For less to do, use shorter paper.

OK everybody up! Rise and shine! Good Morning YAY! WE made it to Friday! What cool things will you do today to prepare for your weekend? How do you get from here to the weekend;012514_1520_ThatNewCarS1.jpg what’s in your plan?  At work, at home, at play – well, first things first.  First we have to get up, get motivated, get the armor on, get COFFEE, and get out there. Up Up UP – we can do this.
If you’ve forgot, the first thing, it’s not too late.  Pray! Whatever is on that things-to-get-done-today list, invite God into your day. Sometimes, even after I invite God into my day, I look behind, around and above – you know.  Just to make sure He’s paying attention. Of course he’s there and look what he says in Hebrews 12:1, 2 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”  I am reminded that we all live by faith, every moment because this moment is what we have.
When I look at what’s ahead for my day, I think I’ve discovered the solution. Shorter paper.  If the paper was shorter, like the size of a 3 x 5 card, I couldn’t fit so much on it. Right? I’m looking at a joy jar right now.  Every day I write a blessing or something I am thankful for, then I add a written prayer and throw into my antique jar.   I’m also a list maker and use a notebook or 3X5 cards to help me focus on what I want to get done that day. You might do this too.  JP Morgan, way back in the days when everything was in black and white used 3X5 cards to set daily goals. Instead of a full page of things to do, that grew longer and more discouraging, he wrote three things each day on one index card that he was going to accomplish that day.  There was a point when someone asked him how many cards he had used up to that particular day and it was over 5,000 cards at that time.
While index cards are good for their purposes, I’m in love with lists and still write them out with great enthusiasm.  Everyday at the top of my list, I will have Deuteronomy 6: 5 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength”. After that? Whatever else is priority for the day.  We have this moment.  We live by faith. We set our priorities on things we hope will make a difference right where we are.  Even the mundane task of doing the laundry, washing the car, g-r-o-c-e-r-y s-h-o-p-p-i-n-g – we are doing, because those things make a difference.  What else can we do to make a difference? What is one thing we can do today to move us toward our purpose? Maybe some days you just need to be good to yourself  because you feel like you’ve been wrung out and hung up to dry. Is there something that would bring joy to you and someone else too? Sometimes, most times, we have to make an attempt to manufacture joy.  It takes effort, maybe more effort than we think we have to show someone a special kindness, but it will be worth it to carry through.
Remember that armor we put on at the beginning of the day. Now try on some faith to go with it.  Hebrews 11:6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to himmust believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Here’s a formula that can’t miss – God / Family / Work in that order.  At the top of the list, at the beginning of the day, write it on your heart, indelibly like writing on an index card, to put God first. It’s not easy to get into the habit of prioritizing around the One whose power we rely on just to get through the day, through the week, through everything.  How mixed up we become when we walk through the maze. The amazing maze – we don’t walk it alone. Somehow I stumbled, and that’s the right word for it stumbled across this verse in Joshua 23:14 “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. Good reminder for whatever happens today – no matter what, no matter where, God has promised to be there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaj6P_7bpGw&feature=endscreen&NR=1   Wouldn’t a glue sky be perfect?  Treat yourself to joy today.  Let’s get out there!

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