Friday, August 22, 2008
Daily Bible Devotionals with Janice Prescott
I Want To Be Inspired:
But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. Job 32: 8
What inspires you? Is it the laughter of your children, a beautiful song, a verse of scripture or a great work of art?
Often, we confuse inspiration with motivation, when they are in fact very different things. Inspiration occurs on a higher, internal level, while motivation is the rationale for our behavior. Inspiration affects your emotions and your intellect. It is often a divinely spiritual influence that causes wonderful things to happen and life-changing situations to occur.
Well, I have decided that I want to be inspired. It's ok to be motivated by principle or my own inner drive to succeed, but I'd like to combine it with an inspired life. Inspiration stimulates and touches you deep within. It involves an encounter with someone or something that causes your spirit to soar and makes everything seem possible.
Inspiration feeds our soul and directs us to take steps that can change the world, change our lives or someone else's life. When you are divinely inspired, doors open and obstacles crumble. As we obey the call of inspiration, we act according to supernatural forces that enable us to accomplish things that benefit others and ultimately ourselves.
It is my prayer that today you will allow yourself to be inspired. Stand back and watch what happens.
Your Blessed Like That
Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. Deuteronomy 28: 3 - 6
It's a fact. Life is often hard and difficult. When things get rough, and before we start to complain, lets remember how blessed we really are.
There's a popular gospel song that says that the devil may try to get us down, but he can't faze us, because we're blessed like that. That's right. You are too blessed to claim defeat, no matter how hard the devil tries or how many times you fall.
Just look around you. Do you see how blessed you are? Isn't it a wonder how good God is? His provision for you is everywhere you look -- in small miracles and large ones. Even before we ask, He answers, and the cattle on a thousand hills are His.
So, when you get knocked down and trouble comes your way, get right back up because you're blessed like that. When the rest of the world is scrambling around to keep up with the Joneses, your prosperity is assured as a child of God, because you're blessed like that.
When the pain attacks your very soul, you know that joy will come in the morning no matter how dark it may seem now, because you're blessed like that. When you lay your dreams and goals before the Lord, you realize your success is assured, because you're blessed like that!
Let us pray that our lives will be a blessing to others.
Get inspired and lift your spirits with these positive quotations that will surely stimulate your soul and perhaps motivate your mind...
1. "No bird soars too high if he soars on his own wings."
-- William Blake
2. "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."
-- Les Brown
3. "Genius is 99 percent perspiration and 1 percent inspiration."
-- Thomas Edison
4. "Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labour in freedom."
-- Albert Einstein
5. "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
6. "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
7. "Act as though what you do makes a difference. It does."
-- William James
8. "The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing that you will make one."
-- Ellen Hubbard
9. "One can make a day of any size, and regulate the rising and the setting of his own sun and the brightness of its shining."
-- John Muir
10. "It is impossible to win the great prizes of life without running risks."
-- Theodore Roosevelt
11. "Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn."
-- Harriet Beecher Stowe
12. "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams, Live the life you've imagined."
-- Henry David Thoreau
13. "If your ship doesn't come in, swim out to it!"
-- Jonathan Winters
14. "What does not kill me makes me stronger. "
-- JohannWolfgang von Goethe
15. "We all have ability. The difference is how we use it."--
Stevie Wonder
-- William Blake
2. "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."
-- Les Brown
3. "Genius is 99 percent perspiration and 1 percent inspiration."
-- Thomas Edison
4. "Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labour in freedom."
-- Albert Einstein
5. "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
6. "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
7. "Act as though what you do makes a difference. It does."
-- William James
8. "The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing that you will make one."
-- Ellen Hubbard
9. "One can make a day of any size, and regulate the rising and the setting of his own sun and the brightness of its shining."
-- John Muir
10. "It is impossible to win the great prizes of life without running risks."
-- Theodore Roosevelt
11. "Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn."
-- Harriet Beecher Stowe
12. "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams, Live the life you've imagined."
-- Henry David Thoreau
13. "If your ship doesn't come in, swim out to it!"
-- Jonathan Winters
14. "What does not kill me makes me stronger. "
-- JohannWolfgang von Goethe
15. "We all have ability. The difference is how we use it."--
Stevie Wonder
Inspirational Quotes and Sayings
Sometimes the world that we live in can be discouraging. In fact, if you let it beat you down it can be a little depressing. Without constantly renewing your mind, it can get the best of you. How does one stay upbeat and positive in the midst of a negative world? Using inspirational quotes can help uplift even the most negative situation.
A good inspirational quote can spur your mind on toward greater achievement. In fact it can inspire you to do wonderful things with your life. Without something to guide us, we will often-times feel lost.
Inspirational quotes are usually by wise people who have accomplished a lot in their life. These quotes give us the inspiration to try and accomplish as much with our life.
Here is a great quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson. "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
What does this mean exactly? In my opinion it means that we should not follow the crowd. The easy way is to float through life meaninglessly. Most of us just kind of go with the flow and end up wherever the masses do. However, a select flew go in the opposite direction of the masses and achieve greatness.
This brings to mind another quote by Emerson, "The mass of men worry themselves into nameless graves while here and there a great unselfish soul forgets himself into immortality." This quote inspires me to move forward into greatness. We should always put the other person first. Never worry about what other people think or about the outside world. Focus only on the goal and you will be remembered in a great way.
Sometimes we get caught up in the rat race and forget to stop and smell the roses. We have to take time to enjoy the world that we're in before it's too late. This inspirational quote by Ursula Le Guin sums it up beautifully. "It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end." We can't take life to seriously...we'll never get out alive.
Many of us go through life timidly. We're afraid to bother someone or what others might think. Our mental boundaries keep us shackled into a limited existence. Through the use of inspirational quotes, we can break free from the bonds of the masses.
If we surround ourselves with beautiful inspirational quotes like the ones above,
we can't help but have a better attitude. Equipped with a better attitude, you'll feel like you're ready to take on the world. If you have this attitude for a prolonged period of time, things will start to happen for you in a big way.
A good inspirational quote can spur your mind on toward greater achievement. In fact it can inspire you to do wonderful things with your life. Without something to guide us, we will often-times feel lost.
Inspirational quotes are usually by wise people who have accomplished a lot in their life. These quotes give us the inspiration to try and accomplish as much with our life.
Here is a great quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson. "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
What does this mean exactly? In my opinion it means that we should not follow the crowd. The easy way is to float through life meaninglessly. Most of us just kind of go with the flow and end up wherever the masses do. However, a select flew go in the opposite direction of the masses and achieve greatness.
This brings to mind another quote by Emerson, "The mass of men worry themselves into nameless graves while here and there a great unselfish soul forgets himself into immortality." This quote inspires me to move forward into greatness. We should always put the other person first. Never worry about what other people think or about the outside world. Focus only on the goal and you will be remembered in a great way.
Sometimes we get caught up in the rat race and forget to stop and smell the roses. We have to take time to enjoy the world that we're in before it's too late. This inspirational quote by Ursula Le Guin sums it up beautifully. "It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end." We can't take life to seriously...we'll never get out alive.
Many of us go through life timidly. We're afraid to bother someone or what others might think. Our mental boundaries keep us shackled into a limited existence. Through the use of inspirational quotes, we can break free from the bonds of the masses.
If we surround ourselves with beautiful inspirational quotes like the ones above,
we can't help but have a better attitude. Equipped with a better attitude, you'll feel like you're ready to take on the world. If you have this attitude for a prolonged period of time, things will start to happen for you in a big way.
What is Fiction?
Fiction is the work of imagination in any form like prose, novel or short story. Fiction can be broadly classified into art and entertainment. Fiction in layman terms can be defined as something that is purely imaginary and not real. However, it is a common observation that anything fictional is derived from real life incidences etc.
Fiction stories arouse the sleeping dreams and hidden desires of people and portray them in the form of prose or poetry, novel or a short story.
It can be based on a real life incident, with characters and situations
modified to depict the message that the writer wants to convey.
Fictional write-ups are usually written for a purpose, with some hidden message in it.
Writing fiction is an art which comprises of formulating and wrapping up larger than life messages into simple real life incidents.
Fiction and fantasy are different. In a single line it can be expressed as "all fantasy is friction, but all friction is not fantasy." Fantasy involves something that is purely imaginary and has little or no relevance in real world. On the other hand, fiction is something that is based on something real or can be easily related to our daily life experiences.
Fiction is very important for our society because fictional stories contain social messages which help people learn from others' life incidents. It can also imbibe spiritual and religious messages in people of the newer generations who are iconoclasts and agnostics. They can help people become aware of what is happening in other parts of the world.
Fiction, though a piece of art or entertainment is a great media for enlightening people, especially the younger generation of the facts, the traditions, the fads, the disputes etc., that we have been carrying since years and years altogether.
It is a medium that helps revolutionize the perspective. It helps retaining what the society needs and discarding what needs to be changed because of the needs of the ever changing culture.
Fiction stories arouse the sleeping dreams and hidden desires of people and portray them in the form of prose or poetry, novel or a short story.
It can be based on a real life incident, with characters and situations
modified to depict the message that the writer wants to convey.
Fictional write-ups are usually written for a purpose, with some hidden message in it.
Writing fiction is an art which comprises of formulating and wrapping up larger than life messages into simple real life incidents.
Fiction and fantasy are different. In a single line it can be expressed as "all fantasy is friction, but all friction is not fantasy." Fantasy involves something that is purely imaginary and has little or no relevance in real world. On the other hand, fiction is something that is based on something real or can be easily related to our daily life experiences.
Fiction is very important for our society because fictional stories contain social messages which help people learn from others' life incidents. It can also imbibe spiritual and religious messages in people of the newer generations who are iconoclasts and agnostics. They can help people become aware of what is happening in other parts of the world.
Fiction, though a piece of art or entertainment is a great media for enlightening people, especially the younger generation of the facts, the traditions, the fads, the disputes etc., that we have been carrying since years and years altogether.
It is a medium that helps revolutionize the perspective. It helps retaining what the society needs and discarding what needs to be changed because of the needs of the ever changing culture.
Wisdom
Because I love to share my knowledge with the world, I have packed into one paragraph, a condensed version of all the wisdom I’ve gleaned from common cliches. Here is my (not necessarily good) advice:
If you can’t say something nice, quit while you’re ahead because an ounce of prevention is good for the gander and gathers no moss. When in doubt, eat lots of chocolate and let sleeping dogs take time to smell all your eggs in one basket. Crime doesn’t pay for your bridges behind you. Practice makes a rolling stone look a gift horse in the mouth and spoil the soup. Too many cooks spare the rod and go to bed with the early bird. Look before you leap because money is the root of death and taxes.
Someone, somewhere, revised some other familiar phrases from the fifties and sixties to modernize them for the zeros. I don’t know who gets credit for writing these, but they’re words to live by:
Children should be seen and not costing me money. When push comes
to shove, their mom is on the phone. People who live in glass houses can’t watch TV in their underwear. If you can’t say something nice, you must be with your in-laws. Where there’s smoke, my husband’s been cooking. You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can’t make a man change a toilet paper roll. A pound of chocolate is worth its weight in gold. Time flies when you’re checking your email. Nothing is certain except that your computer will crash when you haven’t saved any files.
And, here’s my favorite bit of wisdom: Better to have loved and lost than to never have tasted chocolate.
If you can’t say something nice, quit while you’re ahead because an ounce of prevention is good for the gander and gathers no moss. When in doubt, eat lots of chocolate and let sleeping dogs take time to smell all your eggs in one basket. Crime doesn’t pay for your bridges behind you. Practice makes a rolling stone look a gift horse in the mouth and spoil the soup. Too many cooks spare the rod and go to bed with the early bird. Look before you leap because money is the root of death and taxes.
Someone, somewhere, revised some other familiar phrases from the fifties and sixties to modernize them for the zeros. I don’t know who gets credit for writing these, but they’re words to live by:
Children should be seen and not costing me money. When push comes
to shove, their mom is on the phone. People who live in glass houses can’t watch TV in their underwear. If you can’t say something nice, you must be with your in-laws. Where there’s smoke, my husband’s been cooking. You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can’t make a man change a toilet paper roll. A pound of chocolate is worth its weight in gold. Time flies when you’re checking your email. Nothing is certain except that your computer will crash when you haven’t saved any files.
And, here’s my favorite bit of wisdom: Better to have loved and lost than to never have tasted chocolate.
Thoughts about Thoughts
About 20 years ago, I became a student of my thoughts. I was the mother of two young children, my own mother was suffering through a terminal illness and my husband had been laid off from his job. But, somehow, deep inside, I knew that there was more to life than this stress and struggle. Intuitively, I began to watch my thoughts.
At first, watching my thoughts felt like being caught in a fierce current in a river.
Every once in a while, I would struggle to bring my head above the water only to be dragged under moments later. I also remember that, at this time, my river was consumed with fear.
One day, preparing dinner in the kitchen, my head struggled above the water and I screamed this thought to the universe. "Why do we have to feel so much fear?" To my amazement, the universe immediately returned the answer, "To learn not to be afraid." This thought had just barged into my mind and, in shock I thanked the source and its confirmation that I was indeed not alone. Even though it wasn't the answer I wanted to hear – maybe a little sympathy would be nice . . . and my head was under water again.
Slowly, I was learning that the trick to keeping my head above water was not to be consumed by my thoughts. Easier said than done. Another thing I learned was that I did not like what I saw. My thoughts were negative and judgmental or escaped completely into fantasy. Things really began to feel ugly when I realized that all of my judgmental thoughts about others were really based on what I disliked about myself. I had reached the point of no return. There was no way I could jump back into the river again and be unconscious about what I was thinking. Now what?
I noticed that there was a light appearing in the midst of the darkness. I was becoming aware that there were two parts of my mind at work when I was watching my thoughts – the part that was stuck in the river and the part that was watching everything. As I began to identify more with the watching part, I felt better. I felt more detached from the river-thoughts and could just watch them for a while, sometimes even without judgment. I also noticed that I could keep my head above the water for longer stretches now.
As I identified more with the watching part of my mind, I felt clearer and more in touch with my intuition. So I began to test, play with, doubt and gradually trust my intuition. One of my favorite games was to enter a bookstore or library with the intention "What do I need to learn today?" I would wander around and as long as I could stay in this part of my mind, invariably, a colour or word on a book would jump out at me. Every single time, what I needed to learn that day was in that book. Once, a book even fell off the shelf behind me as I passed. Must have had my head under water at that moment. There is an old saying that is something like, "when the student is ready, the teacher appears." I realized that my teachers have always been around me; I just wasn't paying attention. When I did pay attention, I learned that everyone in my life was really a reflection of what was wonderful about me (these are nice) or what I needed to learn. When I discovered that within me was the most important teacher of all, I learned to be more gentle and forgiving of myself. Besides, pretty well everyone I knew had their heads stuck under water too. How can I be hard on anybody else when we are all gasping for air?
Gradually, I discovered that the most fascinating thing about my watching mind was that, while I was there, I found out that I could choose what I thought. If I didn't like a thought, I would stop it or cancel it and replace it with something better. I found this challenging to remember at first, when I came up sputtering for air, but it was certainly doable. The more I remembered it the better I got at choosing my thoughts.
Life seems to be sending us all some challenging reflections and lessons lately. Those of us who manage to get our heads above the water or even leave the river to sit on its banks, hold an essential example for those still struggling under water. Imagine a bunch of electric eels in the water. The more eels who turn on their lights, the easier it is for everyone in the river to see.
Sharon Carne’s passion for healing sound has its foundation in a successful thirty-year career performing and teaching the classical guitar. She has studied with healing sound pioneers, Jonathan Goldman and Tom Kenyon and is a reiki master. Sharon teaches workshops on healing sound and her CDs are distributed throughout North America.
At first, watching my thoughts felt like being caught in a fierce current in a river.
Every once in a while, I would struggle to bring my head above the water only to be dragged under moments later. I also remember that, at this time, my river was consumed with fear.
One day, preparing dinner in the kitchen, my head struggled above the water and I screamed this thought to the universe. "Why do we have to feel so much fear?" To my amazement, the universe immediately returned the answer, "To learn not to be afraid." This thought had just barged into my mind and, in shock I thanked the source and its confirmation that I was indeed not alone. Even though it wasn't the answer I wanted to hear – maybe a little sympathy would be nice . . . and my head was under water again.
Slowly, I was learning that the trick to keeping my head above water was not to be consumed by my thoughts. Easier said than done. Another thing I learned was that I did not like what I saw. My thoughts were negative and judgmental or escaped completely into fantasy. Things really began to feel ugly when I realized that all of my judgmental thoughts about others were really based on what I disliked about myself. I had reached the point of no return. There was no way I could jump back into the river again and be unconscious about what I was thinking. Now what?
I noticed that there was a light appearing in the midst of the darkness. I was becoming aware that there were two parts of my mind at work when I was watching my thoughts – the part that was stuck in the river and the part that was watching everything. As I began to identify more with the watching part, I felt better. I felt more detached from the river-thoughts and could just watch them for a while, sometimes even without judgment. I also noticed that I could keep my head above the water for longer stretches now.
As I identified more with the watching part of my mind, I felt clearer and more in touch with my intuition. So I began to test, play with, doubt and gradually trust my intuition. One of my favorite games was to enter a bookstore or library with the intention "What do I need to learn today?" I would wander around and as long as I could stay in this part of my mind, invariably, a colour or word on a book would jump out at me. Every single time, what I needed to learn that day was in that book. Once, a book even fell off the shelf behind me as I passed. Must have had my head under water at that moment. There is an old saying that is something like, "when the student is ready, the teacher appears." I realized that my teachers have always been around me; I just wasn't paying attention. When I did pay attention, I learned that everyone in my life was really a reflection of what was wonderful about me (these are nice) or what I needed to learn. When I discovered that within me was the most important teacher of all, I learned to be more gentle and forgiving of myself. Besides, pretty well everyone I knew had their heads stuck under water too. How can I be hard on anybody else when we are all gasping for air?
Gradually, I discovered that the most fascinating thing about my watching mind was that, while I was there, I found out that I could choose what I thought. If I didn't like a thought, I would stop it or cancel it and replace it with something better. I found this challenging to remember at first, when I came up sputtering for air, but it was certainly doable. The more I remembered it the better I got at choosing my thoughts.
Life seems to be sending us all some challenging reflections and lessons lately. Those of us who manage to get our heads above the water or even leave the river to sit on its banks, hold an essential example for those still struggling under water. Imagine a bunch of electric eels in the water. The more eels who turn on their lights, the easier it is for everyone in the river to see.
Sharon Carne’s passion for healing sound has its foundation in a successful thirty-year career performing and teaching the classical guitar. She has studied with healing sound pioneers, Jonathan Goldman and Tom Kenyon and is a reiki master. Sharon teaches workshops on healing sound and her CDs are distributed throughout North America.
Inspirational Leadership Skills
The evident quality of a leader is to be self motivated. In the plan of an organization chart there could be ineffectiveness created by a single format that could lead to the dysfunction of the entire unit. Delayed promotions, extremely long work hours and no direct reciprocation of interest seem to be the main cause of high attrition rate. A leader is there to lead, to motivate and encourage creativity. To feel inspired by someone in office means that the individual has to be credited with a very ambitious nature and also one who believes in sharing his ideas.
Work culture is also about being able to set personal agendas and separate ones for the team. Recognizing a team leader is the biggest challenge for any management. Assertive styles of managers can be demoralizing through it is essential to have control so that there are no lacunas in the every day functioning. Recognizing talent is another factor and encouraging management improvements is imperative for meeting deadlines.
Communication is just not about a good vocabulary and oratory skills. Effective communication is about listening and understanding the fragments of the management culture and is a personality trait.
All efforts of a leader should be focused on team building and this will directly lead to the prime focus. There are agendas for the group and personal performance targets. Thinking laterally and having a clear focus is the quality of a leader. There are born leaders and some learn on the job with interaction and peer styles. What actually comes to the fore may be a high confidence level but believing in a mission statement is necessary. One needs to have a strategy and a back up plan. Plan A and the alternative Plan B should not be diverse but need to seem as a strong alternative without altering the business plan.
Feel good factors include recreation activities and a paymaster is not the only criteria aspired by people searching for greener pastures. Peer pressure should be not encouraged or this leads to selfish a ambition which is not conducive for an effective business target achievement. Inspirational leadership is also about being social and organizing fun objectives. A game of pool or a yoga centre is a sure stress buster and annual family picnics makes workplace fun. Deadlines should be met by each employee and there surely needs to be a better manpower planning so as to gauge probable absenteeism. Appreciation works wonders and this is the primary virtue of a true leader.
Work culture is also about being able to set personal agendas and separate ones for the team. Recognizing a team leader is the biggest challenge for any management. Assertive styles of managers can be demoralizing through it is essential to have control so that there are no lacunas in the every day functioning. Recognizing talent is another factor and encouraging management improvements is imperative for meeting deadlines.
Communication is just not about a good vocabulary and oratory skills. Effective communication is about listening and understanding the fragments of the management culture and is a personality trait.
All efforts of a leader should be focused on team building and this will directly lead to the prime focus. There are agendas for the group and personal performance targets. Thinking laterally and having a clear focus is the quality of a leader. There are born leaders and some learn on the job with interaction and peer styles. What actually comes to the fore may be a high confidence level but believing in a mission statement is necessary. One needs to have a strategy and a back up plan. Plan A and the alternative Plan B should not be diverse but need to seem as a strong alternative without altering the business plan.
Feel good factors include recreation activities and a paymaster is not the only criteria aspired by people searching for greener pastures. Peer pressure should be not encouraged or this leads to selfish a ambition which is not conducive for an effective business target achievement. Inspirational leadership is also about being social and organizing fun objectives. A game of pool or a yoga centre is a sure stress buster and annual family picnics makes workplace fun. Deadlines should be met by each employee and there surely needs to be a better manpower planning so as to gauge probable absenteeism. Appreciation works wonders and this is the primary virtue of a true leader.
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