every believer. As Henry Evansen wrote: "It costs nothing but creates much, It enriches those who receive it without impoverishing those who give it. It happens in a flash and the memory of it sometimes last forever. None are so rich that they can get along without it and none so poor but are richer for its benefits." It fosters good will in a business, creates happiness in a home and countersign of friends. It is rest to the weary, daylight to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and nature's best attitude for trouble. What is it? A Smile!

 

Laughter is the brush that sweeps away the cobwebs of the heart. Be a happy heat today! A happy heart is a good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22 (AMP)

 

Life Lessons

Life Lessons

 

"You know that what you did was wrong, don't you?" The words echoed in Sandra's mind as she went home from school that evening. She was a good student who had never cheated in her life. Yet, this last assignment had been more than she could handle. In a moment of desperation, she copied the work of another student. Her teacher, Mrs. Wallace, had asked her to wait after class, and Sandra knew what was coming. Still, I was a shock when Mrs. Wallace asked her if it was her work. "Yes," she squeaked out, and then wondered why she had lied. Looking her straight in the eye, Mrs. Wallace carefully said, "You know that what you did was wrong, don't you?

 

Take tonight to think about your answer and I will ask you again in the morning if this is your work." It was a long night for Sandra. She was a junior in high school with a well-deserved reputation for honesty and kindness. She has never cheated before and now she had compounded her mistake by deliberately lying – and to someone she admired and loved. The next morning she was at Mrs. Wallace's classroom door long before school officially started, and she quietly confessed her misdeed. She received the appropriate consequences, a zero on the assignment and detention (her first and only detention).

 

Mrs. Wallace was willing to help Sandra make honest choices– even on the heels of making a dishonest one. For Sandra, this was a life lesson about taking responsibility for past mistakes and choosing honesty no matter what the consequences. Years later, Sandra often thought of that experience and felt gratitude for loving correction from someone she respected. …speaking the truth in love… Ephesians 4:15 (KJV).

 

 

Thy Will Be Done

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Thy Will Be Done

 

When he was in eighth grade, all Chuck Swindoll wanted for Christmas was a new basketball. His father, who worked in a machine shop, had made him an iron hoop for a basket. Chuck practiced until he could sink nine out of ten free throws, and he worked hard on a two-hand set throw. Then one November evening, his old tattered basket-ball burst. With six weeks to go before Christmas, he dropped numerous hints and did his chores with renewed energy, even volunteering to wax the kitchen floor! Sure enough, a brightly wrapped box appeared under the Christmas tree – the right shape, the right sound when shaken, and with Chuck's name written on it. He could hardly wait.

 

On Christmas Day, he tore at the wrapping only to discover a world globe inside it. It had no bounce to it. Disappointed at the time, Chuck has reflected back on this experience: "My mother's vision eclipsed my fantasy and became my reality. I still enjoy watching basketball but what really excites me is the idea of sharing our Savior with people in places like Singapore and Moscow, Delhi and Montreal."

 

What are your dreams? What dreams are you instilling in your dear ones? Are they God's dreams? Don't ask God what you think is good: ask Him for what He thinks is good for you. After this manner therefore pray ye… Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:9-10.

 

Time for a Change

Time for a Change

 

Skier Jean-Claude Killy was ready to do whatever it took – no matter how hard the work – to be the best when he made the French national team in the early 60's. But after months of grueling practice, he recognized that his competitors were putting in just as much effort in the same kind of training. It was then he decided to step further and find different ways to ski faster rather than just working harder. He started testing every part of his racing techniques such as altering the accepted leg positions and using poles in unorthodox ways. Soon, his experiments resulted in an explosive new style that cut his racing times dramatically.

 

Within a few years, Killy won virtually every major skiing trophy and 3 gold medals in the 1968 Winter Olympics. Killy learnt an important lesson in creativity: Innovations don't require genius – just a willingness to question the norms and try something different. It's been said that one reason people eventually stop growing and learning is when they become less willing to risk failure by trying new ideas or experiences. Change can be difficult and uncomfortable. But if our ambitions are only to avoid the discomforts of life, we could soon find we have very little life at all.

 

God wants us to have the most joyful, fulfilling life possible, and sometimes that requires stepping out into the unknown. Is there a new idea you've been hesitant to pursue? You'll never know until you try. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1(NASB)

The Value of Disaster

The Value of Disaster

 

For 10 years Thomas Edison attempted to invent a storage battery. His efforts greatly strained his finances, then in December 1914, nearly brought him to ruin when a spontaneous combustion broke out in his film room. Within minutes all the packing compounds, celluloid fluid for records and film, and other flammable goods were ablaze. Though fire departments came from eight surrounding towns, the intense heat and low water pressure made attempts to douse the flames futile. Everything was destroyed. While the damage exceeded $2 million the concrete buildings thought to be fireproof, were insured for barely a tenth of the amount.

 

The inventor's 24-year old son Charles searched frantically for his father, afraid that his spirit would be broken. Charles finally found him, calmly watching the fire, his face glowing in the reflection, white hair blowing in the wind. "My heart ached for him," said Charles. "He was 67 - no longer a young man - and everything was going up in flames. When he saw me, he shouted, "Charles where's your mother?" When I told him I didn't know, he said, "Find her. Bring her here. She will never see anything like this as long as his lives." The next morning, Edison looked at the ruins and said, "There is a great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew." Three weeks after the fire, Edison managed to deliver the first phonograph."

 

With each new day, we have the opportunity to start again, to start fresh – no matter what our circumstances. Let the Lord show you how to salvage hope from debris. You never know what joys are ahead. We also glory in tribulations knowing that tribulation produces perseverance. Romans 5:3 NKJV