Who’s in control?.. The need for control is part of our human nature. The extremes we take it to and the illusions that we and others feel we have are usually where we have our struggles. For instance, Miss Tami, Miss Kai and our 2 cats allow me to think I am in control in our home. Luckily for me, I have seen through this illusion and get to enjoy my quiet corner of the living room, or as I call it my “command center”! Another example I love to share is to challenge folks to try and herd cats! How’s that control working out for you?!? The fact I have learned the hard way over the years is that there are only 3 things I am in absolute control of; my attitude, my thoughts, and my behavior. All of the rest are driven by people, places, and things. The good news is that when I learned that I could turn it over to God, I no longer needed to allow the chaos of people, places, and things to affect my thoughts and behaviors… Check your experience… “All of us felt at times that we were regaining control, but such intervals -- usually brief -- were inevitably followed by still less control, which led in time to pitiful and incomprehensible demoralization.” Big Book pg 30 Lord, let us give up the need to control things outside of our attitudes, thoughts, and behaviors, AMEN. “For you are a slave to whatever controls you.” 2 Peter 2:19 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 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/s?k=pastor+mark+farley&ref=nb_sb_noss

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? I am sure many folks ask to win the lottery, but we all know how that goes! For years I have been asking and praying for weight loss, six pack abs, and a Tim Berry physique but y’all know that CANNOT happen without my willingness to change and actions! 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. While I don’t have six pack abs and a Tim Berry Physique at the moment, 2 years now of changed actions, behaviors, and daily willingness have me at 110 pounds lighter and more physically and mentally fit than ever! 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! Start your day on a positive note! Daily devotions from the Big Book and Bible combined! Paperback and Kindle versions 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/s?k=pastor+mark+farley&ref=nb_sb_noss

GREED Friday?.....Black Friday… COME EARLY and BUY THIS NOW, SAVE NOW, THE FIRST SHOPPERS GET THE DEAL, and now new one I just saw… A Car Dealer offering $2000 off to the first few customers that show up tomorrow! WOW! I know it’s great to save money and get deals but why are we allowing this need to override our time with family, friends and cloud the reason for the season?.. Check your experience… “Is it not evident to all the rest of the players that these are the things he wants?” Big Book pg 61 Lord, let us know in our hearts that stuff comes and goes, but our relationship with You lasts forever, AMEN “Then he said to them, watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” Luke 12:15 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 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/s?k=pastor+mark+farley&ref=nb_sb_noss

There are many things that I am grateful for. Too many to list here, but most of all I am grateful for my salvation, sobriety, and serenity. I am thankful for my family, friends, and ministry. It’s a spiritual principle that I try to live daily… We cannot keep it unless we give it away…. “We thank God from the bottom of our heart” Big Book pg 75 Thank you Lord for my family, my friends and the bounty of blessings You allow them to bring in my life AMEN. “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” Philippians 4:11-12 Happy Thanksgiving y’all!! Have a blessed day y’all! Hey friends please check out Servants Hearts! It’s a free site to help connect folks with volunteer and helping opportunities! Furniture Bank, Spiritual Solutions Group, and Advocate Phoenix are pleased to share the newest free helping service from Faith Through Works Fellowship! Its Phoenix based for now. Pray for its growth to provide helping hearts and willing hands to our organizations that need help! http://aservantsheart.us/

Humility is way different than humiliation…. Humility is a good virtue that allows us to acknowledge others and respect their dignity, talents, and opinions. Humility is not weakness; it’s a spirit of self-examination that through seeking and doing God’s will prevents us from becoming selfish and arrogant. Humiliation is a painful emotion that we feel when we’ve been shamed. It’s a negative response that usually comes as a consequence of our own selfish actions. I used to confuse the 2 words; I think a lot of corporate America still does. I have learned that a humble person is a powerful person who has a firm relationship with God, self, and others. A humiliated person tends to be isolated and suffer from their own actions based on self-centered fears, greed, and pride. How do you see yourself?... Check your experience… “Belief in the power of God, plus enough willingness, honesty and humility to establish and maintain the new order of things, were the essential requirements.” Big Book pg 13 Lord, let us humble ourselves to be strengthened and fortified by our Word, grace, and promises. AMEN. “If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, for jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.” James 3: 13-16 Have a blessed day y’all! …. MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Furniture Bank is in the hand-UP business and not the HANDOUT GAME! You can donate any amount for a tax deduction and tax receipt, even $20 a month helps, because $100 provides a new twin bed and bedding to make a house into a home for our clients and families escaping homelessness and hopelessness. We send 2 or 3 new beds to every family we assist. Furniture Bank is a 501c3 public charity and every penny donated goes toward helping our families, veterans, and individuals in need. Visit our website and click on the PayPal button for a secure transaction and tax receipt that will follow within 48 hours. Please help us help others! http://www.furniturebank.us

A different way to “Google”…. Google has made life a lot easier for me! It seems whatever I need to know; from directions to anywhere to what is the name of the actress that played Lorelai on Gilmore Girls, Google has it for me in a split second! How convenient and time saving it is! If only I could get answers to my moral and self-will challenges along with my spiritual directions from Google. While Google will attempt to answer our life questions and offer spiritual direction, it can’t see our hearts or know our soul like the Holy Spirit does. Thank goodness we can find those answers WHEN we become willing to ask, look, and receive. How is this working out for you? Are you turning to your internal Google in the form of the Holy Spirit when times are confusing or uncomfortable?... Check your experience… “Here we ask God for inspiration, an intuitive thought or a decision. Big Book pg 86 Lord, let us ask You for guidance and direction with open minds and hearts, AMEN. “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waiver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.” James 1: 5-6 Have a blessed day y’all! Hey friends please check out Servants Hearts! It’s a free site to help connect folks with volunteer and helping opportunities! Furniture Bank, Spiritual Solutions Group, and Advocate Phoenix are pleased to share the newest free helping service from Faith Through Works Fellowship! Its Phoenix based for now. Pray for its growth to provide helping hearts and willing hands to our organizations that need help! http://aservantsheart.us/

Truly helping others… As Thanksgiving week begins, it’s a great time of year to not only be grateful for our blessings, but also to look to help and bless others. There are plenty of food drives, meals for the less fortunate, and other community collective efforts that we can all participate in and hopefully we all can do our part. What we may not necessarily consider however is the fact that we can help others daily that are already in our lives. The verse I am sharing abut today talks about feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, and clothing the naked, BUT…what I want to draw your attention to is there are folks in our daily walk despite being fully clothed and well fed who are spiritually malnourished, heart sick, and naked to the worldly clamors we face daily. We can and must help our friends, family, and coworkers who suffer from spiritual malnourishment. How are you spiritually feeding, clothing, and helping those around you? Its amazing what a kind word, a helping hand, and even an anonymous gift of money or assistance can do!.. Check your experience… “Helping others is the foundation stone” Big Book pg 97 Lord, let us open our hearts to freely share Your Holy Spirit and the grace of Jesus with those in our lives who are silently suffering spiritually, AMEN. “For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.” Matthew 25: 35-36 Have a blessed day y’all! …. MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Furniture Bank is in the hand-UP business and not the HANDOUT GAME! You can donate any amount for a tax deduction and tax receipt, even $20 a month helps, because $100 provides a new twin bed and bedding to make a house into a home for our clients and families escaping homelessness and hopelessness. We send 2 or 3 new beds to every family we assist. Furniture Bank is a 501c3 public charity and every penny donated goes toward helping our families, veterans, and individuals in need. Visit our website and click on the PayPal button for a secure transaction and tax receipt that will follow within 48 hours. Please help us help others! http://www.furniturebank.us