REVISE YOUR PRIORITIES

So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12

Our lives are more meaningful and complete when all our efforts are focused on the things that mean the most to us.

People who have identified and embraced a clear purpose in life are able to accomplish far more than those who have not.

It is therefore important for us to set the right agenda for our lives, prioritize accordingly, and keep our lives in balance.

What then should be the most important priorities in your life?

1. Let God be your topmost priority. Set a priority that you will serve God and do His will.

2. Invest quality time into the lives of the people you love.

3. Take a risk. Do something that you don't normally do. Take a bold step towards something of value. Take a giant leap. Do something bold and courageous for once.

4. Put some money aside for your future. Commit yourself never to touch the money, even if you are in need.

Have a clear plan concerning your savings or investment notably, the amount per month, where and how you would invest it and how long you want to keep the investment running.

The more the discipline and commitment to the plan, the more likely are its chances of success.

5. Invest sacrificially in something you will be proud of in the future. Sacrifice in something noble something worthy.

When you grow old, there must be landmarks all over life that have your name and signature on them. Let it be that you passed this way and left your impact and influence on people's lives.

Re-ordering your priorities and committing time and resources to the most important things in your life will ensure that your life gets better each year than the year before.

Prayer: Lord, give me wisdom to put the first things first.

Scriptural Reading: Psalm 90:9-12

Andrae Crouch (RIP) Listen and be litfed

Lyrics to Through It AllVerse 1
I've had many tears and sorrows,
I've had questions for tomorrow,
there's been times I didn't know right from wrong.
But in every situation,
God gave me blessed consulation,
that my trials come to only make me strong.

Chorus
Through it all,
through it all,
I've learned to trust in Jesus,
I've learned to trust in God.

Through it all,
through it all,
I've learned to depend upon His Word.

Verse 2
I've been to lots of places,
I've seen a lot of faces,
there's been times I felt so all alone.
But in my lonely hours,
yes, those precious lonely hours,
Jesus lets me know that I was His own

Chorus

Verse 3
I thank God for the mountains,
and I thank Him for the valleys,
I thank Him for the storms He brought me through.
For if I'd never had a problem,
I wouldn't know God could solve them,
I'd never know what faith in God could do

The Gospel singer legend Andraé Crouch dead at 72

Music legend Andraé Crouch has died. The Grammy and Dove Award winner passed away on Thursday, January 8, 2015 at approximately 4:30pm PST at Northridge Hospital Medical Center in the Los Angeles area. Andraé, 72, was hospitalized on January 3rd.

Andraé's accolades include 7 Grammy Awards, 6 GMA Dove Awards, an Academy Award nomination for "The Color Purple," induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.Read here

His songs have been recorded by everyone from Elvis Presley to Paul Simon, and he has worked as a producer and arranger with many of music's top artists, including Michael Jackson, Madonna, Quincy Jones, Diana Ross, Elton John and many others. Andraé can also be heard on Michael Jackson's hit singles "Man in the Mirror," "Keep the Faith," "Will You Be There" and "Earth Song."

Andraé's family requests privacy at this time. 

Secret to Talking to Teens (And All Kids) About Weight

Forget pushy parents and peer pressure. The secret for teens who succeeded at losing weight, and keeping it off, according to new research: Making the choice to slim down for their own sake. 

Of teens who lost an average of 30 pounds (and maintained it for a year), 60 percent say they were motivated by their own decision to focus on their health – according to 40 teens who participated in a small study conducted by researchers at Brigham Young University.

So knowing this, how can parents help steer teens toward a healthy weight? Tread lightly, Kristi L. King, Senior Dietitian at Texas Children’s Hospital, who is not associated with this study, tells Yahoo Parenting.

“When you’re a teenager, and mom or dad harp on you to take the trash out or stop eating a particular food, you’re more likely to not do it,” she says. “Over restriction and helicoptering can cause kids and teens to sneak foods or binge on unhealthy foods at their friend’s houses.”

According to the teens in the study, parents help the most simply by modeling healthy behaviors and providing more nutritious options for meals and snacks.

“Teens can help with meal planning, prep, and cooking. This includes cutting up fresh fruits and vegetables, so they are readily available, at eye level, in clear containers in the fridge,” says King. Other ideas include jars filled with mini rice cakes, low-fat crackers and air popped popcorn visible on countertops. Lemon or fruit-infused water is a subtle substitute for sugary juice drinks or soda.

Still, impressing friends with a fit body isn’t exactly obsolete with 43 percent of teens in the study admitting that peer pressure drives them to trim down.

But peer pressure isn’t all bad. Friends can also lean on each other to model healthy behaviors. “Walking with their friend after school or holding each other accountable for no fast food or sugar-sweetened beverages is proven successful in a weight loss journey,” says King.

There are different ways to approach weight loss with kids of all ages.

In grade school, focus on making healthy eating and fitness fun. “Make time for family physical activity and encourage your child to pick out new healthy foods for the family to try together.” King tells Yahoo Parenting this is the time to set rules like filling half of the dinner plate with vegetables – but let kids determine what type of vegetables so they feel like they have a choice in the matter.

“Kids, no matter how old, learn from role modeling, so if parents include vegetables at each meal and hit the treadmill, young kids will likely adopt those habits as they become older,” says King.

As they become tweens and can grasp more complex ideas, try discussing how food connects to your health. “Many times, you can associate a loved one’s health condition like diabetes or heart disease and state ‘by eating healthy we can help prevent it,’” says King.

As kids begin high school or college, emphasize how these times can bring an opportunity for renewal.

“There were some periods, like a transition to high school or to college, where we saw groups of teens who lost weight in those important periods,” Chad Jensen, the study researcher and a psychologist at Brigham Young University (who was unavailable for comment to Yahoo Parenting), tells Science Daily. “It’s sort of an opportunity to re-make yourself. There’s a lot of change going on, so some teens decide to make a change to be healthier.”

Source: yahoo.com

DON'T GIVE UP

Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; when I fall, I will arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. Micah 7:8

The use of the word 'when' is significant. It means that hidden in every success story are a number of falls from which the victor is able to bounce back.

I have had a number of setbacks in my life. There are things I have tried out that did not turn out too well in the beginning.

Indeed, some of our most successful projects and programmes in this ministry were birthed out of the ashes of seeming failure and defeat.

Persistence is all you need, sometimes. The widow in Luke 18 was refused justice several times by the judge.

However, the Bible records that as a result of her persistence, the unjust judge granted her request, against his own wishes.

Jesus used this story to teach us not to give up at the first sign of failure. Progress in life involves competing for the same opportunities with other people, who may therefore develop some envy or hatred for you.
In some instances, you may get opportunities that others may feel they deserve. The result may be persecution and misinterpretation of your motives and actions.

Sometimes, your own mistakes and disappointments may serve as continuous reminders of your limitations whenever you seek to move forward.

However, it is important to keep at it and know that your efforts will eventually pay off.

In pursuit of your goals this year, always remember the nursery rhyme: "If at first you don't succeed, TRY AGAIN!!!"

Prayer: Lord, give me inner strength to persevere and never give up.

Scriptural Reading: Micah 7:8-10

Firefighters rescue naked woman trapped in ex-boyfriend's chimney

Firefighters in Southern California responded to an unusual call over the weekend at the home of a man who awoke to find his ex-girlfriend naked and stuck inside the fireplace.

According to Riverside County officials, the 35-year-old woman, who was not identified, tried to enter the Woodcrest, Calif., home where her ex-boyfriend and three children live through the front door early Saturday morning, but it was locked. So she climbed on the roof, stripped off her clothes and tried to shimmy down the chimney.

Shortly before 5 a.m., her estranged boyfriend, Tony Hernandez, said he heard the woman crying for help. read here.

“She said, ‘I’m trapped in the chimney,’” Hernandez told CBS Los Angeles.

Hernandez first tried to pull her out with an extension cord.

“I tried to get her out, but it was too hard,” he said.
It took 23 Riverside County firefighters approximately two hours to extract the woman, removing bricks from the chimney’s exterior during what they termed a “technical rescue.” The woman was transported to a local area hospital with “minor to moderate” injuries, fire officials said.

Hernandez told CBS Los Angeles that the woman isn’t allowed around his kids.

“I don’t like the way she’s acting or what she’s doing,” he said. “That’s not good for my kids.”

Full of Compassion

TEXT: LUKE 19:41-48

Key Verse: “And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it” (Luke 19:41).

A father had a son over whom he had laboured greatly. He provided all that the son needed, sent him to the best schools and invested greatly in estates to prepare him for a better future. Then one day, while looking through his son’s room, he saw strange substances and documents. His son was a cocaine user and a member of a deadly secret cult. As he considered the implications of this discovery - a wasted future, investment gone down the drain, lost privilege, and so on - he wept. The boy wasted his life because he could not appreciate or discern the heritage he had.

Jesus looked at the children of Israel and saw how they wasted their heritage. Israel is God’s special and peculiar vineyard, fenced for protection, planted as the choicest vine with tower and winepress (Isaiah 5:1-7). The law and prophets came from them.

As Jesus looked at Jerusalem and the pain and anguish that was going to befall them, He wept. He saw pain instead of peace, gloom instead of gain and blight instead of blessings. He said: “If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes” (Luke 19:42). Many people like Jerusalem waste their lives, golden opportunities and the things that belong to their peace and then attract destruction.

Maybe, you have gone away from the Lord already, despite all that He has invested in you or reserved for you in glory. You need to retrace your steps back to Calvary. If, as a prodigal son, you have wandered away from the sheepfold, today you can return to the Chief Shepherd and all that the enemy has taken away from you will be restored. And you can pledge to live the rest of your life for God, while expecting to be with Him in eternity for greater, richer rewards.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Be careful so that you will not cry, “had I known.”