Category: Guys With God

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Self Will Troubles

   September 13, 2023 0 Likes 104 Views
Where there is a will…
 there’s a way….


I am sure at some point we have heard the phrase, “the devil made me do it.” 


I know in the past I have used it as a cheap excuse for my behaviors or actions that brought trouble, or caused issues for others. 


The problem is that there really is a nugget of truth attached to this phrase. 


Because God loves us unconditionally, HE lets us keep our free will. 


It’s on us to choose to either use our will or seek His will. 


So in my case when I act on self-will and it causes issues for myself and others, it truly is the devil manipulating me through my selfish and self-centered will. 


Please understand, it’s not the devil’s fault for my actions, its mine to own because I made the choice to follow my will instead of seeking God’s will for the situation. 


So the devil is not really “making me do it”, rather he is using my choice of self will to help me self-destruct. 


How are you allowing the devil to “make you do it”? …


check your experience… 


 “So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making. They arise out of … self-will run riot,” Big Book pg 62. 


 Lord, let us look into our hearts in times of great temptation to match the desires of our own will against Your will that lives in the Holy Spirit inside of us, AMEN.


 “…for indeed I would not have known what it means to desire something belonging to someone else if the law had not said, “Do not covet.” But sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of wrong desires.” Romans 7: 7-8 


Have a blessed day Y’all! 


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Remembering 9/11

   September 11, 2023 0 Likes 228 Views
Remembering 911… 


Remembering the survivors, victims, families, and heroes from September 11th, 2001. 


“The bricks have fallen, but we will build with dressed stones; the sycamores have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place.” Isaiah 9:10 


Lord, as we remember and reflect on the tragic losses and irreparable damages to our hearts, minds, and souls on this day in 2001, let our hearts be reminded of those lost and their loved ones who remain from 911, AMEN. 


“We have recovered and have been given the power to help others.” Big Book pg. 132 


God bless America!! 


Have a blessed day Y’all!! 



https://homesfromheaven.org/

Hope and Focus

   September 10, 2023 0 Likes 238 Views
Looking for the good in all situations. … 


Perhaps it’s different for you, but I have this magic magnifying glass in my mind that automatically tries to find the negative in everything and make it bigger than it is. 


Over the years I have learned to recognize this and turn it off before it gets a chance to twist my thinking. I now look for the good in everything and everyone, even when I am facing challenges and bad news. I am FREE to do this because I am God’s kid and His Spirit resides in me. 


I know that no matter what, I will survive the situation and either learn or benefit in some way from it… 


Check your experience… 


“When I focus on what’s good today, I have a good day, and when I focus on what’s bad, I have a bad day. If I focus on a problem, the problem increases; if I focus on the answer, the answer increases.” Big Book pg 417. 


Lord remind our hearts to quiet our minds in difficult times so that we may feel Your Spirit and know this too shall pass, AMEN. 


“We can rejoice too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” Romans 5:3 


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? 

Tempting Choices

   September 9, 2023 0 Likes 282 Views
What is our choice going to be?… 



We are confronted daily with many situations calling for us to make a choice. 


What roads to take to get to our destination, what to eat, what to wear, how to respond to questions, and so on. 


Most of the time we know the choice to make based on our experience and knowledge, so it does not require much thought or extra effort on our part. 


But what about those times when we must make a choice between what’s in our head versus what’s in our heart? 


You know, those times when temptation of the moment attempts to entice you into going against what you know to be right. 


In my case the temptation to gorge myself on food I should not be eating has now caused me to have to make some life changes. 


These are the choices that require not only thoughts to think it through, but also help from the Holy Spirit living within us. 


How are you dealing with those times?.. 


Remember, isolation only fuels the temptation…


Check your experience… 


If tempted, we recoil from it as if from a hot flame.” Big Book pg. 84 


Lord, let us look temptation square in the eye and know that You will show us the way around it and away from it, AMEN. 


“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience.  And God is faithful.  He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand.  When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 


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]

Asking Motives

   September 8, 2023 0 Likes 251 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! 


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?

Is It on the Agenda?

   September 7, 2023 0 Likes 264 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! 


 Join us in prayer and with your financial support as we tackle the challenge of helping and mentoring young adults 18 -30 as they strive for independence and self sustainability. 

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Efforts and Willingness

   September 6, 2023 0 Likes 268 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!


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


 How about a daily dose of hope and inspired thought? 

Labor Day

   September 4, 2023 0 Likes 272 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! 


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]

Words Have Power

   September 3, 2023 0 Likes 271 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! 


  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? 


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We GET What We GIVE

   September 2, 2023 0 Likes 250 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? 

 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]