Tag: Relationships

Relationships

jonmbarnesLeave a comment
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Hi Peeps,
Today’s Quote
“It’s up to you to look at your relationship with God.  Think of it like going on a vacation to a foreign country, or a different place. It puts a new lens on your focus to see the beauty that already exists. Then take that experience and do the same for your spouse, family, and enemies.“  ~ Jon Barnes

Vacations

Strategic two-day vacations can help you refocus your attention on God, your spouse, loved ones, family, and friends. Sometimes we miss the obvious things to do. The balance of time spent on your relationships will improve your focus and quality of attention to detail that is needed in maintaining Godly love. Take a step back to check your own work. People will clearly see the good work in your life and the blessing from your faith walk with God. 

Dancing

Dancing is a great way to exercise the love that is in your heart when connecting with God and people. Your daily working movements are a part of your daily dance.  Moving in the direction of love is joyful, wonderful, and full of praise and thanksgiving. The way you move says it all. The Arts help us to express the perception of perfection in ways we cannot comprehend or count, yet we see the hand of God with each dancing movement of the clouds. 

Music

It is like music to my ears when God smiles at my progress. My spouse is full of joy, and the people around me are full of happiness when I am obedient to God. This great joy should be expressed in the music you make and listen to.  The good vibrations of love are needed to fill the air and our hearts with a continuous reminder of how Good God is to us all. We sing praises to God in all our relationships.
Today’s Question
Do you have the best relationship with God and the people around you?
 
Enjoy The Reading

1 Samuel 7

1 So the men of Kiriath-jearim came to get the Ark of the LORD . They took it to the hillside home of Abinadab and ordained Eleazar, his son, to be in charge of it. 2 The Ark remained in Kiriath-jearim for a long time—twenty years in all. During that time all Israel mourned because it seemed the LORD had abandoned them. 3 Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you want to return to the LORD with all your hearts, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Turn your hearts to the LORD and obey him alone; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.” 4 So the Israelites got rid of their images of Baal and Ashtoreth and worshiped only the LORD . 5 Then Samuel told them, “Gather all of Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD for you.” 6 So they gathered at Mizpah and, in a great ceremony, drew water from a well and poured it out before the LORD . They also went without food all day and confessed that they had sinned against the LORD . (It was at Mizpah that Samuel became Israel’s judge.) 7 When the Philistine rulers heard that Israel had gathered at Mizpah, they mobilized their army and advanced. The Israelites were badly frightened when they learned that the Philistines were approaching. 8“Don’t stop pleading with the LORD our God to save us from the Philistines!” they begged Samuel. 9 So Samuel took a young lamb and offered it to the LORD as a whole burnt offering. He pleaded with the LORD to help Israel, and the LORD answered him. 10 Just as Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines arrived to attack Israel. But the LORD spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven that day, and the Philistines were thrown into such confusion that the Israelites defeated them. 11 The men of Israel chased them from Mizpah to a place below Beth-car, slaughtering them all along the way. 12 Samuel then took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer (which means “the stone of help”), for he said, “Up to this point the LORD has helped us!” 13 So the Philistines were subdued and didn’t invade Israel again for some time. And throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the LORD ’s powerful hand was raised against the Philistines. 14 The Israelite villages near Ekron and Gath that the Philistines had captured were restored to Israel, along with the rest of the territory that the Philistines had taken. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites in those days. 15 Samuel continued as Israel’s judge for the rest of his life. 16 Each year he traveled around, setting up his court first at Bethel, then at Gilgal, and then at Mizpah. He judged the people of Israel at each of these places. 17 Then he would return to his home at Ramah, and he would hear cases there, too. And Samuel built an altar to the LORD at Ramah.

Relationships

jonmbarnesLeave a comment

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Hi Peeps,
Today’s Quote
“Most of us are bad at relationships and friendships so, we need to practice with God to improve our “A” game, be friendly, take time, listen and learn how to love.”

The Trap

You are the trap that attracts poop to your situation. True friends are helpful and they learn from each other all of the time. They practice love to understand and know how to balance charity, hope, and faith. Your trap is not wanting to learn, grow, or obey God’s lifestyle of love.

People Grow

People grow up when they are helped and held accountable to someone, as they improve and work on issues honestly.  Good people have a nature to embrace change for the better, with a balanced give and take exchange, within friendships and relationships. You must accept the pain of doing good and stay the course.

Fundamentals

Each person helps to pull up the next person to the higher steps of honesty, love, commitment, time, education, development and work ethic.  This practice, like learning an instrument takes years of practice. No one person knows it all or does it all on the team.  It is truly a group effort, as the pro in each situation takes the lead. Each person is a pro at some things the other is not!
Today’s Question
Are you making the right choices in developing your relationships, within the parameters of God’s lifestyle?
Enjoy Today’s Reading

1 Peter 3

3 Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, 6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

Suffering for Doing Good

8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For,
“Whoever would love life
    and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil
    and their lips from deceitful speech.
11 They must turn from evil and do good;
    they must seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
    and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”[a]
13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats[b]; do not be frightened.”[c] 15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17 For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 19 After being made alive,[d] he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— 20 to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God.[e] It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.
Love,
Jonathan