Let’s throw a little light on the subject…… Light sure makes things easier for us. We have different lights for different needs. The sunlight is necessary for all living things. Light bulbs give us access, safety, and convenience in our daily lives. Its part of our culture to use the term “throw a little light on the subject” when we want to draw attention to an observation or discussion point. Have you considered how we use the Lord’s light in His Holy Spirit? When we walk in the light of the Holy Spirit, our path is illuminated with grace, hope, and we find ourselves in the company of fellow believers and not so alone anymore. Try turning on the light of the Holy Spirit next time you feel alone or confused. It will amaze you how different things look and feel in His light! … Check your experience. … “I must turn in all things to the Father of Light who presides over us all.” Big Book pg 14 Lord, let us continue to seek and dwell in Your light as we seek Your will and grace daily, AMEN. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another” 1 John 1:7 Have a blessed day y’all! Did you know that your financial gift to Furniture Bank is not only tax deductible but also qualifies you for up to $800 in AZ Tax Credits? Furniture Bank is a 501c3 public charity and every penny donated goes toward helping our families, veterans, and individuals in need. Please help us continue to help others! http://www.furniturebank.us/arizona-tax-credit.html

Charity begins at home. ...This is one of the best thought tools I have come to rely on over the years. The version I learned was phrased like this; "You cant keep it unless you give it away." It's an action thought that has never failed me since I began my walk with Christ and in sobriety. Unless I am willing to help another, I am not in a position to spiritually receive the gifts the Lord blesses me with. Now this doesn't mean we should give away everything we have, or start a crusade to end world homelessness, but it does mean that each day we should open the eyes of our hearts to see how we can best be of service to someone around us. ...Check your experience. ... "Helping others is the foundation stone" Big Book pg. 97. Lord, please open the eyes of our heart daily to see how we can best serve another, AMEN. "that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27. Lord, please open the eyes of our heart daily to see how we can best serve another, AMEN. Have a blessed day y'all! We are in the hand-UP business and not the HANDOUT GAME! Furniture Bank is a 501c3 public charity and every penny donated goes toward helping our families, veterans, elderly, and individuals in need. Every donation is tax deductible despite the amount. You can make a gift of either $400 as an individual or $800 as a couple to Furniture Bank, Inc. and at the same time, reduce your tax bill to the State of Arizona by that amount dollar for dollar! It’s easy and you can make a big difference on how Furniture Bank can further help our families, veterans, elderly, and individuals in need. http://www.furniturebank.us/arizona-tax-credit.html

Turn on your heart lights… It’s so much fun for me this time of year to see and enjoy the many creations and imaginative displays. Christmas lights everywhere not only give light but also a sense of warmth, happiness, and peacefulness. It’s easy to get caught up in the festivities and décor of the season. I have a few things I keep in front of me as a reminder of what this Season is truly about. Light plays an important role in the Christmas season as well as in our spiritual lives. The Holy Spirit that resides in each of our hearts helps to light up our spiritual walk and growth. In this season of giving we can help others by turning on our heart lights to show them the grace, love, and comfort we enjoy from our faith in the God of our understanding… Check your experience… “I must turn in all things to the Father of Light who presides over us all.” Big Book pg 14 Lord, let us turn on our heart lights to help share Your live and grace with others, AMEN. “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light“ John 8:12 Have blessed day y’all! Did you know that your financial gift to Furniture Bank is not only tax deductible but also qualifies you for up to $800 in AZ Tax Credits? Furniture Bank is a 501c3 public charity and every penny donated goes toward helping our families, veterans, and individuals in need. Please help us continue to help others! http://www.furniturebank.us/arizona-tax-credit.html

There is good GPS and not so good GPS…. I have had the pleasure to travel a bit for my day job. What a beautiful country we live in! It was nice to have a GPS system to guide me to here I needed to be. Left to my own devices and road maps, it would not have gone so well! It’s the same with our spiritual walk. We can build our relationship with Jesus using the GPS in the Bible that will give us the true direction for our lives. Unfortunately there are also others while claiming to know the way, forget to use the Bible as their roadmap. Make sure you have the right coordinates when you are mapping your spiritual GPS!...Check your experience… “We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny.” Big Book pg 164 Lord let us look to Your Word as our guide as we navigate the twists and turns of this world, AMEN. “But there were false teachers among the people. And there will be false teachers among you also. These people will work in secret ways to bring false teaching to you. They will turn against Christ Who bought them with His blood. They bring fast death on themselves.” 2 Peter 2:1 Have a blessed day y’all! Its National giving day! Did you know that your financial gift to Furniture Bank is not only tax deductible but also qualifies you for up to $800 in AZ Tax Credits? Furniture Bank is a 501c3 public charity and every penny donated goes toward helping our families, veterans, and individuals in need. Please help us continue to help others! http://www.furniturebank.us/arizona-tax-credit.html

Last is first… This is a fun time of year to watch people, if you are a people watcher! It’s so inspiring to see the love folks have for others displayed as they shop and search for the gifts that they want to get for their loved ones. They forgo lunch to shop, they multi-task in order to have extra time to pick up the items that they want to give loved ones, and they even cover for one another on other tasks to allow the time needed to pick up the treasures to put under the tree. What is so inspiring to me about seeing these activities is that it shows me that the Holy Spirit is alive and working in the hearts of others. It’s a spiritual principal to put others before ourselves and this is a great time of year to see folks naturally doing this motivated by the love fueled by the Holy Spirit in their hearts. It’s hard to see this in ourselves but easy to see in others. Do you find yourself putting others before you... Check your experience… “Our real purpose is to fit ourselves to be of maximum service to God and the people about us.” Big Book pg 77 Lord, let us put others first in order to learn Your will for us, AMEN. “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” Mark 9:35 Have a blessed day y'all! Did you know a donation to Furniture Bank gets you an Arizona state tax credit up to $800? Earn yours today. The state of Arizona provides an incredible incentive for taxpayers who donate to certain qualifying charities like Furniture Bank. Thanks to the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit, you can donate up to $800 and get it right back on your Arizona tax return. Furniture Bank works directly with Phoenix based social services, programs, and faith-based communities to assist families, Veterans, seniors, and other folks with a hand up to regain self-sustainability as they work to escape homelessness and helplessness. Please help us help others! Donate today! http://www.furniturebank.us/arizona-tax-credit.html

Power sources… It’s amazing and enjoyable to see the many lighting and lawn displays this time of year as we celebrate the Christmas season. What a credit it is to our resourcefulness and technological advancements seeing how all of these amazing displays are powered. There is even a gadget that electronically coats the entire outside of your home in electronic moving Christmas lights! It seems there is power available to support whatever we can imagine. That leads me to think about the things inside of us that perhaps either pride, fear, and or negativity keep us from trying, doing, or experiencing. Perhaps it’s different for you, but “the committee” residing in my mind used to prevent me from trying to improve myself, not to mention growing mentally and spiritually. The result was I stayed stuck in my own mental prison void of spiritual growth and freedom from the bondage. It all changed when I was able to choose to fight for my freedom. As I grew my sobriety and my spiritual life, my fears quieted down, my pride and self-centeredness decreased, and the committee in my mind was voted out of office! Just like the virtually unlimited power sources we have in our homes, I was able to tap into the unlimited Power Source of Jesus and sobriety based on the maintenance of my spiritual condition through daily working of the 12 Steps. Where are you getting your power from?.. 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, let us tap into Your power, grace and love to fuel and support all areas of our lives, AMEN “But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth.” 2 Timothy 4:17 Have a blessed day y’all!! Support Furniture Bank today when you shop on Cyber Monday. Go to smile.amazon.com/ch/46-2771809 and Amazon donates to Furniture Bank. https://smile.amazon.com/?ie=UTF8&ein=46-2771809&ref_=smi_chpf_redirect&ref_=smi_ext_ch_46-2771809_cl&ref_=smi_ext_ch_46-2771809_dl Have a blessed day y'all! Did you know a donation to Furniture Bank gets you an Arizona state tax credit up to $800? Earn yours today. The state of Arizona provides an incredible incentive for taxpayers who donate to certain qualifying charities like Furniture Bank. Thanks to the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit, you can donate up to $800 and get it right back on your Arizona tax return. Furniture Bank works directly with Phoenix based social services, programs, and faith based communities to assist families, Veterans, seniors, and other folks with a hand up to regain self-sustainability as they work to escape homelessness and helplessness. Please help us help others! Donate today! http://www.furniturebank.us/arizona-tax-credit.html

Clearing our vision… Those of us who wear eye glasses know that we have to frequently clean them in order to have clear vision. Most of us enjoy a clean windshield free of debris as we drive our cars. It’s even beneficial to clean our tablet, laptop, and computer screens, in order to see images a clearly. So why is it we allow our internal vision to be clouded like a pair of dark sunglasses? Think about it. Perhaps it’s different for you, but there have been times in my life where I have allowed the influences of people, places, and things to cloud my visons and not see the truth. Unfortunately, consequences followed because of my inability to see clearly. I have learned over time through the 12 Steps and in having a daily relationship with Jesus in my life that I can keep the eyes of my heart free and clear of external negative influences along with my own selfish self-centered pride filled wishes by constantly seeking ad doing God’s will. What helps me the best to keep the eyes of my heart clear is to have folks in my life that also seek God will over their own…Check your experience… “See to it that your relationship with Him is right, and great events will come to pass for you and countless others.” Big Book pg 164 Lord, let us open the eyes of our heart and clean away anything that clouds or blocks our vision and relationship with You, AMEN. “First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” Luke 6:42 Have a blessed day y’all! Did you know a donation to Furniture Bank gets you an Arizona state tax credit up to $800? Earn yours today. The state of Arizona provides an incredible incentive for taxpayers who donate to certain qualifying charities like Furniture Bank. Thanks to the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit, you can donate up to $800 and get it right back on your Arizona tax return. Furniture Bank works directly with Phoenix based social services, programs, and faith-based communities to assist families, Veterans, seniors, and other folks with a hand up to regain self-sustainability as they work to escape homelessness and helplessness. Please help us help others! Donate today! http://www.furniturebank.us/arizona-tax-credit.html