My grin & giggle for today. :)

"Father, I seize this opportunity to invite your presence into this place. I thank you that nothing I ever did was so bad or so stupid that you would change your mind about me. Thank you for favor that I didn't even deserve—favor that I didn't earn, but you gave me anyway. O' thank you for the beauty of what you showed me. Thank you for much more you have saved in store for me—stuff I don't even know about. I'll praise you now—you can do it later. Thank you, Lord!—and now for some sleep and to wait." - REK

"Even when I broke your heart so many times, when I made so many promises and broke them and my sins tore your heart over and over again, Lord you never gave up on me—so I'm standing right here, here in the midst of my tears—thanking you for your never-ending love and for never giving up on me." - REK

"Look into your own heart, discover what it is that gives you pain. And then refuse, under any circumstance whatsoever, to inflict that pain on anybody else." - Karen Armstrong

"Advice comes in all forms; some help you and some hurt you."

"You are greater than your past. You are stronger than any moment of failure. You can rise like smoke up a chimney. You were meant to spiral to the sky. All the chilling drafts of broken promises should not deny you the gift of life. Never forget that you are alive—sometimes weak, sometimes strong, but alive. You will be right some days and wrong some nights, but don’t stop waking up in the morning. The morning is God’s gift of another chance to pass the exam." - TDJ

"If you choose the behavior, you choose the consequences." - Dr. Phil McGraw

"If you put your trust in God, you don't have to live uptight, anxious, upset & worried all the time." - Joyce Meyer

"There are some things that happen, and I am not glad they happened. But I am glad that, in spite of the tragedies, God is still on the throne, and He is still in control of all circumstances that surround my life." - Greg Laurie

"No one is exempt from bad times. No one can hide from pain. They are realities that knock on the doors of both mansions and shacks. They visit people who have everything and people who have nothing. Yet in the midst of it all, when we are facing situations that seem to have no rhyme or reason, it helps to know that somewhere in and beyond the passion and the pain, there is God. The Lord himself gives us new days. He see us through the storms and the night times. So, that about those storms? They will cease. And when they pass, we will be safe in the arms of our Lord, the Master of all seasons." - TDJ

"But what about when bad things happen? Is God still in control? Yes. And the Bible tells us that despite the bad things that happen, which many times are inexplicable, God can work all things together for good to those who love Him (see Romans 8:28). As the psalmist wrote, "Everything serves [His] plans" (119:91, NLT)." - Greg Laurie

"Don’t let the limp fool you. You can be healed and still have a limp. The limp is only a sign that you have been through something, not that you are still struggling with something. If you can think about some insult or adversity and it doesn't hurt anymore, you can be certain that you have been healed. If you can talk about a painful experience in your past and it doesn’t cause you to feel anger or hatred, you have been healed. If you can see the person who has wronged you or hurt you and not feel bitterness, then by God’s grace, you have been healed." - TDJ

"Where will you turn in a time of crisis? When tragedy hits? When disaster strikes? Will it be your favorite magazine? The morning newspaper? The evening news? You will need something to give you strength and direction in your time of need — and you can't find a better resource than the Word of God." - Greg Laurie

"God, for our own good, tries to loosen our grip from something that will cause us to fall.  But we won’t let go.  We say, “No, I won’t give up my weekend rendezvous for eternal joy.” “Trade my drugs and alcohol for a life of peace and a promise of heaven?  Are you kidding?”  There we are, desperately clutching the very things that cause us grief." - Max Lucado

Today, I returned home from Cincinnati. I went there to attend the January 13th sentencing of the brother who murdered my best friend & brother (Lary). I thank God for the peace and strength He gave to us, and continues to give to us, during a very sad and difficult time.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20140113/NEWS0107/301130063

"Ain't it funny how God can put you in a new place, but you got an old attitude? You’re wearing nice clothes, but you’re still ghetto? You got a big house and a fine car, but you still got ways from where you came from? You came out, but your mind didn’t come out! What makes a man, married to a princess, end up sleeping with the housekeeper? How can you be a millionaire and end up getting caught with the babysitter? Sometimes, you come into a situation, but your mentality is still back there where you came from. You came out, but your mind didn’t." - TDJ

"There are a lot of people who wanna be you who couldn't handle being you, because they don't realize that being you is not as easy as it looks. Just because you see me smiling doesn't mean that everything is going well. Just because I come in and say, "Praise the Lord," doesn't mean that everything is okay. It just means that I have learned and have been disciplined enough to function under pressure, and I've got to be able to do it anyway." - TDJ

"You aren't the only one who has ever faced doubt or uncertainty or has been perplexed as to why God did not work in a certain way. We may be in the midst of God's working and can't see the big picture as He can. We can trust His heart, even when we can't trace His path." - Greg Laurie

"If you wonder if you’ve gone too long to change, take courage. No man is too bad for God!" - Max Lucado

"When you can’t seem to put one foot in front of the other, STAND. When days come that challenge your destiny, JUST STAND. Realize that there has never been a day that lasted forever. You can’t afford to crumple onto your knees like a weak, whimpering lily blown over by a windstorm. Bite your lip, taste your tears, BUT STAND on what God showed you in the night until it happens in the light." - TDJ

"What people do sometimes is they feel like if they can control their external world, then they feel a sense of calmness internally. But they can never control it enough to make it really work." - Dr. Phil McGraw

“Contrary to much of what we hear today, faith is not convincing ourselves that we have God’s stamp of approval on our plans, it’s believing that God’s plans are better than ours.” – Oswald Chambers

"Dear Heavenly Father, I pray You would give me a vision of Your finish line, a glimpse of Heaven that would sustain me as I run my race through the obstacles in my path. Give me stamina and energy to forge onward and to trust You to provide my needs and meet me in my weakness. Make me all that I can become and leave a legacy of faith for all who follow. Amen." - REK

I like this... "A great relationship isn't about achieving something or reaching a specific destination, as a "destination" is never reached. It's about the journey through life — dancing through the unknown... together. It's the experiences you share, the things you learn about each other and yourselves, and the passion you have — for each other as well as your own wants. Bottom line: Love is supposed to be passionate, fun, and connected — not *100%* of the time... but for the majority." - Charles J. Orlando

"Free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having." - C.S. Lewis