Listening and Hearing

Mark Farley August 9, 2024 0 Likes 43 Views

**Did you hear THAT?..**

Have you ever noticed how things we hear with others can sometimes be interpreted differently?

It doesn’t happen all the time, but sometimes what I think I heard was not what others heard or vice versa.

It is not a matter of understanding language, rather it’s what filters in our mind are tuned in that filters what our ears receive.

Now maybe it’s different for you, but I have learned over time that when I am preoccupied, I am not the best listener.

***I have had enough negative experiences and consequences to know that I need to be present, focused, and willing to listen in order to hear.***

**It’s the same with the Holy Spirit residing in our hearts.**

***When we are tuned into God’s will instead of our own, we can hear what our heart is telling us.***

**When worldly clamors are distracting us, it’s hard to hear our heart, not to mention what others around us are trying to tell us…**

Check your experience…

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

*Lord, let us open our hearts and clear our minds to be present and able to listen so we can truly hear, AMEN.*

“So pay attention to how you hear. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what they think they understand will be taken away from them.” Luke 8:18

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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In the Grip

Mark Farley August 8, 2024 0 Likes 45 Views

Charging Your Battery

Mark Farley August 7, 2024 0 Likes 46 Views

**Is your battery fully charged?..**

20 plus years ago when cell phones were new, they were an oddity and not something viewed as a necessity, just an expensive “toy” if you will.

Nowadays they are in everyone’s hands.

They are our timekeepers, and personal assistants, and sadly in ever-growing numbers, our main form of communication and connection with others.

What is funny to me is that with all this technology in our hands, we are now a society dependent on electrical outlets!

**Tour any airport for the best example of this!**

We are reduced to depending on the electrical outlet to give us the power we need to run our lives electronically.

I am sure this will change in a few years but it’s a great example of where our dependence on power rests.

***What about our spiritual lives?***

**How and where are we drawing our power from?**

Red Bulls are great but I am not receiving the spiritual boost I need from the little metal can.

Self-help books are great supplements, but alone by themselves, the needed power is not there.

***God is our power source when it comes to spiritual things and especially when we face life’s trials, tests, twists, and temptations in our daily lives.***

**Plug into His Word and Promises and recharge! …**

Check your experience…

***“Much has already been said about receiving strength, inspiration, and direction from Him who has all knowledge and power.” Big Book pg. 85***

*Lord, thank you for being our never-ending source of power, energy, and life, AMEN.*

***“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” Isaiah 40:29***

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 as well as those escaping homelessness and helplessness through the Furniture Bank

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Freedom Through Serving

Mark Farley August 6, 2024 0 Likes 47 Views

**We remain free through serving others…**

This is an odd concept, yet for those of us who have experienced serving someone or something out of the kindness of our hearts with no expectation of return, get it.

**Think about it for a moment.**

Every day we naturally help, assist, or give a hand to someone or something.

From parents caring for their children’s needs to yielding the right of way to another while we walk or drive, we are instinctually serving.

***It’s part of our nature.***

The Spiritual principle supporting this is the fact that through serving others, we are humbling ourselves to put others needs before our wants.

***The feeling you get is immeasurable when you do something for someone who can never pay you back.***

**Helping others, does in fact, help ourselves…**

Check your experience…

***“Helping others is the foundation stone” Big Book pg 97***

***Lord, let us exercise and grow our freedom through helping others, AMEN.***

“For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.” Galatians 5:13

Have a blessed day y’all!

**Did you know that Mentorship can help you grow and achieve your goals and dreams?**

***Inspired 365 Mentorship with Mark Farley!!***

https://www.faiththroughworksfellowship.org/inspired-365-life-coaching

***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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Restrained by Our Affections

Mark Farley August 5, 2024 0 Likes 46 Views

The Conundrum

Mark Farley August 4, 2024 0 Likes 46 Views

***I don’t do what I should do and I want to do what I shouldn’t…***

**The age-old conundrum,..**

***Doing what is the expected and right thing versus the attraction of doing the opposite.***

If it weren’t for my age and experiences acquired from choosing the wrong thing, I would not have the easier time that I do today to avoid this chaos.

Why is it that our self-will likes to rear its ugly head and try to twist our thinking to fall victim to the illusion of our mind and the wrong choice?

**As long as we walk this Earth our self-will is going to be contending with the Holy Spirit residing in each of us to interfere with God’s will for our lives**…

Check your experience…

***“The first requirement is that we be convinced that any life run on self-will can hardly be a success.” Big Book pg 60***

*Lord, let us turn our will and our lives over to Your care daily, AMEN.*

***“I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” Romans 7:18***

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

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When the Going Gets Tough

Mark Farley August 3, 2024 0 Likes 45 Views

When the going gets tough….
We all experience trying times and receive not-so-good news every now and then.

Maybe it’s different for you, but even after all these years of walking with Jesus, learning from the Big Book, Bible, my picket fence of friends, and Spiritual mentors,..
My initial gut reaction to bad news is to blame others and not want to look at my part.

Luckily for me, I am blessed with friends, family, and a loving God who all remind me that even though I have hit a bump in the road, it’s a season that will pass, provided that I supply the willingness and effort. Hopefully, your experience with bad news allows you to respond in such a way that you don’t turn a bad moment into a bad day. …
Check your experience…

“Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us – sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them.” Big Book pg. 84

Lord, let us look to You and Your Word in trying times to see the path we must take to move through this season, AMEN.

“When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.” Isaiah 43:2
Have a blessed day Y’all!

Did you know that Mentorship can help you grow and achieve your goals and dreams?

Inspired 365 Mentorship with Mark Farley!!https://www.faiththroughworksfellowship.org/inspired-365-life-coaching

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]

Faith Needs Action

Mark Farley August 2, 2024 0 Likes 44 Views

**Add some action to your faith….**

***Let’s see when is action not needed for good results.***

Can I have a gym membership only or do I need to go and work out in order to lose weight and get fit?

Can I get paid for my job and not have to show up to work?

Can I have a healthy home life as a husband and a dad without participating daily in the lives of my loved ones?

**It’s the same with our walk with Jesus.**

***It’s not good enough to memorize the Bible and sit in a church seat on Sunday. God wants a relationship with us that includes action…***

Check your experience…

***“To be vital, faith must be accompanied by self-sacrifice and unselfish, constructive action.” Big Book pg. 93***

*Lord, let us participate in our faith daily with actions that grow our relationship with You, AMEN.*

***“Do what God’s teaching says; when you only listen and do nothing, you are fooling yourselves.” James 1:22***

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

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Get Back Up!

Mark Farley August 1, 2024 0 Likes 53 Views

**Keep on getting back up….**

We face many challenges daily.

Some we are used to and because of this we naturally know what to do to overcome them and move on.

***Some are bigger and because we don’t experience them so often, we can become confused and even feel like giving up.***

**Don’t quit!**

It’s always darkest before dawn. If you have submitted your idea or plan to God through prayers and good works, then He has heard you and in time, HIS time, it will come to pass.

Pastor Brian Houston from Hillsong United Church said it best, “No matter how many times you get knocked down. God is in your heart. Keep getting up and showing up”

**Keep on getting back up after being knocked down and you will not only learn, but eventually succeed!…**

Check your experience…

***“Some of us have taken very hard knocks to learn this truth: ….we simply do not stop…..so long as we place dependence upon other people ahead of dependence on God.” Big Book pg. 98***

*Lord, let us continue getting up after being knocked down, knowing in our hearts that if we continue to seek and do Your will, we will succeed, AMEN.*

“We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We do not know what to do, but we do not give up the hope of living. We are persecuted, but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9

Have a blessed day Y’all!

**Did you know that Mentorship can help you grow and achieve your goals and dreams?**

***Inspired 365 Mentorship with Mark Farley!!***

https://www.faiththroughworksfellowship.org/inspired-365-life-coaching

***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]

From the Heart

Mark Farley July 31, 2024 0 Likes 62 Views