There comes a time when in order for healing to take place YOU have to leave.
Leaving may mean changing your location. I just got of the phone with one of my dearest friends who shared the miraculous story of how his son got into the school of his choice but how God ended up opening the door for his family to move to the school and for his wife to get a great job there. It was great having them in the area while they were here but there was a blessing of provision that allowed them to have the desires of their heart but that required them to leave from their current location.
Sometimes you have to change your associations. Psalm 1:1 says:
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.”
There is a blessing from removing yourself from environments that don’t honor God. It may mean that you have to change who you are hanging out with.
Today, I choose to leave what does not help or heal my body and soul.
Please listen. Your thoughts affect your feelings. They affect your energy level. If you think you are about to get to your goal you find energy that you will never have to attempt to use if you don’t think the end is in sight.
Right now, please encourage yourself. Start a gratitude journal or practice. Everyday begin your prayer with thanking God for at least 3 things. Try to make it three things that are different than the last time you prayed.
Take time to reflect on blessings that you have experienced. Think about why you treasure your friends. Think about what you enjoy in life.
Thinking about failure will drain you. Thinking over and over again about the way you have been mistreated will depress YOU!!!
When David was in a bad situation where those around him were angry with him he made a decision to encourage himself.
“And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.”
I Samuel 30:6
If you read the story the people had good reason to be unhappy. Their dear ones had been taken from them. When people are depressed they usually have some good reasons to feel that way. But the circumstance you do have power over is your choice of thought. Please don’t miss this. You may not be able to catch the person who stole your money but you can change your attitude about your situation. You may not convince your wayward child to come home but you can change the language of your thoughts and prayers.
And your choice to do so in large part demonstrates that you trust your Creator. Things might not look good today but tomorrow is coming. Heal by releasing the discouraging and pressing on to what’s possible. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. Romans 8:28 states:
“28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
Encourage yourself! Healing comes from encouragement.
Today I will speak well of myself to myself. My creator believes in me. I will honor Him by treasuring His gift to the world in me!
I have an increased appreciation of a loving community. I have seen it bring healing to myself and others, and I think it is highly underrated.
When my father, Victor Griffiths, died I remember how members of the community swarmed around my mother, brother and I to make sure we had what we needed. Some dealt with legal needs. Others helped with emotional ones. Still others helped with logistics. But everyone from their heart expressed their love for us and support during an extremely difficult time with caring words and with tangible action.
As I reflect on the power of love and community I think of several people I have known over the years who believed so much in what community should be that they made it a priority to serve others and bring others together. People like Phillip Carter and Viola Bradford have brought gospel musicians together here in the Washington DC area. People like Margie Farmer and Dawn Tzahor have time and time again been the person bringing comfort or comfort food as well as ideas of togetherness to those singers, students or boy scouts surrounding them.
Don’t spend your time and energy trying to be around people who don’t make the world a better place by the way they give of themselves. Help them but don’t hang with them to the point of picking up their energy and behaviors. Many focus around being with “the right” people who can open business doors for them. Spending time around people with values that you admire will create healthy business opportunities as well.
In the bible we read many verses that encourage us to be loving. In fact, we are told that we can see who has been born of God and who really knows Him. “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” I John 4:7
Today I commit to building a better community where I am. I will love more. I will surround myself with a hedge of loving relationships and focus on nurturing them. And this will help me to continue to heal.
Your beliefs and your audience determine a lot of what you do.
I’ve become a passionate student of digital photography. When I was able to purchase a full-frame camera and a subscription to Photoshop and Lightroom my life changed forever. Many of my spare moments are spent taking and editing pictures. But what if there wasn’t a place to share these photos. If I couldn’t post them and see how many likes or comments they receive. Would I still spend as much time creating these pictures?
As a musician I’ve learned a lot by observing the changes in myself and those around me over the last 20-30 years. When you are young and have a dream you are willing to make great sacrifices to achieve it. You take lessons, attend workshops, work into the wee hours in a recording studio. You travel and stay in less than ideal circumstances because you have a dream…one day if I work hard enough and smart enough I’ll become a great musician. I’ll be able to buy my mom that car she always wanted or perhaps get the dream house for my family.
But then you turn 50. You may have become well known but you aren’t rich. Now what? Do I keep paying for the lessons? Do I keep making the phone calls to attempt to get the bookings? Do I keep writing songs and making recordings or was that only if I could become rich and famous?
Part of healing is learning what is important. Perhaps the best thing you can do today is pause, disconnect and figure out what really serves you well. You may discover you have been putting a lot of energy into things that don’t create a better place for you or the ones you love.
Jesus was angry with the religious leaders of his day who made religion into a yoke that made life burdensome for others. Yet, they were quick to make sure they altered there beliefs when it came to their own benefit. In Matthew 23 he rebukes them saying:
Now Jesus turned to address his disciples, along with the crowd that had gathered with them. “The religion scholars and Pharisees are competent teachers in God’s Law. You won’t go wrong in following their teachings on Moses. But be careful about following them. They talk a good line, but they don’t live it. They don’t take it into their hearts and live it out in their behavior. It’s all spit-and-polish veneer.
“Instead of giving you God’s Law as food and drink by which you can banquet on God, they package it in bundles of rules, loading you down like pack animals. They seem to take pleasure in watching you stagger under these loads, and wouldn’t think of lifting a finger to help. Their lives are perpetual fashion shows, embroidered prayer shawls one day and flowery prayers the next. They love to sit at the head table at church dinners, basking in the most prominent positions, preening in the radiance of public flattery, receiving honorary degrees, and getting called ‘Doctor’ and ‘Reverend.’
“Don’t let people do that to you, put you on a pedestal like that. You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates. Don’t set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God; let him tell you what to do.
Matt. 23:1-9 The Message Bible
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Today I release the burden. I look upward and inward. I choose to create what satisfies my Father, blesses others, but resonates with me. And I let go of chasing the burdens others have sought to weigh me down with. I am healing so I can fly again.
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal
Eccl. 3:1-3
Losing weight and healing take time. But a common problem we seem to encounter daily is a lack of time. We are overwhelmed with responsibilities. But to heal we need rest. So we have to prioritize healing.
When we make a list of things to do we have to rank their importance so we make sure the most important things get done. Having a healthy body should be high on the list. One popular idea about fitness is the idea of the 4 minute workout. One reason it’s such a popular idea is how unbelievable it is. Just seeing such an outrageous claim makes you click the link to read about it. And unfortunately, the surface story that there was a study by Dr. Izumi Tabata that shows that an exercise program of 4 minutes a day of HIIT(High-intensity Interval Training) gave greater results than a more traditional steady-state approach would lead you to think that there is an easy way out.
What you don’t hear about is the fact that in addition to 4 days per week of 4 minute extremely high-intensity workouts, the group also did a 10 minute daily steady-state warm up and one day of 30 minute steady-state work out as well. So the combination of both was more effective than just steady-state.
Fitness takes time. And healing takes time.
Today I promise myself and God to schedule a time for rest, healing, and fitness today.
I’ve devoted the next 100 days to focusing on and sharing insights about healing. I hope you will enjoy the read. If you find something helpful please use it and share it with your friends as well. And if you have a relevant insight please share it in the comments. Thank you. Enjoy the journey!
Day 1: When Less Is More
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, “I will never fail you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 RSV
Have you ever wondered how many friends is enough? When we were introduced to social media as a way to cultivate business we were encouraged by the pundits to gain as many followers as possible. How many is enough? I listened and started building away on several platforms.
I have over 5000 friends/followers over several platforms. While I recognize the value of having potential clients to buy books or CDs or attend a concert or workshop I would settle for having a few close relationships that I can be real in. Intimacy is uber important!
The longer I live the more I treasure quietness. I’m grateful for moments where I’ve performed for 30,000 or 70,000 people. I long for more moments where I’m a caring and listening ear for someone who values my attention and where I can be the same. And if I had to do it all over again I would spend more time having those moments and be happy with ¼ of the followers or fans. I’m grateful for them but I want to give my best in the most meaningful way to those who God has allowed me to cross paths with.
Because we are constantly being marketed to we feel this urge to have more things to be happy. It doesn’t work that way. Shawn Achor wrote a book (The Happiness Advantage) that explains well how happiness isn’t the result of getting a certain amount of stuff or achieving a certain amount of success. We must choose our happiness and we can have it now and enjoy it along our journey. Things don’t give us happiness. Happiness is a choice we make. Stop believing that “more” will bring you happiness.
The bible encourages us in many places to be content and not live a life consumed with the pursuit of money. When we unplug from the advertisements and messages around us we can start to believe that God has given us what we need to enjoy life. And one of the most important lessons we can learn is that life is best when we choose daily to depend upon Him and trust Him. After all he said he would never leave us or forsake us.
So today I choose to be happy as I am, where I am with what I have. I am blessed. Thank you, Father.
When I think about my pain and problems they seem to grow. So instead I choose to reflect upon God’s goodness to me. My journey to worship began with parents who had family worship every evening and read the Morning Watch before we had breakfast. My dad, Victor Griffiths set an example of service and excellence that will always leave me reaching for more. As a pastor and educator he served in his local community and eventually overseeing adventist education all over the globe. My mother Barbara continues to amaze me with her hospitality and grace under pressure. She sacrificially serves to take care of others as much now at 87 as she did when I was growing up. God blessed me with wonderful parents who worshipped him in their daily lives as much by their actions as by their reading of the bible and prayer.
Giving What I’ve Received
Not everyone can afford piano lessons or a piano for that matter. Not everyone has a gift in that area to take advantage of the opportunity for study. I am so very grateful to my Creator for the mental and musical gifts He’s given me as well as to my parents for providing the support necessary for them to thrive. So I want to give that back to others!
A few years ago I recorded a CD with and then went on tour with the great Rwandan artist Jean Paul Samputu, to East Africa. We visited Rwanda and Uganda but spent most of our time in Kenya. We were blessed to be hosted by Maximum Miracle Center. We were impressed by their ministry and service to their community. Hearing of their needs we were able to sow into their ministry. In particular I was excited to be able to gift some equipment for a recording studio they hoped to build.
Maximum Melodies-a musical ministry of Maximum Miracle Center
Help Us Keep Giving
Today, I’m getting ready to go host a concert to raise funds for another studio to benefit young musicians in the rural community of Denton, Maryland. I want to give generously as I have received generously. Today’s concert will feature a 30 voice mass choir, several guest musicians-Kishore Carey,Alan Ace Cooper, Jahari Griffiths; and some amazing soloists-Carter Anderson, Terrence Nichols, Desmirra Quinnonez, Rachael Jackson, and TreVaughn Watson. I’d love for you to come and support this worthy cause. If you can make it click here for more info.
If you’d like to contribute a donation please click the link below.
I hope 20 years from now someone will be giving to someone else because of what we started today!
No one likes to make mistakes. If you’re like me you probably want to learn enough about a subject to make a good decision or perform a task well. But there is a danger that we never feel that we know quite enough to share. As believers we tend to think a pastor needs to lead others to Christ because they know the bible really well. But then we think that means we get to watch on the sidelines cheering but doing no work.
In today’s message we explore God’s call for us to use what’s in our hands.
Please subscribe for future inspiring messages and thank you so much for those who give to make this ministry possible!
Could something as simple as water be the solution to your weight loss? While I have tried many approaches to getting in better shape I’ve found that walking and water seem to be an important component for me each time I’m successful. Here are some ideas that I’ve found helpful.
1. Drink water with lemon juice to start the day.
The combination causes you to eliminate and feel fresh and clean 🙂 . A few years ago I participated in a documentary that explored the effects of The Corrective Diet. I lost 32lbs in one month. One of the important parts of that program was keeping hydrated and making sure to start the day out with some lemon water.
2. Drink enough water to reveal the difference between hunger and thirst.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine determined that an adequate daily fluid intake is:
About 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids for men
About 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women
While traditionally we’ve been told to have eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily some suggest having more. I’ve found that at times I’ve thought I was hungry but when I drink water regularly, usually at least once a half hour that I don’t get hungry like I usually would. So making sure you are hydrated before you eat will reduce how much you feel you need to eat because you may be confusing thirst and hunger.
3. Drink till your urine is clear.
One simple way to check that you are having enough water is to check the color of your pee. If it’s clear or very light yellow then you are probably doing very well with your water intake.
While drinking enough water does many other things like give you energy and increase your metabolism I wanted to end with this thought. Your body takes toxins that would harm you and it stores them as fat. So when you want to loose weight you will have to safely get rid of all those toxins. Drinking lots of water allows you to remove those toxins safely.
So please remember water and weight loss go together. And I hope you combine them with walking!
I wish you success on your journey to health, happiness and wholeness. Please feel free to share what’s working for you on your journey to wellness in the comments. Also, please subscribe to this blog for more tips on better living. And a special thank you for those who support this ministry. Are you thirsty? Try a glass of water!
Day 5: Encourage Yourself
