Something to share instead of give…. It seems from the time we are able to walk, we are taught that it’s good to share with others. Somehow as the years go by and we become adults this spiritual principle gets twisted in our communications as well as our understanding to become it’s good to give. Now maybe your experience is different from mine but I feel there is a huge difference between giving and sharing. We give to get. We share to help. I give my time to my employer to get a paycheck. I give money to retailers to get their goods and services. However, I share my heart, my resources, money, and time with others in an effort to help and be of service. One of the great benefits of sharing is the unexpected blessings I get. My heart fills with humble joy each time I am given a opportunity to help and share with others. Are you giving or sharing?... Check your experience… “Helping others is the foundation stone” Big Book pg 97 Lord, let our hearts look to see how we can share to help others and not just give to get, AMEN. “And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.” Hebrews 13:16 Have a blessed day y’all! …. MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Furniture Bank is in the hand-UP business and not the HANDOUT GAME! You can donate any amount for a tax deduction and tax receipt, even $20 a month helps, because $100 provides a new twin bed and bedding to make a house into a home for our clients and families escaping homelessness and hopelessness. We send 2 or 3 new beds to every family we assist. Furniture Bank is a 501c3 public charity and every penny donated goes toward helping our families, veterans, and individuals in need. Visit our website and click on the PayPal button for a secure transaction and tax receipt that will follow within 48 hours. Please help us help others! http://www.furniturebank.us

Watch who and what you follow… Remember playing follow the leader as a child? While it was a fun game, it only required action to do what the leader did and not much thought was needed. Sadly we do this with some parts of our lives as adults. Some of us don’t give much thought to who we associate with, what we are doing privately, professionally, and even spiritually. Perhaps it’s different for you, but I have blindly followed only to end up in some bad situations due to my lack of participating with my mind and heart. The challenge God gives us daily is to build relationship with Him through Jesus, His Word, and fellowship with other believers. How is this working out for you?...Check your experience… “Follow the dictates of a Higher Power and you will presently live in a new and wonderful world, no matter what your present circumstances!” Big Book pg 100 Lord, let us stop the pattern of blindly following others and look to see what is good, AMEN. “My dear friend, do not follow what is bad; follow what is good. The one who does good belongs to God. But the one who does evil has never known God.” 3 John 1:11 Have a blessed day y’all! Start your day on a positive note! Daily devotions from the Big Book and Bible combined! Paperback and Kindle versions available!! Every penny goes to support Faith Through Works Fellowship ministries including our beloved Furniture Bank! Please order yours today and help us help others! https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pastor+mark+farley&ref=nb_sb_noss

Suffering from terminal uniqueness… Have you ever noticed how different it feels when you are faced with an unusual experience or uneasy situation? Now perhaps it’s different for you, but this selfish head of mine tries to make me feel isolated and alone and justify all the wrong elements that go against my moral fibers and character. It’s like my head is trying to get me to turn my back on my faith and give in to those old ways that brought me nothing but chaos, calamity, and crisis. The blessing I have is that when I face these experiences or situations today, my heart gently reminds me almost immediately of the Holy Spirit within me and that I am not alone. I find that when I share these times with others walking the spiritual path with me that they have also experienced things of this nature and I am not terminally unique! Are you allowing your head to isolate you from your heart and others?.. Check your experience… . “But there exists among us a fellowship, a friendliness, and an understanding which is indescribably wonderful.” Big Book pg 17 Lord, let us look in our hearts for your Spirit and rely on our faith and fellowship with others to immunize us from terminal uniqueness, AMEN. “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 Have a blessed day y'all!! Start your day on a positive note! Daily devotions from the Big Book and Bible combined! Paperback and Kindle versions available!! Every penny goes to support Faith Through Works Fellowship ministries including our beloved Furniture Bank! Please order yours today and help us help others! https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pastor+mark+farley&ref=nb_sb_noss

Just focus… It’s a tall order these days to keep our minds focused and clear. It seems that no matter where we go, or what we are doing there are sights, sounds, and other things trying to grab our attention. Heck, even our Smartphones can now chirp at us to let us know that we are near a good deal or a favorite place. Advertising and marketing are necessary in our capitalistic society and our shopper’s culture. Perhaps it’s different for you, but I find it hard to stay focused, especially with my mind that is attracted naturally to shiny things! What I have learned through the schools of hard knocks and experience is that I can stay focused when I am constantly checking my motives and efforts. Constant contact with the Holy Spirit from seeking God’s will throughout the day is what gets me through. How do you stay focused?.. Check your experience… “As we felt new power flow in, as we enjoyed peace of mind, as we discovered we could face life successfully, as we became conscious of His presence, we began to lose our fear of today, tomorrow or the hereafter.” Big Book pg 63 Lord, let us look to You to help us keep our minds and hearts clear from the distractions of this world, AMEN. "But you should keep a clear mind in every situation.” 2 Timothy 4:5 Have a blessed day y’all! Hey friends please check out Servants Hearts! It’s a free site to help connect folks with volunteer and helping opportunities! Furniture Bank, Spiritual Solutions Group, and Advocate Phoenix are pleased to share the newest free helping service from Faith Through Works Fellowship! Its Phoenix based for now. Pray for its growth to provide helping hearts and willing hands to our organizations that need help! http://aservantsheart.us/

Our own autopilot…. As we start each day, most of us have certain things in place to get us up and running as well as habits to keep us on schedule. Alarm clocks, calendars, and various routines keep us moving and in sync with our day. Auto pilot is a great tool for morning routines and repetitive things in our lives. We have the same opportunity with our spiritual lives as well. When we make the daily decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, our day goes better and we are not as challenged by worldly clamors… Check your experience… “In thinking about our day we may face indecision. We may not be able to determine which course to take. Here we ask God for inspiration, an intuitive thought or a decision.” Big Book pg 86 Lord, please guide our lives to allow us the freedom the exists in seeking and doing Your will, AMEN. “let the Holy Spirit guide your lives” Galatians 5:16 Have a blessed day y’all! …. MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Furniture Bank is in the hand-UP business and not the HANDOUT GAME! You can donate any amount for a tax deduction and tax receipt, even $20 a month helps, because $100 provides a new twin bed and bedding to make a house into a home for our clients and families escaping homelessness and hopelessness. We send 2 or 3 new beds to every family we assist. Furniture Bank is a 501c3 public charity and every penny donated goes toward helping our families, veterans, and individuals in need. Visit our website and click on the PayPal button for a secure transaction and tax receipt that will follow within 48 hours. Please help us help others! http://www.furniturebank.us

Worry makes things seem bigger than they are. I am curious, has anyone ever gained from worrying? I don’t’ have any record of this. Why do we allow our fears and expectations to grow inside of us and gain strength over our minds and hearts? Our human nature is prone to this and free will allows this to happen, robbing us of our peace and stealing our energy and focus. Did you know that you can trade those worries, fears, and expectations for grace? Try this for the next few days. Every time you catch yourself building a case for a good worry, write it down on a piece of paper and put it in a drawer that can serve as your God box. Tell God the worry is now His and move on with your day! You can do this. It works….. . “There you will find release from care, boredom and worry.” Big Book pg. 152 Lord let us fill our God box with our fears, worries, and troubles and leave them with You, allowing us to move forward and see how we can turn our focus to helping others, AMEN. “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” 1 Peter 5:7 Have a blessed day y’all! Hey friends please check out Servants Hearts! It’s a free site to help connect folks with volunteer and helping opportunities! Furniture Bank, Spiritual Solutions Group, and Advocate Phoenix are pleased to share the newest free helping service from Faith Through Works Fellowship! Its Phoenix based for now. Pray for its growth to provide helping hearts and willing hands to our organizations that need help! http://aservantsheart.us/

Exercising in the Spiritual gym… It seems just about everyone has a physical fitness routine they try to follow daily. From gym memberships to hiking, biking or running, most folks I know are doing something daily to keep their bodies healthy and in shape. Heck, even I finally traded in sport eating for a real fitness program involving healthy food choices and exercise. Thanks Tim Berry, Miss Kim, Miss Jenna, and Dillon! The point is that physical fitness involving healthy food choices and exercise is now a part of our culture. Being physically healthy is something we need to own but what about our spiritual health? How are we building up our spiritual fitness? The good news is that just like our physical fitness routines, we can keep spiritually fit too. Daily time spent in the Word, prayer, as well as frequent contact with other believers can and does build up our spiritual fitness. What does your daily spiritual fitness routine include?.. Check your experience… “Assuming we are spiritually fit, we can do all sorts of things” Big Book pg 100 Lord, let us grow spiritually healthy through daily time spent in Your Word and in prayer, AMEN. “Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever. You can count on this. Take it to heart.” 1Timothy 4:8-9 Have a blessed day y’all! …. MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Furniture Bank is in the hand-UP business and not the HANDOUT GAME! You can donate any amount for a tax deduction and tax receipt, even $20 a month helps, because $100 provides a new twin bed and bedding to make a house into a home for our clients and families escaping homelessness and hopelessness. We send 2 or 3 new beds to every family we assist. Furniture Bank is a 501c3 public charity and every penny donated goes toward helping our families, veterans, and individuals in need. Visit our website and click on the PayPal button for a secure transaction and tax receipt that will follow within 48 hours. Please help us help others! http://www.furniturebank.us

Change must come from within… It’s such a blessing to be around folks who are sharing the changes they are making in themselves! Their positive motivation and encouragement inspire me to continue to work on myself. The key word here for me is WORK. Maybe your results have been different, but I have not been able to just think my way to positive change within me and my life. I have had to provide the needed actions to change my attitudes, beliefs, habits, and behaviors too. The blessings for me in all of this activity is that not only do I begin to become the person God intended me to be, but also, I am building new friendships and relationships as I grow. How are you bringing change to yourself?.. Check your experience… “Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change.” Big Book pg 84 Lord, let us provide the action and willingness to bring about the needed changes in our lives, AMEN. “Get rid of all the sins you have done and get for yourselves a new heart and a new way of thinking.” Ezekiel 18:31 Have a blessed day y’all! Start your day on a positive note! Daily devotions from the Big Book and Bible combined! Paperback and Kindle versions available!! Every penny goes to support Faith Through Works Fellowship ministries including our beloved Furniture Bank! Please order yours today and help us help others! https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pastor+mark+farley&ref=nb_sb_noss

Have you ever thought about whether or not the light would come on before you turned the light switch on? Because I have the familiar experience of having successfully done it countless times before, I don’t even think about it, I just know it will work. Even when that 1 in a thousand time happens when the bulb is burnt out, I replace the bulb without thinking and the light comes on. That is faith. When I am staying in a new or unfamiliar place like a hotel or a friend’s home, I instinctively know that if I just find that light switch, the light will come on. That is faith. I cannot see the mechanics involved and I certainly have no electrical training or background in engineering, but because I have experience with the process, I trust it works and neither debate it, nor give it a second thought. That is faith. OK, so this next part may not apply to you Spiritual giants… Now why then do I want to debate with God over trivial things? Why do I expect the answer before I even begin the task that is new or unfamiliar? Where is my trust being placed? Where oh where is my faith? Has He not brought me this far in life successfully through things I have had no control over? Why do I even think I need to discuss the new thing with Him? Where is my faith? Check your experience…… “The great fact is just this, and nothing less: That we have had deep and effective spiritual experiences which have revolutionized our whole attitude toward life, toward our fellows and toward God's universe.” Big Book pg 25 Lord, like the light switch, let us place our trust in You based on our experience with You, AMEN. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 Have a blessed day y'all!! Start your day on a positive note! Daily devotions from the Big Book and Bible combined! Paperback and Kindle versions available!! Every penny goes to support Faith Through Works Fellowship ministries including our beloved Furniture Bank! Please order yours today and help us help others! https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pastor+mark+farley&ref=nb_sb_noss

It ain't for sale.... Just about anything we could possibly want or think we need is available instantly these days. From the basics of food, shelter, and clothing to instant fixes from pills, powders, and motivational mojo, we can get it instantly with our bank cards and money. Maybe it's different for you but I have learned the hard way that none of my flaws, defects, or shortcomings can be fixed instantly and from purchasing that latest thing they hawk on the TV. My fears and pride are only managed through a daily reprieve contingent on my spiritual condition and growth. I know I cannot buy my grace from God. He does not offer it for sale but He gives it to us for free when we become willing. ....Check your experience. ... "What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition." Big Book pg 85. "And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, 'Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.'" Acts 8: 18-19 Lord thank You for giving us Your Holy Spirit freely when we become willing to receive, AMEN. Have a blessed day y’all! Hey friends please check out Servants Hearts! It’s a free site to help connect folks with volunteer and helping opportunities! Furniture Bank, Spiritual Solutions Group, and Advocate Phoenix are pleased to share the newest free helping service from Faith Through Works Fellowship! Its Phoenix based for now. Pray for its growth to provide helping hearts and willing hands to our organizations that need help! http://aservantsheart.us/

What fuels our self-will?...Think about it, the character defects of Pride, Anger, Greed, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, and Sloth (PAGLEGS) to my 12 Step friends are the driving forces behind every incident of self will here on Earth. God knew this when He created us and knows this to be true of every human because it’s included in our free will. Our hope is in the fact that we can turn our will over to the care of God and then these defects of character can no longer run our lives and put us into situations that cause us and others pain. What makes the Bible so vibrant and vital to every generation and time period, including today, is the fact that despite minor details, there is nothing new that the Bible doesn’t address… Check your experience… “As we go through the day we pause, when agitated or doubtful, and ask for the right thought or action. We constantly remind ourselves we are no longer running the show, humbly saying to ourselves many times each day “Thy will be done.” We are then in much less danger of excitement, fear, anger, worry, self-pity, or foolish decisions. We become much more efficient.” Big Book pgs 87-88 Lord, let us turn our will and our lives over to you daily and receive grace, peace, comfort, and direction, AMEN. “What has been is the same as what will be, and what has been done is the same as what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:9 Have a blessed day y’all! …. MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Furniture Bank is in the hand-UP business and not the HANDOUT GAME! You can donate any amount for a tax deduction and tax receipt, even $20 a month helps, because $100 provides a new twin bed and bedding to make a house into a home for our clients and families escaping homelessness and hopelessness. We send 2 or 3 new beds to every family we assist. Furniture Bank is a 501c3 public charity and every penny donated goes toward helping our families, veterans, and individuals in need. Visit our website and click on the PayPal button for a secure transaction and tax receipt that will follow within 48 hours. Please help us help others! http://www.furniturebank.us

Striving and encouraging…. I don’t watch a lot of TV but the show American Ninja Warriors caught my attention. The men and women who compete on the show work their tails off practicing for the competition. I enjoy the back stories where they share their struggles and challenges offering insight as to why they are even attempting this brutal challenge. They are striving to improve their lives which include restoration and their fellow competitors are among their strongest encouragers! What a concept! Instead of trying to trash talk the competition, these folks are united in their encouragement for one another. It motivates me to work harder on my issues and be more of an encourager to others. How are you doing in the striving and encouraging departments?.. Check your experience… “We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection.” Big Book pg 60 Lord, let us grow closer to You through striving to improve ourselves and encouraging others, AMEN. “Finally, brothers and sisters rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.” 2 Corinthians 13:11 Have a blessed day y’all! Hey friends please check out Servants Hearts! It’s a free site to help connect folks with volunteer and helping opportunities! Furniture Bank, Spiritual Solutions Group, and Advocate Phoenix are pleased to share the newest free helping service from Faith Through Works Fellowship! Its Phoenix based for now. Pray for its growth to provide helping hearts and willing hands to our organizations that need help! http://aservantsheart.us/

Be transformed….. Maybe it’s different for you, but I get these pictures in my head of the way my head thinks life is supposed to work. When these expectations dominate my thinking and fail to match real life then feelings of confusion and frustration attempt to dominate my mind. The thing I have learned over the years is that I have no right to set expectations on others. People are human, just like me, and will be prone to faults, fears, and forgetfulness. When I block the expectations and just stay in the moment, I have found not only to things go well, but also my day and my life goes better. The blessing is that I get to turn my will and my day over to God every day and just focus on being of service to those He puts in my path. Are you allowing expectations to clod your thinking?.. Check your experience… . “Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives.” Big Book pg 86 Lord, let us trade our expectations of others in to You for grace and acceptance, AMEN. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2 Have a blessed day y’all! Start your day on a positive note! Daily devotions from the Big Book and Bible combined! Paperback and Kindle versions available!! Every penny goes to support Faith Through Works Fellowship ministries including our beloved Furniture Bank! Please order yours today and help us help others! https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pastor+mark+farley&ref=nb_sb_noss

Find the good and the blessings will follow. … Have you ever noticed both in yourself and in others that when love is added to the task, effort, or deed it not only goes well, but also brings a smile to those involved? Now it’s pretty apparent that we can’t do what we love all the time, every time, but we can bring our best efforts and attitudes. Some of the daily tasks I have are not the most enjoyable, but because they are required, I make the best of it. Over the years I have learned to look for the good in every situation and to see what I can bring to it, instead of seeing what I can take from it. This mindset has not only got me through the moment but also given me a new outlook and attitude on things. It works when you work it!.. Check your experience… “Do not think of what you will get out of the occasion. Think of what you can bring to it.” Big Book pg. 102 Lord, let us use love and grace to not only be a part of the things we enjoy, but also to help us through the rougher waters of our lives, AMEN. “In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.” Proverbs 3:6 Have a blessed day y’all! Start your day on a positive note! Daily devotions from the Big Book and Bible combined! Paperback and Kindle versions available!! Every penny goes to support Faith Through Works Fellowship ministries including our beloved Furniture Bank! Please order yours today and help us help others! https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pastor+mark+farley&ref=nb_sb_noss

Find the good and the blessings will follow. … Have you ever noticed both in yourself and in others that when love is added to the task, effort, or deed it not only goes well, but also brings a smile to those involved? Now it’s pretty apparent that we can’t do what we love all the time, every time, but we can bring our best efforts and attitudes. Some of the daily tasks I have are not the most enjoyable, but because they are required, I make the best of it. Over the years I have learned to look for the good in every situation and to see what I can bring to it, instead of seeing what I can take from it. This mindset has not only got me through the moment but also given me a new outlook and attitude on things. It works when you work it!.. Check your experience… “Do not think of what you will get out of the occasion. Think of what you can bring to it.” Big Book pg. 102 Lord, let us use love and grace to not only be a part of the things we enjoy, but also to help us through the rougher waters of our lives, AMEN. “In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.” Proverbs 3:6 Have a blessed day y’all! Start your day on a positive note! Daily devotions from the Big Book and Bible combined! Paperback and Kindle versions available!! Every penny goes to support Faith Through Works Fellowship ministries including our beloved Furniture Bank! Please order yours today and help us help others! https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pastor+mark+farley&ref=nb_sb_noss

Faith it till you make it… Most things in life are learned by experience. From learning to ride a bike to all the responsibilities that come with being an adult, it seems we learn best from experiencing the task, action, or responsibility at hand. Then there are those times when we enter into a new thing or unfamiliar area. That’s when we must rely on our faith. Relying on our previous experiences with the unfamiliar should have taught us that having faith quiets the fear within us and allows God to do what He needs. Are you able to faith it until you make it?.. Check your experience… “We finally saw that faith in some kind of God was a part of our make-up, just as much as the feeling we have for a friend. Sometimes we had to search fearlessly, but He was there.” Big Book pg 55 Lord, let us rely on the faith that lives in our hearts in times of uncertainty, AMEN. “For we live by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7 Have a blessed day y’all! …. MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Furniture Bank is in the hand-UP business and not the HANDOUT GAME! You can donate any amount for a tax deduction and tax receipt, even $20 a month helps, because $100 provides a new twin bed and bedding to make a house into a home for our clients and families escaping homelessness and hopelessness. We send 2 or 3 new beds to every family we assist. Furniture Bank is a 501c3 public charity and every penny donated goes toward helping our families, veterans, and individuals in need. Visit our website and click on the PayPal button for a secure transaction and tax receipt that will follow within 48 hours. Please help us help others! http://www.furniturebank.us

Where there is a will… there is a way…. I am sure at some point we have heard the phrase, “the devil made me do it.” I know in the past I have used it as a cheap excuse for my behaviors or actions that brought trouble, or caused issues for others. The problem is that there really is a nugget of truth attached to this phrase. Because God loves us unconditionally, HE lets us keep our free will. It’s on us to choose to either use our will or seek His will. So in my case when I act on self-will and it causes issues for myself and others, it truly is the devil manipulating me through my selfish and self-centered will. Please understand, it’s not the devil’s fault for my actions, its mine to own because I made the choice to follow my will instead of seeking God’s will for the situation. So the devil is not really “making me do it”, rather he is using my choice of self will to help me self-destruct. How are you allowing the devil to “make you do it”? …check your experience… “So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making. They arise out of … self-will run riot,” Big Book pg 62. Lord, let us look into our hearts in times of great temptation to match the desires of our own will against Your will that lives in the Holy Spirit inside of us, AMEN. “…for indeed I would not have known what it means to desire something belonging to someone else if the law had not said, “Do not covet.” But sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of wrong desires.” Romans 7: 7-8 Have a blessed day y'all!! Start your day on a positive note! Daily devotions from the Big Book and Bible combined! Paperback and Kindle versions available!! Every penny goes to support Faith Through Works Fellowship ministries including our beloved Furniture Bank! Please order yours today and help us help others! https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pastor+mark+farley&ref=nb_sb_noss

Do what you say and say what you do… Have you ever noticed that the people you tend to trust the most are the ones whose walk matches their talk? Heck, we are all human and I am as guilty as the next person when it comes falling into the trap of saying one thing and doing another, but When I stop and consider how I feel when I see others doing this, it helps me to stop from entering into that slippery territory. How’s it working out for you?.. Check your experience… “Set an example for other followers by what you say and do, as well as by your love, faith, and purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12 Lord let our words match our actions and deeds, AMEN. “We feel we are on the Broad Highway, walking hand in hand with the Spirit of the Universe.” Big Book pg 75 Have a blessed day y’all! Hey friends please check out Servants Hearts! It’s a free site to help connect folks with volunteer and helping opportunities! Furniture Bank, Spiritual Solutions Group, and Advocate Phoenix are pleased to share the newest free helping service from Faith Through Works Fellowship! Its Phoenix based for now. Pray for its growth to provide helping hearts and willing hands to our organizations that need help! http://aservantsheart.us/

Remembering 911… Remembering the survivors, victims, families, and heroes from September 11th, 2001. "The bricks have fallen, but we will build with dressed stones; the sycamores have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place.” Isaiah 9:10 Lord, as we remember and reflect on the tragic losses and irreparable damages to our hearts, minds, and souls on this day in 2001, let our hearts be reminded of those lost and their loved ones who remain from 911, AMEN. "We have recovered, and have been given the power to help others." Big Book pg 132 God bless America Have a blessed day y’all! …. MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Furniture Bank is in the hand-UP business and not the HANDOUT GAME! You can donate any amount for a tax deduction and tax receipt, even $20 a month helps, because $100 provides a new twin bed and bedding to make a house into a home for our clients and families escaping homelessness and hopelessness. We send 2 or 3 new beds to every family we assist. Furniture Bank is a 501c3 public charity and every penny donated goes toward helping our families, veterans, and individuals in need. Visit our website and click on the PayPal button for a secure transaction and tax receipt that will follow within 48 hours. Please help us help others! http://www.furniturebank.us

Are you serving or being served? It’s easy to sit and be served. We experience this at restaurants, hair salons, doctor visits and other things where we are the customer. We gain from receiving these services. However, it’s not always easy to serve others. Even when we are passionate about what we do, there are those few people or certain situations that try our patience and make our skin crawl. Nevertheless, we gain from performing these types of services. What about serving others for no gain? This is where we are asked to help another person who we may or may not even see or know, but they will benefit from our labor and service. It’s a thankless task with no direct reward for us… or so it seems! Serving others helps yourself, when your motive is selfless and your efforts are to be of service with no personal gain….check your experience… “Our real purpose is to fit ourselves to be of maximum service to God and the people about us.” Big Book pg 77 Lord, let us serve others with the motive of helping and not gaining, AMEN. “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” Proverbs 11:25 Have a blessed day y’all! Hey friends please check out Servants Hearts! It’s a free site to help connect folks with volunteer and helping opportunities! Furniture Bank, Spiritual Solutions Group, and Advocate Phoenix are pleased to share the newest free helping service from Faith Through Works Fellowship! Its Phoenix based for now. Pray for its growth to provide helping hearts and willing hands to our organizations that need help! http://aservantsheart.us/

What is our choice going to be?... We are confronted daily with many situations calling for us to make a choice. What roads to take to get to our destination, what to eat, what to wear, how to respond to questions, and so on. Most of the time we know the choice to make based on our experience and knowledge, so it does not require much thought or extra effort on our part. But what about those times when we have to make a choice between what’s in our head verses what’s in our heart? You know, those times when temptation of the moment attempts to entice you into going against what you know to be right. In my case the temptation to gorge myself on food I should not be eating has now caused me to have to make some life changes. These are the choices that require not only thoughts to think it through, but also help from the Holy Spirit living within us. How are you dealing with those times?.. Remember, isolation only fuels the temptation…Check your experience… “If tempted, we recoil from it as from a hot flame.” Big Book pg 84 Lord, let us look temptation square in the eye and know that You will show us the way around it and away from it, AMEN. "The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure." 1 Corinthians 10:13 Have a blessed day y’all! …. MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Furniture Bank is in the hand-UP business and not the HANDOUT GAME! You can donate any amount for a tax deduction and tax receipt, even $20 a month helps, because $100 provides a new twin bed and bedding to make a house into a home for our clients and families escaping homelessness and hopelessness. We send 2 or 3 new beds to every family we assist. Furniture Bank is a 501c3 public charity and every penny donated goes toward helping our families, veterans, and individuals in need. Visit our website and click on the PayPal button for a secure transaction and tax receipt that will follow within 48 hours. Please help us help others! http://www.furniturebank.us     

What’s your motive?... This was given to me years ago as I was learning how to pray and I still use it to this very day. The suggestion is to pray to WANT what I GET and not to GET what I WANT. I can’t tell you how many times over the years I have become confused and have prayed TELLING God about a desired specific outcome with great detail, based on my thoughts, emotions, and motives on getting that specific result instead of becoming open and willing to learn God’s will for me and the lesson I need to learn for the situation causing me to pray. When I pray for understanding and wisdom, things go well. When I pray for specific things focusing only on how those things will make me feel, well,… I am still waiting…Think about that for a moment and please… check your experience… “…praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.” Big Book pg 59 Lord, let us pray to understand Your will for us in the requests we make instead of demanding our own way, AMEN. “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” James 4:3 Have a blessed day y’all! Start your day on a positive note! Daily devotions from the Big Book and Bible combined! Paperback and Kindle versions available!! Every penny goes to support Faith Through Works Fellowship ministries including our beloved Furniture Bank! Please order yours today and help us help others! https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pastor+mark+farley&ref=nb_sb_noss

Words have power; IF you let them… Let’s think about words for a minute. While there is much attention given to negative words and a lot of advice on how NOT to use them or let them influence us, we don’t tend to see much attention given to positive words. Think about it, when was the last time you recall actually borrowing, copying, highlighting, saying or writing words that can build you or others up. What about influential words or phrases? How many of those words do we actually remember or have somewhere handy that we can read and reflect on often? Now maybe it’s different for you, but I need to see, read, say, and recall positive influencing words. Because of this my home, office, and electronic devices are filled with phrases that encourage, inspire and guide me daily. These give me power and assurance that despite the person, place, thing, or situation I am facing I can rely on the Holy Spirit in my heart and Jesus to stay with me and show me the way. How are you using your words?.. Check your experience…“Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body” Proverbs 4:20-22 Lord, let us use words to help and inspire ourselves and others, AMEN. “In our personal stories you will find a wide variation in the way each teller approaches and conceives of the Power which is greater than himself.” Big Book pg 50 Have a blessed day y’all! Start your day on a positive note! Daily devotions from the Big Book and Bible combined! Paperback and Kindle versions available!! Every penny goes to support Faith Through Works Fellowship ministries including our beloved Furniture Bank! Please order yours today and help us help others! https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pastor+mark+farley&ref=nb_sb_noss

What’s on your agenda?.. We are busy folks and we rely on schedules, calendars, appointments, and other tools to keep us on track and on time. It’s a part of our lives and culture. Have you ever taken a moment to consider who or what drives our need to have these daily, weekly, and monthly agendas? Sure, I get it, we need to stay organized and we all are juggling many balls in order to make this life thing work. But wouldn’t it be nice if instead of just our yearly vacations, we could set our own agendas according to our spiritual needs? It’s part of a healthy routine to carve out time for daily physical fitness as well as spiritual time. So….what is on your agenda today?.. Check your experience… . “For the first time, he lived in conscious companionship with his Creator.” Big Book pg 56 Lord, let us set part of our daily agenda to spend time with You and Your Word, AMEN. “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure” Ephesians 1:5 Have a blessed day y'all!! Start your day on a positive note! Daily devotions from the Big Book and Bible combined! Paperback and Kindle versions available!! Every penny goes to support Faith Through Works Fellowship ministries including our beloved Furniture Bank! Please order yours today and help us help others! https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pastor+mark+farley&ref=nb_sb_noss

We gotta provide the effort in order to gain results… We go to the drive thru to pick up our coffee, food, and even groceries. Heck, even now we have apps that will preorder our coffee, meals, groceries, and other things for us! Press a button and it is done. Wouldn’t it be great if we could press a button and fix our flaws and shortcomings? Believe me, if there truly was an app or an instant fix for permanent weight loss, I would be all over it. Despite many claims by money motivated folks, this is not part of our reality right now. So I will have to look inside myself and continue the day by day work on my weight loss as well as my other character defects. The good news is that along with the encouraging support from many friends and family, there is spiritual support from Jesus, IF I will work for it. I don’t know about you, but everything else I have given over to God has improved, so I am suiting up and showing up to allow the Holy Spirit to also help me become healthier inside and out…Check your experience… “We found that as soon as we were able to lay aside prejudice and express even a willingness to believe in a Power greater than ourselves, we commenced to get results, even though it was impossible for any of us to fully define or comprehend that Power, which is God.” Big Book pg 46 Lord, let us open our hearts and minds and be willing to allow You to mend us through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, AMEN. “Come close to God, and God will come close to you." James 4:8 Have a blessed day y’all! Hey friends please check out Servants Hearts! It’s a free site to help connect folks with volunteer and helping opportunities! Furniture Bank, Spiritual Solutions Group, and Advocate Phoenix are pleased to share the newest free helping service from Faith Through Works Fellowship! Its Phoenix based for now. Pray for its growth to provide helping hearts and willing hands to our organizations that need help! http://aservantsheart.us/

Being transparent… Isn’t it nice when it turns out that things and people ARE what they seem? We don’t get to experience much of that today, but it sure is refreshing when we do. It seems to be a cultural norm that either we are only seeing and hearing what we want to, or we are being shown and told only what others think we want. It sure gets confusing. It’s a spiritual principle as well as a biblical truth that we are at our best when we do what we say and say what we do. Living transparently allows us to be us all the time and not have to switch characters and remember what roles we need to assume for different people and situations… Check your experience…“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:18 Lord, let us be transparent in our daily lives, learning to be the best we can be through seeking and doing Your will, AMEN. “There is action and more action. “Faith without works is dead.” Big Book pg 88 Have a blessed day y’all! …. MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Furniture Bank is in the hand-UP business and not the HANDOUT GAME! You can donate any amount for a tax deduction and tax receipt, even $20 a month helps, because $100 provides a new twin bed and bedding to make a house into a home for our clients and families escaping homelessness and hopelessness. We send 2 or 3 new beds to every family we assist. Furniture Bank is a 501c3 public charity and every penny donated goes toward helping our families, veterans, and individuals in need. Visit our website and click on the PayPal button for a secure transaction and tax receipt that will follow within 48 hours. Please help us help others! http://www.furniturebank.us

We GET what we GIVE… this is a fact and it's based on the spiritual principle that we will get out of it whatever we put into it, no matter what the situation or opportunity is. If I give positivity and focus outward on others I receive grace and peace. If I give negativity and focus inward, then I get the negativity back in some form or fashion. It’s always a blessing to me to get to spend time with friends and catch up on their lives. Whether I am hearing of the good things or the challenges, I find my heart listening to learn the source. I think it’s a part of our human nature and experience here in this life that no matter what, either good or not so good, we have a part in it that we need to look at. It never ceases to amaze me that the ones who are receiving the most blessings are giving the most of their time and sharing their resources with others. Along with that, those of us that are hurting the most are having a hard time being of service to others. Now maybe it’s different for you but over the years I have learned that when I am experiencing challenges and or hard times, it is a good time for me to shift my focus away from me and seek out another person to help. Sure enough, my situation improves and things get better. How’s it working out for you?… Check your experience... “Think of what you can bring to it.” Big Book pg 92 Lord let us look to see what we can do to help others instead of seeing what we can get from them, AMEN. “Not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.” 1 Peter 3:9 Have a blessed day y’all! Hey friends please check out Servants Hearts! It’s a free site to help connect folks with volunteer and helping opportunities! Furniture Bank, Spiritual Solutions Group, and Advocate Phoenix are pleased to share the newest free helping service from Faith Through Works Fellowship! Its Phoenix based for now. Pray for its growth to provide helping hearts and willing hands to our organizations that need help! http://aservantsheart.us/

Are you serving or being served?.. This is a thought to consider as we celebrate Labor Day today. It’s easy to sit and be served. We experience this at restaurants, hair salons, doctor visits and other things where we are the customer. We gain from receiving these services. However, it’s not always easy to serve others. Even when we are passionate about what we do, there are those few people or certain situations that try our patience and make our skin crawl. Nevertheless, we gain from performing these types of services. What about serving others for no gain? This is where we are asked to help another person who we may or may not even see or know, but they will benefit from our labor and service. It’s a thankless task with no direct reward for us… or so it seems! Serving others helps yourself, when your motive is selfless and your efforts are to be of service with no personal gain….check your experience… “Our real purpose is to fit ourselves to be of maximum service to God and the people about us.” Big Book pg 77 Lord, let us serve others with the motive of helping and not gaining, AMEN. “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” Proverbs 11:25 Have a blessed day y’all! …. MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Furniture Bank is in the hand-UP business and not the HANDOUT GAME! You can donate any amount for a tax deduction and tax receipt, even $20 a month helps, because $100 provides a new twin bed and bedding to make a house into a home for our clients and families escaping homelessness and hopelessness. We send 2 or 3 new beds to every family we assist. Furniture Bank is a 501c3 public charity and every penny donated goes toward helping our families, veterans, and individuals in need. Visit our website and click on the PayPal button for a secure transaction and tax receipt that will follow within 48 hours. Please help us help others! http://www.furniturebank.us

Everybody is good at something…. We all have talents, abilities, and skills. Thank goodness they are not all the same. It’s easy to get caught up in the cultural norm of our society to compare ourselves to others, but with that comes the human based negative emotions that lead to pride, envy, greed, and so on. What if we practiced celebrating our differences instead of belittling them? I am lost without my friends who are mechanically inclined as well as my other friends who have the common sense I was not blessed with! We each have the unique ability to help others and what a positive feeling that produces. Are you willing to look for ways to help and celebrate your differences?.. Check your experience… “He was inexplicably different.” Big Book pg 9 Lord, let us use our differences to help others and learn from one another, AMEN. “There are different kinds of gifts, but they are all from the same Spirit. There are different ways to serve but the same Lord to serve. And there are different ways that God works through people but the same God. God works in all of us in everything we do.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 Have a blessed day y’all! Start your day on a positive note! Daily devotions from the Big Book and Bible combined! Paperback and Kindle versions available!! Every penny goes to support Faith Through Works Fellowship ministries including our beloved Furniture Bank! Please order yours today and help us help others! https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pastor+mark+farley&ref=nb_sb_noss