Notes from Joel Osteen's Your Best Life Now

Learn to see yourself as God sees you - as a winner, an overcomer, as "well able." God wants you to accomplish great things in life, and He's put incredible potential, gifts, and talents within you to enable you to do so. Start stepping out in faith and acting on the desires that He's placed in your heart.

Beware of associating with or adopting the attitudes of people, who, through their negative outlook and lack of self-esteem, will rob you of the greatness that God has for you

Joel Osteen's accompanying Prayer: 

I acknowledge my weakness, Father, knowing that as I trust You to work in and through me, You make me strong. You make me adequate despite my insecurities; You provide the power to accomplish all that You ask me to do.

I just love that and I wanted to share. Have a blessed day!!

Faith: Gods Favor

Easy Life

Did you know that God wants to make your life easier? He does, but first you must become more favor-minded. Get up every day and declare that you've got the favor of God. Then stay in an attitude all day long. 

Your Best Interests

God doesn't always give you what you want. But He always gives you what you need. When you live favor-minded, you'll begin to see God's goodness in everything. Remember to be grateful and give thanks. Don't take God's favor for granted.

Pleasing God

Regardless of how people are treating you, keep doing the right thing; don't get offended or upset; don't try to pay them back, returning evil for evil. Instead, keep extending forgiveness; keep responding in love. If you do that, God will make the wrongs that were done onto you, right. God will make sure you get everything you deserve and more!

Trust his plan for your life, and start anticipating his touch of favor.

Source: Joel Osteen, Your Best Life Now

The Secret of Happiness... Quotes from The Gift of Change

The Secret of happiness lies in knowing that we are in the world but not of it.

- In the Bible it is said that the Holy Spirit will give us a new mind. And who among us could not use that? It becomes fruitless to ask God to change our world ounce we recognize the world is merely the reflection of our thoughts. What we pray for is the healing of our minds.

- Wherever there is love there is God.

- We pay a high price for refusing to accept the part we play in causing our problem; if I don't see I caused it, then I can't see I can change it!*

- The ego is backed by the weight of an entire thought system constantly luring us away from love and limitlessness toward fear and scarcity.

- The ego is a mental addiction to the thing of fear, and only spiritual experience can break an addiction.

- Marianne Williamson
* A Course in Miracles



- The older we are, the more we know some things; the younger we are, the more we know others. Age only makes us smarter if we retain our bravery.

- Enlightenment is not a learning but an unlearning, a letting go of all the fear we've gathered as we've walked the path of life.

The Rose

I love this story...

Rose at 87
by Dan Clark, Chicken Soup for the Soul

The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.

I turned round to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.

She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose.

I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?"

I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze.

"Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked.

She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids..."

"No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.

"I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she told me.

After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake.

We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went.

She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet.

I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor.

Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this

whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know."

As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, "We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.

There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.

We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!

There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.

If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.

Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets.

The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with

regrets."

She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose."

She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.

The Shift

Today I had the pleasure of watching 'The Shift" on OWNs Super Soul Sunday.

From the creators of You Can Heal Your Life: The Movie comes a compelling portrait of three modern lives in need of new direction and new meaning. In his first-ever movie (written by Kristen Lazarian and directed by Michael Goorjian),Wayne Dyer explores the spiritual journey in the second half of life when we long to find the purpose that is our unique contribution to the world. The powerful shift from the ego constructs we are taught early in life by parents and society—which promote an emphasis on achievement and accumulation—are shown in contrast to a life of meaning, focused on serving and giving back.

Filmed on coastal California’s spectacular Monterey Peninsula, The Shift captures every person’s mid-life longing for a more purposeful, soul-directed life.

“Thoroughly unprepared, we take the step into the afternoon of life. Worse still, we take this step with the false presupposition that our truths and our ideals will serve us as hitherto. But we cannot live the afternoon of life according to the program of life’s morning, for what was great in the morning will be little at evening and what in the morning was true, at evening will have become a lie.” - Carl Gustav Jung

The Shift explores the intertwined lives of an overachieving businessman (played by Edward Kerr), a mother of two young children seeking her own expression in the world (Shannon Sturges), and a film director trying to make a name for himself (Michael DeLuise). Also starring Portia de Rossi. The Shift not only inspires, but also teaches us how to find the path to our spiritual purpose and therefore our greatest joy.

“I am 68 years old and I have a new career,” Dyer explained. “When I was asked to do this film, I didn’t think ‘I’m too old to do something I’ve never done before.’ I thought ‘I am open to everything. I am willing to change and to learn.’ I’m more proud of this film than of anything I’ve ever done before.”

Wayne Dyer appears in the film as himself. Special appearance by Louise L. Hay.

The Movie

FREE Movie - Painting the Future! (for the next 13 hours only)

Online World Premiere of Tales of Everyday Magic ~ Painting the Future

Inspired by the writings of best-selling author Louise L. Hay, Painting the Future reveals how the thoughts we choose create the life we live.

On the second floor of a low-income apartment complex lives Jonathan Page. Once an established painter, Page now lives out his bitter days terrorizing the joy of his neighbors’ lives as well as his own. From the courtyard below, nine-year-old Lupe Saldana takes notice of Jonathan. Determined to save up for a dream quinceañera dress, Lupe extends herself as hired help for all the personal errands and daily chores that Jonathan can no longer do himself. Through this proposition, a friendship begins to blossom, and Lupe’s optimistic innocence slowly breaks down the wall of Jonathan’s guarded brokenness. 

Hay House

Hay House is excited to announce the Online World Premiere of Tales of Everyday Magic: Painting the Future! 

For the next 24 hours, enjoy a free stream of Painting the Future, inspired by the writings of best-selling author Louise L. Hay. This moving film reveals how the thoughts we choose create the life we live. We hope that you enjoy this film--let us know what you think!

You need to "Like" Hay House on facebook to view th movie.

https://www.facebook.com/hayhouse

Science of Creative Intelligence Sixteen Principles

Exclusive Webisode: 16 Principles of the Science of Creative Intelligence

The children at the Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment in Fairfield, Iowa, are learning life lessons it took Oprah decades to learn. Learn the 16 principles of the Science of Creative Intelligence for yourself.

Science of Creative Intelligence Sixteen Principles

Order is present everywhere
Life is found in layers
Outer depends on inner
Seek the highest first
Rest and activity are the steps to progress
Enjoy greater efficiency and accomplish more
Every action has a reaction
Purification leads to progress
The field of all possibilities is the source of all solutions
Thought leads to action, and action leads achievement, and achievement leads to fulfilment
Knowledge is gained from the inside and outside
Knowledge structured consciousness
Harmony exists in diversity
Whole is contained in every part
The whole is greater than the sum of the parts
Nature of life is to grow

Happy Monday

Leaving The City of Regrets

By Larry Harp

I had not really planned on taking a trip this time of year, and yet I found myself packing rather hurriedly. This trip was going to be unpleasant and I knew in advance that no real good would come of it. I'm talking about my annual "Guilt Trip."

I got tickets to fly there on Wish I Had airlines. It was an extremely short flight. I got my baggage, which I could not check. I chose to carry it myself all the way. It was weighted down with a thousand memories of what might have been. No one greeted me as I entered the terminal to the Regret City International Airport. I say international because people from all over the world come to this dismal town.

As I checked into the Last Resort Hotel, I noticed that they would be hosting the year's most important event, the Annual Pity Party. I wasn't going to miss that great social occasion. Many of the towns leading citizens would be there.

First, there would be the Done family, you know, Should Have, Would Have and Could Have. Then came the I Had family. You probably know ol' Wish and his clan. Of course, the Opportunities would be present, Missed and Lost. The biggest family would be the Yesterday's. There are far too many of them to count, but each one would have a very sad story to share.

Then Shattered Dreams would surely make and appearance. And It's Their Fault would regale us with stories (excuses) about how things had failed in his life, and each story would be loudly applauded by Don't Blame Me and I Couldn't Help It.

Well, to make a long story short, I went to this depressing party knowing that there would be no real benefit in doing so. And, as usual, I became very depressed. But as I thought about all of the stories of failures brought back from the past, it occurred to me that all of this trip and subsequent "pity party" could be canceled by ME! I started to truly realize that I did not have to be there. I didn't have to be depressed. One thing kept going through my mind, I CAN'T CHANGE YESTERDAY, BUT I DO HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE TODAY A WONDERFUL DAY. I can be happy, joyous, fulfilled, encouraged, as well as encouraging. Knowing this, I left the City of Regret immediately and left no forwarding address. Am I sorry for mistakes I've made in the past? YES! But there is no physical way to undo them.

So, if you're planning a trip back to the City of Regret, please cancel all your reservations now. Instead, take a trip to a place called, Starting Again. I liked it so much that I have now taken up permanent residence there. My neighbors, the I Forgive Myselfs and the New Starts are so very helpful. By the way, you don't have to carry around heavy baggage, because the load is lifted from your shoulders upon arrival. God bless you in finding this great town. If you can find it -- it's in your own heart -- please look me up. I live on I Can Do It Street.

Michael Franti & Spearhead - Pray for Grace Video & Lyrics

Lyrics to Pray For Grace :

Why must I feel like this today
I'm a soldier but afraid sometimes
To face the things that may
Block the sun from shinin' rays
And fill my life with shades of grey
But still I long to find a way
So today I pray for grace

I take a moment to myself
So I can myself
To feel myself
And be real myself
Life's addictions and afflictions
Cause abrasions from their friction
Sometimes, it's easier to live in fiction
I can run, but I can't hide
From the pains that
Reside deep down inside
There is no pill
That can be swallowed
There is no guru
That can be followed
There's no escapin'
From my own history
Those that I hurt,
And those that hurt me
I was dead for a million years
'Fore I was born and
I'll be dead for a million more
After I'm gone
So I live, to give somethin'
That can live on
Like the way you hum a song when the music's gone
Like the warmth on the sand
When the sun goes down
And I'm sittin' with myself
Nobody else is around but,

(chorus)

Been a long, long time
Since I been away
Been a long, long time
Since I felt this way
Been a long, long time
I found the words to say
How much I'm grateful
For my life today
'Cause under every cup
You might find a nut
Behind every corner
You might get jacked up
At the end of every rainbow,
You might find gold
The last bite of your sandwich,
Hope you don't find mould
'Cause none of us
Can live the perfect life
The kind that we see on nick at night
And sometimes, we all
Just lose sight
Of the pain that will guide us
From dark into the light
We fall down yes, but we get up,
And sometimes we just need
A little bit of love
To help make it
Through another day
Into the night, into the light,
Into a Saturday
So in the morning when I'm waitin'
For the sun to raise
And my head's a little foggy
Like I'm in a haze
I remind myself that
Everything is gonna be okay
I take a breath, slow down and say....

(chorus

What About Me? Seeks Grace 

Our Deepest Fear...

Wise words to live by.