Joel Osteen Says Bless Others

Joel Osteen, a Christian author and Pastor of Lakewood church, a church with 38,000 people in attendance every week, recently published the book Become a Better You. You can get it in most bookstores or online as an audio version through iTunes as I did. Everyday, Joel and I work out together while he ministers to me.

In the chapter titled "Being good to people," Joel suggests waking up and not only looking for blessings in our lives, but to be a blessing to others. He believes that you'll end up with so many blessings of your own, you won't know what to do with them all. His thought it that if you bless others, God will bless you.

And it doesn't have to be some monumental thing. Simply holding the door open for someone else or complimenting them can be a blessing to them.

Joel is right. We're all on this merry go around of life together so why be so selfish or self-centered? Why not help someone else along the way?

In an effort to walk the walk, I stopped to talk to a person I know from church in the supermarket. I don't know her real well, but that doesn't matter. I knew she was new to our church and I wanted to make her feel welcome. I even complimented her on her newly done hairdo which looked particularly good that day. Hopefully I brought cheer to her day in some way.

Give it a try. See how many ways you can bless others and then take note of all the wonderful things God does for you as a result.

Wishing you "Blessings from Above,"
Denise

Cinderella

When I went to Steven Curtis Chapman's concert this past November, he played songs from his new album, The Moment. I fell in love with many of these Christian songs and I was thrilled when I realized that he posted two of my favorites on his homepage.

The first, Cinderella, is about how he'll "dance" (symbolic for spending time with) his daughters before they grow up and move out of the house. He knows not to miss a moment of time with them. The other "The Moment," for which the album is titled, talkes about how we need to live in the here and now.

Both are fantastic inspirational songs and I'd like to invite you to listen to them. They can be be found off of Steven's homepage. Click "Cinderella" to listen. Be warned, though, the first song is a real tear jerker! Get the tissues ready and enjoy!

If you want to know more about this click on the "Cinderella Video," to hear in Steven's own words, why he choose to write this song. It's very funny and is so relatable! And the photographs on the page are precious.

Wishing you "Blessings from Above,"
Denise

Steven Curtis Chapman

Steven Curtis Chapman, a Christian singer, is one of me and my husband Nick's favorite singers. His songs are always upbeat and positive. For Nick's birthday I bought him Chapman's new CD and surprised him with tickets to his concert a few weeks later. While we were at the concert, Chapman talked about adoption, a topic close to his heart since he adopted several Chinese girls. During the show, he casually asked that we drop change in designated buckets if we wanted to - all proceeds would go towards adoptions. What we didn't know until the end of the concert was that the money we raised that night would go to a family in Lancaster, PA (where the concert was) that Chapman had already selected. They had applied for his grant that would help them with the fees of adopting their baby boy and show-goers would be a part of helping. Chapman brought the couple, their children, and the one month old on stage and announced that we helped to raise $2,000 that night. Chapman would do the rest.

Not only was I impressed with Chapman's singing, I was impressed by his compassion. I felt touched that night as I realized that there are still caring people in the world. Now that baby boy has a family - now that's a blessing.

Wishing you "Blessings from Above,"
Denise

God is everywhere

God is every where. Ok, this may seem obvious, particularly if you are a Christian, but I am not just talking about his prescense. What I am referring to in this post is the idea that in the United States we are free to discuss God and Jesus Christ, and a result, there is information about him everywhere. Evangelists preach His word on t.v., singers sing His praise on the radio, books quote Him, and the Internet shows Christian music videos, provides online bibles to look up your favorite verse, and more.

Today alone, my husband and I woke up and went to church. On the way, we listen to 89.5, the Christian radio station and returned home to watch the "The Nativity Story," a movie made in 2006 about Mary and Joseph and the birth of baby Jesus. Later I might spend some time browsing the Internet for more Christan links to add to this blog. Check out the ones that I've already added when you get the chance. They are all worth a visit. And when you do, be sure to take a moment to realize how blessed we are to have this freedom. It's not so in all areas of the world.

Wishing you "Blessings from Above,"
Denise