Steve to Earth - Encouraging you the way I like to be encouraged.

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May you live by God’s definitions

There are two definitions of hypocrisy. Satan accusingly says that when you try to act righteous, you’re a hypocrite because you’re a sinner. God lovingly says that when you sin, you’re a hypocrite because you’re righteous.

May you never let the enemy define the words by which you live. May your language and your life be defined only by the Author of Life, and may you grant Him full access to freely write His words of life on your receptive, humble heart.

~s

Inspiration: A lesson by Mike Wells of Abiding Life Ministries International

May it become your habit to reserve valuable time for Jesus

It’s easy to become like the people you spend time with … whether in person … through television … in books and movies … through texting … in music … or on the internet. You only get to live this life once, and you have a limited amount of time. May you spend it wisely.

May it become your habit … your practice … your delight and great joy … to reserve valuable time for Jesus and the people who encourage you to imitate Him.

~s

Beautiful confidence

Beautiful confidence … that rare and elusive quality sought by many … mastered by few … not rooted in the pride and arrogance of this world … but flowing from a sincere spirit that has humbled itself before its God.

Its gentle strength refreshes … teaches … nurtures … builds up … and gives all glory to God.

May you discover the narrow passage … that low road … that leads to this treasure. May you humble yourself in the presence of the Lord … and with the wisdom and power that only a loving God can possess … may He lift you up to exactly where He needs you to be. He is able! He is more than able!

~s

Inspiration: A conversation with my brother in Christ, Paul.

The greatest gift

Someone introduced you to Jesus … opening your eyes to the power and beauty of His love … setting you free from the burden of sin through His forgiveness … and giving you access to all the abundant riches found in Him. May you grasp the significance of that gift. May friendship with Jesus be the greatest gift you give to others in this life. May you be a generous and cheerful giver. (Philippians 4:19)

~s

New, healthy directions

May you allow the Gospel to take you by the hand … and by the heart … and lead you in new, healthy directions.

~s

May you walk humbly and happily by His side

May you never give anyone … including yourself … the power to control how you feel about yourself unless they have lived a perfect life and died on a cross because of their great love for you. You are who Jesus says you are. May you always walk humbly and happily by His side.

~s

Manage Gmail labels with simple prefixes composed of special characters and spaces

I love using custom labels to categorize my Gmail content. Dragging a label onto an entry from the left sidebar is quick and cool! However, sometimes my most-used labels don’t appear at the top of the list, which is where I need them in order to work efficiently. Solution? I manage Gmail labels with simple prefixes composed of special characters and spaces. Check this out:

: TO DO!
:: Important
::: Print This
::: Respond Today
::: Young Adult Class
:::: P – R – A – Y !
:::: PayPal
:::: Steve to Earth

The combination of special characters and spaces gives me all kinds of flexibility and ensures that my most-used labels are always right where I need them … on top!

I use colons, dashes and spaces because their clean look enhances the message, but there are many more fun combinations that can be used. The result is an efficient labeling system that minimizes my time managing Gmail and maximizes my time living life. I love it!

~s

True friends

True friends … life’s most treasured gifts … and most elusive. Wanting them is easy … being one is hard. The best ones love Jesus more than they love themselves … more than they love you. They treat you the way Jesus treats them … always doing what is in your spiritual best interest.

They value the spiritual over the physical … the eternal over the temporary … your soul over your looks, your brains, your money, your popularity and your cool factor. As you travel through this life, may our Father bless you with a few true friends … and may He give you the grace and the strength to be one.

~s

Thank you to Randi Thomas for this definition of love: “always doing what is in someone else’s spiritual best interest.” I had never heard it worded that way. That’s beautiful!

It’s good to be back

"Steve to Earth" MugI’ve been away for a while. It’s good to be back. Thank you for your encouragement, patience and prayers while I was away.

I’d like to be able to say that I came back just for you … that writing blessings is a pure and unselfish gift … that these words flow out of a deep and abundant inner strength … and that if you leave here encouraged, that’s all that matters. But that wouldn’t be true.

My soul requires a continual inflow and outflow of spiritual nourishment. Writing what I’m learning helps me process and better understand what I read daily in God’s Word. It encourages me to express my faith to our Father and to you with honesty and clarity. It makes me slow down and live. It makes me be still and know … that He is God, and that gives me great peace.

I do pray that what you find here will strengthen your heart … fortify your faith … lighten your load. I know it gets heavy sometimes … and that’s why I’m also back for me. I’ve been living real life for the past three years while this site rested quietly. Real life can be beautiful and brutal … stimulating and stressful … exhilarating and exhausting. The life you live is probably very similar to the life I live … crazy busy, rewarding, frustrating, fast. It reminds us who we are. It reminds us Whose we are.

Jesus … I’ve never had a friend like Him … and I’ve got some stellar friends. But He is everything I’ve ever wanted in a friend, and He is everything I want to be. Trying to become like Him is the most rewarding and challenging thing I’ve ever done. He’s the best friend I’ve ever had, and my goal is to become the best friend He has ever had. I’ve got a long way to go in that pursuit, and I am very grateful that He gives us a lifetime for that journey.

So there it is. I’m back for you … and for me … and for Jesus. And if it is His will, somewhere in the blessings and the prayers, the comments and the exchange of knowledge, the Bible study and the quiet, still listening … spiritual formation will occur. Together, we will draw closer to Jesus and be formed more perfectly in His image. Together, we will become friends to Him just like He is a friend to us. And to me, that makes coming back a great joy. Thank you for joining me.

May you become the best friend Jesus has ever had.

~s

Sabbatical

Steve to Earth has been on a break for over three years as I considered the future of the site. Because it is hand-coded, it has become very time-consuming to maintain. I plan to convert the site over to the WordPress Content Management System (CMS) in 2011. I believe this transition will greatly enhance the site for users while allowing me to focus on creating content rather than becoming distracted with tedious maintenance duties.

Your prayers and patience during my silence have been greatly appreciated. I will continue to be grateful for both as I convert the existing site to the new WordPress platform. May you find 2011 a year filled with abundant joy and perfect peace.

~s

 

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