Transformation Stories:
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Commit it to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. -Proverbs 16:3

Lord, you give me work to do every day.  Whether it's at home or in the marketplace, help me to honor you in my efforts.  I don't want to be satisfied with mediocrity.  I ask that You would empower me to do superior work and bring glory to Your name.  Help me not to be a clock-watcher or time waster, but to find fulfillment in the tasks before me.  Help me to be a person of excellence, integrity, and good ideas in my place of employment, and all throughout the world I experience on a daily basis.

These are the types of people we want to empower.  People who believe in a greater purpose and meaning in life, not just trying to get by.  The depths of addiction and the choices of my past kept me held down for a long time, but now that I am lifted up in the glory of God, I don't ever want to go back and I intend not to, with every intentional choice I make throughout my life. 
What are you choosing with you life today? 
Be a person of character in everyday living, not just when people are looking, but even when they are not.  

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In God's infinite wisdom and creativity, He has crafted magnificent things:  watercolor sunsets, awe-inspiring mountains, turquoise oceans, and beautiful people.

Proverbs 31 is a well-known chapter in the Bible about a God-fearing, hard-working, generosity-driven woman.

Interestingly, Proverbs 31 was written by a man - specifically King Lemuel, although it's technically advice from his mother that he shared when he was king.

Something that's not obvious in non-Hebrew languages is that verses 10-31 actually make up an acrostic poem - each verse beginning with one of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, successfully working their way from aleph to tau (from beginning to end).

Toward the climax of the poem, the author writes:
"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;  but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." - Prov. 31:30 NIV

Deep down we know this to be true, don't we?

No matter how charming or beautiful a woman is, we know that beauty is fleeting.  We know that charm will not last.  We know that the aging process will eventually run it's course.

But there's barely any mention of this woman's physical beauty, instead, the focus is on her character - on this woman who fears the Lord.

An earlier Proverb explains that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Prov. 9:10)  -the humble realization that anything good and wise and pure and true must have come from Him.

​So if you know a woman like that-one who loves and respects God, one who honors and cares for people, one who invests wisely and lives purposefully-you might take a moment to thank God for her life.  You might even consider how you can be more like her...as she aims to be more like Him.

An addict fell in a hole and couldn't get out.  A businessman went by.  The addict called out for help.  The businessman threw him some money and told him get yourself a ladder.  But the addict could not find a ladder in this hole he was in.

A doctor walked by.  The addict said, "Help, I can't get out."  The doctor gave him drugs and said, "Take this, it will relieve the pain."  The addict said thanks, but when the pills ran out, he was still in the hole.

A renowned psychiatrist rode by and heard the addicts cries for help.  He stopped and said, "How did you get there?  Were you born there?  Were you put there by your parents?  Tell me about yourself, it will alleviate your sense of loneliness."  So, the addict talked with him for an hour, then the psychiatrist had to leave, but he said he'd be back next week.  The addict thanked him, but he was still in his hole.

A priest came by, and the addict called for help.  The priest gave him a Bible and said, "I'll say a prayer for you."  He got down on his knees and prayed for the addict, then left.  The addict was very grateful, he read the Bible, but he was still stuck in that hole.

A recovering addict happened to be passing by.  The addict cried out, "Hey, help me, I'm stuck in this hole!"  Right away, the recovering addict jumped in the hole with him.  The addict said, "What are you doing?  Now we're both stuck here."  But the recovering addict said, "It's okay, I've been here before and I know how to get out."

"One addict helping another is without Parallel."