Don't judge a book by its cover. ... Looks can be deceiving, especially when we allow our judgment to be based solely on what we initially see. Perhaps it's different for you, but I have shared before how my magic magnifying mind likes to trick me into trusting the ideas it generates on its own just for me. It pays to learn more of the story before we pass judgments. Years ago when I was living, recovering, and working at the Salvation Army in Sacramento, we had this very small man named Joe who also lived there. Because of a stroke he suffered, he walked funny and had a hard time speaking so it was easy to pass him by as another needy and hopeless cause. However, I got to know Joe. As our friendship grew, I learned that he was a power lifter in the gym and before he had a stroke in his mid 20's, he was a college graduate with a promising career in engineering. Different choices he made around drugs and alcohol led to difficult twists, and turns in his life, like many of us encountered before we wound up at Salvation Army for help. Joe helped teach me and others to weight lift and use the gym safely. He was very encouraging to me to get my college education and pursue God's calling on my life. I am glad I took the time to get to know Joe before he went home to the Lord. His encouragement and influence helped me a lot during that season of my life. Are there any "Joe's" in your life where you don't know their story? ... Check your experience.... "We let God be the final judge." Big Book pg 70. Lord open the eyes of our hearts so the we can see those You send to help us, AMEN. "Do not judge according to appearance" John 7:24 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

Reaping and sowing…. It’s a fact of life, based on a solid spiritual principle that we GET what we GIVE. I was grateful to learn this fact in the rooms of AA listening to others share. I was also blessed to experience this as I walk with Jesus daily. Now perhaps it’s a bit different for you, but I have learned from my own experiences, as well as from helping others in their walk that we only GET OUT of a person, place, things, or situation, what we are WILLING TO GIVE to it. Negativity breeds negativity, and misery does love company. However, supply some positive attitude, support, encouragement, and good effort and you will be amazed at what you get in return!.. Check your experience…“Do not think of what you will get out of the occasion. Think of what you can bring to it.” Big Book pg 102 Lord, let us give our best to others and be a source of hope, grace, and love, just like You are for us, AMEN. “Do not be deceived. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” Galatians 6:7-8 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

We can’t keep it unless we give it away…. It is a wonderful feeling to be able to help another person with no expectation of a gain or a return. Perhaps you have experienced this spiritual principle enough to know the powerful blessing it brings to you and those you help. Just being able to help another is humbling for me, for there was a season for me over 27 years ago when I had nothing to give and not much hope. Thank goodness for the Salvation Army who loved me until I could learn to love myself again. AA and walking with Jesus has blessed my life far better than I could have ever imagined with Miss Tami, Miss Kai, and all the gifts of friends, family, ministry, and service work I have in my life today. I know from experience that we cannot keep it unless we give it away. With yesterday being National Giving day, please …check your experience… “Helping others is the foundation stone” Big Book pg 97 Lord, thank you for the bounty of blessings and the ability to help others not as blessed as we are right now, AMEN. “Because you have these blessings, do your best to add these things to your lives: to your faith, add goodness; and to your goodness, add knowledge; and to your knowledge, add self-control; and to your self-control, add patience; and to your patience, add service for God; and to your service for God, add kindness for your brothers and sisters in Christ; and to this kindness, add love.” 2 Peter 1: 5-7 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

Take time to listen before waiting to speak… Have you ever caught yourself on “auto-pilot” in a conversation? For me, it usually happens when during a familiar conversation or recurring situation. My mind tells me the answer before the other person even asks or finishes! Now maybe it’s different for you, but I catch myself going into auto- pilot mode when I start deciding what must be done even before I have really listened and or HEARD what the other person is trying to say. OK, so this is part of standard fare for raising kids under 5 when it comes to junk food and unsafe toys, we DO know the answers before they form the question, but this type of listening hurts us in all other aspects of our lives. Think about it. We like to be listened to, heard, and feel that we have been understood. It’s a spiritual principle that we need to treat others in the same way that we wish to be treated. So maybe this is the 3rd time Aunt Mabel has told you the story about her trip to the grocery with the wrong coupons. Perhaps by actively listening to her and building conversation around her story, she may finally feel heard and stop telling you the same story. How do you listen? Does the solution noise in your head drown out what the other person is trying to say? … Check your own experience and…Take time to listen instead of waiting to speak. “We never gave the spiritual side of life a fair hearing.” Big Book pg 50 Lord, let us listen with our hearts and hear with You Holy Spirit that resides in us all, AMEN. "To answer before listening-- that is folly and shame. Proverbs 18:13 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

Looking away or looking to help..... Sometimes when we see uncomfortable or unpleasant things we divert our eyes away so our mind won't focus and our hearts won't feel the situation. I used to do this every time I walked by my teenager's room. I am sure it's a well-organized myriad of clothing, books, and life pertinent items to her, but it looked like remnants of a hurricane to her mother and me. It's easier to just look away and move on. What about those times when we are at work or out and about with a group of friends and we see someone noticeably upset or hurting. Hopefully it's our natural reaction to seek to learn the situation, offer comfort, and help if possible. Now what about when we see that out of place person trying to deal with something that is obviously unfamiliar for them? I know that it's easier to look away and pretend we don't see that older person in the store trying to figure out how to lift that case of water. Or its "better to ignore" the dirty looking person on the street with the shopping cart full of weird stuff. I am not suggesting we stop and try to change their whole life, but what about looking them in the eye and saying hello? What would Jesus do? Check your experience. ... "Helping others is the foundation stone of our recovery." Big Book pg 97. Lord, let us open the eyes of our heart to see where You would have us offer compassion and help, AMEN. "Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, "Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too." Philippians 2:4 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

It’s all in how you ask… Have you ever asked or prayed for something only to either not get it or get something you were not expecting? For years I have been asking and praying for weight loss, six pack abs, and a Tim Berry physique but y’all know that ain’t happening! I am sure many folks ask to win the lottery, but we all know how that goes! The thing I have learned in my sobriety and in my walk with Jesus is that it is OK to ask for things….BUT…. make sure we are asking with an open mind, willing heart, and correct motives. It seems all these years I have asked for the weight loss while not being completely willing to do the required work on my part with diet and exercise. When I do ask in prayer with the right motives, the right things happen. So, for me, the lesson is to look at my motives before asking in prayer to make sure they are backed by willingness and effort on my part. When I do this, things tend to work out pretty well. How’s this working out for you in your asking and prayer life?.. Check your experience… “Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives.” Big Book pg 86 Lord let us ask You for anything with an open mind, willing heart and motives not based on self-will, AMEN. “You do not get things because you do not ask for them. Or if you do ask, you do not receive because your reasons for asking are wrong. You want these things only to please yourselves.” James 4: 3-4 Have a blessed day y’all! Did you know that you can receive up to $800 in an AZ tax credit with a donation to Furniture Bank? Every penny goes toward helping our families and individuals in need. Please pray and consider helping us as we help others! www.FurnitureBank.us

Motives and efforts…. Ever heard the saying you get OUT of it what you PUT IN to it? Great examples of this are folks that run their first Triathlons, lose massive amounts or weight, win their first body building contest, or achieve some other life altering change for the good. The secret to success in each of these examples is that while they were training and working to achieve their goal, they constantly made sure their efforts matched their motives daily. We can use this “secret” in our everyday lives for ordinary things as well. This is a biblical principle that never changes! From being a better person, to overcoming an uncomfortable situation, if we measure our motives and match them to our efforts we will see change.. How well or your efforts matching your motives?... Check your experience… . “Keep on the firing line of life with these motives and God will keep you unharmed.” Big Book pg 102 Lord, let us provide the efforts needed along with the right motives to bring the healthy changes into our lives and strengthen our walk with you, AMEN. “People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives. Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.” Proverbs 16: 2-3 Have a blessed day y’all! Grab a daily shot of positive and inspiration! 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://smile.amazon.com/Daily-Devotions-Pastor-Mark-Devotionals/dp/1980273847/ref=smi_www_rco2_go_smi_1405964225?_encoding=UTF8&ie=UTF8&keywords=pastor%20mark%20farley&qid=1524849607&sr=8-3