Tag Archives: prayer

I Know You’re There by Casting Crowns

What if you only have a single breath left? A single song? A single moment? How would you spend it? How would you make the most out of it?

-Casting Crowns-

If all I had was one last breath
I’d spend it just to sing Your praise
Just to say Your name
If all I had was one last prayer
I’d pray it ’cause I know You’re always listening
If I could live a thousand lives, bind the hands of time
I would spend every moment by Your side

’cause I, I know You’re there, I know You see me
You’re the air I breathe
You are the ground beneath me
I know You’re there, I know You hear me
I can find You anywhere

If all I had was one more song to sing
I would raise a noise to make the heavens ring
If all I had was one last chance, I’d take it
I would stake it all on You

If I could raise up high and catch a glimpse of every eye
I would make them believe
What I feel inside

If I could live a thousand lives and bind the hands of time
If I could rise up high and catch a glimpse of every eye

I know You’re there
I know You’re there
I know You’re there, You’re there


Blank

Dandelion clock (Taraxacum officinale) For mor...

Dandelion clock (Taraxacum officinale) For more translations SEE BELOW (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The clock ticks, the paper remains empty, not a single word, not a single thought; ideas seem to be evasive, hibernating within the deepest recesses of the mind.

Have you ever experienced that? Perhaps.

But what if the scenario is that you are supposed to prepare for your major exams, read books and reviewers, listen to lectures but you find yourself drifting, losing focus and becoming sleepy? You know it’s a necessary step in order to pass those tests, to help you achieve your dream, to get you through that make or break situation but it is as if you are not in the moment, you are physically present but you are “not really there”. What do you do about it?

1. Pray

Seek the grace of God in everything that you do. As American football quarterback Tim Tebow said, “Regardless of what happens, I still honor my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, because at the end of the day, that’s what’s important, win or lose.”

2. Write down your goals

When you see your goals in print, it seems to come to life. It also helps you to be reminded of what you are working hard for.

3. Be clear about your purpose – it will fuel your drive to succeed.

Remind yourself why you want to achieve your goal. The “WHY” plays a very important role in achieving what you have set for yourself, your purpose motivates you to succeed.

4. Learn from successful individuals.

Prior to the achievement of  Roger Bannister, the first person to break four-minute mile in 1952, people thought it impossible to achieve such speed but that myth was proven wrong, and after that others followed. Take inspiration from people who succeed because they will not belittle your dreams or tell you it is impossible.

5. Set a time table and stick to it.

Most people work well when they have a deadline while others become rattled by it, observe yourself and know what’s best for you. It won’t hurt to set a time table to track your progress.

6. Don’t exhaust yourself. Take breaks.

Learn to listen to your body, it will not do you any good if you overexert yourself, instead of being productive it will only hinder your progress when you get sick, so allow yourself to take a break.

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Be inspired by the following quotes:

Something in human nature causes us to start slacking off at our moment of greatest accomplishment.  As you become successful, you will need a great deal of self-discipline not to lose your sense of balance, humility, and commitment.  ~Ross Perot

Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won’t taste good.  ~Joe Paterno

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.’ We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. ~Marianne Williamson

Try to discover
The road to success
And you’ll seek but never find,
But blaze your own path
And the road to success
Will trail right behind.
~Robert Brault


Faith

You are not what you think you are...But what ...

You are not what you think you are...But what you think - You are (Photo credit: Spiritual Quotes To Live By)

What if you are in a tough situation and you are uncertain of the result of all your efforts? What if everyone around you thinks it is an impossible feat? What if other people are telling you it is hopeless?

Be still. Do not pay attention to pessimists who will try to bring you down, discourage you and weaken your resolve to succeed. Continue with your journey, hold on, walk with the Father and have faith.

The antidote to frustration is a calm faith, not in your own cleverness, or in hard toil, but in God‘s guidance.
Norman Vincent Peale

As your faith is strengthened you will find that there is no longer the need to have a sense of control, that things will flow as they will, and that you will flow with them, to your great delight and benefit.
Emmanuel Teney

Frequently remind yourself that God is with you, that He will never fail you, that you can count upon him. Say these words, “God is with me, helping me.”
Norman Vincent Peale

Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.
Voltaire

When God calls you to do something, he enables you to do it.
Robert Schuller

He who has faith has… an inward reservoir of courage, hope, confidence, calmness, and assuring trust that all will come out well – even though to the world it may appear to come out most badly.
B. C. Forbes

All who call on God in true faith, earnestly from the heart, will certainly be heard, and will receive what they have asked and desired.
Martin Luther

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall make your path straight.
– Proverbs 3:5-6


Procrastination

A still from the "Sad Kermit" video

Image via Wikipedia

The dreaded big “P” that hinders the accomplishment of a lot of things. A lot of people admit to procrastinating now and then. Why? Different people have different reasons and this often include: fear (of failure or of success), uncertainty about a certain goal, lack of determination, lack of motivation, or it has become a habit to put things off.

What if you really want to overcome the habit of procrastination?

Zig Ziglar once said,  “If you need to wake up in the morning and eat a live frog, you wouldn’t want to look at that sucker for too long!” Brian Tracy on the other hand took inspiration from Mark Twain who said, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”

What’s with the frogs and what do they have to do with procrastination? The frogs are what we tend to put off or postpone doing due to different reasons we tend to associate with the task, it’s hard, impossible, it can be done later, there is so much time to do it and other similar excuses. Swallowing the frog first thing in the morning gets more things done and allows us to achieve our goals.

How do you swallow the frog? The following points are taken from Brian Tracy’s book Eat That Frog (21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time):

  1. Set the table
  2. Plan every day in advance
  3. Apply the 80/20 rule to everything
  4. Consider the consequences
  5. Practice the ABCDE method continually
  6. Focus on key result areas
  7. Obey the law of forced efficiency
  8. Prepare thoroughly before you begin
  9. Do your homework
  10. Leverage your special talents
  11. Identify your key constraints
  12. Take it one oil barrel at a time
  13. Put the pressure on yourself
  14. Maximize your personal power
  15. Motivate yourself into action
  16. Practice creative procrastination
  17. Do the most difficult task first
  18. Slice and dice the task
  19. Create large chunks of time
  20. Develop a sense of urgency
  21. Single handle every task

Stopping procrastination does not happen overnight, it takes dedication and determination to overcome it. Praying about it will definitely help a lot.


Goals

Deutsch: Ein Torhüter in einem Jugendspiel in ...

Image via Wikipedia

Have you ever been in a situation wherein you are so close to achieving a goal but suddenly there’s a roadblock that stands in between you and the realization of that goal? How do you react? Do you continue or do you choose to give up?

Brian Tracy, motivational speaker and successful self-help author imparts his wisdom on how to achieve goals:

1. Verbalization

Have a clear statement of your desired outcome.

2. Visualization

See yourself happy with the outcome. Create the vision in your mind.

3. Emotionalize

Create the feeling after the result – satisfaction. How would you feel after accomplishing the goal? Make use of that emotion.

4. Release the situation completely

Allow things to unfold.

5. Realization

The achievement of your goal.

Every single goal requires a starting point, but as US basketball coach John Wooden puts it, “It’s not so important who starts the game but who finishes it.” Start strong, when obstacles come along the way, stay strong and keep on going and then finish strong. But the most important thing to keep in mind is that, as you work towards the achievement of your goals, walk with God for with Him everything is possible. 🙂

 


Prayers

prayer..

Properly understood, prayer is a mature activity indispensable to the fullest development of personality the ultimate integration of man’s highest faculties.  Only in prayer do we achieve that complete and harmonious assembly of body, mind and spirit which gives the frail human reed its unshakable strength.
– Alexis Carrel, M.D.

The above text is from Robert Collier’s “Prayer Works“,  which is a good find; a book that is so moving that you can feel it touch your soul. It made me realize that what I am worrying about now (the low result of a major exam) is just a speck of dust compared to what great people had gone through and successfully overcame. It’s true that my future can be affected by it but then the battle is not yet over, there are still quizzes, and another major examination which will decide whether it’s make or break.

Last year I was in a similar situation, but I told myself that I can make it and then I prayed and entrusted everything else to God and I passed. I admit that this seemingly déjà vu is not entertaining but with zealous studying and the strength of prayers I know I can make it. I am going to pass this subject. I am going to make it. I believe I can.

I asked my friends to pray for me as well, to pray for the accomplishment of my goal; this way the power of prayers is magnified.

Prayers have helped great men succeed in life.  Prayers never fail.