THANKFUL

I am thankful to be a child of God. To me, this falls into the "simple, but not easy" category. I say this because being a child and ambassador of God requires discipline and obedience, and in this oh-so-fleshy world, it's so easy to take the wide, easy path as opposed to the narrow obedient path of righteousness. Kind of like life, I have no idea where this article is headed. For me, it's kind of like prayer—just dive in and let God lead the way.

This is also a thank you to my brothers and sisters in my Most Excellent Way group. We're ordinary folks who do struggle or have struggled with addiction and other life-dominating sins; mine was alcohol. The difference now, though, is that we belong to this one-step program led by Jesus, and we know that all things are possible through him. I can testify to that. This is where it is once again "simple, but not easy," because we're all human. We end up being our own worst enemy when we try to overthink it. Instead of keeping it simple and relying 100% on God, we step out of obedience and try to do it on our own.

Just as all things are possible through God, nothing is possible without him. This is where many will disagree, noting moments of success and happiness, and I would agree... there are many of these apparent victories through life and lots of happiness. But there's a difference between happiness—which is temporary—and joy—which is long-lasting.

I'm not going to get all preachy on you here—I would simply like to ask a favor. I would like you to make the greatest investment of your life by investing in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. This is the only investment that will come with a 100% satisfaction guarantee, and like anything that is worthwhile, it will require you to "put in work." For you investors who like dividends, this is also by far the investment with the highest yield.

Perhaps we will circle back to this point in a moment as I'm allowing God to lead this pen in my left hand. I told you earlier that I had no idea where this article will go, but I felt it in my heart to publish something to be thankful for. It takes me back to a class I took at UCLA which was simply "freewriting," where you didn't stop writing and just let your brain put your thoughts on paper. That was well over 30 years ago when I was living in the world and having the time of my life—or so I thought. I was so happy and so wrong, and even though I knew God, I didn't "know" God. Well, why not Larry? Because it was easy and fun to party and abuse the privilege and gifts I was blessed with. This was the wide, easy path I continued to follow until 9/19/18 (check out the welcome button on the about page).

I just paused to let my hand breathe, as I'm actually writing on a piece of paper. I have the T.V. on silent as I write and watch the Warriors and Sixers game, and I'm truly enjoying this Thanksgiving Eve. Why you probably aren't wondering? Because I'm at complete peace and 100% invested in my God, and even though I have let him down time and time again, he has never left me. Unlike other investments you will make in life, an investment in God will always pay off. Who gives his only son to die for us? My God; Our God! That's who. It's an investment that requires us to... yes, "put in work."

So do it! Every day, pray and ask Him to fill you with his holy spirit; obey God, give to God, depend on God, and the most important investment of your time is to meditate on the word. This is what meditation involves, which is something I learned from Charle Stanley of whom I am very thankful for; you read the scriptures, absorb what you read, and apply it to your heart.

I'm going to read what I've been writing and hope it makes some sense and is worthy of a late-night addition to our site.

Well, I'm back, and I'll try to wrap this up. I think we'll post this and pray someone reads it!

This is who I am and pretty much how I function on a daily basis. I have learned to trust God 100% and try to be an ambassador for the Lord, and I hope to share, teach—and hopefully inspire—someone to keep moving forward and closer to God. You are important, valuable, and loved; please don't forget that. As a child of God, the good shepherd will never leave you or forsake you. I hope you have/had a beautiful and peaceful Thanksgiving as we serve at the pleasure of the Lord, forever and ever.

Amen, and thank you,

Larry

P.S. This was all God's doing, as I initially wasn't feeling this writing thing until I stepped into prayer for some help, and for that, I am thankful.