Minding What Matters

Mark Farley June 18, 2023 0 Likes 278 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!

**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?***

Motives and Efforts

Mark Farley June 17, 2023 0 Likes 289 Views

Loving our aging parents

Ron P June 16, 2023 0 Likes 305 Views

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Change From Within

Mark Farley June 16, 2023 0 Likes 313 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?***

Renewing Our Spirit

Mark Farley June 15, 2023 0 Likes 276 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!

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Inner Peace

Mark Farley June 14, 2023 0 Likes 287 Views

Inward peace…
Have you ever noticed how many products out there that are marketed to us to either provide a solution or bring comfort to help us with our stress, pains, and general discomfort?
There are a few products that I use that help me.
I have a special brand of shoes I wear for my duck feet.
I have a special pillow for my weird neck, and even ergonomic office products to help me with my posture.

These items bring my body peace but how do we find that inward peace?
Like most of us I have sought my inner peace through a myriad of outer solutions, but the only thing I have found that works and continues to work no matter what is

my relationship with Jesus and the peace He brings me through His Holy Spirit in me.
Worldly clamors will continue

but I can always look inward and know that there is peace in my heart if I seek it…
Check your experience…

“We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace.” Big Book pg. 84

Lord, let us know that the peace of mind and heart You have given us remains in us as long as we seek it, AMEN.

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” John 14:27
Have a blessed day Y’all!
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Root and Branch

Mark Farley June 13, 2023 0 Likes 307 Views

**Roots and all**
…

***Weeds have the amazing ability to grow anywhere.***

Even here in Arizona, weeds find places to take root and thrive. I particularly enjoyed watching a root grow on an overpass I use many times weekly.

Over the year the city crews would come and do the landscaping and gardening but even though the weed was cut, it continued to grow back taller and thicker.

I am sure I will be cut back again and unless the root is removed, it will continue to grow and thrive.

***We also have weeds that take root in our hearts and like other weeds; they will continue to grow as character defects until we remove the root.***

**Think about it, bitterness, jealousy, and fear take root in us and from them, weeds of anger, pride, greed, lust, and all kinds of negativity grow from them.**

***If these are left to grow then they influence not only our attitudes but then spread to our behaviors and characters.***

**When this happens the weed grows stronger and is harder to remove.**

However, we do have a great weed killer that is environmentally friendly!

***When we ask the Holy Spirit to help us look at our character defects and then ask Him to remove them root and all, we become free from these weeds!..***

Check your experience…

***“I ruthlessly faced my sins and became willing to have my new-found Friend take them away, root and branch.” Big Book pg. 13***

*Lord, let us turn our hearts over to You and allow Your grace and mercy to clear the weeds of fear, bitterness, and self-will from us roots and all, AMEN.*

***“Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.” Hebrews 12:1***

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?***

Personal Power Source

Mark Farley June 12, 2023 0 Likes 256 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!

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Reality vs Expectations

Mark Farley June 11, 2023 0 Likes 281 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. 420

***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?***

Encouragement and Good News

Mark Farley June 10, 2023 0 Likes 278 Views