*Editor's Note - Dawn Yoder is a part of the Circle of Friends Worship Team and the COF radio host on WHKC 91.5 Columbus weekdays at 10 am. She is also involved with LaRed Business Network which teaches principles based on the Proverbs. You can check out their website www.lared.org and download their principles for free!

The Principle of Attitude, Part 2

You will reap many benefits from having a positive attitude:

• You will be happy and energized
• You will learn from your failures rather than be defeated by them.
• You will reach your goals more quickly and easily.
• Others will start to reflect your attitude - your attitude is contagious!

If you have a positive attitude, you will possess these traits:

1. You will minimize fear before you face problems, because problems will have a purpose.
2. You will learn from your mistakes and then let them go.
3. You will define your destiny with a clear vision.
4. You will look for creative solutions when difficult circumstances arise.
5. You will believe in yourself and others.
6. You will never give up and you will stay focused and optimistic.
7. You will frequently evaluate and adjust your attitude.

Steps to Follow:

• have a clear vision of the purpose for your life. focus on and give direction to your behavior. Look towards the future. Learn to be a visionary and search for the specifics that will get you closer to reaching your goals.
• Learn to discern negative signs. Signals of negativism are: pessimism, lack of motivation and apathy. When you focus your thoughts on good things, you will find them. "Every thought is a seed. If you plant crab apples, don't count on harvesting Golden Delicious." (Bill Meyer)
• Apply the formula "Yes, I can do it." Doing what is right produces good outcomes. To move towards happiness and success, you must decide and declare: "I can and I will be like that."
• Connect mission with destiny. This will enable you to control your mind while keeping your focus. Understand that each mission (goal) you work towards takes you another step closer to your destiny (potential).
• Become an agent of hope inside your circle of influence - your job, friends, and family. Hope moves and stimulate you and others towards action; hope gives you the energy to solve problems.

With every goal, there must be the right reason. With every dream, there must be the right purpose. The foundation for success is having a positive attitude.

A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones. Proverbs 15:30

Labels: Guest Blogger

*Editor's Note - Dawn Yoder is a part of the Circle of Friends Worship Team and the COF radio host on WHKC 91.5 Columbus weekdays at 10 am. She is also involved with LaRed Business Network which teaches principles based on the Proverbs. You can check out their website www.lared.org and download their principles for free!

The Principle of Attitude, Part 1

"A cheerful heart does good like medicine" Proverbs 17:22

The dictionary defines attitude a state of mind or a feeling towards a person or subject. The attitude you choose determines how you will learn, serve, listen and make changes throughout your life. "Attitude is a little thing, which makes a big difference." Winston Churchill.

Some assert that they are consistently happy because they keep the right frame of mind. They perceive life and the world around them in a positive manner. they believe this is their secret to remaining stable healthy, optimistic and thoughtful. They believe in the old saying "It isn't our position but our disposition which makes us happy." The right attitude involves taking charge of your mind. Being positive is more than just repeating words of affirmation. A positive attitude takes work. It is acquired through courage persistence and discipline.

When you employ a positive attitude, sometimes the learning experience becomes even more valuable than the outcome. "Every day may not be good, but there's something good in every day." (Author unknown). When you look for the opportunity in every situation, then each experience gives you a change to grow and learn from the people or circumstances involved. Your attitude becomes positive even though everything does not always happen the way you would like it to or are expecting. The truth is that you are a bit immature if you believe things always have to be the way you expect them to be. That is not reality. Maturity and success come when you overcome attitudes of self pity, selfishness and other negative ways of thinking.

Labels: Guest Blogger

Have you ever left the teapot boil till the water was all gone, or a sauce pan, perhaps in getting some hot water ready to make iced tea. Not much was left in the bottom of the pan...maybe just a burnt white ring?

Have you ever thought of boiling down Christmas? Mind you, I am not saying boiling away or doing away with Christmas. I am asking however if you have thought of reducing Christmas to the simplest of terms. What would describe Christmas if all the water was boiled away. What would it be if the bows and ribbons disappeared from the presents, and the wrapping paper, and the presents, and the tree, its lights, its cranberry strings, its tinsel, its ornaments, and even the star on the top...all gone...even the tree stand that we fight with to make the crooked trees stand up straight. And for the folks that have the perfectly straight, boxed trees, pre-lit trees, well for our consideration of boiling down Christmas, just leave that box in the attic. We are describing Christmas at its core level.

Could we live without that? And still have Christmas? Do those things make Christmas?

No special displays in the store. No wrapping paper aisles. No decoration aisles. No free gift wrapping centers. Just stores...business-as-usual stores. Not even the bell-ringers outside, and no coin pots hanging from bright red tripod stands. Not even long lines at the checkouts, when we have to make the quick trip to Walmart to get the items we need to cook for supper. Just business-as-usual stores.

Could we live life without those things? And still have Christmas? Do those things make Christmas?

Nobody wants to go here, but what if we did not even have time off work. No special family gatherings. No big meals. Leave the turkeys and the hams in the freezer this year. No need to pick up those two extra tubs of cool whip. The Date and Christmas puddings have not been made.

Have we totally lost our minds. Certainly now we have lost Christmas. Could we live like that? Well...you know some folks have to work on Christmas, having no family time, or special meals, certainly no homemade desserts. Nurses, Law enforcement, soldiers... Do they still have Christmas with work, and no family time, and an eat-on-the-run wrapped sandwich?

Certainly they do, and so could we, couldn't we?

What about our special church services? What if we boiled them away? Could we have Christmas without a children's play? Unthinkable! Or is it? We all probably could have done just fine without pastor preaching that 4 part Christmas series this year, but don't we need just one Christmas message to have Christmas? And...we do need candles and a candlelight service...It just would not be Christmas without them. Or would it?

What is Christmas in its simplest form? When all the stuff that does not really matter anyhow is completely boiled away.

Have you seen the recent TV commercial with the young lady doing a crossword puzzle and asks her mother for a 13 letter word, meaning "marriage proposal?" Only when her mother gets a puzzled look does she lift up her hand garnished with a diamond ring from behind the newspaper and exclaims, "He went to Jared."

Can we reduce Christmas to 15 letters, 13 letters...what about 11 letters. The eleven letters that we simply can not get away from when it comes to Christmas. Eleven letters in four one syllable words. Could we describe Christmas that way, without all the other trappings and events? Care to try with me?

GOD IS WITH US

GOD IS WITH US

There...does Christmas get any simpler than that? Can you make it any simpler than that? If you take away those letters, or any of them, certainly then you do not have Christmas.

The Holy God of Israel, clothed Himself in humanity and came to a REAL CITY, where there were REAL PARENTS, amazed over a REAL MANGER, when He cried REAL TEARS.

GOD IS WITH US

Those simple words are Christmas.

GOD IS WITH US

Those simple words changed history.

GOD IS WITH US

Those simple words change us.

When we realize we are lost. When we cry real tears over a real loss. When we do not know where to turn. When we face struggles and disappointment. We really need what is really Christmas. When we seek meaning to what seems to lack all sense. We really need what is really Christmas. When we are frightened or Confused we really need what is really Christmas.

GOD IS WITH US

"You shall call His name Emmanuel, which means...GOD IS WITH US" (Is.7:14) That is, and continues to be, CHRISTMAS!

*Used by permission, Excerpt, Christmas Eve program 2009, Pastor Ned Horsfall

Labels: Guest Blogger

*Editor's Note: Our guest blogger today is a wife, home-schooling mom, photographer and cook-extraordinaire. She is a woman of deep faith and has been an encouragement in my life for many years. You can find her on the web at her blog Chocolatechic where you will find recipes, photos, and slices of humorous wisdom that will brighten your day.

My favorite Christmas carol is Silent Night.

I was laying in bed the other morning singing it to myself and I began thinking.

Silent night, holy night

All is calm, all is bright.

But you know what.

It was everything but silent, or calm.

You see the governor had made a law that every male had to go to the city of his birth to be counted for a census. He, his wife and all his children.

And you have to think.there was no birth control back then, so a family of 10 wasn't unusual.

So you have this wee little town that the population suddenly explodes to at least 10 times it's original size.

That would be like taking the population of my town, 10,000, and suddenly it is 100,000.

Food, lodging, traffic..nightmare!

All the hotels were full, but not just full.they were overflowing. People sleeping on the floors, in the hallways, in the lobby. I'm sure that almost every residential house had guests too.

Then where do you put all the donkeys, sheep, camels, chickens, goats, etc.

The barns were overflowing too.

Children running everywhere, throwing fits because they were out of their element, mothers trying to gain some semblance of order, fathers trying to figure out where to go, and how much this trip was costing them, and then the parents are bickering too.

That equals utter chaos.

This is what Mary and Joseph walked into.

And they had to stay in the barn.

A barn that was chock full of animals.

Animals are not quiet.

And what hotel/inn/B&B keeper has time to clean out the barn when his establishment is totally overrun with people?

So, it is safe to say that Christ wasn't born into a sweet little barn where every animal was in a fresh clean stall, all calm and happy.

It was filthy, smelly and noisy.

It was here that Christ met Mary and Joseph, it was here that He met the shepherds, and it is here where he meets you and I.

In the utter chaos of our lives, laundry piling up, bills piling up, children running amuck, bickering spouses, medical issues, in the calm and peaceful times...meet Him where you are.

Tanya

Labels: Guest Blogger

*Editor's Note - Dawn Yoder is a part of the Circle of Friends Worship Team and the COF radio host on WHKC 91.5 Columbus weekdays at 10 am. She is also involved with LaRed Business Network which teaches principles based on the Proverbs. You can check out their website www.lared.org and download their principles for free!

The Principle of Forgiveness, Part 2 (Part 1)

"If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins." Matthew 6:14-15

You will reap many benefits from practicing forgiveness:

• You will be at peace with your past and have hope for the future.
• You will improve your psychological well-being.
• You will have more friendships and healthier relationships with others.
• You will reduce the stress in your life. People who forgive have been found to generally have lower blood pressure and a lower heart rate. They are also less likely to suffer from chronic pain.
• You will have less hostility and you will be better at managing your anger.
• You will be at a lower risk for depression, anxiety and substance abuse.

If you are a forgiving person you will have these traits:

1. You will believe that forgiveness is your choice and does not depend on how you feel about something.
2. You will make an effort to understand and accept other people and yourself.
3. You will understand that there is no future in the past and forgiving frees you to move on with your life.
4. You will spend your time and energy focusing on the future rather than on hurtful memories of the past.

Steps to Follow:

• Set aside your pride. Do not allow pride to stop you from forgiving and moving on.
• Remember that people are not born with the intention to inflict pain. Make an effort to understand that many things have influence over a person's behavior. Understanding can be key to forgiving an moving on.
• Make a choice to forgive.
• Realize that forgiveness is not a one time act. Depending on the severity of the pain, you may have to make the choice to forgive the same situation multiple times.
• Be willing to seek counseling if the harm that was inflicted on you is more than what you how to handle.

Remember thoughts produce actions, actions produce habits, habits form our character, our character determines our destiny!

Labels: Guest Blogger

*Editor's Note - Dawn Yoder is a part of the Circle of Friends Worship Team and the COF radio host on WHKC 91.5 Columbus weekdays at 10 am. She is also involved with LaRed Business Network which teaches principles based on the Proverbs. You can check out their website www.lared.org and download their principles for free!

The Principle of Forgiveness, Part 1

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you." - Lewis B. Smedes

Forgiveness changes us from prisoners of our past to people who are at peace with our memories. It frees us to move forward with our lives. Every person has a need for forgiveness and a need to forgive. We have all wronged another person and we have all been hurt by someone else. Likewise, most of us have recognized there are mistakes we have made that we need to forgive ourselves for. It is tempting to hold on to hose feelings of anger, pain, and bitterness as a means of protecting ourselves or to punish the one that has offended us. But we will never be able to reach our potential and have true hope for the future if we cannot forgive and move on emotionally.

Forgiveness is a choice that we make that is independent of our feelings. As human beings, we are all designed to want justice. When you experience hurt or harm from someone's actions or words, whether intended or not, you may begin experiencing negative feelings such as anger, confusion, sadness and betrayal - especially when it is someone close to you. These feelings may start out small. But if you do not deal with them quickly, they can grow bigger and more powerful. They may even begin to crowd out positive feelings. Refusing to forgive and dwelling on the painful memories of the past will make you miserable. It holds you trapped in a past moment and in those old feelings.

"Forgiveness is freeing up and putting to better use the energy once consumed by holding grudges, harboring resentments, and nursing unhealed wounds. It is rediscovering the strengths we always had and relocating our limitless capacity to understand and accept other people and ourselves." (Sidney & Suzanne Simon) The way we choose to overcome our plan and hurt is what defines our character. Forgiveness is not forgetfulness, but it involves accepting the promise that the future can be more than dwelling on memories of past injury. There is no future in the past. You can never live in the present and create a new and exciting future for yourself if you always stay stuck in the past.

But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. Nehemiah 9:17

Labels: Guest Blogger

"The poor and the needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the Lord will answer them, I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them." Isaiah 41:17

One of the world's most dedicated missionaries, Dr. Albert Schweitzer, has said that "the purpose of life is to serve and to show compassion and the will to help others." We can never meet this goal without our obedience to the Holy Spirit. Jesus told his disciples that their love for Him would be measured by their obedience.

Our world does not know what this means. Too many of us refuse to reach outside our everyday lives. We become little, meaningless, plastic people sitting inside a snow globe. We sit on our little snow globe benches and wait for someone to shake the globe and change the world.

People who are obedient to God are the people who will trust in Him, take a risk and do something unexpected that will have an impact for eternity.

My dad is Kevin Kate. He is an ordinary man in some ways. A few things make him different. My dad refuses to live in a snow globe. He wants to change Eternity for as many people as he can. He knows he has to trust God to help him do it.

In 2006 my dad started traveling to Haiti to drill water wells. He drilled wells here in the US for 20 years and knew the Holy Spirit was urging him to use his skills for God. He knew that he could not be obedient to the Holy Spirit without trusting God.

Haiti is an island not far from the Florida coast, but it seems like the edge of the world. It was beautiful once. But now the land has been deforested and stripped. No top soil remains for good farming. Almost 2 million Haitians do not get enough to eat every day. Haitians that live in remote villages are most vulnerable. Every year heavy tropical rains rush down the deforested mountains and wipe out the shacks where the people live. Their meager fields are destroyed. Bad roads keep them isolated. There is no fresh water readily available. At best it is miles away and because children walk all day to carry water for their families, they cannot go to school. Without the wells that are drilled by men like my dad, many children die every day from drinking filthy water.

It is dangerous to travel in Haiti. Many times it will take my dad hours to travel a few miles. The roads are sometimes lined with UN troops and other armed men. Sometimes they are lined with bandits. Supplies are very hard to get. Every time my dad leaves for the plundered island of Haiti he risks everything. He may never see our farm again. He may never see my mom again. He may never see me again but still he goes. He knows that 3,000 people a day will benefit from a clean water well. He knows children will be free to go to school. He knows that if he can leave a well behind he has increased the survival rate of those using it. But most importantly, my dad knows that if they are given a better chance for survival, they are given a better chance of meeting Jesus.

On his last trip in 2008, my dad got hit in the head with a drill pipe that flew from the drilling rig. He came home with two black eyes, a concussion, a brain bruise and four skull fractures. He needed surgery and it took him a long time to recover completely. My dad could have died. It was enough to stop anyone from going back.

But my dad knows God protected his life. Every day he remembers the Haitian people. He remembers the pastors that were praying for him as they tried to get him to a hospital. He remembers the Haitian lady that insisted on taking care of him there. She remembered he had drilled a well in her village. It didn't matter that she didn't speak his language.

My dad has planned more trips to Haiti. He listens to God and he waits. He waits for equipment to get through customs. He waits for the tropical storms to clear this year. But mostly he waits for God to say "Go."

**Editors Note: Proceeds from the Circle of Friends Worship Team song "Pour Your Love Down" go to support Kevin Kate's Water Well Project. Click on the 'COF Worship Team' link on the left to see the video or donate to the project. Read more about Kevin Kate on our 'News' link.

Labels: Guest Blogger

Coffee - for ME?

"I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE," I cried to myself.

I shouted to God that He had to help, but could He hear me? Did He care? I purchased the business that was designed specifically for women. My goal was to create and environment that allowed women to feel safe, secure, loved, and appreciated. It was to be my ministry for the women in the community. So why was God allowing it to crumble all around me? I felt like a hamster that was furiously running on the wheel but wasn't getting anywhere.

I had an amazing team of women working with me. Periodically they would receive words of encouragement from our clients which they passed on to me. New friendships were being built and God's love was being shared daily. The most amazing thing was the huge blessing I was experiencing. So, what was I doing wrong? Why was I failing financially?

I've struggled with the questions and I still don't know the answer. I was reminded that God doesn't measure success by dollars and cents, but if this is furthering His kingdom then why didn't He help a little? I've always believed that I was working for the Lord and therefore must give 100% at all times. So, I worked full time during the day, ran my own business at night, went to night classes, and still tried to be the best daughter I possibly could. You may call me crazy or you may be in a similar situation. Physically, I was falling apart. I became ill 6 months ago, and have been on medication for that since then. I couldn't relax or sleep anymore and was always exhausted.

A friend of mine reminded me that if I continued to tear myself down physically by not taking time for myself, then how could I possibly be giving my best to God? At first I wanted to argue with her. Taking time for myself was being selfish. But, I knew I couldn't be all things to all people at all times which was what I was trying to do. God commanded us to reach the lost and hurting. He never said to sleep, relax with a cup of coffee, or read a book from cover to cover in 1 day.

But wait..Jesus did. After a long day of healing the sick, casting out demons, and fellowshipping, Jesus and His disciples climbed into a boat where Jesus fell asleep. Many of us remember how the wind and the waves obeyed Jesus, but I found myself focusing on the fact that Jesus was asleep. "And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He [Jesus] was asleep", Matthew 8:24(NKJV).

Jesus had to take time for himself and he was perfect.. So why did I think I was better than God and didn't need to take time for myself? I have discovered that if I don't set aside time for myself as God has commanded, "your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own", then I could be hindering God's work. Yes, it seems like a crazy idea to me too. If I'm giving of myself all the time at church, work, my business, school and become so exhausted that I become physically ill I may miss an opportunity Christ has for me to bring another soul to Christ.

So, today, as I'm writing, I'm reflecting on the beauty of the day with my cup of coffee. I've simplified my life and discovered that relationships can survive even if my business didn't. Do you find yourself struggling with being over-committed and too exhausted to sleep? I'm still dealing with all the "what ifs" but knowing that you're not alone makes the journey so much easier.

Labels: Guest Blogger

Pirates and Parables

What do the two have in common? Absolutely nothing! That is, until I came up with The Charles Towne Belles series. Leave it to a Christian romance author to find a tie between a Scriptural parable and a pirate. But that is what I do. I create stories around truths I find in the Word of God. And lucky for me there is an endless supply in my favorite all-time book, the Bible! I've heard it said that if you're a writer, you are either a plot-driven writer or a character-driven writer, but as I've progressed in my writing, I've discovered that I fit into a third possibility, spiritual-driven writer. That's because my stories always begin with some scripture that God keeps pressing into my mind. In the case of my new series, it was the parable of the sower found in Matthew 13. You remember the parable. The sower (God) tosses seeds (the word of God) onto four types of ground: the wayside, the stones, among the thorns, and the good ground. Each type of ground is a person who receives the Word, but then things happen to them that either choke it or wash it away or make it fruitful. I remember walking on the trail behind my house thinking about this parable and instantly, God gave me the idea to create a 3-book series, each book containing the story of one sister who represents one of the final three types of ground.

In the first book in the series, The Red Siren, Faith Westcott represents the seed that falls on the stony places, and when tribulation, troubles, and problems arise, she stumbles and drifts away. So, I allowed a series of horrific things to happen to Faith and her family before the story even begins, things that caused her to turn her back on God and take matters into her own hands. She needs to make money and she needs it fast, and what better way to do so at a time when women could not work, than become a pirate!

In book two, The Blue Enchantress, Faith's sister Hope represents the seed that falls among the thorns and the pleasures of this world lure her away from God, and in book three, The Raven Saint, the third sister, Grace represents the good soil-the person who hears the word and understands it and bears much fruit. But of course she has one tiny little flaw (which I won't reveal quite yet)

I feel so blessed that God has allowed me to bring to life portions of His Word, and my hope is that it will make these truths seem more real and thus more understandable to readers.

If you're a writer and you struggle developing characters and plots, try starting out with a spiritual theme, a strong uplifting message you want the reader to walk away with. After you have that firmly in mind, create characters who will best portray that theme. In Faith's case, I needed someone stubborn, arrogant and angry. The kind of person who would walk away from God when disaster strikes. Then add all the other characters in the story who will either help your heroine in her journey or try to prevent her from succeeding. After all the characters are developed, choose a time period and location for the story. Tie it in with what you want your characters to go through and why, and finally develop your plot. It might sound a bit backward from the steps most writers take in creating a story, but it works for me. Maybe it will for you too!

.

Labels: Guest Blogger

I decided to do something I've been MEANING to do forever.
I drove over to a buffalo herd near me.

Yes, there's a buffalo herd near me.

And took some pictures.
I just love the way buffalo look and I've driven by them a zillion times and stare like crazy because I find them fascinating. But I never pull over and just take a real look.

I'm especially interested in them because I've got a book coming out in October called Buffalo Gal. In fact it might be the other way around. I think my fascination with those buffalo is what inspired the book. I just think they're the coolest, weirdest creatures. The longer you look at them the stranger they look. The way their heads are so huge and their back ends are so slender, completely at odds with their heads.

It's like God was just having a good old time when he created them.

Anyway, today I did it. Pulled over. This herd is just outside Winnebago, Nebraska on the Winnebago Indian Reservation.

Look how close this guy is to the fence. I could have gotten really close to them. Instead I just used the zoom lens.

This fence looked pretty sturdy and there's an inner electric fence,

you can kind of make out the two thin strands of it.

I'm sure the whole time the buffalo was smashing through it he'd be going,

"Ouch, ouch, yowee, yikes, that smarts."

Then he'd be through and CHARGE!

I just kept flashing on a headline in the Omaha World Herald.

Woman gored to death by buffalo
Mary Connealy, while photographing a buffalo walked right up to it and it killed her. Duh! ***
***

Yes, the World Herald would put DUH in the headline.
You know they would.
How could they resist?
If the buffalo hadn't taken me out,

I'd personally insist they carve DUH on my tombstone.

EVERY PERSON who read that story would think..
"Good riddence, get someone that stupid out of the gene pool."

I WOULD THINK THAT, TOO! I ADMIT IT!!!

They might hunt down everyone related to me, too, just to strengthen the species.

***(Disclaimer.the above headline is fake. I am alive. The World Herald has never.to my knowledge mocked a person killed regardless of the stupidity of the actions of said dead person)

http://www.maryconnealy.com/

Labels: Guest Blogger

Labels: Guest Blogger