Look for the Good Mark Farley April 19, 2024 0 Likes 179 Views Looking for the good…It just comes naturally.We are prone to look for the wrong, talk about the negative, and point out the faults in others.Our culture and society has trained us to think, act, and react this way.As a result, we seem to only see and hear about these things.Ever seen a newscast devoted to showing the good things folks are doing?We become what we are exposed to and our environment can conflict with our spiritual walkIF WE LET IT…I propose that we should shift our thinking to look for the good, talk about what is positive, and catch people doing things right!Try this for a day and see how much better you feel!..Check your experience…“We were prepared to look for it from an entirely different angle.” Big Book pg. 66Lord let us look for the good and lift others up instead of constantly bringing them down, AMEN.“So, encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11 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?
Our Choices… Mark Farley April 18, 2024 0 Likes 186 Views The power of choice… We face many choices daily but for me, the most important and constant choice I face is to either seek God’s will or follow my own self-will. Maybe some folks think like I used to think when I was first saved that I no longer had to battle with life’s twists, turns, trials, and temptations, because I had Jesus in my heart. However, the fact is that God loves us so much that even though through Baptism He fills our heart with His Holy Spirit, He loves us so much and so unconditionally that He allows us to keep our free will. Now perhaps it’s different for you, but this is exactly why I must make the choice daily and even hourly at times to seek His will and not give into my selfish self-centered will. How do you handle this choice?… 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, thank You for loving us so complete and unconditionally that you let us keep our free will. Let us exercise this power of choice and choose to seek Your will in all things, AMEN. “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Deuteronomy 30:19-20 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! OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
If Nothing Changes… Mark Farley April 17, 2024 0 Likes 161 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! 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!
You Are Enough! Mark Farley April 16, 2024 0 Likes 149 Views We ARE enough… I don’t know about you, but sometimes this magic magnifying mind of mine tries to tell me things that just are not true. It especially likes to try to convince me that I am not worthy and not “good enough” for this or that. It loves to try to get me to believe the illusion that I am nothing and have nothing to offer others! Thank goodness for AA, the 12 Steps, and God’s Word. Through the fellowship of AA, CONSTANTLY working the 12 Steps, and being in God’s Word daily I know that what my mind wants me to believe is false and that I need not let it run my thoughts and actions. I am nowhere near perfect, but I can help others! We all matter and each of us has the ability to share and help another! Give what you got. Go with what you have and make your best effort. If you are truly seeking God’s will and your motives are of His spirit you will be amazed…Check your experience… “we did because we honestly wanted to, and were willing to make the effort” Big Book pg. 26 Lord let us look to seek Your will and give our best efforts with what we have instead of allowing our self-will to delude us to thinking we can’t, AMEN. “Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, and broke them, and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the people. And they all ate and were satisfied; and the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve baskets full.” Luke 9: 16-17Have 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]
Render to Caesar… Mark Farley April 15, 2024 0 Likes 175 Views “Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s” It’s Tax Day. I am sure it is a very busy day for my friend Karl Schwab and others who help us math deficient, procrastinating Americans to do our legal requirements by the deadline! This is a condition of being free and a citizen but in no way should we perceive our government as our Master. One quick look in the mirror of our lives will reveal what we choose to be our Master. Some of us through our habits choose the almighty dollar, others become slaves of sorts to material things, places, and or people. Folks it’s only through Jesus that we can be truly free and gain eternal life though serving the only true Master…Check your experience…“Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God’s will into all of our activities. “How can I best serve Thee-Thy will (not mine) be done.” These are thoughts which must go with us constantly.” Big Book pg. 83 Lord let us respect our commitments to work and our country, but continue to train and remind our hearts that we only need to serve our one and only Master, AMEN. “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.” Matthew 6:24 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]
Stuff Mark Farley April 14, 2024 0 Likes 183 Views It ain’t about the stuff we gain… Whoever dies with the most toys DOES NOT win. It’s common practice for us to try to measure our success in ourselves and others by the size and amount of stuff we have. The problem with this standard is that it’s an illusion of the truth. Whenever I find myself slipping back into this type of thinking I also tend to become less satisfied with what I already have as well as falsely base my happiness on the need to gain more stuff. Perhaps it’s different for you, but my hope is that you are not measuring your worth to others and God based on the material stuff you have. God and others who really matter in our lives love us for who we are and not for what stuff we have…Check your experience… “In the realm of the material, men’s minds were fettered by superstition, tradition, and all sorts of fixed ideas.” Big Book pg. 51 Lord, please let us see that our worth is based on what’s in our hearts and not by the stuff we acquire, AMEN. “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.” 1 Timothy 6:7Have 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?
Charity Begins at Home Mark Farley April 13, 2024 0 Likes 149 Views Charity begins at home…This is one of the best thought tools I have come to rely on over the years. The version I learned was phrased like this; “You can’t keep it unless you give it away.” It’s an action thought that has never failed me since I began my walk with Christ and in sobriety. Unless I am willing to help another, I am not in a true position to spiritually receive the gifts the Lord blesses me with. Now this doesn’t mean we should give away everything we have, or start a crusade to end world homelessness, but ..It does mean that each day we should open the eyes of our hearts to see how we can best be of service to someone around us…Check your experience…. “Helping others is the foundation stone” Big Book pg. 97 Lord, please open the eyes of our heart daily to see how we can best serve another, AMEN. “…that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27 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 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]
Eye Check up Time Mark Farley April 12, 2024 0 Likes 153 Views Eye checkup time… It’s not about using our eyes to see, rather it’s about what we CHOOSE to look at and truly see. Think about it for a moment. It’s human nature that we like to look at things that are pleasing to the eye. However, it’s when our head lies to us to make us think something is pleasing to the eye when it’s dangerous to our heart and soul that our struggle begins. For instance, when I see all the desserts and sugary things my eye loves to gaze upon, my heart and soul suffer, and my body used to be the living example of this suffering. Y’all can come up with your own examples! Check your experience…“Scales of pride and prejudice fell from my eyes.” Big Book pg. 12 Lord let us use the eyes of our heart to help us see the things we need to see and not the illusions that can cause us harm, AMEN. “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.” Hebrews 12:2 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 Are You Reading? Mark Farley April 11, 2024 0 Likes 165 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 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!
Is It Me or Them? Mark Farley April 10, 2024 0 Likes 179 Views Is it me or them?..Maybe it’s different for you, but it has always been easier for me to blame “them” whenever things don’t go my way. It’s “their” fault I did not get my way, or it’s because of “them” I failed… Now that I am older and have been walking in sobriety and with Christ for a while,..I have learned it’s not “them” causing my pain, rather, it’s me. The desire to want to blame others is a part of being human and self-will driven by pride, fear, and expectations. These days whenever my desire to blame “them” crops up, I immediately look at what is going on inside of me that needs to change so I can accept the situation, thing, person, or place exactly as it is and understand that through seeking God’s will and not my own self-centered will, I will gain acceptance and not be so caught up in the drama of the moment… Check your experience… “and Acceptance is the answer to ALL of 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. Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God’s world by mistake. … I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and in my attitudes. Big Book pg. 417 Lord, soften our hearts so that we may see things as they are through the eyes of the Holy Spirit within us and not be blinded by the illusions of our own self-will, AMEN. “Those people are on a dark spiral downward. But if you think that leaves you on the high ground where you can point your finger at others, think again. Every time you criticize someone, you condemn yourself. It takes one to know one.” Romans 2: 1-2 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!