Relationships

The relationships that one must master, in order of priority in my opinion, are:

Relationship with LORD, self and others.

Resources that everyone is entrusted with that must be maximized in the use thereof, include: Time, Talent and Treasure (or Money and Possessions).

The key to developing a strong relationship with the LORD include 3 basic disciplines: Praise, Prayer and Bible Study.

Praise includes a heart quality of thankfulness and gratitude.

I find that in times of prayer, I must come to Him, laying before Him all my cares and burdens and put things in my life that I hold dear, even things that I must give up, upon the altar of His love and forgiveness.

The greatest adventure in life is to pursue the LORD, to love Him more deeply and stronger everyday and transfer this to others.

This is not an easy thing to do but it starts at the beginning of your day, every day.

Upon waking, I endeavor to set my heart right before Him.

Regardless of whether I have to get up and get going with a limited time frame or I am able to luxuriate in a morning where I can sleep late (and oh, thank the LORD for those!) I try to immediately orient myself to a new day, regardless of what’s going on in my life. And life will be a turning wheel of seasons of pressure and seasons of blessing.

I begin to pray and thank the LORD for a new day. I pray the Our Father Prayer that the LORD gave us. I also pray the Jabez prayer found in the Book of Judges, the Serenity Prayer (of the 12 Step Program) and a customized prayer that includes praying the blood of Christ and angelic protection around myself and my loved ones.

I proceed by getting up, putting on my IPod and listening to energizing or encouraging Christian praise music that will facilitate more prayer.

I have specific prayer lists I pray over which include prayers directed to the LORD, prayers regarding my relationships and for the larger Body of Christ, those who do not know Christ, for my vocational and financial life and how the LORD can use me to impact society and the culture at large.