Author: Mark Farley

Another Type of Book Learning

   June 16, 2024 0 Likes 17 Views
Another type of “Book Learnin'”… 


We go to school for 12 or more years to get our education. 


Most of us get some sort of on-the-job training from our employers. 


A lot of us get many educational lessons from the school of hard knocks. 


And a few of us get ongoing education from our Big Book and its daily 12 Step practices. 


But what about Spiritual learning? 


I have yet to see it on any applications in the working world. 


The lessons I am finally learning in life come from the Bible and being in God’s will and Word daily. 

Maybe it’s different for you, but my wisdom comes from applying the words in God’s Book to my life. 


… Check your experience. … 


“There had been a humble willingness to have Him with me and He came. But soon the sense of His presence had been blotted out by worldly clamors, mostly those within myself.
 
And so it has been ever since. How blind I had been.” Big Book pg. 12&13 


Lord let us walk daily in Your Will and Word to gain the wisdom we need, AMEN. 


“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure and full of quiet gentleness.  Then it is peace-loving and courteous. It allows discussion and is willing to yield to others; it is full of mercy and good deeds. It is wholehearted and straightforward and sincere.” James 3:17
 


 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? 

Just Ask!

   June 15, 2024 0 Likes 23 Views
Just ask… 

It’s a fact of life that things don’t happen unless we provide the efforts and actions. 


We have to work to support ourselves and our loved ones. 


We have to put the right foods in our bodies in order to be healthy. 

It’s the same in our Spiritual life and growth. 


We have to provide the actions in the forms of prayer, grace, and humble motives so the Lord can see that we are freely providing our own efforts to meet His will…


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 come to you in prayer with open hearts and minds, AMEN. 


“And when you pray, your Father in heaven knows what you need before you ask him.” Matthew 6:7-8 


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]

Blame Game

   June 14, 2024 0 Likes 25 Views
The blame game… 


 It’s because of them, or they made this happen, which leads to the famous, ‘it’s not MY FAULT’. 


Think about it, we all tend to have these feelings from time to time and it’s very easy to garner support from others when we share this thinking. 


Now while it is true we cannot control what other people, places, situations, or things do or say,..


 we CAN control how we allow it to affect us in our actions and attitudes. 


This is why God allows us to keep our free will even after we turn it over to Him. 


He wants us to have the ability to use our gifts and grace to not become “sheeple” getting caught up in the emotions of the moment blaming them and they. 


Rather, He wants us to look inside ourselves and choose how we respond… 


Check your experience… 


“That is how we react so long as we keep in fit spiritual condition.” Big Book pg. 85 


Lord, let us control how we react and respond using the grace You have given us, AMEN. 


 “There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man.” Mark 7:15 


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? 

Bad Moments

   June 13, 2024 0 Likes 26 Views
 Don’t turn a bad moment into a bad day… 


Have you ever noticed that what you focus on influences how you feel and act? 


For instance, playing with children can make some older folks feel young and more alive. 


How about the feeling of accomplishment after completing a work out at the gym? 


What about the uncomfortable and unpleasant parts of our day that we all have? 


Have you ever noticed what happens when we focus on that? 


It tends to drag us into the negative mindset and brings us down. 


Now maybe it’s different for you, but I have found that when I enter into the unpleasant moments of my day, instead of focusing on the anticipation of the impending doom or negativity, I remind myself of all the good in my life and that this is just a moment in my day that will eventually pass. 


I find that when I greet negative times with cheerfulness, the negativity has a hard time taking me hostage. 


How’s that working out for you?.. 


Check your experience… 


“We were prepared to look at it from an entirely different angle.” Big Book pg 66 


Lord, let us walk through the negative times knowing this is but a moment but You are in our heart forever and that we have blessings awaiting us, AMEN. 


 “Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.” Philippians 2:14-15 


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/ 

New Attitude

   June 12, 2024 0 Likes 48 Views
New day, fresh start, new attitude… 


Sometimes we get into the routine of our daily lives and what used to be exciting or fresh in our hearts becomes dulled by the daily monotony of habit and comfortable routine. 


Over time, if not checked and renewed, these tasks, routines, and even relationships can suffer from our being taken hostage by monotony. 


There is a solution. 


Even when our tasks and routines need to contain the same things, we can renew our spirits daily by simply turning our will and our lives over to the Lord daily! 

Come on.. Give it a try… and as always… Check your experience… 


“This means a new attitude and spirit all around.” Big Book pg. 99


Lord thank You for allowing us to refresh ourselves and our lives through renewing ourselves daily with your Spirit, AMEN. 


“Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.” Ephesians 4:23 


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/ 

Focus

   June 11, 2024 0 Likes 24 Views
Focus… 


It’s amazing to me how elite athletes stay focused on their game despite the distractions all around them, or how actors and artists keep their focus on their craft and avoid distractions. 


It’s a great testimony to how focus leads to the end result. 


Spiritually speaking, we have the same opportunity with our focus. 


Practice in prayer over the years has taught me that when I focus my prayer life on being in tune with God’s will for the person, place, or thing I am praying for…


I get the blessing to be free from praying to GET what I WANT


 ….and instead….


 I have the Spirit, heart, and mind to WANT what I GET from my prayers. 


How’s this working out for you? 


Check your experience… 


“praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.” Big Book pg. 59 


Lord. Let us pray to want what we get instead of praying to get what we want, AMEN. 


“Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion.” Ephesians 6:18 


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 help you achieve your goals?  

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]

Mind What Matters

   June 10, 2024 0 Likes 29 Views
When we mind what matters, what matters will be on our mind… 


It’s pretty easy to see what matters to us. 


Just look at who we associate with and what we tend to do. 


The things that we focus on as well as the people, places, things, and situations we seek are a great indicator of what matters to us. 
 


It’s a spiritual principle that what we allow to influence us shapes our attitudes, thoughts, behaviors, and ultimately our life. 

I learned long ago and it’s still shared in AA and most 12-step meetings to this day that when we mind what matters, what matters will be on our mind… 


Check your experience… 


“Here was something at work in a human heart that had done the impossible.” Big Book pg. 11 


 Lord, let us fill our hearts with the things that matter most to us, AMEN. 


“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21 


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 help motivate and guide you to achieve your goals and dreams??  

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]

Good Deeds

   June 9, 2024 0 Likes 22 Views
He sees everything… 


I love watching people. 


I learn so much from others. 


It’s interesting to me to watch folks as they interact with others. 


My experience has been that different situations bring different actions and behaviors. 


For instance, at the drive the focus is on the order, as both the attendant and the customer are trying to purchase a pre-established menu item, pretty much a no-brainer. 


Then there is the grocery store and the need to be in the shortest line. 


The type A personality versus the passive is fun to watch. 


The Type A will go all out directly to the short line and heck with whomever has the misfortune of being in their way, 


while the passive personality will be aware of others and see the type A and clear out of the way letting them go first. 


My favorite is the unexpected assist. 


Recently I observed a mom with a toddler attempting to fit all her bagged purchases into one hand while deftly grabbing car keys and freeing the other arm to hold the baby because the cart would not go outside of the store, 


all the while shoppers moved around her as they exited the store. 


She almost went into shock when I asked her if I could help. 


After the shock wore off, she saw my smiling wife near me and figured out quickly I was not a psycho stalker, but she politely refused and gave us a heartfelt thank you for caring enough to ask. 


Remember folks, keep the eyes of your hearts open to see who the Lord puts in your path. 


It’s always good to offer assistance for the right reasons… 


Check your experience… 


 “In the same way, the good deeds of some people are obvious.  And the good deeds done in secret will someday come to light.” 1 Timothy 5: 24-25 


Lord, let us perform good deeds with the only motive of being of service to others and not for personal gain, AMEN. 


“It depends on us and on our motives.” Big Book pg. 70 


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? 

What is Your Power Source?

   June 8, 2024 0 Likes 25 Views
What is your power source?.


Red Bull, coffee, Protein shakes, Power Bars, and all sorts of other products promise us energy. 


Many other products promise to enhance our power. 


Bodybuilders and folks into fitness and exercise routines gain physical strength and stamina, but, ….


WHERE do we really get our POWER from? 


We see stories from time to time in the mainstream media of folks doing superhuman feats to save another or help someone in danger. 


I bet if you take a look at the events in your lifetime there have been a few times when you have had to “dig deep” to find that extra needed effort to complete a task or endure an unpleasant situation. 


Where did that power come from? 


Honestly, I know I am lying to myself if I try to claim it came only from me. 


I know for a fact that through my faith in God and my walk with Jesus, that God equips me with the power I need. 


 How about you?..


Where does your power come from?..


Check your experience…


“We had to find a power by which we could live, and it had to be a Power greater than ourselves.” Big Book pg. 45 


Lord thank you for giving us the power we need to not only accomplish the task or endure the situation but also to allow You to work through us to help others, AMEN. 


“With God’s power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine.” Ephesians 3:20 


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 help you  build, set, meet, and achieve your goals?  

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]

Reality vs. My Head

   June 7, 2024 0 Likes 26 Views
Why can’t reality match the picture in my head? … 


Perhaps it’s different for you, but every now and then I get a picture of the way the world is supposed to be in my head and it does not match up with reality. 


These expectations come from my own self-centered wants, fears, and pride. 


 During my walk with Jesus and sobriety, 
I have learned that expectations can spring from a person’s thought process based on emotional wants. 


I have learned that expectations based on my human assumptions can cause me trouble. 


These days I try to catch myself when I am trying to set an expectation. 


Time, grace, and serenity have taught me that I need to make sure I examine all of the evidence and not just what I want to see or hear. 


I ask the Lord to help me let it go and allow my heart to accept people, places, and things as they are and for what they are right now. 

It saves me a lot of anger, grief, and wasted energy! 


How’s this working out for you?.. 


Check your experience… 


“And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing or situation — some fact of my life — unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment.” Big Book pg. 417


Lord, lets us trade our expectations in for acceptance and knowledge that You are in control, AMEN. 


 “The hopes of the godly result in happiness, but the expectations of the wicked come to nothing.” Proverbs 10:28 


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?