God first. First, God!

"... First, seek the counsel of the Lord."

1 Kings 22:5

First, seek God; not last, not as a last resort, not if it sounds good, not if all your friends give you the wrong answer... NO - FIRST seek God! FIRST! 
Not only will God save you a ton of time and unnecessary mistakes, but he will also be your ease and grace as you move forward with your life in confidence and strength.

Do what must be done

"... "Strengthen your position and see what must be done, because next spring the king of Aram will attack you again." 

1 Kings 20:22

Unfortunately, battles in our lives will never cease to end.  However, we have Christ, therefore, we have the victory.  Nonetheless, the victory will not be ours until we learn to stand up, take the battles, victories, and defeats from our pasts, and learn from them.  In order for victory and victory-forever-more, we must take the lesson for every event in our lives and become stronger and wiser from them.  Hence, my friends, until we take the lessons and choose to learn from them, our victories will always be within reach but not close enough for us to grab them.  So, learn, learn, learn, and stand strong; for the more we make the choice to strengthen, then we will become strong; yes, if we choose to learn and become strong, victories will be never-ending in our amazing lives.

Be blessed

When you are running low

"...Don't be afraid... For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says, 'The jar will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land."

1 Kings 17:13-14

When your energy seems depleted, when your bank account is running low, when your world seems to be falling apart - keep your faith!   God is working, God will supply, God will provide your every need.  He's with you, he will not leave you, he will not let you lose the battles before you.  My friend, he loves you, and when you see this darkness through to the end, to the light ahead, the miracle of the trial and tribulation is going to shine through for you and you will be standing in ah and glory - the glory of God Almighty.

Moving forward not backward

"... you must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came."

1 Kings 13:17

In order to quit the cycle of hitting dead-ends in your life, you must do things differently; stop repeating the same mistakes over and over.  Instead, take each mistake, put the lesson learned, seek guidance from God, and move forward in a new direction.  LIFE IS WAY TOO SHORT FOR CIRCLES AND DEAD ENDS.

Don't waste time on nonsense

'This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites.  Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.' " So they obeyed the word of the Lord and went home again, as the Lord had ordered.

1 Kings 12:24

Life is too short to fight battles that God doesn't want us to fight.  Therefore, stop wasting precious time and energy on things that you cannot change, things you cannot control; they are God's battles and we must stand back and know that God has the victory - all victory.  Therefore, in his time, and in his way, the victory will be had.

Attitudes change everything

"So the Lord said to Solomon, "Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates."

1 Kings 11:11

Your attitude can make or break you...

How is yours right now???

Dark clouds

A wise and discerning heart

"So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong... "

1 Kings 3:9

Instead of asking for wealth, health, blessings, and miracles, why don't we follow in the steps of Solomon and begin to ask God for discernment and wisdom?  For like Solomon, if we seek God for these two things, (wisdom and discernment), wealth, health, blessings, and miracles in which we seek will be added... no begging, whining, or wishing required.

Keeping our word

"... Did I not make you swear by the Lord and worn you...?" At  that time you said to me, 'What you say is good, I  will obey.' Why then did you not keep your oath to the Lord and obey the command I gave you?"

1 Kings 2:42-43

Why waste your precious time and the precious time of others promising things that you have no intention of following through with?  

Hence, if you don't mean it, DON'T SAY IT.

Show yourself a woman or man of God

NIV version:

"... So be strong, show yourself a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: walk in his ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements... so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go..."

1 Kings 2:2-4 NIV version

Here's my version:

Be strong! Be a man or woman of God: do what God's Word says to do and listen to and follow the still, small voice of God in your heart.  Do not step aside from him, or his words; not right or left.  For if you fail him not, and follow his lead, you will succeed in everything do and everywhere you go.

He opens our eyes to see

"...Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has allowed my eyes to see..."

1 Kings 1:48

Ask God to open your eyes; ask God to truly make you see.  For when you see through His eyes, you will truly see... you will truly see and experience miracles, blessings, and beauty that the human eye will never see.