Asking Motives

Mark Farley September 8, 2023 0 Likes 107 Views

What’s your motive?…

This was given to me years ago as I was learning how to pray and I still use it to this very day.

The suggestion is to pray to WANT what I GET and not to GET what I WANT.

I can’t tell you how many times over the years I have become confused and have prayed

TELLING God about a desired specific outcome with great detail, based on my thoughts, emotions, and motives
on getting that specific result

instead of becoming open and willing to learn God’s will for me and the lesson I need to learn for the situation causing me to pray.

When I pray for understanding and wisdom, things go well.

When I pray for specific things focusing only on how those things will make me feel, well,…

I am still waiting…

Think about that for a moment and please… 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 understand Your will for us in the requests we make instead of demanding our own way, AMEN.

“When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” James 4:3

Have a blessed day Y’all!

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Is It on the Agenda?

Mark Farley September 7, 2023 0 Likes 123 Views

What’s on your agenda?..

We are busy folks and we rely on schedules, calendars, appointments, and other tools to keep us on track and on time.

It’s a part of our lives and culture.

Have you ever taken a moment to consider who or what drives our need to have these daily, weekly, and monthly agendas?

Sure, I get it, we need to stay organized and we all are juggling many balls in order to make this life thing work.

But wouldn’t it be nice if instead of just our yearly vacations, we could set our own agendas according to our spiritual needs?

It’s part of a healthy routine to carve out time for daily physical fitness as well as spiritual time.

So….what is on your agenda today?..

Check your experience… .

“For the first time, he lived in conscious companionship with his Creator.” Big Book pg 56

Lord, let us set part of our daily agenda to spend time with You and Your Word, AMEN.

“God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure” Ephesians 1:5

Have a blessed day Y’all!

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Efforts and Willingness

Mark Farley September 6, 2023 0 Likes 125 Views

We gotta provide the effort to gain results…
We go to the drive-thru to pick up our coffee, food, and even groceries.

Heck, even now we have apps that will pre-order our coffee, meals, groceries, and other things for us!

Press a button and it is done.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could press a button and fix our flaws and shortcomings?

Believe me, if there truly was an app or an instant fix for permanent weight loss, I would be all over it.

Despite many claims by money-motivated folks, this is not part of our reality right now.

So, I will have to look inside myself and continue the day-by-day work on my weight loss as well as my other character defects.

The good news is that along with the encouraging support from many friends and family, there is spiritual support from Jesus IF I will work for it.

I don’t know about you, but everything else I have given over to God has improved, so I am suiting up and showing up to allow the Holy Spirit to also help me become healthier inside and out…

Check your experience…

“We found that as soon as we were able to lay aside prejudice and express even a willingness to believe in a Power greater than ourselves, we commenced getting results, even though it was impossible for any of us to fully define or comprehend that Power, which is God.” Big Book pg. 46

Lord, let us open our hearts and minds and be willing to allow You to mend us through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, AMEN.

“Come close to God, and God will come close to you.” James 4:8

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!

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How about a daily dose of hope and inspired thought?

Labor Day

Mark Farley September 4, 2023 0 Likes 121 Views

Are you serving or being served?..

This is a thought to consider as we celebrate Labor Day today.

It’s easy to sit and be served.

We experience this at restaurants, hair salons, doctor visits and other things where we are the customer.

We gain from receiving these services.

However, it’s not always easy to serve others.

Even when we are passionate about what we do, there are those few people or certain situations that try our patience and make our skin crawl.

Nevertheless, we gain from performing these types of services.

What about serving others for no gain?

This is where we are asked to help another person who we may or may not even see or know, but they will benefit from our labor and service.

It’s a thankless task with no direct reward for us… or so it seems!

Serving others helps yourself, when your motive is selfless and your efforts are to be of service with no personal gain….

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 serve others with the motive of helping and not gaining, AMEN.

“A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” Proverbs 11:25

Have a blessed day Y’all!

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Words Have Power

Mark Farley September 3, 2023 0 Likes 98 Views

Words have power; IF you let them…

Let’s think about words for a minute.

While there is much attention given to negative words and a lot of advice on how NOT to use them or let them influence us,…

we don’t tend to see much attention given to positive words.

Think about it.

When was the last time you recall actually borrowing, copying, highlighting, saying or writing words that can build you or others up.

What about influential words or phrases?

How many of those words do we actually remember or have somewhere handy that we can read and reflect on often?

Now maybe it’s different for you, but I need to see, read, say, and recall positive influencing words.

Because of this my home, office, and electronic devices are filled with phrases that encourage, inspire and guide me daily.

These give me power and assurance that despite the person, place, thing, or situation I am facing I can rely on the Holy Spirit in my heart and Jesus to stay with me and show me the way.

How are you using your words?..

Check your experience…

“Patience tolerance understanding and love are the watchwords.” Big Book pg 118

Lord let us listen with our hearts in an effort to understand and not fix, AMEN.

“Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body” Proverbs 4:20-22

Have a blessed day Y’all!

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We GET What We GIVE

Mark Farley September 2, 2023 0 Likes 107 Views

We GET what we GIVE…

This is a fact and it’s based on the spiritual principle that we will get out of it whatever we put into it, no matter what the situation or opportunity is.

If I give positivity and focus outward on others I receive grace and peace.
If I give negativity and focus inward, then I get the negativity back in some form or fashion.

It’s always a blessing to me to get to spend time with friends and catch up on their lives.

Whether I am hearing of the good things or the challenges, I find my heart listening to learn the source.

I think it’s a part of our human nature and experience here in this life that no matter what, either good or not so good, we have a part in it that we need to look at.

It never ceases to amaze me that the ones who are receiving the most blessings are giving the most of their time and sharing their resources with others.

Along with that, those of us that are hurting the most are having a hard time being of service to others.

Now maybe it’s different for you but over the years I have learned that when I am experiencing challenges and or hard times, it is a good time for me to shift my focus away from myself and seek out another person to help.

Sure enough, my situation improves and things get better.

How’s it working out for you?…

Check your experience…

“Think of what you can bring to it.” Big Book pg. 92

Lord let us look to see what we can do to help others instead of seeing what we can get from them, AMEN.

“Not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.” 1 Peter 3:9

Have a blessed day Y’all!

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

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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!

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Celebrating Differences

Mark Farley September 1, 2023 0 Likes 113 Views

Everybody’s good at something….

We all have talents, abilities, and skills.

Thank goodness they are not all the same.

It’s easy to get caught up in the cultural norm of our society to compare ourselves to others, but with that comes the human-based negative emotions that lead to pride, envy, greed, and so on.

What if we practiced celebrating our differences instead of belittling them?

I am lost without my friends who are mechanically inclined as well as my other friends who have the common sense I was not blessed with!

We each have the unique ability to help others and what a positive feeling that produces.

Are you willing to look for ways to help and celebrate your differences?..

Check your experience…

“He was inexplicably different.” Big Book pg. 9

Lord, let us use our differences to help others and learn from one another, AMEN.

“There are different kinds of gifts, but they are all from the same Spirit. There are different ways to serve but the same Lord to serve. And there are different ways that God works through people but the same God. God works in all of us in everything we do.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

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!

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Isolated by Our Thoughts

Mark Farley August 31, 2023 0 Likes 103 Views

There is no “i” in team….

A few years ago, I borrowed the phrase; “I can’t fix the head I got with the head I got.” from Brian C. from one of the AA meetings here in Phoenix.

I learn many things from listening to and observing people and this thought has proven to be a strong tool for myself and others.

Maybe it’s different for you, but when I am in spiritual pain or struggling with issues of pride and self-will, I have a hard time initially sharing my struggle.

This thought gives me a quick reality check and motivates me to seek counsel from others and not let my selfish thoughts continue to dominate my mind and actions.

How comfortable are you in using your own mind to clear up your struggles with your thoughts and spiritual walk? …

Check your experience…

“Continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear. When these crop up, we ask God at once to remove them. We discuss them with someone immediately and make amends quickly if we have harmed anyone.” Big Book pg. 84

Lord, let us not only share the things that are dominating our thoughts and blocking us from Your grace but also be willing to act on advice received from others, AMEN.

“One who has isolated himself seeks his own desires; he rejects all sound judgment. Proverbs 18:1

Have a blessed day y’all!

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Bad Moments not Bad Days

Mark Farley August 29, 2023 0 Likes 108 Views

“Don’t turn a bad moment into a bad day.”
…
Back in Sacramento, years ago, ol’ Dick E. of Group 3 used to say this “phrase that pays” the AA meetings.

I have held onto that thought over the years and found it very useful when I am in times of stress or struggle.

I simply force my head to remember these words and it stops the bad moment from becoming a bad day.

While some situations last longer than a moment,

I have learned that I am not facing it alone and that when I turn my troubles and fears over to the Lord,

not only does my day go better, but also, the situation usually resolves itself and leaves me in a better place as a result

Are you allowing bad moments to become bad days? …

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 pgs. 70-71

Lord, what times of uncertainty, stress, or struggle come, remind my heat that You are with me and I can turn it over to Your care and not let it run my whole day, AMEN.

“I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine.” 1 Peter 1:6-7

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!

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How about a daily dose of hope and inspired thought?

Fertile Soil

Mark Farley August 28, 2023 0 Likes 123 Views

Things grow better in fertile soil…

Have you ever noticed how certain plants grow and thrive in some climates but not in others?

I live in Arizona and while many forms of cacti and desert plants thrive here, tropical plants don’t.

It’s kind of the same with our spiritual life.

When we plant ourselves in the Word and make sure we are receiving the Living Water of the Holy Spirit and our hearts are getting needed soul nutrition from fellowship with Jesus we thrive.

However, when we try to live in unspiritual conditions, like plants in poor soil and bad climate, we struggle to grow and thrive.

How is your spiritual soil?...

Check your experience…

“At the start, this was all we needed to commence spiritual growth, to affect our first conscious relation with God as we understood Him.” Big Book pg. 47

Lord, please help us to find fertile spiritual growing conditions through Your Word and the Holy Spirit residing within us, AMEN.

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3:18

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 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!

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