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Positive Thoughts Press

Our Pressing Purpose: To Affirm & Encourage Every Individual through Positive Thoughts, Inspirational Stories, Essays, and Devotions.

03/08/2018

This year's motto: "Go Beyond!" Go beyond your standard deduction with your charitable giving. For singles it's $12,000, for married filing joint, it's $24,000. With mortgage interest, real estate taxes, Missouri taxes, and charitable giving -- go beyond your itemized deduction and beat the government at their own game and bless your charitable organizations. That is my goal this year: GO BEYOND! Let the Lord bless you while you bless others and get the benefit of more tax deduction than Uncle Sam planned for you! GO BEYOND!

02/19/2018

When many things are going right, there will always be things and people that will trip you up in your path of right walking. Don't let them. If you are making progress in whatever it is you are attempting -- reaching your goals -- you will feel tired, stretched, and overwhelmed. Don't let it do that. You must recognize that to get to the next level, you must be stretched, enlarged, and tested. It might seem easy to say, but it can be hard to do. Still keep trying. Put the bad stuff, the rude person, and the unfortunate event where it belongs -- on the sideline and race towards your goal -- It will prove to be the springboard for your very next level -- and no this is not a video game -- this is your life -- LIVE IT to its fullest and WIN your battles! You CAN!

01/29/2018

What comprises God's Glory? Many things, but what about many of His attributes being displayed all at once? Like a rainbow of colorful characteristics extracted from one powerful bright white light. Some of these are his power, majesty, grace, mercy, love, creativity, goodness, sovereignty, tenderness, humor, wrath, watchcare . . . A perfect example of this is when in the Old Testament Elijah was facing the prophets of Baal on Mt Carmel. God displayed his power, majesty and sovereignty when the fire fell. He displayed his love, mercy and grace when he did not let the fire fall on the faithless Israelites and consume them instead of burning up the sacrifice on the altar. He displayed his creativity, tenderness, and watchcare towards Elijah when he answered the prophet's request to let the fire fall. A display of many attributes of God at work in one single day. What was the result? The people immediately fell on their faces and declared that God was the true God. It cannot help but be so in the face of God's Glory. Where is His Glory today? Look outside your door and inhale the beauty of His creation. Sky, earth, grass, trees, flowers, air, animals, and most of all ourselves!

01/17/2018

Words of wisdom: Embrace this day as a precious gift, look for God's delightful surprises along the way, and think of three things you are thankful for that are in your life. Month long exercise -- write down ways you are kind to yourself each day -- then write down all the ways that God has been kind to you. What you will find is that the number of ways God has been kind to you is usually double of the ways you have been kind to yourself. It's a real eye opener! And a wonderful way to "count your blessings!" Happy Wednesday!

01/12/2018

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, "I used everything you gave me." --- Erma Bombeck

01/06/2018

What are your goals and aspirations for 2018?

12/30/2017

"Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it. Action has magic, grace, and power in it." Goethe

12/27/2017

The casualty of the Trump Tax Reform is the Non-Profit. Because the new standard deductions are so high for 2018, the likelihood of effectively claiming your contributions for non-profits, church, and charitable causes has been reduced significantly. Unless you are a major giver, (5-10K), and you have significant taxes and mortgage interest, your standard deduction will be either the 12K or the 24K or the HOH deduction somewhere in-between those two numbers. This greatly diminishes the incentive to give to charitable organizations. These organizations will need to re-think their strategy for appeal to their donors. Here are a couple of my ideas regarding this: 1. Give the same amount you always have regardless of whether you get a deduction. These non-profits, churches, and charitable organizations need your donations. They exist to help others. Don't slack just because it's no longer going to be deductible. 2. Encourage others to keep giving, too. Keep reminding each other why it's important to give to non-profits, churches, and charitable organizations. They are going to take a huge hit this year. Several will fold -- they will not be able to survive because many were run on a thin amount of budget in the first place. 3. Support them with your manpower. Volunteer more! Give the gift of time besides your funds. Helping them out more with manpower, will relieve some of their budgetary needs. 4. Organizations -- you need to court the C Corporations. A C Corporation can legitimately deduct 10% of their profit from charitable donations. That's where a tax deduction can happen. So the new strategy of the non-profit should be to fund raise with as many C Corporations as they can. I pray that Americans will continue the great habit of being the best givers in the world, even if it isn't deductible. Because deep down, we all care. That's my insight and advice.

12/09/2017

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed." by Albert Einstein. Maybe that is why the Triune God is the most beautiful thing to me. He is the most mysterious. The Scripture says "his ways are past finding out" Romans 11:33, and in Isaiah 55:8-9, it says "my ways are higher than your ways". Our God is the fountainhead of wonder, awe, mystery, and beauty. He created the arts and sciences and gave us the awesome job of exploring these throughout our life. Our worship back to Him is the delight and surprise in the exploration and discovery of all that He has put here on earth for us to experience. You could actually say -- we have perpetual Christmas -- the unwrapping of all the gifts, discoveries, and beauty the Creator has given mankind over the entire span of time. That brings forth wonder, awe, and amazement but most of all WORSHIP! Enjoy your arena of discovery!

11/24/2017

What do you want to see or experience this Christmas? I have asked to see God's Glory. What will he show me? I have already experienced an initial blast of it in the wonder and surprise of creating my new Christmas story, called "Starbright's Jehovah Jireh" that I wrote the rough draft last weekend and am finishing it up in the next several days. Part of God's Glory is all His goodness. Think about His goodness to you today!

11/06/2017

We are all shocked and saddened by the continued violence in our nation, most recently Las Vegas, and now Sutherland Springs, TX. We ask "What in the world is going on, Lord?" We can find no normal explanations to any of this. In John 6, Jesus had just preached a controversial sermon, and the scripture says (vs 66) "After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him." Jesus then turns to the twelve and says (vs 67) "Will you go away as well?" Will we continue to believe in a sovereign God, who knows His plan for all the world, loves His children, suffered and died for our eternal souls, and is steadily moving forward with His glorious design? Peter answers Him -- (vs 68) "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." The recent horrific events, and potentially even worse ones to come, are the winnowing fork that determines your answer to His question asked of you --- "Will you walk away as well?" I choose to believe in spite of what is happening and what will take place in the future -- because You O Lord are the only one that has the words of eternal life, and can secure our eternal souls.

10/06/2017

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but we often look so long at the closed door, that we do not see the one that has been opened for us." Helen Keller

10/05/2017

Courage is taking an action even when you are fearful, but you know it's the right thing to do, and you know God will help you. The word "courage" comes from the French word "coeur" which means heart! Take heart - do the right thing -- even when you are afraid -- God is by your side!

10/04/2017

For inspiration -- look at the mountains -- They are solid, and have their roots in the ground. They reach up, but they keep their foundational base steady and strong.

09/25/2017

"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now!"

09/20/2017

"In the realm of ideas, everything depends on enthusiasm; in the real world, all rests on perseverance." Goethe --- How true this is!

09/18/2017

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." Henry David Thoreau

09/02/2017

Positive Thoughts Press

08/16/2017

More devotions will be coming soon!

04/28/2017

Speaking the word of praise, truth, rebuke to Satan, Scripture, wisdom, and encouragement is MORE powerful than thinking any of it! Jesus spoke creation into existence, He is the Word! "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word WAS God!" John 1:1 , In Hebrews 1, it says that "He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact representation of his nature and he upholds the universe by the word of his power." SPEAK THE WORD -- Use the authority of Christ in all things to be effective, and not powerless. Satan must flee at the name of Jesus.

04/08/2017

From a couple years ago: "Those of us who thirst for knowledge and understanding need to also exercise the gift of contentment along the way. In each day, we need to simply say 'It is enough that Christ is here, holding my hand, giving me peace and leading me gently along in the journey. When he is ready, and feels I am ready, He will show me more.'"

03/25/2017

"The Lord your God is with you. He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you. He will quiet you with His love. He will rejoice over you with singing." Zeph 3:17 To know that God is delighted with us and rejoices over us with singing -- our God is the greatest singer ever with the most to sing about -- You and I!

03/25/2017

"Oh Tigger, where are your manners?" "I don't know, but I bet they're having more fun than I am." From Winnie the Pooh

03/21/2017

Hope in God is not just wishing -- it is the bottom bedrock belief that the one true God, with his Son Jesus, and the individual person of the Holy Spirit, have saved and redeemed you from your sin nature because of the Triune collaboration that resulted in Christ's death on the cross. This action, applied by faith (enabled by the Holy Spirit) resurrects your sin-stained soul by the eternal exchange of Christ's righteous sacrificial death applied to you, personally, and allows you to experience eternal living life. An eternity that will be spent with the Triune Father/Son/Holy Spirit in heaven in a new and resurrected body forever and ever. That's Hope!

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