🎵Prompt Response: My Guiding Light Principles
with help from Gemini Nano Banana and Photo Studio Pro
What’s a personal mantra or philosophy you live by?
Guiding Lights on the Path of Life
Life isn’t just one path from conception to death. It’s like that quilt poem where the underside has all these hanging and frayed threads that make it look messy and without form. But flip it over to the top side where The Artist is at work, and you’ll be amazed at the beauty He has put together when He gives it His own touch.
The Light of Grace and Mercy to Change
See, I know that I’m messy and fail often. Paul the Apostle said the same thing about himself.
“I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do. And if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”
The Lord is My Editor
As a writer, that means I need to be edited, so that leads me to one of the lights on my path, the philosophy of letting God edit my writing. And, ultimately, I want Him to edit me as a person and as His child. The writer’s “mantra” is… The Lord is my Editor, I shall rewrite. That’s from a parody of Psalm 23 that I shared in the post, The Lord is My Own Personal Shepherd.
Rewrite My Life
In addition, the life philosophy of being edited is an idea I wrote as a short chorus many years ago but after the parody. It goes:
Edit me, Creator,
Edit me, My Lord.
Open up the heart of me,
And fill it with Your Word.
Write me as
A song of praise,
To lift Your name on high.
Please edit me, Creator,
Re-write my life.
The Desire to Please God
And the philosophy that lights my path and gives me a reason to desire God’s Hand of editing within it is simply that I desire to please Him. And you know what? Even that desire is a gift from Him. I love the way it’s written in the Plain English Version (P.E.V.), a Bible translation created for use on the mission field.
“God is the one that is working inside you. He helps you think the right way, so that you want to do the good things that make him happy, and he gives you the power to do those good things.”
For One Soul
Whether I’m failing or succeeding, reading or writing, listening or speaking, one thing I always want to think about is how I affect others. I’ve probably mentioned this quote from my original website domain before:
Live every moment of your life as if it could be… For One Soul!
That philosophy came in a moment of prayer where I was asking God if I was reaching enough people. After some time of conversation with Him, I came to the conclusion that if only one soul needed Calvary, He would still have walked that path and poured out His precious blood. And then I got the picture clearly that if I worked hard to minister to people (as a friend, a writer, a teacher, a singer/songwriter, or whatever else I do), I should do it as if it’s for millions of souls but know that if it only reaches one soul, it’s totally worth it. Just one moment in my small life could reach one soul that no one else has reached, and that one soul is precious to Our Lord.
To The Believers and to The Undecided
What about you? If you’re a fellow believer, would you live and work all the moments and days of your life if you knew at the end it would only touch one person? And would you keep on shining that light even after you’d likely reached the one?
I believe we have a loving Heavenly Father who is thrilled to share the joy of “catching souls” with us. We know that the angels rejoice more over just one new redemption than over 99 just men who don’t need to repent. So, if you are not yet a believer, I invite you to bring joy to God, to the angels, and to me, by turning to The Lord as the Guiding Light of your life today. 🛐
Jesus’ Parable of The Lost Sheep
“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, comes home, and calls together his friends and neighbors to tell them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep!’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent.”
And though I’ve shared it before (back in February), this seems like the perfect time to share one of my favorite songs, “That’s When the Angels Rejoice.” I think maybe it could also be called The 4 1 Soul song. 😁 This time it’s by the original artist but without lyrics.
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Sometimes, I Need to Play Pollyanna
Sometimes I need to play Pollyanna and to find the good in every situation. It’s not a matter of simple desire, it’s a matter of survival. As a deep feeler, when an abundance of negativity surrounds my days and weeks, I just need to play the glad game. If you haven’t seen the movie or heard the story, click the video above for a clip about Pollyanna’s game. It was something her father taught her before he passed away, and it helped her survive the tragedy of his loss. It wasn’t well-accepted by her bitter aunt and the employees who inevitably picked up on the bitterness that riches could never fix.
Since I became a follower of Yeshua, my glad game is a little different from Pollyanna’s. I still try to find something to be glad about in situations that would otherwise make me sad, but I try to find that reason in Scripture or in a promise from God. Maybe I’ll remind myself that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Or, maybe I’ll just think about how grateful I am to know that Yeshua will never leave or forsake me, so whatever I go through, I will never be alone.
I think King David played the glad game too because he said things like…
- I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High. (Psalm 9:2 NKJV)
- I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy, For You have considered my trouble. (Psalm 31:7a NKJV)
- Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart! (Psalm 32:11 NKJV)
- Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. (Psalm 51:8 NKJV)
- The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and trust in Him. And all the upright in heart shall glory. (Psalm 64:10 NKJV)
- But let the righteous be glad; Let them rejoice before God; Yes, let them rejoice exceedingly. (Psalm 68:3 NKJV)
- Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, That we may rejoice and be glad all our days! (Psalm 90:14 NKJV)
- Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; Let the sea roar, and all its fullness. (Psalm 96:11 NKJV)
- This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24 NKJV)
- The Lord has done great things for us, And we are glad. (Psalm 126:3 NKJV)
Maybe believers should just call it The King David Game when we look for reasons to praise God because it sure looks like he had a handle on the idea of being glad in God no matter what. He even wanted his broken bones to rejoice.
The hardest part of playing Pollyanna is when we face tougher and tougher circumstances that threaten to make it impossible to find something good. My personal version of the game is in my challenge at my website, For One Soul. But, even having this message, it’s not always easy. There have been times in my life that were so hard, even my husband said, “And don’t tell me it might be for one soul because I don’t want to hear that now.” King David talks about feeling like the heavens were brassed over and about watering his couch with tears. There are days when all the encouragement in the world doesn’t feel like it’s enough.
A problem that can arise while playing Pollyanna is when it becomes difficult to accept negative truths. We may try to believe the best about someone when they have clearly crossed a line into darkness or deceit. Or, we may tell people that something is okay when it’s not just because we don’t want to hurt their feelings. Me, I only want to give five-star (or whatever is the best) reviews on things because that’s what I hope to get, but that’s not reality. Only God is good enough to always get a top rating every time. But, if I give top ratings to everyone, then people may even have a hard time believing me when I uplift God as best of all.
So, let’s go ahead and play Pollyanna when we need to balance the darkness and pain around us. Find a reason to play the glad game and to rejoice in God, maybe even by looking for where God will make things work for one soul. But, let’s also keep it honest. It’s a lie to say we are whole when we are broken, but it’s the truth to say we are whole in God because we know He is the Potter who will repair us. It’s the truth to say life is hard, but God is good. And when it gets really tough, we can remind ourselves that what we go through here are light and temporary afflictions. Paul even tells us in Romans 8:18 (NKJV)…
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
With that promise, I think all of us can get away with playing Pollyanna’s glad game a little bit more often. HalleluYah!
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