Author: reallifesecrets

There are 7 Secrets to Life — LIVE, READ, LOVE, FIGHT, BELIEVE, LIVE & PRAY. Live you life by them and you will find lasting happiness, peace, and fulfillment. Life was meant to be so simple. We are the ones who complicate it. God wants us to enjoy life to the fullest!

“You’ve Got a Friend”

It’s the song written and first sung by Carole King and also by James Taylor. King said the song practically wrote itself. No wonder. It’s uplifting and comforting, especially when you feel “down and troubled.”

You always have a friend. His name is Jesus. He’s the expression of God come to this earth to save and comfort. He will “brighten up even your darkest night.”

Just call out His name.

I can’t say it any better than the lyrics to the song. Think Jesus. He’s the best friend you’ll ever have!

When you’re down and troubled,
And you need some love and care,
And nothing, nothing is going right
Close your eyes and think of me,
And soon I will be there
To brighten up even your darkest night.

You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I’ll come running to see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you have to do is call
And I’ll be there
You’ve got a friend

If the sky above you grows dark and full of clouds
And that old north wind begins to blow
Keep your head together and call my name out loud
Soon you’ll hear me knocking at your door

You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I’ll come running, running, yeah, yeah, to see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you have to do is call
And I’ll be there
And I’ll be there, yes I will.

Now, ain’t it good to know that you’ve got a friend
When people can be so cold?
They’ll hurt you, yes, and desert you
And take your soul if you let them,
Oh, but don’t you let them

You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I’ll come running, running, yeah, yeah, yeah, to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you have to do is call
And I’ll be there, yes I will.
You’ve got a friend

You’ve got a friend
Ain’t it good to know, you’ve got a friend?
Ain’t it good to know?
Ain’t it good to know?
Ain’t it good to know, you’ve got a friend?

Oh yeah, now
Oh, you’ve got a friend
Yeah, baby
You’ve got a friend
Oh yeah…
You’ve got a friend

Carole King, January 1971

Less Than a Heartbeat Away

That’s where God is in your life. And don’t ever forget it! You may feel like God is so distant from you or, at worst, is not in your life at all. But God is always there—less than a heartbeat away. The problem is that you are not always there.

I had to remind myself this weekend. I did something wrong and was beating myself up about it. I was feeling like God was nowhere to be found. He was lost. Unfortunately, I was lost. God was less than a heartbeat away. I was the one miles away mentally.

Once again, this is not some “religious” mumbo-gumbo. It’s life. God created you and me, equally and with unconditional love. No matter what we do wrong, or how we try our best to hurt God, He is always there in our lives. He is part of our very DNA. He is less than a heartbeat away.

When God seems so distant the problem is not God. It’s us. We don’t try or spend any time LISTENing for/to God. We get too caught up in the world—our very busy world—to give God a thought. Much less LISTEN to/for Him.

So, remember. God is ALWAYS here, regardless of your perspective. God is always less than a heartbeat away.

Have a better than a FANTASTIC day! 

Purpose

Yesterday I wrote about the answer to Jesus’ question, “What are you looking for?” The answer is God. Find God in your life and you find your purpose in life. And if you don’t realize it yet you have a God-given, special, and unique purpose in life. Yes, you!

Find your purpose and you find fulfillment. Fulfillment is joy.

I know, I know. This all seems too easy, pat, cute, and sing-songy. It is in a way. Life is meant to be simple. With God it’s simple. With us it’s complex.

The first Secret to Life is simply to LISTEN for/to God. LISTEN and you will find Him. Find God and you find your purpose. Fulfillment and joy come naturally.

But you have to start by opening up your mind and heart to God in order to LISTEN for/to Him. You have to want to do it. And you have to make the time. You have to start. God will fill in the rest—if you let Him.

Have a fantastic day!

What Are You Looking For?

One of my favorite Bible verses is so simple it seems meaningless—“What are you looking for?” (John 1:38) That’s what Jesus asked when two of John’s followers started following Him.

This is simple beyond simple—“What are you looking for?”

You and I should be asking ourselves that question every day. What are you looking for in life? And there’s only one answer—God. Father, Son & Spirit. Separate but together. God. Simple. So simple we complicate life beyond all recognition.

More people today go looking for life in all the wrong places—money, alcohol, drugs, sex, gambling, things, and more things. They look so hard that these become rabbit holes (addictions) they go down and can’t escape.

God. That’s what we are looking for. Our Father Creator, Son Savior, and Spirit Advocate. What more can we ask for? How simple can this be?

I know—it’s tough at times. I go down dead ends like everyone else. And I have to remind myself that I’m looking for one thing to give true meaning to this relatively short time on earth. God.

Simple. But, girl oh boy, do we know how to complicate life so much. We complicate it so much that we can’t see the simplicity. God. And we want to go in the other direction by separating God (“church”) from life (“state”). No wonder why this world is spinning out of control.

What are you looking for?

Only You Can Make You Feel!

I can’t make you feel anything. Regardless of what I may say about you, I can’t make you feel. Only you can make you feel.

I hear all the time people saying that so-and-so makes them feel one way or another. Even my wife on occasion will say something about how I make her feel. But now she stops and smiles before she says anything because she knows what I am going to say—“Only you can make you feel!”

You may think this sounds insensitive. That we can say anything to and about anyone with free license. Far from it. Our words can be like swords. What comes out of our mouths need to thoughtful, compassionate, and positive. We have no free license to say anything we want. But words can’t make us feel. Only we can make us feel.

One moment, Jesus was going to be made a king. The next, they were ready to throw Him off a cliff. No wonder He went away by Himself for some quiet time to think and pray. Jesus didn’t let the highs and lows get to Him. We need to take some lessons here.

I know it’s tough when people can say mean things. It can hurt. But, once again, you control that hurt. There’s no better way to ignore the “noise” by getting away from it. And thinking and praying, making sure you open up and LISTEN for/to God. It may not be easy, but I can sure tell you it works! 

Your feelings are yours exclusively. You control them. No one else. And your ability to really control them will only get stronger thought getting in touch with God—Father, Son, and Spirit.

Take control today! And have a SUPER one in the process!!!

Jesus is Shaking His Head in Disbelief and Sadness!

Another mass shooting. The worst since the killing of innocent little children in my neighboring town of Newtown, CT. Tragic. Shocking. Senseless. Horrific. Keep going. No words can adequately describe Newton or Parkland.

All Jesus can think is disbelief and sadness.

When faced with his own capture and death, Jesus told Peter, “Put your sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52) We keep drawing our swords and dying by them. We learn nothing. Disbelief and sadness.

I’m not a hunter or a shooting range marksman. I don’t want to force taking away anyone’s guns, although there is no place for automatic (semi or otherwise) rifles meant to do one thing and one thing only: kill people.

I just don’t understand why we can’t put our guns down. Jesus, and our Father, give us one command: love. How can we do that with a gun?

I’m sad, shocked, numb, and in disbelief. I can’t imagine how Jesus—who lived and died for us—is feeling right now.

Join me in praying, and hurting, for all those who lost a life or lost a child or brother or sister yesterday. And for all those who’s lives will never be the same.

Into the Desert…

The start of Lent. For some, a time of giving up something you really like. For others, a time to give up something for yourself in favor of giving to someone else. For some, a time to do both and more, And, for others, a time to do nothing different—just trudging aimlessly through the desert of life.

I think Lent is an opportunity for self renewal. Yes, give up chocolate (you can see where my head is at!), reach out to others in need (something I need to do more of!!!), But walk into the “desert” like Jesus did and reflect.

Just what does that mean?

Find some quiet time to reflect on your life. Do you know your special, unique, God-given purpose in life? Are you walking into the desert, aimlessly wandering, or headed out of the desert to your own Promised Land? If you can manage to shut the world out on occasion it’s amazing what you may discover about yourself and life.

Some think Jesus was alone that 40 days in the desert of reflection. He wasn’t. He had His Father; your Father. And it’s a crowd with you because you have Father, Son, and Spirit.

OK, enough “religion.”

Just keep these thoughts in your head while your getting the shakes from giving up chocolate (already starting!) and reaching out to someone in need (top of my list). Get some quiet time. Shut out the world so you can really reflect. Where are you headed in life? What’s your purpose? Are you achieving that purpose? What’s holding you back? Ask yourself these questions and more. Think. Question. Reflect. Renew.

And most importantly—You are NEVER alone in life, regardless of how “alone” you feel. In the desert or otherwise. God, in all His forms, is less than a heartbeat away. And He loves you more than you can ever, ever understand!

I don’t want to say “enjoy” Lent but enjoy it. Reflect. Go inside yourself. Renew.

And in a strange bit of timing—Happy Valentine’s Day!!! 

Who’s in Control?

God. There’s only one answer. And if you got this question wrong, or even had to think about it for a second, think again. God’s not driving your life. You can’t sit in the passenger seat and just relax, snoozing on occasion. You’re driving but God is giving the directions. So, you have to LISTEN.

Why are so many people directionless in life? In fact, why does it seem like the entire planet of people we call humans is directionless? Simply, because they don’t LISTEN to God.

I can’t write enough about this but God has a special, unique purpose for your life. Yes, you! And, yes, both special and unique! Unique because whoever you are—even if you have an identical twin that reads your mind—you are uniquely individual. And your purpose in life is uniquely yours.

The secret to life is finding and understanding that purpose. And one of my first Secrets to Life is to LISTEN for and to God. He’s sitting there in the passenger seat beside you, ready with destination and how to get there.

But you won’t know your destination unless you simply LISTEN.

Try letting go and letting God. It’s simple. And it works!

Happy driving!!!

Do You Look Outward or Inward?

There is no better question on how you live your life to ask yourself! I mean, seriously. Of course, 99.9999…% of us look outward. We look at the sex of a person, skin color, our version of “attractiveness,” etc, etc. All outside. But God told Samuel how we should be “looking:”

The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7

Of course, this makes sense if you stop and think about it for a minute. God created us “in His image” (Genesis 1:27). The “image” of God is not outward—He can’t look anymore like me than He does you or anyone else. God doesn’t have any kind of doppelgänger. God’s “image” is His heart and total, absolute, and unblemished unconditional love.

OK, I’ll stop the gobbledygook and abstractions and bring this down to earth and practical living.

You need to look past the outside of a person, no matter how hard that may be. You have to look “inside” a person, at their “heart.” We can only move closer to God when we start loving like God loves. And the only way to really LOVE a person is how God loves you, me, and every other person past, present, and future. Inside.

Look at the world today. Hatred, violence, abuse, etc. It’s not God(ly) because it’s all about what’s outside people, not what’s inside. The world would be a far, far different place if each one of us even made the attempt to look inside people.

Want to change the world? Start looking “inside” people. Look past the flesh. Like all of life, it’s that very simple. Remember—we complicate life. God intends it to be simple. Change starts one person at a time. Change. Look inside.

Have a GREAT rest of this weekend, wherever you are!!!

Looking for God in Your Life?

He’s less than a heart beat away. You simply have to listen. That’s why I put LISTEN at the top of the list of Secrets to Life. You can’t “hear” God if you don’t LISTEN. You need to shut out the world and tune into God.

When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13

It takes your heart to “hear” God in your life. Practically speaking, you need to put the distractions of the world aside and really—REALLY!!!—tune into God. As I said, He is less than a heart beat away.

LISTEN and you will hear. I guarantee it. Don’t expect lightning bolts or revelations, although they may happen. But it’s in the silence of your life where you will most likely “hear” God.

Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in the mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 1 Kings 19:11-14

Elijah heard God in the “sheer silence.” That’s where you will hear Him too if you can just shut out the world for a little bit.

I know this all sounds simple but it is. God makes life simple. We make it complicated.

LISTEN!!! And have a GREAT day!