One of the most powerful lessons that has been translated from the pulpit to the front porch is that we must die to the things of the flesh in order to live as Christians. And while that is not always an immediate transformation, it provides a model for the dichotomy of Christian living. And it is found in this conflicting idea; that in order to live a life of purpose, you must first die to the ways of the world.

And the challenge for many of us is not with the death of a thing, but it is in the mysterious act of living afterwards. We have all had some experience with death; whether from the intimacy of its embrace of loved ones or the recognition that it waited patiently for us like an unwelcome visitor with no place to go.

We recognize, however, that we have experienced the emotional death of relationships that promised so much and friendships that summoned our trust with ease. And after they ended, we were left with the pain of here’s another one that didn’t love us and we readjusted our masks with a heavy sigh.

Many of us have shouted, prayed, cried and danced our way through spiritual death as deliverance revealed that which had quietly offered promise underneath. It left us with a transparency that not only allowed us to see what we had survived, but even greater it offered the reflection of who God said we could be.

As I am dealing with my grandmother’s death, my soul cries out from the uncertainty of how to live without her. And many of us are in that place of ambiguity that seeks clarity on how to live again without the familiar issues or behaviors that accompanied us until we met Christ.

Yet the resurrection indicates that after the death of certain behaviors and ideas, it is followed by living in fulfillment of one’s purpose. If we can allow our hunger for the things of the world to die, then surely God will sustain us in every way. We can be confident in the knowledge that the essence of this dichotomy is not simply that we must die to live, but that all that we are belonged to God all along.

And since Jesus died and lived to tell about it, perhaps our story can also tell of how we rose again from our circumstances and challenges and lived a renewed life. Each day we get the chance through Christ to rewrite and create our own story and as my grandmother would often say, “You just make it a story to tell!”

Scripture For The Day: “For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” – Romans 5:17v NKJV

Health:

1. Drink plenty of water
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants, and eat less food that is manufactured in plants
4. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy
5. Make time for prayer
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2009
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day —- and while you walk, smile

Personality:
11. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment
13. Don’t over do ; keep your limits
14. Don’t take yourself so seriously ; no one else does
15. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more
24. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Community:
25. Call your family often
26. Each day give something good to others
27. Forgive everyone for everything
28. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day
30. What other people think of you is none of your business
31. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your family and friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right things
33. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful
34. GOD heals everything
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up
37. The best is yet to come
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Last but not the least :

40. Do forward this to everyone you care about .