TOO MUCH BAGGAGE?

TOO MUCH BAGGAGE?

Guess what? We’re not perfect Christians; nobody is. As hard as we may try to be “good,” sometimes we make mistakes. We have to admit that we’ve messed up. We may even have to admit that according to what the Bible says, we’ve sinned. Every Christian still sins, and people sin against us. The best we can do is ask the Lord for forgiveness, accept it, and move on. The thing is, we CAN change.

When we fly with certain airlines, we have to pay for extra baggage. It’s the same in our lives—and it costs too much. So let’s see if we can get rid of some of the baggage we’ve been carrying. Let’s lighten up our load. We can’t really move forward if we keep adding to the pile of stuff that we take with us from day to day and year to year.

So this is what we can do: First, think about one thing that took you away from being in God’s will this week. I had one this morning! I have several legal issues to take care of since my mom passed away. One is to get a special medallion notary. My bank was not providing that service because of the coronavirus, so I set up an appointment for tomorrow. The process is a little complicated, but I’m ready. But then another notary issue came up that required even more paperwork to fill out. I automatically figured I should do that tomorrow too.

Well, it was a little too much for my brain to handle. I was trying to take on too much at once. Instead of moving forward, the extra baggage was stealing my peace, and I felt like I was swirling in place, immobilized. Growing up, I sometimes felt like I was never doing enough, and it looks like I’ve carried that idea into adult life, to my detriment. That over-achieving attitude paralyzed me in my tracks, like the donkey in the picture above—my feet were going, but I was stuck in place.

Jane had to shake me out of it. She reminded me that I didn’t have to get it all done in one day! That sounds so simple, but it was just what I needed—to stop and breath. I had to get rid of the baggage by looking at the over-achiever thing and vowing to beware of it. Jane and I call these trigger patterns the “Always and Never” things. Always beware of them, and Never let them get you going. Well, I let it get me this time, but I forgave myself, and I’m in God’s peace once again.

Jesus is our savior. We mess up; we admit it; He picks us up. He forgives us and we forgive us. Done. But how do we stop from messing up in the same way repeatedly?

We need to ask ourselves: “Why did I mess up?” “Why did I allow it?” “What is it in me that may have contributed to bringing this thing to pass?” Once we can see the answer to this “why” question and we have an understanding of it, we can forgive ourselves and get healed.

Any mistakes we make are not in our spirit man—that’s perfect. But mistakes are in our thinking, our emotions, and our decisions—all soul-related.

God said: “For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds” (Jer. 30:17). There are no wounds in our spirit, only in our soul. God sent Jesus to earth to show us how to get our souls healed and drop the baggage that is so hard to drag around with us. The older we get, the heavier and more cumbersome the bags get.

Paul tells us his deep desire in Philippians 3:10: “That I may know him [Jesus Christ] and the power of his resurrection.” The power of the resurrection gives us the power to change things in our lives.

Second Timothy 2: 24-26 tells us that when we mess up, we are opposing ourselves and that we are to “awake ourselves out of the snare of the devil.”

As we start to claim our right to get rid of old baggage, we will begin to see in our lives where the origins of our errors came from. It takes some reflection.  

Did something make you feel rejected or not good enough as a child? And do those triggers still come up and do you react the same way as you did as a child?

Are you still seeking what you lost a long time ago? Do you feel you have to close the door on your real self in order to protect and defend yourself?

Did something or someone make you so angry you did and still do things to hurt yourself or others?

Did you hide in pain killers or alcohol to protect yourself after a disaster you caused or something else you saw that you don’t ever want to see again?

There are many things and much baggage in our lives that can keep us unhappy. But God is willing and able to free us. God’s Word says we have the miracle resurrection power within us. We have the ability within us to respond to the truth when we hear it and to receive the truth from others as well like I did from Jane.

We can have our souls released from all the extra baggage and once again be at peace with ourselves and the Lord.

Love, Carolyn

EXCITING LIFE STORIES:

https://www.amazon.com/WINGS-Journey-Weekly-Workbook-Christian/dp/B0874LGZ34/ref=sr_1_1?crid=EZNJZZUP3KHG&dchild=1&keywords=wings+carolyn+molica&linkCode=ll2&linkId=db88efb13727dcb484eb29f5b1683284&qid=1588607180&sprefix=wings+carolyn+molica%2Caps%2C353&sr=8-1

"ENLARGE OUR COAST"

“ENLARGE OUR COAST”

Lately, Jane and I have been praying for people and events way beyond our immediate surroundings. We know more about world politics than ever before, and we now know the names of many more leaders locally, city-wise, and at the state level as well. We are now more aware of social, religious, and cultural groups, and are involved in the lives of many more individuals, through social media, than at any time before. Why?

I believe it is because God wants Jane and me, and perhaps you too, to “enlarge our coast.”

God needs some of us to think, pray, and believe beyond our immediate families. When the people of Israel rebelled against God, Moses pleaded with God for the people, and God refrained from destroying them. When Joshua led the tribes of Israel into Canaan, each tribe had a specific place they were to set up their new lives. The first few tribes were given a space that was beautiful and easy to settle into, but God told Joshua that the men of those tribes had to continue on with Joshua until all the other tribes got the land that they were supposed to have. And only when that was accomplished, could they go back to their beautiful land to enjoy. (See Joshua 14-24).

I believe God is calling some of us to stretch out our prayers to help in situations and circumstances around the world. In Isaiah 59, we see that things were in a mess, and part of the problem was that God had no one who would stand in the gap for the people. There was no intercessor:

“And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. Yea, truth faileth, and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.

^“And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor” (Isaiah 59:14-16).

  

In Ezekiel 22:30, we find the same problem. God remarks: “And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.”

God wants us to intercede for people, and stand in the gap for their safety and well-being. He is looking for those who are willing. Are you one of the ones who will answer, yes?

Jabez was one. Jane and I say this prayer of Jabez every morning: “Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.”

Metaphorically, God says the same thing in Isaiah 54:2-4: “Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; for thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame.”

Believe me, getting confounded, or a bit overwhelmed with the breadth of this kind of prayer can be a problem. Once you start stretching your prayer out, it can grow at a phenomenal speed and seem huge. But God takes care of that. You don’t have to include everything and everyone everytime!  There’s a verse in the Bible that says God never gives us more than we can handle.

We see from Isaiah and Ezekiel that God was upset that He couldn’t find anyone to intercede for the people, no one to stand in the gap. But here we are. If you feel God is asking you to stretch out in prayer, that’s so wonderful. But if not, then you can say a prayer or two for others who will. We can work together on this. God’s calling us, and the world needs us.

Love, Carolyn

REVELATION, ILLUMINATION, INSPIRATION

REVELATION, ILLUMINATION, INSPIRATION

The late prophet, Kim Clement, spoke on the subject of truth. He explained that truth has three parts: Revelation, Illumination, and Inspiration. Revelation is something revealed. God has revealed Himself and His ways in the manual for life, called the Bible. But the Bible is only words in a book until those words are illuminated. Illumination is when the proverbial light bulb goes on, and we all of sudden understand what we’ve read or heard. It’s that “ah-ha” moment. It’s when things flow together, and understanding takes place. This can only happen when God’s light turns on in a person’s heart.  

In the New Testament, the Greek word is ‘sunesis’ or ‘suniemi,’ and it means “to put together, mentally to comprehend, understand.”

The Lord wants us to be illuminated, and like Matthew 15:10 tells us: “Jesus called the multitude, and said unto them, ‘Hear, and understand.’”

But without the light of God illuminating what we hear or read, this is what happens: “Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: for the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them” (Acts 28:26-27).

Sunesis is what brings everything together and makes the Bible alive and real, and not just words on a page.

So, first we have the revelation, then the illumination and the final part is inspiration.

The word ‘inspire’ comes from the Latin combination of two words: ‘in’ or into, and ‘spirare’, to breathe. According to the dictionary: “The word was originally used of a divine or supernatural being, in the sense ‘impart a truth or idea to someone.” So God imparted the idea to us, and then we impart it out to others. And so the Word of God goes out into all the earth.

Love, Carolyn

WINGS VOLUME 2 NOW AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK AND KINDLE – The stories are really great, even if I do say so myself 😊.

https://www.amazon.com/WINGS-Journey-Weekly-Workbook-Christian/dp/B0874LGZ34/ref=sr_1_1?crid=EZNJZZUP3KHG&dchild=1&keywords=wings+carolyn+molica&linkCode=ll2&linkId=db88efb13727dcb484eb29f5b1683284&qid=1588607180&sprefix=wings+carolyn+molica%2Caps%2C353&sr=8-1

THE "BAIT AND SWITCH"

THE" BAIT AND SWITCH"

I call the evil spirit that controlled Laban in the Bible, the "bait and switch." It's when something beautiful is presented or promised, but is not produced. People fall for this kind of treachery all the time. It's rampant in Las Vegas. The bait goes like this: "Pay the exorbitant money to go to a night club and you'll meet the girl of your dreams." The bait looks amazing, but these promises are rarely fulfilled. Instead of getting the special girl, you get a headache and a huge bill to pay. But people are still lured in by the thousands.

I'm sure you've seen versions of this bait and switch where you live too: promises and expectations that aren't materialized as they were presented, but are replaced by something inferior to what we were promised.

Knowledge is information, and knowing when we're in a bait and switch situation is great. But wisdom is the ability to apply that knowledge, so that we get the successful, happier results that God wants for us.

Only God's wisdom will keep a person out of the "bait and switch" trap. The key is to ask the Lord for wisdom, then expect that He will give it to us exactly the way we need it.

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth [scolds] not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways" (Jas. 1: 5-8).

The way to keep from wavering in and out of faith for the wisdom, is to act on it as quickly as you get it. Don't give yourself time to doubt. Just act on the first thing, then stop there. If you need more wisdom later, then ask for the next thing, then act on it, then stop again. It's a step by step process. We don't give up until the results come.

The story of Laban and Jacob in the Bible is a great example of both the spiritual power of the bait and switch demon and the amazing, life-changing wisdom of God. The record starts in Genesis 29. Jacob came to his relative Laban's place and began to work for him.

"And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel" (Gen 29: 16).

"And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, 'I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.' And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her. And Jacob said unto Laban, 'Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her.'

"And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast. And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her.

 "And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he [Jacob] said to Laban, 'What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?'" (vv.18,20-23, 25).

There it is, the spirit of the "bait and switch." Laban knew all along the scam he was going to pull off on Jacob.

"And Laban said, 'It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. Fulfil her week, and we will give thee [Rachel] also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years" (vv. 26-27).

So Laban got seven more years of work out of Jacob so that Jacob could have Rachel as his wife. But Laban, controlled by the demon, wasn't about to stop there. Jacob stayed in Laban's service until he had many children by both wives. Jacob cared for Laban's cattle, sheep, and goats, and they had increased in number. But Laban never gave Jacob his own cattle or any other means of supporting his family. Jacob was still under the power of Laban's control, until finally, he told him, "Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee" (Gen 30:26).

Laban was planning to keep using Jacob, and take from him. When he saw that Jacob was serious about leaving, Laban offered to pay him wages for his work, but Jacob was on to him by now. He didn't want wages; he wanted to leave and have his own life.

Here's where the great wisdom of God came into play. Jacob told Laban he didn't want wages, he wanted cattle and sheep and goats. Inspired by God, he told Laban he'd take the weaker ones, the ones who were speckled and spotted. Laban quickly gave in to that idea. He figured Jacob wouldn't be able to prosper enough to leave if he only was taking the feeble animals. The feeble ones would die for sure, and Jacob would have to stay.

But the wisdom of God always works for His people, no matter how crazy it may look to others. God told Jacob to do some odd things that I don't understand, but it worked.

"And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chestnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.  And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.  

"And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted" (Gen. 30: 37-40).

God's will prevailed: "But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's. And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses (vv. 42-43).

An angel came and told Jacob to get out with all he had, and it was three days before Laban discovered Jacob was gone.

Jacob escaped as a prosperous and happy man because he had relied on the wisdom of God to show him how to righteously and lawfully take from the "bait and switch" spirit in Laban, rather than the other way around.

In Las Vegas, I've learned from the wisdom of God, how to be Jacob. I am able to enjoy the best (for me) of what's offered, without giving Laban anything. I have to totally rely on the wisdom of God to direct my ways.  

I hope this will be helpful to any of you who may run into a similar situation. God's wisdom will always get you around and out. Ask, act quickly without doubting and wavering, and receive.

Love, Carolyn

SHATTERED AND SCATTERED

SHATTERED AND SCATTERED

The other day, God added a new scripture to the ones I pray every day. Romans 16:20: “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.” When I looked up the word “bruise,” in the original Greek, I found that it meant to “utterly crush, to break into pieces, to shiver.” Then I looked up “shiver” in the dictionary: As a noun, it is “a small piece or fragment into which a thing breaks by any sudden violence.” As a verb: “to break into many small pieces or splinters; to shatter; to dash to pieces by a blow.” Then the definition goes on to say, “Shiver my timbers’ is a mild form of oath formerly used by sailors.” I just love that. So, God shatters Satan under our feet and dashes him to pieces by a blow. That’s what happened to Nimrod and his followers at the tower of Babel.

Nimrod thought he could do better than our God. God wanted the people to spread His ways throughout the earth, but Nimrod wanted to consolidate his own kingdom, and he began to build a city. Genesis 11 has the story.

“And they said, ‘Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.  And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded” (vv.4-5)

“Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city [stopped the building of the city].”

“Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth” (vv.4-5, 7-9).

In Romans, we see that God shatters, and here in Genesis, we see that God also scatters. We see this scattering in 2 Kings 7 as well. The Syrians surrounded Samaria and cut off their food supply. All businesses were suffering, the people were suffering, and people and animals were dying in this attack. But God did an amazing thing with the four lepers who sat outside the city wall. They were the least likely to impact the situation positively, but with God they were mighty.

“And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die? 

“And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there.

“For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, ‘Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.’ 

“Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life” (2 Kings 7:3, 5-7).

Needless to say, good things came back to the city.

We can see from the Bible that God is on our side always. We can pray Romans 16:20 for the crushing of evil under our feet and the shattering of demonic attacks. We can pray that God put the confusion of Babel on those who would consolidate against us. We may think we sit on the outside of the city like the lepers, outside of politics, outside of effectiveness, but we still have more power than we think we do. The lepers weren’t pretty to look at, but they had one thing we all have, and that is courage. They did one small brave act; they got up off their butts and took a few steps. God did the rest for them, and He will do it for us.

Let’s pray and believe that our God will shatter and scatter, and let’s be brave enough to do our part as well.

Love, Carolyn

STRESS RELIEVERS FROM GOD'S CREATIONS

STRESS RELIEVERS FROM GOD’S CREATIONS

Today carried a heavy weight of stressors for my friend and me. In the late afternoon, she sent me a photo of the two cats she recently inherited. Her message was: “stress relievers.” Looking at the picture, I could feel myself reaching out to pet their soft silky fur, and I exhaled a slow sigh of relief, and I felt myself starting to relax. When God created animals and gave some of them the ability to become our pets, He sure knew what He was doing!

Many of God’s creations can ease our burdened souls: a beautiful sky, a flower-filled hillside, an expansive view of the ocean, a motorcycle ride with the wind blowing in your face, a big hug from a friend, all this and so much more. But for me, pets are one of the biggest blessings. God anticipated days like this when His children would need something in the physical world to calm them. He planned a great variety so that He could have something special for every person.

It was so important to God to prepare things to bless us that He put it right in the beginning of His written word, and before that, His message was already set in the sky and in everything He created. He made many wonderful things for His children even before the children came. We do the same thing today. When a couple finds out they are having a baby, they start to prepare for the baby. They try to get everything set, so when that baby arrives, it has a wonderful and happy physical environment to come into.

In Genesis, God uses the first 25 verses to describe what He created before He brought humans into existence on the earth. At work, we always make jokes about doing the prep work before painting. We say: “75% prep, and 25% actual painting time,” and most of the time, it’s true! Truth is: if the prep work isn’t quality, the painting doesn’t come out as well as it could. God did His prep work well!

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. . . And God said, ‘Let there be light:’ and there was light. 

“And God said, ‘Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.’ And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

“And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit. . . and God saw that it was good. 

“And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

“And God said, ‘Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and the fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven’. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 

“And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good” (Gen. 1:1-24 some words left out for brevity’s sake).

Then, after all the intricacies and details of the creative works He did in preparation for us, verse 26 records: “And God said, Let us make man.”

Today, even though I couldn’t physically touch the kitties, I could feel what it was like if I could, and even the thought of petting their soft silky, warm bodies calmed me down, and I was able to rest. I am so happy that God created animals who would want to become our beloved pets.  

Love, Carolyn

MOTHERS ARE AN AMAZING GIFT FROM GOD

MOTHERS ARE AN AMAZING GIFT FROM GOD

If it weren’t for my mom praying for me, I probably wouldn’t have made it this far. She told me that when I was little, I once followed a dog down the street, and she had to call the police to help find me. Then another time, I drank a bottle of her perfume, and she had to rush me to the hospital. When I was older, I put my mom through even more drama. I remember a time when I was freaking out on LSD in an old downtown building in Chicago, and my mom drove her VW Beetle forty miles in an ice storm to get me. My mom always was big on prayer and trusting God.

I want to relate another story about a mother who trusted God. Her name is Hagar. We find her story in Genesis 16, 20, and 21. Abraham was married to Sarah, and Hagar was Sarah’s maid. When Sarah couldn’t conceive, she came up with the idea that if Abraham could impregnate Hagar, somehow, the child would be considered hers. I don’t get it, but that’s what they decided, and it caused significant problems. As soon as Hagar got pregnant, Sarah was jealous and outraged and treated Hagar horribly. Hagar fled, but on God’s urging, she went back and submitted herself to Sarah’s domination. Relationships may have improved slightly, but there was still bitterness and strife in the household.

Abraham’s entourage traveled through the deserts together as a group for the next thirteen years. By this time, Sarah had conceived and given birth to Isaac. All of them lived together in the same group of tents: Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Hagar, and Ishmael. (Do we really think our “complicated” family dynamics are so modern?) As we’d expect, there was more drama brewing.

One day when Ishmael was fourteen, Sarah overheard him making fun of her son Isaac. It must have been the last straw because she threw him and his mother out. Hagar was devastated. Back then, if you were thrown out, it wasn’t like you could just go to stay with a friend. These people were nomads. They lived in a tent city, traveling from place to place according to the water supply. There was a harsh desert all around them. So when Sarah threw them out, they had to find a way to survive in the wilderness, or they’d die. Abraham was able to sneak them one bottle of water and some bread, but when that was gone, life was over. Hagar wandered in the desert, desperately looking for help. But a person can only last about three days without water, and there were two of them. They’d come to the end.

“When the water was gone, she left the youth in the shade of a bush and went off and sat down a hundred yards or so away. ‘I don’t want to watch him die,’ she said, and burst into tears, sobbing wildly.

“Then God heard the boy crying, and the Angel of God called to Hagar from the sky, ‘Hagar, what’s wrong? Don’t be afraid! For God has heard the lad’s cries as he is lying there. Go and get him and comfort him, for I will make a great nation from his descendants.’

“Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well; so she refilled the canteen and gave the lad a drink. And God blessed the boy, and he grew up” (Gen. 21:15-20).

Hagar knew God. She prayed to Him and cried out to Him. She taught her son to do likewise. God “heard the lad’s cries” and saved them both. To mothers, this should be a great comfort. When you’ve done your best, you don’t have to be afraid that you haven’t done enough. God thinks you have, and He will be there to step in directly for your children when you can’t. GOD IS THERE FOR THEM. Never stop praying for them.

I believe God has given special abilities to mothers, beyond what most people even understand. And too often, we don’t acknowledge the depth of extra strength, endurance, and love that mothers carry within them.

This week we have been making a special effort to go to the small businesses, to give them the money for goods, rather than always the big megastores, and the big conglomerates like Amazon online. It was a thrilling and rewarding experience. All of a sudden, Jane remembered what her mother told her when Jane was only three years old: “Always save something for the little stores, Janie.” Jane’s mother wasn’t the greatest, but she gave this gift to Jane, and to this day, Jane’s passion has always been the so-called little people! I’m glad we have this special day today to say HAPPY MOTHERS’ DAY. We recognize and applaud all of you!

Love, Carolyn

GO FOR THE GOLD

GOING FOR THE GOLD

I was on the phone for over an hour with an agent from my pension plan. I needed some paperwork that was delayed because of the coronavirus. The agent was super helpful, and after several tries, she got the packet sent in an attachment that I could download and print. I thought I was finished, but as I read the paperwork, I couldn’t find anything about the extra amount I was promised. I was bothered, but since I was so tired, I wanted to wait until the next day to call back.

Jane could see that I wanted to quit, but she also knew I wouldn’t be able to let it go. I would be worried and irritated and grumpy and probably wouldn’t sleep well, thinking about it, so she urged me to call them back right away. I didn’t want to do it. I wanted to quit, but I knew she was right, so I called, and in a matter of a few minutes, everything worked out great.

Today, I found an interesting article about how and why people want to quit things right before success. The author talks about how culture has changed over the centuries, but our brains haven’t.

“Why we quit (often right at the tipping point of success)” by Jay Parekh

“Success doesn’t suddenly come barreling down on you all at once. Though it does tend to sneak up on you, without you noticing, if you’re putting in the work everyday.

That is exactly the hard part, because our brains tend to overestimate immediate rewards and underestimate rewards in the future.

Why is this?

Current evidence suggests that modern man first evolved at least 200,000 years ago. Our brains have remained unchanged since then.

Imagine the world when man first emerged. In this world dominated by predator and prey dynamics, man’s priority was the present moment. The hunter gatherer lifestyle fared much better when immediate rewards such as shelter, food and sex were given priority.

Fast forward to our modern world, and most of our day to day activities are geared towards long term rewards. Eg. we work at our jobs to get a paycheck at the end of the month, we exercise today so we can look better in the future, we invest today to prepare for retirement.

Scientists believe that this shift towards long term rewards in our world first started with agriculture, some 11500 years ago. However, its only recently in the last 100-200 years where the majority of our behaviors that have a profound effect in our lives (such as school, college, a career) are geared towards rewards which are far off into the future.

Today we live in a world where actions that benefit us long term are more valuable than those that benefit us immediately (in most cases).

However, our outdated brains still view the world as it always has – in the exact opposite way.”

The author goes on to say that because our brains tend to want the instant gratification still, the only way to do something about it is to re-train our brains. That’s what the Bible teaches us too.

When Moses died, Joshua had to lead the people of God. In the very first battle, God taught Joshua about the benefits of pushing all the way through to the end.

God told him how to take down Jericho and get what God intended for him and his people. But the way God told him to take the city was rather grueling. He and his whole army and all the men, women, and children too, had to march around the city for seven days, around and around, not saying a word, and then on the seventh day he had to march around seven times and then blow the trumpets and shout. Don’t you think those people got tired going around and around for seven straight days? Just think of how their feet felt, for one thing. They had to get up at dawn every day too. The children probably were rowdy, and they were instructed not to say anything, so you can imagine what it must have been like for those poor parents. So many aches and pains. And never mind that it seemed like a pretty silly way to capture a whole city, right?

But Joshua led the people in God’s ways, and the people followed. They all pushed themselves to the very end, without quitting.

“And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times.

“And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, ‘Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city.’

“So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city” (Josh. 6:15-16,20).

When we get to the place where we feel like quitting on something we really want, let’s kick into high gear and make that extra effort to get to the end. God’s rewards are always worth it.

Love, Carolyn

GIVING CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE

GIVING CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE

Despite the horrible deaths and suffering caused by the coronavirus and the quarantines, all is not lost. There can be some good things coming out of all this. People are turning back to God and giving Him the credit He is due. We are saying: “God did this for me,” and we are saying it out loud. Proverbs 3:5 tells us: “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” James 1:17 says: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

First, that verse tells me that God doesn’t change His mind on giving to us. He is going to keep giving us good gifts, even during a pandemic, even if we don’t give Him credit. But also, the verse tells me that even though Mary Lou may be the one who gives me the gift, the source is God. Say, for instance, she comes to my restaurant and purchases carry out for her family, God is the one who instigated the doing of it.

And it’s the right thing to do, to thank Mary Lou from the bottom of my heart, but I also need to acknowledge that it was ultimately God who sent the gift my way. We really need to start giving God more credit when we speak of the everyday good things that happen in our lives. We all know that there is more to our lives than what we see in the natural. It’s time to speak about our God. King David in the Bible is a great example of doing just that.

“I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed” (Ps. 119:46). If David wasn’t embarrassed to speak of our God’s blessings before kings, why do we hesitate to acknowledge our God in front of our family and friends? I don’t believe we hesitate because we’re afraid, I think that maybe it just hasn’t been our custom to speak out loud about God so much. We don’t hear it, so we don’t say it? When I was growing up, I was told many times that religion and politics were two subjects you didn’t talk about. It was “a personal thing.” Well, we sure have blown that theory in recent years as far as politics are concerned, so how about blowing it sky-high in speaking about our God too, not in the arguing about doctrine but in openly giving Him credit for “every good and perfect gift” coming down from Him, as it says in the Bible? How about acknowledging Him in all our ways (giving Him credit for even the smaller good things He does for us), as Solomon said? And God called Solomon the wisest man ever to live.

David didn’t think we should keep our feelings about God so personal. He said: “I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee” (Ps. 22:22).

In Ps. 52:9, David gives God credit: “I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.” And Psalm 34:1: “I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.”

Even the Apostle Paul asked the believers to pray for him in this aspect of giving God credit, and saying something about His goodness: “that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel [the good news], for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak” (Eph. 6:19-20). Granted, Paul was an apostle, and he was commissioned of God to speak a lot, but each of us can at least speak a little, right?

Let’s start remembering that every good gift comes down from God, and let’s audibly give Him credit.

Love, Carolyn

My second edition of WINGS is finally complete. Buy a copy today. It’ll change your life😊

https://www.amazon.com/WINGS-Journey-Weekly-Workbook-Christian/dp/B0874LGZ34/ref=sr_1_4?crid=EZNJZZUP3KHG&dchild=1&keywords=wings+carolyn+molica&linkCode=ll2&linkId=db88efb13727dcb484eb29f5b1683284&qid=1588531344&sprefix=wings+carolyn+molica%2Caps%2C353&sr=8-4