What a powerful statement. Most of us will go to almost any lengths to avoid being a failure because it will make us look really bad in the eyes of other people and we might be the topic of their conversation. I know that for much of my life I have been more concerned about what others thought of me than what God thought of me.

I wanted others to look at me as a successful person, especially from a spiritual standpoint. When you are careful to always do and say the right things in public, only people who have a great deal of discernment can see through the charade and know there is something wrong even if they might not be able to tell exactly what it is.

When we have our own plans and try to carry them out, we usually try to do something that will make us look good or put us in a leadership position in some area. Sometimes we even want to do things that will make us look as if we are very humanitarian or mission-minded.

I can say from experience (from one who used to do everything just because it was good or spiritual) that there is a major difference in my life now. I have found that when you are completely in the center of God’s will, you don’t have to fight to keep your head above water; you also don’t have to fight battle after battle trying to make something happen.

I am definitely not saying that you won’t encounter obstacles and problems, but they will be much easier to handle because you know that you truly can place your life in God’s hands.

He has an awesome plan for your life, but you only get to partake of His Best if you do things on His terms.

Satan wants to keep you BUSY, BUSY, BUSY doing a bunch of “stuff” that will never make a difference at all where eternity is concerned. Make the choice to be BUSY doing work that will truly last for all eternity.

Related posts:

1. Put Your Focus On Things That Really Matter!
2. God Can Use You No Matter What!
3. Don’t Miss Out On The Awesome Things Of God!

Twice a year they send teams in to check on the kids and do preventive health maintenance. If they have a minor health problem, they are given medicine to treat it. Otherwise they are given vitamins and a worm pill to keep them healthy.

Each day was long as we saw several hundred kids, but even though I was tired each night I felt good. I think the children blessed me much more than I could have ever blessed them. They lived in worse conditions than us, yet they all had a ready smile on their face and wanted to interact with us even though we couldn’t speak the same language. When we drove down the road they would wave, smile and yell as we drove by.  We got a huge joy out of waving back to them. I found out that you can communicate quite a bit even if you don’t speak the same language.

Of course their customs are much different than ours in the United States, and many of them I think they have right and we are the ones who need to change. At 6:30 each morning several Haitian adults came to our compound for a Bible study. Most of it was not translated because the person leading it wanted it to continue to be about them instead of us. We were to be observers and learn from them.

They came into the room with only one thing in mind – to study the Bible and understand as much as they could about the passage they would read that morning. They didn’t fellowship, laugh, or talk about anything once they came into the room. They were intent on worshiping and learning about God.

One of the men brought a guitar and played and led some worship choruses. We recognized some of the music and sang along with our English words. Then they started in a certain place in the Bible and read a whole chapter. I couldn’t help but notice how intent everyone was in paying attention to the words being read aloud. Everyone did not own a Bible, but the ones who did seemed to treasure it. They would treat it very carefully and some were placed in plastic bags so they would not get dusty or dirty.

After the chapter was read, they had a chance to ask questions about anything they didn’t understand. Each day they asked enough questions to fill the hour, with more waiting to be answered. What an intense hunger they had for the WORD!

The Word of God is truly a treasure and more valuable than diamonds for the Child of God. It is His instruction book to show us how to live a victorious life for Him. We all make a choice each 24 hours as to how we will fill the valuable time we have been allotted.

Make the study of God’s Word a priority each day. God has so much He wants to show you and He wants to change your life for the better. Ask Him to give you an intense hunger to study His Word and treasure it like those Haitians did. I came back extremely tired and it took me several days to catch up on sleep, but I have asked God to change me and mold me into a vessel that can be used for His Glory. What an awesome way to live life to the fullest each day!

No related posts.

By an anonymous 2nd grade teacher

I’ve been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second grade classroom a few years back.

When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they’re welcome.

Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater.

She holds up a snapshot of an infant: “This is Luke, my baby brother, and I’m going to tell you about his birthday.”

“First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom’s stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord.”

She’s standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I’m trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement.

“Then, about two Saturdays ago, my mom starts saying and going, ‘Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh!’” Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. “She walked around the house for, like an hour, ‘Oh, oh, oh!’” (Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.)

“My dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn’t have a sign on the car like the Domino’s man. They got my mom to lie down in bed like this.” (Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.)

“And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!” (This kid has her legs spread with her little hands miming water flowing away. It was too much!)

“Then the middle wife starts saying ‘Push, push” and “Breathe, breathe. They started counting, but never even got past ten. Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff that they all said it was from Mom’s play-center (placenta) so there must be a lot of toys inside there. When he got out, the middle wife spanked him for crawling up in there.”

Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat. I’m sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, when it’s show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another “Middle Wife” comes along.

(another Mikey’s Funnies)

Check out my other sites:

Handbook for Victorious Christian Living – Practical ways to learn to live a victorious Christian life

Blueprint for Victorious Christian Living

Power of the Living Word

Related posts:

1. Another Funny Story!
2. A Funny Hitchhiking Story
3. A funny "first kiss" story!