Toxic friendships can be deadly…to your overall well-being. Toxic friendships happen when one person operates out of a critical spirit, a wounded heart or a place of jealousy. They’re never happy for your successes, always have a way of speaking unnecessary things to “keep YOU humble”, and they want to be the only friend you have, isolating you from others. A true friend operates in your life from a heart of love…they joy in your successes and comfort you in your sorrows. They understand that you have lots of other people in your life. If you’re in a toxic situation, it may be time to quietly step back a little at a time. Too many of think we have to stay in a relationship “no matter what”. NO WE DON”T. We need to love them, pray for them, encourage them but be unavailable from time to time

Living on a quiet street didn’t stop me from repeatedly telling my son to stay out of the road. And he did! Sort of! He would get as close as he could to the road and then edge his toe out so it barely touched. People who play with fire need to know they can’t expect to stay safe. Are you playing that game with God? Are you playing around the edges of what you know God told you to stay away from? If you are, don’t expect to stay safe. Delayed judgment doesn’t mean God is pleased or that He is overlooking what you’re doing. Step away from the road!!

    When we are constantly looking at what we don’t have, then moaning, groaning and complaining becomes the norm. The Israelites were masters at complaining…never satisfied with what they had, always wanting what they didn’t have. God let us know that complaining is useless and changes nothing. But more than that, a complaining attitude prevents us from walking in God’s blessings…they only come when we walk in a spirit of thanksgiving.

The dictionary defines the word “joy” as a “feeling of great pleasure and happiness”. Nehemiah 8:10 says: The joy of the Lord is your strength. If you know anyone who has a lot of joy, you’d have to say it’s one of their strengths. If you don’t have joy, then you’re not using an available source of strength. And if you don’t have any joy in your salvation, you don’t realize that we should be the most joyful people on the planet because of what Christ has done. Billy Sunday (1862-1935) was the Billy Graham of his day. He said, “if you have no joy, there’s a leak in your Christianity somewhere.” And he’s right. We lose a source of strength and we lose our joy in salvation because we don’t realize how much we have been given. What can stop those leaks? The word of God! More than that, it can fill you up with the Bread of Life so that you’ll be spilling over with Christ all around you! Kelley Deichman

In the book, God Came Near, Max Lucado tells a story of 4 candles that didn’t want to come out of the closet during a power outage. One said he needed more preparation. Another one was too busy. Another said she was not qualified. The last one said giving light was not her gift. That story reflects some of our attitudes when it comes to letting our light shine so that people see God working in our lives and give Him praise. We too, have our excuses. The Lord  is quick to set us straight. We are the Light of the world. We need to let go of our excuses and simply let our light shine. Ask yourself today, “How and where can I let my light shine?” Kelley Deichman

You don’t expect someone to chew your food for you, right?? Of course not. Why? Because some things can’t be delegated. They’re our responsibility. Watching what we say, praying on a regular basis, reading God’s Word…a lot of things just can’t be delegated. Let’s face it, the buck stops here! We have to man up and do what we need to do… that’s called discipline….doing today what we know will change our present and our future.