“Are you done yet?” Four words that I have said a million times. The majority of those times were to my children in the middle of throwing a fit or prodding them along when I knew there was somewhere we needed to be. The question always alluded to the point that if they would hurry up, we could get on with it

Do you have a mantra? A phrase or motto that you live by? Maybe you can’t think of one off hand but chances are good that if you look hard enough into your life, you’ll find one! My life mantra is this— “Life is for the living.”

Do you ever wish life came with an instruction manual? The good news is it does, it’s called the Bible. The bad news is sometimes we can be slow learners. I’m the type of person that learns best through hands-on experience. I am the type of person who will sit in a lecture or hear a sermon and think, “That’s good, but how?” Like really how does that flesh out? I want the details.

I used to love to play peek-a-boo with my kids when they were babies. There is something so funny when I child thinks that just because their eyes are covered, they are hidden. This makes me reflect on how we are before God at times.

Did you ever receive an open invitation? An invitation that is always good, no expiration, no fine print?  This sort of invitation speaks of friendship and camaraderie—"You're welcome here anytime. Take as much as you want"— an invite without boundary or end. Offense offers that kind of invitation to us. 

Have you ever woken up from sleep and out of nowhere, get slammed with a heavy dose of discouragement? Absolutely nothing changed from when you went to sleep to when you opened your eyes and stepped out of bed, however, discouragement tried to “get on you.”

What is honor? One definition is to adhere to righteousness! David decided to radically adhere himself to do right in the eyes of the Lord. The Bible says that the Lord searches to and fro throughout the earth looking for a man whose heart is completely His.

Have you ever tried to run in a straight path while looking backward? When I was about 12, I was at a birthday party at a sports complex. With all of my friends around I thought I would be cool and jump on the treadmill and run backwards. Needless to say, that wasn’t one of my proudest moments; however, it was one of my most embarrassing.

Have you ever doubted your destiny? You know what I’m talking about… moments when the destiny you thought you could perceive doesn’t seem like it is coming to pass. In fact, there may even be moments where you feel like you are headed in the exact opposite direction of your destiny.

Many times, we think of a proud person as someone who is overly confident or arrogant. However, most of us are filled with pride and don’t even realize it! Pride, simply stated, is putting our own abilities or inabilities before our faith in God’s ability. 

What are you believing God for? I recently heard a story of someone telling a fellow Christian in need that if they need something, they should believe God for it. The story ended with God’s provision and also ended with me asking myself, “Am I believing God for the things I need?”

Do you ever wonder if God hears you when you pray? Are you even praying right? These are thoughts the enemy would love for you to think about your prayer life. If he can get you to stop praying, he can take you out of a place of power as a believer!

Have you ever said something and then instantly regretted it? Unfortunately, there is no way to take back those words. The old quip: sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me isn’t exactly true. The words we speak can hurt us, as well as others.