Book of Proverbs – Proverbs For The Modern Day – Bonus

Bonus – something in addition to what is expected or strictly due.

Here are some examples of types of bonuses: All references taken from https://www.merriam-webster.com.

1- money or an equivalent given in addition to an employee’s usual compensation

2-a premium (as of stock) given by a corporation to a purchaser of its securities, to a promoter, or to an employee

3-a government payment to war veterans

4-a sum in excess of salary given to an athlete for signing with a team

We all like to get a bonus and are excited when we get what we are expecting. However, what happens when we do not get what we wanted? We then become annoyed, exasperated, and a host of other negative emotions. The mind is a BATTLEFIELD. Let us take a closer look at how we have choices and how we can look at a bonus in a negative or positive mindset.

B = Broken or Beauty for Ashes. We can choose to feel broken, shattered, crushed because we didn’t get what we wanted or we can TRUST God that he will make it up to us and give us something even better and give us Beauty for Ashes and keep moving forward. : “to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” – Isaiah 61:3

O = Overwhelmed or Omega. When we are in a fiery furnace like how Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego were we again have choices. We can become overwhelmed where all we do is stay on the phone calling friends and keep talking about all the problems and get even more stressed and overwhelmed or we can turn to Omega for help. In the book of Revelations 22:13, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” We must have complete FAITH in God that he will keep his promises. “For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” – Psalm 84:11

N = Nobody or Nirvana. What about the times when we have encountered so many bad events in our lives that we feel God has forgotten about us and we are just a nobody? We can either wallow in that negativity or we can shake that off and remember nirvana. This is a place or state of oblivion to care, pain, or external reality. https://www.merriam-webster.com. An example of this would be a resort which is a skier’s and snowboarder’s nirvana. Now, remember whatever provides you bliss that is what you want to do to take yourself out of the doldrums. Remember nothing that happens to you is a surprise to God so let him handle it. Let Go and Let God!

U = Unworthy or Ubiquity. There are times in life when we think we have committed so much sin that we are unworthy to have anything good happen to us. We feel that we cannot ask God for anything because we do not deserve it. Remember God gives us all a fresh set of grace every 24 hours. Ubiquity – presence everywhere or in many places especially simultaneously: OMNIPRESENCE. God is always everywhere. “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” – Proverbs 15:3. We must not persecute ourselves because sometimes we fall short. God sees everything we do, and he is aware of all the times you do the right thing as well as when you make a mistake. God is a loving father and wants to give the best to his children. “For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.” – Psalm 5:12

S = Screwed or Success. There will come a time when we will all feel like we have had the air taken out of our sails and we have been screwed. However, what we must remember is just like how Joseph went from the Pit to the Palace we will also. Success may not come when you want it because God does not operate on our timetable. This is when we must dig our heels in and BELIEVE success is on the way. To everything there is a season and even though you may be in the summer season where you are pulling a lot of weeds and dealing with a lot of stressful issues remember that the spring season is on the way and you will get your harvest. “Therefore, I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” – Mark 11:24

Trust God, Have Faith and Believe for your BONUS. Book of Proverbs – Proverbs For The Modern Day – Bonus.

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Book of Proverbs – Proverbs For The Modern Day – Be Yourself. Check out my website

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” ― Oscar Wilde

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Always be a first-rate version of yourself and not a second-rate version of someone else.” ― Judy Garland

God created each one of us in his own image. He gave each one of us specific gifts to be used to accomplish what he wanted us to do with the life he gave us. Each one of us is God’s masterpiece. Do you know what a masterpiece is? It is a person’s greatest piece of work, as in a art. Anything done with masterly skill: a consummate example of skill or excellence of any kind: a piece made by a person aspiring to the rank of master in a guild or other craft organization as a proof of competence. –  http://Dictionary.com . 

Instead of being ourselves, we are always comparing ourselves to others. We are always saying things like:

I wish I was pretty like her/him.

Look at his/her physique. Why can’t I look like that?

I want to sing as she/he does.

Why can’t I dance as they do?

Look how long and silky his/her hair is. Why can’t mine be like that?

Why can’t my teeth be straight and bright white like his/hers is?

How come I don’t have the same metabolism he/she does? They can eat anything they want and never gain any weight.

I wish I was as talented as he/she is.

I would give anything to be as smart and educated as he/she is.

Why wasn’t I born as tall as he/she is?

I know if I had been given a better personality as he/she has I would be further off in life.

God breathed his life into all of us. It is vital that you be proud of yourself and realize you are one of a kind. Don’t belittle yourself. There are lots of people who are already against you. Don’t add yourself to the list. You should never feel intimidated and unsure about yourself. Book of Proverbs – Proverbs For The Modern Day – Be Yourself. Check out my website

Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Rembrandt, Leonardo da Vinci, Claude Monet, Michelangelo, Salvador Dalí, Henri Matisse, Jackson Pollock, El Greco, and Francisco Goya are all some of the greatest painters to ever live. However, remind yourself that God who created you in his own image and breathed the breath of life in you is the greatest painter of them all. God was pleased with everything he created, “And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” – Genesis 1:31. We were the last thing God created. He saved the best for last! Be yourself and be proud of who you are God is. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” – Ephesians 2:10.

Be yourself and trust God that he knew what he was doing when he designed you the way he did and look out for the amazing future he has in store for you just as you are. – Book of Proverbs – Proverbs For The Modern Day – Be Yourself. Check out my website

Book of Proverbs – Proverbs For The Modern Day – The Amusement Arcade

An amusement arcade (often referred to as a video arcade or simply arcade) is a venue where people play arcade games such as video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers (such as claw cranes), or coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables. In some countries, some types of arcades are also legally permitted to provide gambling machines such as slot machines or pachinko machines. Games are usually housed in cabinets. The term used for ancestors of these venues in the beginning of the 20th century was penny arcades. Video games were introduced in amusement arcades in the late 1970s and were most popular during the golden age of arcade video games, the early 1980s. – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusement_arcade. Book of Proverbs – Proverbs For The Modern Day – The Amusement Arcade

Book of Proverbs – Proverbs For The Modern Day – The Amusement Arcade Amusement Arcades have been beloved for years. These places are where people can go and have fun, laugh, test their skills and much more. Amusement Arcades have a plethora of choices. My personal favorite is Skeeball but there are a variety of things to enjoy. Book of Proverbs – Proverbs For The Modern Day – The Amusement Arcade. Check out my website

Amusement Arcades was taken to an elevated level when Dave & Busters was founded in Dallas TX in 1982. This establishment not only has a video arcade in all their locations, but they also have a full-service restaurant. Now people can dine and have fun at the same time. People have so many choices of the games to entertain themselves. Book of Proverbs – Proverbs For The Modern Day – The Amusement Arcade

Daily we also have so many choices to do the right thing and live a godly life instead of a sinful life. Are we going to have faith or are we going to live in fear? We have the choice to trust God or be a doubting Thomas. “The other disciples therefore said unto him, we have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.” – John 20:25. Will we believe that we have the power, strength, and determination to handle any challenge that comes our way? The bible says,” I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” – Philippians 4:13. Are we willing to live a life based on integrity? Will we choose daily to bless our family, friends, and people with our words and not speak ill of them? Are we willing to be Good Samaritans? As parents are, we able to be like the father of The Prodigal Son who wasted all his inheritance and came humbly begging his father to take him back as a hired hand? When you go grocery shopping will you return the grocery cart to the appointed place or just leave it anywhere where it can roll and hit someone’s vehicle and cause damage?

The list is endless of the choices that confront us every day just like the choices in an Amusement Arcade. Check out my website

Book of Proverbs – Proverbs For The Modern Day – Look Forward – Move Forward – Press Forward

“Study the past if you would define the future.” – Confucius

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious, and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” – Walt Disney

“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” Martin Luther King Jr

“If we fail to adapt, we fail to move forward.” John Wooden

“Let us move forward with strong and active faith.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

“A man who is pressing forward to accomplish worthy goals can soon put despondency under his feet.” – Ezra Taft Benson

We were made in the image of God and he pressed forward for six days to create the earth. Life happens and things go haywire sometimes, but we must keep going forward. God gives us a new set of grace every 24 hours and gives us an anointing to go through. If you scheduled an Amtrak excursion on the “Empire Builder” from Spokane WA which travels through mountains and long tunnels you wouldn’t tell the train conductor to stop the train before the tunnel because you are afraid of going through and what you may run into on the other side. Your eyes and heart would be lit up with excitement for what would be coming next. – Book of Proverbs – Proverbs For The Modern Day – Look Forward – Move Forward – Press Forward. Check out my website

This is the same way we must handle life daily. We must jump in with both feet and know that God will carry us safely through to the other side. We cannot cringe in fear or stop living our lives that isn’t the life that Jesus died for us to have. “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.” – John 10:10.

Bible Verses on Looking, Moving, and Pressing forward:

Remember ye, not the former things, neither consider the things of old. – Isaiah 43:18

And the Lord said unto Moses, wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward. – Exodus 14:15

And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. – Mark 14:35

And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. – Luke 9:62

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 3: 13-14

We all have days when the pain is so real that we feel like we cannot breathe. We don’t want to get out of bed. It feels like we cannot talk to anyone and so we shut out the world. Whether it be the loss of a loved one, a divorce, the loss of a job, a friend walked out on you, someone double-crosses you, you don’t know where your next dollar is coming from to eat. Remember God is with you always. Remember what God said, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” – Isaiah 41:10

Book of Proverbs – Proverbs For The Modern Day – Look Forward – Move Forward – Press Forward! Check out my website

http://Dictionary.com Panic – a sudden overwhelming fear, with or without cause, that produces hysterical or irrational behavior, and that often spreads quickly through a group of persons or animals. Proverbs For The Modern Day – Don’t Panic – Just Pray. Check out my website

Causes of panic attacks – Severe stress, such as the death of a loved one, divorce, or job loss can trigger panic attacks. Panic attacks can also be caused by medical conditions and other physical causes.

What do you feel when you are having a panic attack? According to https://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/panic-attack-happening#1 once you have four or more of these feelings you are having a panic attack:

Feel like you’re losing control or going crazy

Pounding heart

Sweating

Trembling or shaking

Shortness of breath

Chest pain

Nausea

Dizziness

Chills or hot flashes

An out-of-body sensation

Like you’re choking

A fear that you’re dying

Tingling or numb hands, arms, feet, or legs

Right now, our world is having a panic attack due to this coronavirus. Has the world ever had things to give them panic attacks before? Yes, of course. 911, school shootings, mass killings, etc. Have we survived? Of course, we have and like the old saying quotes And This Too Shall Pass! Proverbs For The Modern Day – Don’t Panic – Just Pray. Check out my website

As long as we are alive life is going to happen. There will be things that arise that catch us off guard. That is when we lean in and pray not panic! We must keep our bible closer than our fear.

Right now, we are dealing with this COVID-19 issue but there are things that we can all do to help ourselves. This, in turn, will help the first responders who are on the front line battling this crisis. We need to be more socially responsible and stay home and use wisdom and follow what our government officials are saying to help protect each other. When I went grocery shopping a cashier said to me people are coming to the grocery store just to hang out because they don’t want to or just can’t see themselves staying home. Remember what the bible says regarding all of us, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” – Phillippians 4:13.

First, there were news reports of people panicking regarding toilet paper and buying up all they could find. Now the news reported an increase in buying chickens. A business owner said he had a tremendous increase in sales because people are pouring into his business buying chicks expecting to ensure that they will have eggs. THIS IS PANIC NOT PRAYER! He explained how chicks cannot even have eggs for six months. He also pleaded that if those who buy them find they cannot do all the required elements to care for them to please return them to his store and he will buy them back. Now the latest thing is that the FDA is requesting that the makers of hand sanitizers please add denatured alcohol to the products to discourage people, especially children, from drinking the liquid. Hand sanitizers are meant for external use, they are not for ingestion. According to the National Poison Data System calls from last month in March related to hand sanitizer increased by 79% compared to March 2019. This is truly disturbing and the highest level of PANIC! The bible says, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore, take no thought, saying, what shall we eat? or, what shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. – Matthew 6:25-34.

Bible Verses related to Panic and Fear:

So that we may boldly say, The Lord [is] my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. – Hebrews 13:6

Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. – Philippians 4:6

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. – 2 Timothy 1:7

Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. 1 John 4:4

For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. – Isaiah 41:13

And fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. – Matthew 10:28

Prayer changes things and is a powerful weapon against the enemy. Most households have a minimum of two people living together. Remember what the bible says, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” – Matthew 18:20.

Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. – Charles R. Swindoll.  Book of Proverbs – Proverbs For The Modern Day – Don’t Panic – Just Pray. Check out my website