BE HAPPY

"Happy are the people who are in such a state; happy are the people whose God is the Lord." (Psalm 144:15)

Today I will live in the now! I will live in the now because I have a right to be happy, and I have been given the power to create happiness! I will not waste the opportunities presented in this day with continual references to tragedies from the past. I will not miss the beauty of living in the moment by bemoaning all the hard times in the present. And I will not let myself become dangerously distracted from prophetically planning my future by predicting calamities ahead!



Today I will rejoice that my sins are forgiven, that God knows me and cares about what happens to me today, and that things are getting better for me as I go from glory to glory. I will make the choice to be unaffected by negative forces or bad news.


Today I will laugh at my mistakes and problems, not letting them dominate my mind, or make me feel inadequate or overwhelmed. I will not take things too seriously today, choosing Jesus' easy burden and light yoke for my life, instead of the pressure, stress, and oppression that comes from being too hard on myself, or too anxious about my current state of affairs.


Today I will celebrate the goodness of the Lord, counting my blessings and remembering to be thankful for them all. I will not forget His benefits – how He forgives all of my iniquities and heals all of my diseases.


Today I will sing a song of victory even before the battle is over. The joy of the Lord will strengthen me to defeat every foe, give me supernatural energy and cause me to get stronger with every fight!



Today I will enjoy the company of happy people, and if I can't find any, I will try to make some unhappy people feel better about their situations. And if I can't make anybody else happy, I will enjoy being happy alone, because I have that much to be happy about!


Today I will make it a point to smile . . . to laugh . . . to think positive thoughts . . . to praise the Lord . . . to cheer up someone . . . to pray for the happiness of others . . . to avoid things that depress me . . . to avoid music or images that darken my mood . . . to speak words of edification to those that I care for . . . to be a blessing . . . to sing . . . to worship God in spirit and in truth . . . to do something positive for the Kingdom. Today will be a day of happiness for me, regardless of the circumstances, and today I will live in the now!



Father, help me do things that make You happy today. In Jesus’ name, amen.
(Taken from the devotional "A Year In The Now" by Jim Swilley.)
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I needed to post this today. One reason is that I honestly have been struggling with some of these issues lately, and these words greatly helped to lift me up. Hopefully it will help others out of heaviness, too. God bless you all and thanks for visiting, come back soon!

RENEW!

Embrace the earth today. Put your arms around it, and love it!
Pray for it. Renew it. The whole earth may groan but it is also filled with God's glory!



There is always something to do that can help build, renew or refresh the earth around us if we search for it.
What's been in my mind recently include the words REVIVE, REFRESH, and STRENGTHEN!
Renewal also comes to mind...and transformations that come by the renewing of our mind.
"...those who wait and trust in the Lord will RENEW their strength."

"...let your KINGDOM come ON EARTH, as it is in heaven. May the Father show us how to see the world through HIS window, for He pours out His Spirit on ALL flesh, and nations.



This is our Father's world and I say that it is revived! I will search for what I can do to RENEW the earth around me.

I say that you choose to be happy, NOW...while working to make things better.
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...and whatever you think about others/celebrities this week, don't judge...for who are we?..there are no nailprints in our hands.
Pray for their families instead. God bless!






Goodbye Michael and goodbye Farrah.
(hey, check out the shining cross image on her lapel)

Don't Give Up!

I just wanted to touch base quickly before I go out with my wife tonight (yeahhh).

This was a word for me today and I feel that you or someone out there simply needs to hear the words "don't give up", "do NOT quit!".





Stay in the race, keep facing forward even if you don't feel like you're going anywhere. Your future will come from seeing ahead of you and looking forward.

I will try and write more on this later tonight or early morning.
"DON'T LOSE HEART!"
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3:oo am-ok I'm back...tired but wanted to write a little something extra.

I believe when we work for the good of ALL people and not just ourselves, it becomes easier to not give up or "throw in the towel."
Your sowing of positive action strengthens everyone, including yourself. If a part of your body decided to quit and give up, what effect would that have on the rest of your body? Similarly, I believe that we are ALL connected.

There might be other words that you use to say the same thing, such as...persevere...hang in there...shake it off. Whatever connects with you, go with that. It is your decision and your will to say "I WILL not quit!"

So, don't get tired of doing good...you will reap at the proper time if you don't give up.
Galatians 6:9

Ch..ch..ch..ch..Changes!

Don't cry when it's over, SMILE that it happened.





Change is a constant...to everything there is a season...things come and then they go, they "come to pass".
I've been going through LOTS of changes this past year and I'm trying to see things in this better light. To see things as not "the end of the world" but the beginnings of new chapters in my life.
Change happens to all of us, so you might as well go with the flow, like a willow tree.
Difficult sometimes, yes, but so is birth.

The decisions you make today can create events and change circumstances.
Listen...think...meditate...pray...your destiny is a matter of choice. Today's decisions are tomorrow's realities.



Express your desires and dreams by your decisions and dedicate yourself to the discipline of being diligent enough to dare to make them come true.

You will also decide and decree a thing and it will be established for you; and the light of God's favor will shine upon your ways. (Job 22:28)

BREAK OUT!

So, what was your favorite part of yesterday or this past weekend?


BREAK OUT!....leap, run into your new day!

Don't let anyone limit your progress or diminish your gifts or talents.
Don't let anyone prohibit you from realizing all of your possibilities.




Don't let anyone put you in a box by their words, opinions or beliefs about you.

You are who God says you are, and I agree with Him that anything is possible, and I say that faith is increased in you, that nothing deters your progress, delays your promotion or defeats your purpose!

I say that we all get a bigger picture in our heads of who we are and what we're supposed to do, than what we've settled for up to this point. Let's all live a bigger life...and BREAK OUT!!!

(some of the above inspired by/adapted from A Year In The Now by Bishop Jim Swilley)
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On a funny note my son said last night, "it's good to have sugar around, then you can be as fast as me!

...and words of love he had for me when going to bed..."Happy Father's Night!...and when midnight comes it won't be Father's Day anymore but you'll always be the best daddy ever!"
(melt)

***just after posting this the song 'Eye of the Tiger' came on the playlist which I thought was pretty appropriate about going the distance and breaking out, so some of you might want to listen to that while/after reading the post, you might need to click on the pop-out player possibly to see the full list. God bless!

Happy Father's day!

I just put up a new post called Honoring Dad, but somehow it is inserted AFTER my recent post titled ITS ALL GOOD...so please SCROLL DOWN until after that post and you'll find what I put up for today, especially you dad. There is also a slide show on the right when you scroll down.
I'm still learning how to work this blog so thanks for your understanding.

It's ALL good.

There is a time for everything and I can't seem to get the thought of cycles or patterns out of my mind.
I've heard of several people that have passed away this week and was thinking how do you balance "a time to mourn and a time to dance", on the same platform, being saddened yet in other places being happy?

We have the saying "history REPEATS itself", and "whatever is , has already been, and whatever will be, ALREADY IS. God repeats what has passed.(from Ecclesiastes 3)




I thought of a timeline, then I thought if something comes AROUND again then that would make our timeLINE a CIRCLE. If you join the ends of a line you have a CIRCLE, also a symbol for that which is ETERNAL.

Mourn...dance...mourn...dance...
Weep...laugh...weep...laugh...
Though there is a point in our earth time for everything, it ultimately exists in the eternal.




What we put out there is put on a circular track(like the top photo);
like reaping and sowing, what goes around comes around. We put so much attention on our EARTH(flesh time) "what's left" existence when God puts ETERNITY in our hearts, so we shouldn't have to struggle with the thoughts like; I should feel sad, I feel guilty to be happy, or I should feel glad...you can feel it all and have it all. You can weep one moment and be ecstatic the next...it's OK.

I think Jesus Christ gave us perfect examples of this, because his thinking was ETERNAL yet He fully lived in every moment. He savored life.
That's why he could jump from rejoicing at a dinner then cry over Jerusalem, then say at his LAST supper "with JOY I've longed to eat this passover with you".


Be filled with the mind of Christ, be filled with eternal thinking and ENJOY the life that God has given you. Don't worry about the days or length of your life, let God keep you occupied with the JOY in your heart! It's ALL good.
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I will be planning to post a Father's Day post either tonight or tomorrow morning and probably keep it on through Monday, maybe Tuesday. Keep blogging with your Father's Day comments, activities, thoughts and feelings. Love ya'

Honoring Dad.

I want to take this day as an opportunity to honor fathers everywhere but specifically I want to honor mine, and say "Happy Father's Day, dad!" I am glad that after a long, dry hiatus we are closer now than ever before...love you, and thank you!

A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty. ~ Author Unknown

“I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection.” Sigmund Freud

“The first man a little girl falls in love with is her Dad.” ~ Author Unknown

I seek also to honor our Father in heaven here by saying that He is not only God...He is your Father, and my Father.



-"For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."-Romans 8:15

"...from whom EVERY FAMILY in heaven and on earth is named.-Ephesians 3:15


and "...one God and FATHER of ALL, who is above all, and through all and IN ALL.-Ephesians 4:6


Our Father in heaven...honored and holy is Your name...Your kingdom come, Your will be done...on earth, as it is in heaven.

Just As You Are!

Hmmm...why hasn't he posted? Oh, I'll spare you the details and just say it's about "time".


I will say today that we just be 'real'. The real thing, like Coke, or the real deal!
Be understanding in your relationships, and not judgemental.
Accept people today just as they are...receive people today just as they are...for God accepts you and me just as we are.





So...accept yourself and receive yourself just as you are, and I will accept and receive myself just as I am...with no hurtful and debilitating self-condemnation. I will flow with forgiveness to ALL, including myself.


Be a good listener, pay attention, and people will listen to you in return.


Show the agape love of God to everyone in your world today and speak words that help people feel connected and not alienated.
What the world needs now is love, sweet love...(who sang that anyway?)

May the world know the love of our Father in heaven through you and I today. Make peace, and make the best of what you have, just as you are.
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I'm hoping and planning to have a special post for Father's Day weekend. Let me know of any songs you can think of that might go with that.
Also, what are some of your fondest memories with your father, and if you're a father what are some of the fondest memories with your son or grandsons?
If you're father was alien to you how has your Father in heaven been there for you instead?


If you see gaps in my posting I want you guys to know that you can still keep making comments and connect with each other. God bless, and peace.-Karl

Time is Redeemed for You!

There is a...time for every activity under heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:1

Yesterday while driving home, feeling a little frustrated that I didn't have enough time, I stopped myself and said, "no, you have all the time in the world".
I continued the self talk, "I say that time is redeemed for you, and God restores what was taken away!"
Isn't there an old Rolling Stones song that sings...time, time, time, is on my side...yes it is!?

So...celebrate your triumph over time. Escape the trap of being dominated by deadlines.


God moves in the eternal, effortlessly, and He moves in us.

Jesus said over and over and over again not to worry or stress out over things. The first summer lily outside my breakfast room window this morning reminded me of that...




and although it was "time" for the grass to be cut, I saw the constant reminder of Christ's words on the tall yellow dandelions that speckle my backyard moving with the flow of the breeze.
-Not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these. If that's how God adorns the grass, how much more will your Father in heaven take care of you.

So I say...move with the flow of life and the flow of the timeless Holy Spirit where the river of eternity transcends the time-bound world system.





Time is redeemed for me!...Time is redeemed for you!

ARISE!

Make the decision to rise above anything that tries to keep you down.
Rise to meet your day with confidence...God whispers to you that He loves you...God smiles on you.

Rise from the depression in which circumstances have kept you, rise to new life.
Your light IS come. Protect the light in you and don't let anything or anyone put it out.

Tread a New path, although the old one was familiar for so long,
...I WILL WALK THROUGH AND PAST THE FEAR OF FREEDOM

Arise and shine for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord HAS RISEN upon you.
Arise!
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update Sat. noon: thank God we finally have another computer AND DSL internet service. I did self-installation and after spending much time and on the phone with technical support due to some problems, we're finally connected at home!..which means I plan to check here and post more often and add things more often to the blog. I really look forward to remaining connected with you all here.

Well, my son Zachary is waiting here next to me for his turn, downloading games...gotta go, hope to be back tonight.

Thanks Larry for your comment, having trouble right now getting into that section...but all is well and now I can go eat brunch. Let me know if any of you are having trouble entering the comments section. my email is: karlcobos@yahoo.com thanks.

...so let your light shine before ALL men.

Going THROUGH by dwelling IN

Still thinking a lot about vision, so please comment on yesterdays.

TODAY, I say that you go through, by dwelling in.

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

Imagine an island paradise surprisingly in your own backyard, you lying in a hammock in the shade under the palms, gentle breezes upon your skin.

This is like your secret place in God through the Spirit in you.

Find it...dwell there!

You can go through anything while in that place! You are stronger than your fears...find your comfort there!

RUN WITH IT!

The biggest word for me today so far has been:
RUN WITH THE VISION!

I've run out of time to edit this for this blog right now but am posting something I wrote about vision on Bishop Swilley's blog today at http://www.bloginthenow.blogspot.com/
Some really good quotes there today about VISION and some cool pictures.

So I say to you...run with your vision...don't give up...write it down plainly...keep hope, and patience...it will come.
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ok, here's that post:

Holy Spirit also confirmed to me about VISION this morning...as I was getting ready to read the AYITN (a year in the now devotional) for the day(which if you haven't read it, is about vision and writing it down-Habakkuk 2:2,3)
...I was stuffing back some pages falling out and the first one on top was also HABAKKUK 2:1-3, THE SAME PASSAGE, from AYITN August 27, about running with the VISION.
Definite confirmation and a now word for me today!

That is what is in my spirit this morning and now...RUN WITH THE VISION!
RUN AGGRESSIVELY...RUN CONSISTENTLY...RUN COURAGEOUSLY...RUN FAITHFULLY...RUN WELL...it will surely come!--------------
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...you are always loved, keep hope alive, cheer up.

LET THERE BE!

I say to each one of you today- "let there be...!"

Last week my son came into the room and I had been thinking about when life is conceived thinking "let there be life", but I told Zachary about when God said "let there be light". He looked at me and said, "LET THERE BE DADDY!"

As God created, he has also given you creative ability-the spark of the Divine.
God said for Adam to create names for the animals. This is a bird - yes, Adam, it will be called "bird", etc.

What will you call this day? Also, what will you create by saying "let there be" today?

This got me started today, see if there is something YOU can add...
Let there be creative acts today.
Let there be originality today.
Let there be imagination today.
Let there be confidence, let there be new ideas, let there be positive speech
Let there be better thoughts, let there be joy.
...you got the idea, right?

I say let there be a release from negative thinking, bad images, troublesome memories and worries. Let there be freedom and a better place...let there be glory in your ways.
Let there be Life, and let there be Light!

...talk to me.

I'M EXPECTING, ARE YOU?

Yeah!!!...I finally got a new computer (good used) with hopes of having internet on there soon. My hope and expectation is that I will be posting and creating a lot more for all of us here on the blog, and that I can spend a little bit more time here, instead of rushing to the library, though the library has been very helpful.

okay...whatever is going on in your life or mine right now, let's get into an attitude of expectancy.
Expectancy will help you to keep looking forward.

Believe that something good is DUE, and have an eager anticipation for things to look up, get better, and turn out for the BEST!

Joy IS in you, and the joy of the Lord is your strength. Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, believing that those things will manifest and keep thanking Him and praising Him. It will light up your face and appearance. You are ALWAYS loved, period!

Crossing the stream.

Many of you have a dream, probably many dreams. Think hard if you have trouble thinking of one, it may have just fallen asleep and needs to be wakened.

Some of you are starting new careers, or you may be entering something now but still have other main dreams in your heart. Some of you have started your own blogs...I congratulate you Teezy for doing so.
I speak to those dreams, I sing to them and say when the time is right you will cross from dreamland into reality...you'll cross the stream.

An old song by Abba really jumped out at me today as I was coming to the library and it lifted my spirit as I sang along. It's called "I have a dream". Some of you may know it.
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I have a dream , a song to sing
To help me cope with anything
If you see the wonder of a fairy tale
You can take the future even if you fail

I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
Ill cross the stream - I have a dream

I have a dream, a fantasy
To help me through reality
And my destination makes it worth the while
Pushing through the darkness still another mile

I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
Ill cross the stream - I have a dream
Ill cross the stream - I have a dream
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-Today Zachary asked me (while looking at my wife), "daddy, isn't mommy a jewel?"
"Yes, she is", I said, then added "the light of God shines bright through her".
Smiling, he chimed in and said, "she's an ice cream with extra sprinkles!"

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to all graduates and their families!

Follow your dreams wherever they may lead you...and remember that you are never too old to learn new things or finish something that you started a long time ago.
Is there anything you can do today to pick up where you left off?

Can you at least start a folder for it maybe?

Keep a good attitude, get in the flow of the beauty of this day and "get happy."
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I am compelled to acknowledge here how well my 7-yr old Zachary has done in first grade.
I'm looking at his Individual Student Report of CRCT testing and in all areas of Reading, Math, and English/Language Arts he has EXCEEDED THE STANDARD!
850 is the top of Level 2 and he is in LEVEL 3 with scores of 920, 901 and 910.

I am so proud of him. I am also thankful to mention that even before Zachary was born we were asking God to bless his intellect and make him smart for His glory, and of course blessings to Zachary and others with that. This is just more wonderful confirmations.
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Let everlasting JOY be upon your head and in your heart today!