Category Archives: Today: Make it Count

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August 30, 2013

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Attitudes & Behavior, Joy, Nature, Today: Make it Count

Greet the Day with Joy

2013-8-30But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress. O my strength, to you I sing praises, for you, O God, are my refuge, the God who shows me unfailing love. [Psalm 59:16-17 (NLT)]

O Lord, may I wake each morning with a song in my heart. Let me be like the mockingbird who greets the dawn singing with confidence and delight. May I face the day’s challenges with a positive attitude and praise for you. I don’t want to be like the fish crow who shares his pessimism with a nasal whine of “uh-uh.” He’s emphatic about saying “no” to the day’s possibilities while the mockingbird sings almost endlessly with enthusiasm and hope.

Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives. [Psalm 90:14 (NLT)]

 

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August 28, 2013

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Sorrow, Grief & Regrets, Thanks & Praise, Today: Make it Count

Make Every Day Count

Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered—how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath [Psalm 39:4-5 (NLT)]

Giver of Life, thank you for the days with which I have been blessed. Thank you for the days you hold of my future, no matter how many or how few they may be. Show me how to live each day to the fullest so that, when my life comes to an end, I will have no remorse, regrets or unfinished business.

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July 9, 2013

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Sorrow, Grief & Regrets, Today: Make it Count, Worry

THERE’S A RIGHT TIME FOR EVERYTHING

There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:
A right time for birth and another for death,
A right time to plant and another to reap,
A right time to kill and another to heal,
A right time to destroy and another to construct,
A right time to cry and another to laugh,
A right time to lament and another to cheer,
A right time to make love and another to abstain,
A right time to embrace and another to part,
A right time to search and another to count your losses,
A right time to hold on and another to let go,
A right time to rip out and another to mend,
A right time to shut up and another to speak up,
A right time to love and another to hate,
A right time to wage war and another to make peace.
[Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (MSG)]

Life, like the weather, is seasonal. Some seasons last longer than others and some are more pleasant than others, but each season passes whether we like it or not. Let’s not waste our time looking back at past seasons or worrying about the future ones. Let’s enjoy the season we’re in and make every day count!

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May 26, 2013

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Attitudes & Behavior, Love & Works, Today: Make it Count

TODAY IS THE DAY THAT COUNTS

Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them. If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, “Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you.” [Proverbs 3:27-28 (NLT)]

Lord, I seem to expect you to respond immediately to my requests. Why do I seem so willing, then, to defer my responses to the requests of others? Help me make this day count!

I shall pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again. [Mahatma Gandhi]

Yesterday is a canceled check. Tomorrow is a promissory note. Today is cash in hand; spend it wisely. [Kay Lyons]

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May 22, 2013

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Thanks & Praise, Today: Make it Count

OLD AGE IS A PRIVILEGE DENIED TO MANY

This is the reason we do not give up. Our human body is wearing out. But our spirits are getting stronger every day. [2 Corinthians 4:6 (NLV)]

Lord, as appreciative as we are for the time you’ve given us, it a little difficult to accept the deterioration of our bodies as the years progress. Keep us from allowing stiff joints and lagging energy to dampen our enthusiasm for life. Let our spirits be renewed by your power every day. We are truly thankful for each day with which we are blessed.

If wrinkles must be written upon our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should not grow old. [James A. Garfield]

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May 16, 2013

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Forgiveness, God's Grace & Love, Today: Make it Count

GOD’S DELETE BUTTON

It is a great blessing when people are forgiven for the wrongs they have done, when their sins are erased. It is a great blessing when the Lord says they are not guilty, when they don’t try to hide their sins. [Psalm 32:1-2 (ERV)]

God doesn’t just draw a line through the list of our sins; he doesn’t even use White-Out or correct tape. He uses the delete button and then empties the recycle bin in his heavenly computer. Our sins are completely wiped away; they are over, done with, and gone!

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of forgiveness and the blank document on which to write today’s story.