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 including, 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 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. 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 “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! As the Arizona summer heat arrives to stay, Furniture Bank continues to provide furniture and furnishings to folks in need. By partnering with our helping agencies in the greater Phoenix area, we are able to provide a hand UP instead of a hand OUT to families, veterans, seniors, and individuals in need who are actively participating in programs to achieve self-sustainability with jobs and homes to live in to escape homelessness and helplessness. 100% of all funds and items donated go directly to our client needs. God provides for us so we can provide for others not as blessed as we are right now. Please pray about joining us! All donations receive a tax receipt and we need your help to keep up with the ever growing needs of our community. Let the blessings roll! www.FurnitureBank.us

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 behavior 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 for 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 “Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.” Hebrews 12:1 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. 5 Have a blessed day y’all! Start your day on a positive note! Daily devotions from the Big Book and Bible combined! Paperback and Kindle versions are now available!! Every penny goes to support Faith Through Works Fellowship ministries including our beloved Furniture Bank! Please order yours today and help us help others! https://www.amazon.com/Daily-Devotions-Pastor-Mark-Devotionals/dp/1980273847/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1524849607&sr=8-3&keywords=pastor+mark+farley

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. Body builders 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 main stream media of folks doing super human feats to save another or help someone in danger. I bet if you take a look at the events in your lifetime there has been a few times where 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 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! Start your day on a positive note! Daily devotions from the Big Book and Bible combined! Paperback and Kindle versions are now available!! Every penny goes to support Faith Through Works Fellowship ministries including our beloved Furniture Bank! Please order yours today and help us help others! https://www.amazon.com/Daily-Devotions-Pastor-Mark-Devotionals/dp/1980273847/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1524849607&sr=8-3&keywords=pastor+mark+farley

We ARE enough… I don’t know about you, but sometimes this magic magnifying mind of mine tries to tell me things that just are not true. It especially likes to try to convince me that I am not worthy and not “good enough” for this or that. It loves to try to get me to believe the illusion that I am nothing and have nothing to offer others! Thank goodness for AA, the 12 Steps, and God’s Word. Through the fellowship of AA, CONSTANTLY working the 12 Steps, and being in God’s Word daily I know that what my mind wants me to believe is false and that I need not let it run my thoughts and actions. I am nowhere near perfect, but I can help others! We all matter and each of us has the ability to share and help another! Give what you got. Go with what you have and make your best effort. If you are truly seeking God's will and your motives are of His spirit you will be amazed... Check your experience… "we did because we honestly wanted to, and were willing to make the effort" Big Book pg 26. Lord let us look to seek Your will and give our best efforts with what we have instead of allowing our self-will to delude us to thinking we can't, AMEN. "Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, and broke them, and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the people. And they all ate and were satisfied; and the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve baskets full." Luke 9: 16-17 Have a blessed day y'all! As the Arizona summer heat arrives to stay, Furniture Bank continues to provide furniture and furnishings to folks in need. By partnering with our helping agencies in the greater Phoenix area, we are able to provide a hand UP instead of a hand OUT to families, veterans, seniors, and individuals in need who are actively participating in programs to achieve self-sustainability with jobs and homes to live in to escape homelessness and helplessness. 100% of all funds and items donated go directly to our client needs. God provides for us so we can provide for others not as blessed as we are right now. Please pray about joining us! All donations receive a tax receipt and we need your help to keep up with the ever growing needs of our community. Let the blessings roll! www.FurnitureBank.us

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 417 or 449 old school! 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! Start your day on a positive note! Daily devotions from the Big Book and Bible combined! Paperback and Kindle versions are now available!! Every penny goes to support Faith Through Works Fellowship ministries including our beloved Furniture Bank! Please order yours today and help us help others! https://www.amazon.com/Daily-Devotions-Pastor-Mark-Devotionals/dp/1980273847/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1524849607&sr=8-3&keywords=pastor+mark+farley

Where is all the good news at? ….We hear stories about road rage and other examples of incidents that fueled by emotional reactions all the time. While it grabs our attention for a moment, much like fights in a hockey match, it really is not news worthy. Our media loves to show the negative side of life. You Tube is full of fight and conflict video clips. Why? Because it grabs our attention and gives us that momentary human feeling of entitlement based on the thinking; “well at least I am not THAT bad.” It’s hard to find stories about good works and good deeds, especially anonymous good deeds. For whatever reason it doesn’t get ratings, viewers, or website clicks. However, when we do something good or helpful for someone else without expecting to be seen, caught or recognized, our hearts gain this feeling of joy and happiness. Come on, you know you feel this! That is the Holy Spirit inside your heart jumping for joy! We don’t need it broadcast on the news or to be in the limelight for it because we are receiving our unasked for reward from helping others. … Check your experience. … “…asking each morning in meditation that our Creator show us the way of patience, tolerance, kindliness and love.” Big Book pg 83 Lord, let us share encouragement and blessings with others in the same way You so freely share with us, AMEN. “May the patience and encouragement that come from God allow you to live in harmony with each other” Romans 15:5 Have a blessed day y’all! Daily devotions with the Big Book and Bible combined! Paperback and Kindle versions are now available!! Every penny goes to support Faith Through Works Fellowship ministries including our beloved Furniture Bank! Please order yours today and help us help others! https://www.amazon.com/Daily-Devotions-Pastor-Mark-Devotionals/dp/1980273847/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1524849607&sr=8-3&keywords=pastor+mark+farley

Let’s clean our side of the street first…. I hope it’s different for you, but I sure had to do a lot of work before I could escape this type of automatic thinking. I am talking about the type of thinking that naturally looks to find the bad or faults in others and then find another person or 2 to share it with. I remember that false sense of superiority I seemed to get when I took another person’s inventory and automatically found myself to be in a better condition. But wait, I forgot to look at my own shortcomings, faults, and character defects. I wish I could say I am completely free of this type of thinking, but I can’t. What I can share is that when I do find myself entertaining thoughts of comparing myself to another only looking for the negative, I can now stop this thinking with a simple prayer and ask God to direct my thinking to find the good in others. … Check your experience. … “The only condition is that he trust in God and clean house.” Big Book pg 98 Lord let us look to improve ourselves and work on our own faults and shortcomings before we begin finding the faults and shortcomings in others, AMEN. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” Matthew 7:3 Have a blessed day y’all!! How about a daily dose of positive and inspiration!? Daily devotions with the Big Book and Bible combined! Paperback and Kindle versions are now available!! Every penny goes to support Faith Through Works Fellowship ministries including our beloved Furniture Bank! Please order yours today and help us help others! https://www.amazon.com/Daily-Devotions-Pastor-Mark-Devotionals/dp/1980273847/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1524849607&sr=8-3&keywords=pastor+mark+farley