I used to love watching my daughter play high school basketball. I would cheer her on and get so excited when her team would win. But, as I looked across the court I felt sad for the team that lost. For every winning team, there is also a team that will lose.

Those were precious memories but as I think on the victories and the defeats, I have to remind myself that life is full of victories and losses.

Every day we’re in a battle. Either you’re on God’s team or Satan’s. Which will you choose?

I choose to be on God’s team. Now this doesn’t mean that every day is a winning carefree day. But I found that if God is on my side and I trust Him in the outcome of my day that I can go throughout my day with a little more confidence, a little less stress and conflict.

Ephesians 6:10-11 - “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

Don’t listen to the lies of the enemy. Satan is great at heaping on guilt, condemnation and fear.

God’s presence is real. He gives us strength every day. Disappointments come. God sees “mighty,” when we see “weak.” He sees “victory” when we see “defeat.”

God is always with us, no matter how we might feel, or what struggles flood our thoughts.

God’s already won the battle. Stand tall with the victor of life!

Where’s your focus today? Is your mind centered on your problems; the daily tasks you endure and dread?

Are you consumed with worry on how you’ll make ends meet or anxious about the upcoming doctor’s appointment?

Colossians 3:2 - “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

Distraction is the opposite of focus. As Christians, we are constantly tempted to pull away from a consistent focus on Christ.

It’s a disciplined lifestyle. We must purposely choose to see every blessing and struggle through the lens of Christ.

It’s hard not to notice a disciplined Christian. Their attitude and overall outlook on life is different. They make an intentional investment of focusing on God instead of their circumstances.

Every day there are different paths for us to take. It’s our responsibility to choose the right thing, even if it brings pain.

I have to deliberately study God’s word (Bible) daily. This aligns my life and my focus to God’s will for me.

Our focus should and always remain grounded in faith that God is in control.

Do you trust God with today? Are you focused on Him fully? Is your faith in God and not your circumstances?

Stay focused on righteousness!

Where’s your faith? What’s your focus?

I recently retired from a career in IT. That career served me well and I made a decent living for over 30 years.

I am fortunate that I could retire from this field. I thank God for giving me the courage to make this move. My new career as caregiver has been a desire in my heart for many years. I want to give back to the elderly. It is so rewarding to give to these wonderful people in need.

I always knew that God would provide for me in making this move. And He has come through one-hundred percent.

Philippians 4:19 - “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

There are at least 169 verses in the Bible that refer to the ways God provides for us. God differentiates between our needs and our wants. He does this to see where our heart is. He wants us to focus on our eternal life while we’re still living this one.

Some of us think of God as a genie in a bottle, making wishes on demand. But that’s not what God wants for us. He wants to give us peace in this busy, destructive world. He wants to give us power, love and self-discipline.

Don’t take for granted all that God provides: the sun, rain, etc. God is a caring father; He will not leave us and is always near.

When others look at me and wonder how I could make such a bold move in my career, I just smile and say, “God has never left me and He loves to give me the desires of my heart.

I stepped out in faith, and asked God to provide and He did just that. I’ll let Him take care of the details!

As a seasoned Christian I have had many seasons of mountain top experiences and have had my fair share of dark valleys.

It’s a spiritual journey. A spiritual journey is the natural progression of a person as they grow in the understanding of God, the world and him/her self.

Everyone starts a spiritual journey as a child, naive and still influenced by the flesh. We are in need of basic education of God and our position with God. We learn how to act and how to relate to the world.

Above anything, we must understand as a Christian that it is a journey. It’s a life-long process involving our attention and God’s work in us.

We have to take the bad, and the good on this journey.

We shouldn’t be surprised when we find ourselves in discouraging trials. God designed these trials to see how grounded in our faith we are. Will we depend on our own resources to climb out of despair, or will we look to God and follow His lead to higher waters?

These pastures of hope that are ahead encourage us to press on, fight the good fight. Believe above all else that God is near.

We can expect discouragement, but we can have joy in the hope that is to come!

1 Thessalonians 5:18 - “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

An architect is a person who designs building and in many cases also supervises their construction.

When an architect designs a building he/she has to create a plan. They have to decide on the materials to be used so that the building can withstand certain elements. For example, when building in an environment where you have tornados occasionally, you have to have materials that can withstand wind speeds of over 100 miles an hour.

The same is true with people. God’s the architect of life. He designed each of us in our mother’s womb. He knew what oppositions we would come against; He knew what type of personality we would have, so that when trials come, we could withstand the storms of life.

God put love, determination, empathy, endurance and a strong-willed character into us so that we will be able to serve Him and love others.

I thank God for designing me the way He did. I may have flaws and I may not do everything perfect, but I know that my perfection lies in knowing God; serving Him and others every day.

Accept your own unique design. After all, the creator of the universe is the architect of life.

Matthew 6:34 - “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Do you sometimes find yourself looking at tomorrow’s agenda and worrying about how you’re going to get it all done?

This inevitably will cause you some unneeded stress in your life.

It’s hard. I’ll admit it. For example, I had a hard time falling asleep last night, thinking about all I had to complete before the weekend. I know in my mind not to do this, but occasionally I’ll get myself worked up over something that I shouldn’t worry about.

I have found that this one thing works for me and have to remind myself to go back to it: It is to focus on God. Sounds too simple, but it has always worked for me.

I focus on what He’s done for me, even little things. Focus on how much I’m blessed with food, a roof over my head, family, etc.

Keep your eyes on God and everything else on your calendar fades away from your thoughts.

And the best part is it will help you on those sleepless nights and keep you connected to God.

Don’t get ahead of God; He’s already got the day planned. Just go with God, He’ll never fail you.

A trigger, used as a verb, is anything that can cause (an event or situation) to happen or exist.

What triggers you, in a negative or positive way? People can say or do something that may trigger a thought. It may bring to mind a negative thought that immediately irritates you. Or, it may cause you to feel angry or resentment toward that person.

Triggers can also be positive. If a child gives you a hug, it may bring a memory of yourself as a little kid being hugged by a parent or grandparent.

Have you even thought of a trigger being an opportunity to show love or compassion, or even an opportunity to teach?

The next time someone triggers a negative thought in you, stop, take a deep breath and instead of reacting in a condescending or angry tone, respond with a calm, loving voice.

Try it sometime. Triggers are opportunities for Christians to respond in a Christ-like manner.

Colossians 3:15 - “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”

Know ahead of time what triggers a negative thought and commit to using it as an opportunity to show grace.

It may not come natural at first, but the more you give grace, the more it will become habitual.

We are all familiar with what a prison is. There are over 5000 prison systems housing over 2.3 million people in the United States.

Matthew 25:36 - “I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.”

I don’t know if you’ve ever visited someone in prison or just visited one of the facilities, but a prison is a very lonely, sad place.

I was recently a part of a prison ministry called, “Bill Glass Prison Ministry.” The group that I was a part of did ministry in the Juvenile Detention center. We had some entertainment for the kids, which was great, and then we shared the gospel with them. Most of these kids are from broken homes, some don’t even have a home to go to, once they’re freed.

In talking to a couple of the kids, we asked if they knew what sin is. They couldn’t tell me.

My prayer is if they remember one thing from our visit is that Jesus loves them.

Prisons. Over half the population of America are in emotional prisons.

When you’re in an emotional prison, you’re trapped in your thoughts. You can’t look past your hurts and current trial, and the only way to get free of this is to trust and lean on Jesus. He’s already broke the bondage of sin; He can loose the chains of captivity.

The prisons are full of broken, hurting people. Take one afternoon or join a group and visit one of these institutions.

God promises to set us free spiritually and emotionally. Make the right choices.