5 Tips for Customizing Your Journaling
By · CommentsDiscovering and writing my own personal thoughts was somewhat difficult for me in the beginning. I had silly 
thoughts like what if someone were to read my journal, also I was self-conscious that my writing would seem too mushy for a man and for that matter the whole writing process seemed a bit foreign to me. Most assuredly this process will work very well for you. It does not matter if you are a beginner at journaling or if you are advanced at journaling. You will find this added feature a great addition.
Customizing your journal is key to your success. It is appropriate to let your thoughts, emotions, frustrations, dreams, and excitements go. Understand you have full permission to be you; it is absolutely to your advantage. Your journal is one of a kind and the true benefits will arise when you treat it as your unique special companion.
Here are 5 tips for creating ideas that will get you started in customizing your journal specific to you:
- Cut out pictures in magazines that resemble a visual of any one of your goals and tape the picture on one of the pages in your journal.
- Add quotes from famous people that inspire or give you motivation.
- If one of your goals is to go into business for yourself write your company success story, or if you desire to write your first book write your own press release, or if you are in school write about completing your degree and making the dean’s list at your university.
- Add pictures of your family or children, followed by a positive caption next to them.
- If you desire to be married, write down what that special day would be like for you and the presiding honeymoon.
As you can see, personalizing your journal can be very fun and exciting. I challenge you to open your mind and to be creative; add quotes or pictures that depict where you are aiming in your goals. You will soon discover that adding this feature of customized journaling to your normal recording will be far more engaging; it will enhance your experience from just another dull journaling session to journaling with anticipation. Happy journaling.
Being Capable of Marriage
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One of the biggest deceptions that our adversary uses in the Church today is whether your capable of marriage. Whether you suffered a divorce, or you came out of a very abusive relationship, or you never seem to be able to meet a quality Christian person worth the pursuit of marriage, I want to let you in on something. You are capable and worthy of a good marriage. Another forum of these lies are tied around comments like, “Are there any good single Christian men left that are available for marriage,” or “Are there any single Christian women who do not come with extra baggage in a relationship?” Yet, some people believe that there is only one shot in life at marrying the right person, and if they miss that opportunity, it will never come around again. It is never too late to come into what God has destined for your life. If you can conceive this thought right now, then it is not too late for your God given spouse to arrive in your life. Throughout the Gospels Jesus tells the people who wanted their miracle to “have faith” and “only believe.” The enemy creates these reports of single life that look like gloom and doom; this is a deception to take your faith because your faith is what pleases God (Hebrews 11:6). If you buy into this deception then you tie up God’s hands to move on your behalf. I certainly do understand if you are feeling this way from first hand experience. I rejoiced at being rescued from this negative thought process through faith in God and faith in hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17). You are capable of marriage, no matter the mistakes in your life, how old you are, or if you have children living at home. I repeat you are capable of falling in love; you are capable of walks in the park; you are capable of romantic dinners, and you are capable of having a wonderful and beautiful marriage in God!
There is an excellent illustration of visualizing your goals, verbalizing them, and never giving up until they come to pass, and it is right in your Bible. It is the story of Joseph—one of my favorite Bible heroes—you may have heard of it. The story starts with Joseph in Genesis Chapter 37. God gave Joseph dreams, not just ordinary dreams, but dreams that he would become a prince. It started with Joseph sharing his dreams with his brothers that they would bow down before him. Joseph did not hide it from them; he told his eleven brothers the exact details of each dream of how they were going to submit to him. Couple that with Joseph’s father who favored him more than any of his other sons, so much so that he made Joseph a special coat of many colors. Picture Joseph walking around with a princely like garment (visualization), telling everyone about the dreams of his future (verbalization). It is a fact that if you know who you are, where you are going, and present a confidence and sureness about yourself in a Godly manner, the first people that will get jealous of you are your family members or those who are close to you, right? This certainly became the case for young Joseph.
Joseph had a dream his entire family would bow down before him. (It meant his whole clan, and during that time families were rather large). Joseph’s brothers were already upset with him and his dreams, but after this last dream, his father became irritated with Joseph because of the wild dreams he was having. At this point, his brothers became so angry at him that they conspired to get rid of him.
Joseph had some attacks and battles along the way, but he had a clear picture of who he was and where he was headed. I like Joseph because he did not care what anybody said about his dreams. No matter who conspired against him, Joseph kept his integrity and he remained faithful to God. In addition, as you read in Genesis Chapter 42, Joseph’s dream became a reality. Not only did his family bow down to him, he was second in command to that of the pharaoh, which meant the whole country of Egypt bowed down before him during that time.
This what I call a visualization and verbalization exercise. I want you to understand that as you seek God your goals start to become more defined and will change to a degree over time. From single status to married status, from no kids to kids leaving the nest, or from midlife to senior citizen, whatever your state your underlying identity and purpose will not change. Focus on where you are today, and let your life be likened to a lump of clay that God will shape and mold as you move closer to his will for your life. God will craft you into an exquisite piece of pottery.
First of all, find a place where you can relax with no distractions and then begin this exercise by seeing what you are aiming for in your mind, and secondly begin to say it aloud. Here is an example: begin to see yourself in a future tense and when you say these things, you must say them in a future tense as well. It will go along the lines of “I am free of doubt;” “I forgave family members;” “I no longer blame the company for financial problems;” “I am now financially secure;” “I lost 15 lbs,” and “I look great;” “I am happily married;” “I tithe faithfully” and “I am committed to volunteering at church.” Verbalize it in your own words according to your situation (we will cover writing them down shortly), but you have to be specific as if you have already arrived at that place. Get that picture in your mind, what type of clothes you are wearing, how people now respond to the new you, how those old strongholds do not have any foothold on you anymore and how great you feel; this is the visualization you need to get in your mind. After you have performed this initial exercise, a great way to maintain this thought process is to perform it throughout the day, for example, when you are taking a shower in the morning, or in the car on your way to work or any private time you have between work, school, or running errands.
Start visualizing and verbalizing your dreams today!
My First Bungy Jump in New Zealand
By · CommentsMy first jump in New Zealand, Queenstown was an absolute adventure. I hadn’t plan on jumping off a completely good bridge, however after I learned this was just not your average standing bridge. You see this is the very bridge an adventure crazed sports junkie AJ Hackett made bungy jumping a famous adrenaline sport shared around the world. Now I reasoned in my mind Ed, this is an opportunity to experience history, besides when will I ever find myself on this side of the world? If that was to happen I gathered I would come so close only to loose my nerve yet again. NEVER, so I jumped!
So my question for you is what opportunities that are present in your life that you are hesitating to jump on ?
There is Life As Single Christian
By · CommentsThere is Life as a Christian Single
In my fondest memories, I can recall daydreaming of being married to a beautiful woman and being a loving father and good provider. Those daydreams to some extent evolved into life goals from adolescent to adulthood, which gave birth to the ambition and drive to become a success in my life. It had never resonated in my daydreams that one of those status levels I would reach and maintain for a good part of my early adult life would be labeled as “Christian and single.” I used to contemplate those two words from a secular perspective and wondered if people would interpret its meaning to be “lonely loser.” The fact that God could really stand for something in my life as a Christian single in today’s world was a big struggle in my adult life.
After completing high school, I found myself at an entry-level job at a local real-estate-related company and within short order, I had my eye on climbing the corporate ladder. As an empowered young adult, I gave into society’s accepted practice of variety dating and in my vain effort, I was looking for that right girl who would fit my picture and idea of corporate success. It was within these gradual timeframes when I made a subconscious statement to God: “I appreciate all the help but I can handle life from here on out.” Positive and motivational resources and “the universe will provide” sort of thinking became my new self-made religion. God became more of a mere abstract of thought used only when beneficial in my life. Nearly twenty years would pass and I would climb that corporate ladder and outwardly, some would have applauded my success; however, deep inside I would suffer the realization that my self-made religion was failing me miserably. Relationships were deteriorating and aspirations of money and corporate drive started to take a backseat to emptiness. I knew there had to be more in life.
The very statement I made in my earlier years choosing to exclude God from my life became a regretful mistake over time. I felt reminded of a parallel biblical story the account of the prodigal son in Luke15:11–31. The story ends by giving us a picture of how the loving father receives his lost son back, even though it was the son’s choice to leave home. I as well wanted my heavenly father back in my life. I was at a point that I wanted a relationship with God, not a religious exercise, no tricks or games; I would refuse to settle for nothing less than a true God experience. It happened while I was alone one night at my home with tears streaming down my face. I summoned God with a new statement not with vanity but with a pure, open and honest heart. I gave my plea for forgiveness and asked for help. The freedom that the Bible talks about, this liberty the Bible speaks about, this life fulfillment the Bible describes—I wanted to experience it now! That night was probably the best night’s sleep I had in years. From that day, I became a faithful Christian single man, ready to follow and serve God in any way possible.
I didn’t fully understand how to live a Christian single life; many churches I visited, the sermons I heard were primarily focused toward families, far from addressing the challenges and needs of adult singles today. However, God is faithful to his word. Each day as I opened up my heart to God in prayer, weekly bible studies along with a strong commitment at a local Church body, the single journey began to take on a new shape and excitement. God started to reveal through biblical principles a practical step-by-step process as to how to live a Christian single life in a less than Christian-friendly world. He first allowed me to recognize that he loves me and that there is a set purpose and destiny in store for my life, no matter the challenges and disappointments I had experienced, once I had the correct attitude and affirmation. I digested simple yet powerful biblical stories from the great patriarchs like King David, Moses and the great leader Joshua. I gained a creative personalized perspective on creating goals in five main areas: Personal, Spiritual, Physical, Relational and Financial. These were personalized with benefits along with journaling. This new approach allowed me to face bad habits; negative strongholds that were holding my life down. I found a new freedom for single living; I didn’t just have to sit and mope around or listen to those in relationships feel sorry for my single status. I started to engage new friendships, went traveling, started new hobbies and expanded my relationship with God. I found my life coming into balance and living whole is the best place to be along with integrity in God.
Can A Christian Single Male Practice Abstinent ?
By · CommentsIf you turned the pages back in my life when I entered the corporate world, you would behold a fresh young-eyed kid poised to exchange lack of maturity for pure youthful energy. I was technically a Christian but found myself compromising my beliefs within my new job in order to fit. I did not want people to think I was weird or some sort of religious fanatic, so I down played God. I wanted to be liked and very much so by women.
Slowly and subtly, I started to stray. I started to say things like, “Um yeah, I can make that happy hour with you guys, but I do not drink or chase women…I’ll check out that movie with you guys, I am ok if it has only a little nudity…Let’s watch that playoff game; I can skip this Sunday church services; I’ll pick it back up next week.” Weeks turned into months and then one day I woke up and BAM! I found myself looking on the other side of my bed wondering, “What is she doing here?”
In response to the answer to the title heading of this article, let me subscribe a few questions for you to consider and let me say we are not headed off topic. Is it possible to avoid maxing out your credit cards on useless spending? Is it possible to avoid exceeding the posted speed limit while driving? Is it possible to avoid overeating to the point of obesity? I am not speaking of one-time only infractions or life’s slip-ups. The direction I am addressing is about the pattern that can sneak up in your life and take you down a dark slippery slope. Before you have a chance to ask where are the safety rails, you’re in warp speed in a down-hill motion with accompanying life vices.
I am reminded of the scriptures that we are wonderfully created in the image of God and our words and actions carry significant consequences in our everyday world. God spoke the heavens into existence. Our voice (man of God) carries the authority to choose… how much to spend… how much to eat… how fast to drive. Even when it comes to the matter of sex, it is one of the most powerful drives a man has in his arsenal and God intended it to be this way in order for us to seed life. However, with this incredible power comes much responsibility that is not to be taken lightly. Looking back, we see Jesus was under the horrid dread of his life on the cross crucified for all humanity. He had the power to unleash his furry on his accusers for pleasure, but he didn’t give way to his physical desire. He remained in the fathers will (thank God).
Certainly, with time I have learned to harness this scared power with control and pattern my life’s action according to Gods words of wisdom. No matter if I am tempted or stumble, I am conscious of the fact God’s love is our safety net. From the time I was shaky at learning how to ride a bicycle to the time of adult hood wondering if I could survive on my own, there have been frustrations, failures and wrong turns and the subtle thoughts of, would I ever get this right?
