Author: Mark Farley

Watching Our Words

   January 26, 2024 0 Likes 199 Views
Watching our words…. 


Maybe it’s different for you, but sometimes the thoughts in my head that need to stay there slip out of my mouth as words and it’s never good. 


I learned a long time ago that words that come from negative emotions as well as reactions instead of responses can harm and hurt just like any other weapon. 


Luckily for me I have learned to keep these words inside of my head and let the Holy Spirit hear them and advise me and calm my emotions and allow my heart a chance to survey the situation and form a response instead of allowing the emotions of my initial reaction to come out as words. 


Allowing God to help me filter my words has saved me from many situations that could have proven hurtful had they gone unchecked. 

How do you filter your words?… 


Check your experience… 


“Our behavior will convince them more than our words.” Big Book pg. 83 


Lord, let us share our thoughts with you first before we form words that come from our mouths, AMEN. 


“In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.” James 3: 5-6 


Have a blessed day y’all! 


Join me in looking at the things we face daily with passages from both the Big Book and Bible! 


https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pastor+mark+farley&ref=nb_sb_noss 


 How about a daily dose of hope and inspired thought? 

Spiritual Food

   January 25, 2024 0 Likes 174 Views
Well it ain’t no fast food… 


Have you ever noticed that there are certain foods and meals that “stick with you”, so to speak? 


In my world, homemade meals with real and healthy ingredients tend to do the most good for me. 


We have a few favorite restaurants that offer entrees like this as well. 


It just seems to me that whenever fast food is the choice, I am either hungry again in a short time or sleepy from the carb coma I just gorged on. 


It’s the same with our spiritual nutrition. 


When we digest the Word and apply it to our lives, it sticks with us and does our body good. 


How are you spiritually feeding yourself? 


Consider your Source and as always… 


Check your experience… 


 “Assuming we are spiritually fit, we can do all sorts of things” Big Book pg. 100 


Lord, let us nourish ourselves from Your Spirit and Your Word, AMEN. 


“Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty….I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life” John 6: 35, 47 


Have a blessed day y’all! 


Join us in prayer and with your financial support as we tackle the challenge of helping and mentoring young adults aging out of the Foster Care System.

https://homesfromheaven.org/ 


AZ Charitable TAX CREDIT! 

Another Way to See Things

   January 24, 2024 0 Likes 202 Views
Another way to see things….. 


We use our eyes to see all that this world has to offer. 


That’s part of being human. 


We are also equipped with another way to see. 


Our Spiritual nature inside of helps us to see in a different way. 


We cannot see the air we breathe, yet we take it for granted that it’s here. 


We naturally take it for granted that when we flip a light switch the light will come on and when we put the key into the ignition the car will start. 


This comes from FAITH. 


We learn by doing and by feeling. 


This is how we develop our spiritual eyes. 


Now it’s a fact that we all crawl before we walk. 


So we cannot develop spiritual eyes overnight. 


Like the air we breathe, light switch, and the key in the ignition, we build up a continued and familiar experience over time that allows us to believe it will work. 


It’s the same with our faith. 


We must build on it and grow it so that we can rely on it in times of uncertainty. 


Check your experience…. 


“In this book you read again and again that faith did for us what we could not do for ourselves.” Big Book pg. 70 


Lord, open the eyes of our hearts through building and growing our faith in You and Your Word, AMEN. 


“For we walk by faith, not by sight” 2 Corinthians 5:7 


Have a blessed day Y’all! 


Join us in prayer and with your financial support as we tackle the challenge of helping and mentoring young adults aging out of the Foster Care System.

https://homesfromheaven.org/ 


AZ Charitable TAX CREDIT! 

Walk Your Talk

   January 23, 2024 0 Likes 187 Views
Walk your talk…


Plan your work then work your plan….


Stay in the now….


Keep your feet on the ground but keep reaching for the stars…. 


These are just a few of the takeaways and good reminders I have gathered over the years in the 12 Step rooms. 


What all of these encouraging words mean to me is that I must walk daily on the path of humble spiritual growth.
 
 I have found the best way for me to do this is by keeping a picket fence of friends around me who not only share a strong faith but also practice spiritual principles in their daily lives that allows us to live transparently as we grow in our walk with Christ… 


Check your experience!.. 


“We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny.” Big Book pg 164 


Lord, thank you for filling my heart with a humble willingness to know You better daily and surrounding me with others who also seek to know and do Your will, AMEN. 


“Watch the path of your feet and all your ways will be established.” Proverbs 4:26 


Have a blessed day Y’all! 


What if you had a person who coached and mentored you in building a better life? 


Inspired 365 Life Coaching with Mark Farley!! 


https://www.faiththroughworksfellowship.org/inspired-365-life-coaching 


Want in? 


[email protected]

Be Transformed

   January 22, 2024 1 Likes 210 Views
Be transformed….. 


Those pesky expectations 


I sometimes allow to sneak in and dominate my thinking always cause me confusion when real everyday life fails to match up to the picture in my head of what it’s SUPPOSED to be like. 


I do my best to neither set expectations nor try to live by the expectations of others. 


Everyone is human, and like me, prone to faults, fears, and forgetfulness. 


 I have found through years of trial and error, that when I try to be present in the moment and work with what I have instead of what I think or feel I should have, my day and my life goes better. 


When those pesky expectations try to grab my attention and sway my thinking, I turn them over to God and stay in the moment trying to be of maximum service to those around me. 


Check your experience… 


“Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives.” Big Book pg 86. 


Lord let us renew our minds and refresh our hearts with Your Spirit replacing our expectations, AMEN. 


“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,” Romans 12:2 


Have a blessed day Y’all!


What if you had a person who coached and mentored you in building a better life?  


Inspired 365 Life Coaching with Mark Farley!! 


https://www.faiththroughworksfellowship.org/inspired-365-life-coaching 


Want a one-on-one coach to get you out of where you are?  

Email today and let’s chat to see if we can make up a plan for you to get you to where you want to be!


[email protected]

Emotional Flaws

   January 21, 2024 0 Likes 200 Views
Those dang emotional flaws and mental hang ups… 


How are we supposed to know the difference between self-will and God’s will? 


 Experience and others have taught me that if I am giving my best effort without regard to fear, pride, envy, gluttony, greed, anger, or sloth then I am doing God’s will and not mine. 


IF I am focusing on my pride, anger, greed, lust, envy, greed, or sloth (PAGLEGS) then I am in self-will. 


AA’s Joe and Charlie said best with their explanation of Steps 6 and 7; “I don’t do what I want to do. (Self-will) I just do what I ought to do. (God’s will)” 


I find I can keep my self-will in check by checking my motives and efforts… 


Check your experience… 


“Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate.” Big Book pg. 62 


Lord help us to recognize our emotional flaws and park our mental hang-ups in those times when our self-will seeks to overturn Your will for us, AMEN. 


“The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other.” Galatians 5:17 


 Have a blessed day Y’all! 


Join me in looking at the things we face daily with passages from both the Big Book and Bible! 


https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pastor+mark+farley&ref=nb_sb_noss 


 How about a daily dose of hope and inspired thought? 

If Nothing Changes…

   January 20, 2024 0 Likes 168 Views
 If nothing changes then nothing changes…


None of us are perfect. We each have things that need our attention and cannot be fixed without our participation and ownership. 

We need to own our challenges, struggles, and shortcomings. 


The good news is that God can and will help us if we stay willing and provide the effort! 


When He can see our efforts fueled by our motivation to change, then He can heal us! 


Ask yourself if you are participating in your own improvement and as always… 


check your experience… 


“..we did because we honestly wanted to, and were willing to make the effort.” Big Book pg 22. 


Lord fill our hearts with the desire to change and the drive to provide the needed efforts, AMEN.


 “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” Luke14:27 


Have a blessed day y’all! 


What if you had a person who coached and mentored you in building a better life?  


Inspired 365 Life Coaching with Mark Farley!! 


https://www.faiththroughworksfellowship.org/inspired-365-life-coaching 


Want a one-on-one coach to get you out of where you are?  

Email today and let’s chat to see if we can make up a plan for you to get you to where you want to be!


[email protected]

Happiness Comes From Within

   January 19, 2024 0 Likes 194 Views
 Happiness comes from…. 


Now I know this is not your experience, but my self-will is greedy for things that my delusional head likes for me to think that I need. 


For me, my self-will is greedy for attention and for worldly things. 


It likes me to think that in order to be happy I need a Harley, a Corvette, a bigger house, and on and on it goes. 


While these things are nice, my happiness does NOT depend on them. 


The minute it does, then I have a major problem. 

Luckily, I was blessed with the opportunity to find my life in AA through the Big Book and the 12 Steps, and they led me back to the Lord who has given me a life better than my wildest dreams filled with a marriage, a family, ministry, friends, and more blessings and happiness than I ever deserved. 


I find that I need to check my motives and efforts to measure my happiness. 


When I am able to do this I see that my happiness does not come from things, rather it comes from my relationship with God and those wonderful folks in my life. 


What do you measure your happiness with?.. 


Check your experience…


“Selfishness-self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles. Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity,…” Big Book pg 62. 


Lord, please remove the selfish thoughts driven by our self-centered fear, pride, and greed that block our hearts from Your will and Spirit, AMEN. 


“Then He said to them, Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” Luke 12:15 


Have a blessed day y’all! 


Join me in looking at the things we face daily with passages from both the Big Book and Bible! 


https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pastor+mark+farley&ref=nb_sb_noss 


 How about a daily dose of hope and inspired thought? 

Authors

   January 18, 2024 0 Likes 186 Views
What book are you reading from?!?… 


In today’s world we can get books in many forms. 


From the standard printed book form to kindle, books are available to us in whatever media we choose.


On top of that, we have books available on every subject and just about every situation that will tell us many different ways to try to accomplish the thing we are working toward or trying to learn. 


Now maybe it’s different for you, but for me, my experience has taught me and continues to teach me that the Bible is the best source for learning how to live and handle the daily challenges we all face.


What book are you reading from?… 


Check your experience… 


“Well, that’s exactly what this book is about.” Big Book pg 45 


Lord, let us look to Your Word for guidance and when we need to learn how to handle people, places, and things, AMEN. 


“For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace,..” 1 Corinthians 14:33 


Have a blessed day y’all! 




Join us in prayer and with your financial support as we tackle the challenge of helping and mentoring young adults aging out of the Foster Care System.

https://homesfromheaven.org/ 


AZ Charitable TAX CREDIT! 

If the Shoe Doesn’t Fit…

   January 17, 2024 0 Likes 186 Views
If the shoe doesn’t fit… try another size and style!.. 


Have you ever found yourself feeling like the square peg trying to fit into the round hole? 


Perhaps it’s different for you, but there are times where I need to get along with a person, or fit into a particular place, situation, or thing and it is just not working out smoothly. 


I have learned that when I adjust my attitude, approach, outlook, expectation, or behavior, I can find the tools that work for me that allow me to fit in. 


Kind of like a different show size and style. 

We can have the same challenges internally with our spiritual life. 

Sometimes what looks good on the outside doesn’t quite fit with our feelings inside. 


When I experience this, I park my self-will and seek God’s will and I find that things just go better…


Check your experience… 


“Our real purpose is to fit ourselves to be of maximum service to God and the people about us.” Big Book pg 77 


Lord, let us look to use the spiritual tools and gifts you have given us to handle our daily walk, AMEN.


 “Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off.” 1 Samuel 17: 38-39 


 Have a blessed day Y’all! 


Join us in prayer and with your financial support as we tackle the challenge of helping and mentoring young adults aging out of the Foster Care System.

https://homesfromheaven.org/ 


AZ Charitable TAX CREDIT!