Category: Guys With God

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Guard Your Heart

GUARD YOUR HEART!


We have many things in our lives that keep us safe and protected from harm.  


From the clothes we wear to protect us from the elements to the various things in our homes, cars, and jobs, like locks, safety glass, and fire-retardant materials, we are surrounded by protection and security. 


It’s so common and a part of our culture that we seldom think about it. 


What about our hearts?  


I don’t mean the healthy food we are supposed to eat and the daily exercise we are supposed to participate in that keeps out tickers physically healthy. 


What are we doing to protect our hearts from the worldly influences that can cause us to make bad decisions based on illusions of material things that spark the pride and greed of our self -will?  


How are you guarding your heart from these influences?.. 


Check your experience… 


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


Lord, let us guard our hearts from the illusions of this world by focusing on Your Will, Word, and Truth, AMEN.


 “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Proverbs 4:23 

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 lets 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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Why Worry?

Why worry?.. 


Schedules conflict, appointments run long, and our responsibilities never seem to end! 


Now maybe it’s different for you but when I find myself, as I often do, mentally leaving the present situation because my mind wants me to start focusing on where it thinks I should be according to the “plan”, I must remind myself that this is where I need to be and now is where my focus needs to be. 


Wringing my hands, pacing, checking my watch, calendar, or phone, won’t move the time any faster. 


I have learned that the root cause of all of this for me is my fear-based mind’s desire to worry. 


The solution I must force myself at times to grab and hold onto is that God has me right here right now for His own reasons and I need to be awake and present in this moment and not lost in thoughts and worry over my day not matching up with my calendar. 

Worry won’t change a thing, except to make your present situation more uncomfortable… 


Check your experience… 


“Nothing, absolutely nothing happens in God’s world by mistake.” Big Book pg. 417 


Lord, let us trade in our worries for your grace and guidance, AMEN. 


“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4: 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! 


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


 How about a daily dose of hope and inspired thought? 

It’s What’s Inside That Counts

Whatcha wearin’ on the inside?..


I used to share this thought as part of a class lesson when I was on staff at the Salvation Army ARC in Sacramento…


You can wax, wash, shine, polish, and accessorize your car to its finest, but if you don’t change the oil, keep the engine serviced, and keep quality fuel in the tank, you won’t go anywhere and wind up with a fine-looking piece of junk…


The point is that if you don’t maintain your engine 
(Spiritual condition)
 and inside mechanical parts 
(mental and emotional
) that others cannot see, you will have junk, no matter how pretty or cool you look on the outside. 



How are you maintaining the Spiritual and mental parts of your life?.. 


Check your experience… 


“What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition.” Big Book pg. 85 


Lord, let us enter your Spiritual gym daily to keep our heart, mind, and soul in fit condition, AMEN.


“Your adornment must not be merely external . . . but let it be the hidden person of the heart.” 1 Peter 3:3-4 


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? 

Drop the Rocks!

Drop the rocks…


Did you ever notice that in times of stress, fear, or extended worry your back usually aches and your shoulders and neck are stiff and tight? 


Sheesh! What’s up with that? 


You are probably familiar with the term ‘carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders’; and that is exactly what we are trying to do during these painful times! 


We can’t change people, places, things, or situations. 

So why do we load our hearts and minds with the weight of things we cannot change? 


When we block our hearts off from the Holy Spirit, our minds become prisoners of our self-induced thoughts. 


Our body takes on the weight of this unnatural stress causing pain in our back, shoulders, and neck….

Drop those rocks! 


Give the weight of the world to God and watch your pains go away!..


As always….. Check your experience…. 


“But soon the sense of His presence had been blotted out by worldly clamors, mostly those within myself.” Big Book pg. 12-13 


Lord let us give the weight of the world to you freeing us to focus on Your will for us and enjoy Your grace and peace, AMEN. 


“…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:2 


Have a blessed day Y’all! 


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Find the Good

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 5:3-5 


Have a blessed day Y’all! 


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KNOW Pain …KNOW Gain

No pain…no gain…


Maybe it’s different for you, but I can honestly say that I do not enjoy pain of any kind in any form. 


I don’t intentionally go looking for it but I have learned that when I do find myself in pain, there is either a lesson to be learned or an experience to grow from if I look with a willing heart and open mind. 


Staying spiritually fit is hard work but the benefits are immense. 


Sobriety is not easy but the pains from gaining and maintaining it have brought me blessings far beyond what I deserve. 


The same can be said for my journey to attain physical health and fitness. 


God gives us the pain inside of every challenge to encourage us to find the benefit He has for us. 


Check your experience… 


“If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are halfway through.” Big Book pg. 83 


Lord when we are in pain, please remind our hearts to seek the goodness we can gain from seeking Your will, AMEN. 


“And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Romans 5:2-4 


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?