7 Ways To Defuse Drama

If we don't deal with drama, our emotions, our relationships, and our health seem like a ticking time bomb waiting to go off.

1. Recognize the drama.
-I must pinpoint what is causing my drama.
-I will not purposely cause drama in my own life.
-I will not receive drama from anyone else.

2. Resist the drama. James 4:7
-James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
-First drama in Eden partly because satan loves drama.
-Peter tried to cause drama but Jesus said get behind me satan.
-You do not have to submit to drama you resist it.

3. Refocus on the Spirit life.
-Don’t wallow in the drama.
-So much drama because that’s all we talk, think, and act on.
-We talk about our neighbor, coworker, friend's issues constantly.
-That gets in your soul, damages you.
-Go out and practice the fruit of the Spirit.
-In church, volunteering, with friends and family.

4. Refuse a drama script. Galatians 5:26
-Vs. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
-Don’t accept conceit, provoking, envying from others.
-Don’t write the conceited, provoking, envying Script yourself.
-You know you are writing a drama script, or being given one, when those 3 emotions pop up.
-Write a different script from the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

5. Don’t Retaliate.
-Someone must be the first to take the hit and forgive drama people.
-I resist your drama, but at the same time I am not bitter at you for causing drama.

6. Relax.
-You can’t help what others do only what you do.
-Set up your drama boundaries then chill out.

7. Receive the gospel.
-I am not just saying get really good at avoiding drama issues.
-I am not saying get really good at living out the fruit of the Spirit.
-What I am saying is that we are good at causing drama.
-I am also saying I am bad at living the fruit of the Spirit
-So, we need a savior who overcame all our drama.
-We need a savior who perfected the fruit of the Spirit.
-He died the death we should have died for our drama.
-He made it possible by sending us his Spirit to live out the fruit of the Spirit.
-Now we eliminate drama, through Jesus.

Sermon: The Drama Life

Ascension Day

 The music Johann Sebastian Bach composed for Ascension Day.

Wikipedia-Lobet Gott in seinen Reichen (Praise God in his kingdoms), BWV 11, also known as the Ascension Oratorio, is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, marked by him as Oratorium In Festo Ascensionis (Oratorio for the feast of the Ascension). It was probably composed in 1735 for the service for Ascension and first performed on 19 May 1735. The text additional to biblical sources and chorales was presumably written by Picander who had worked for the Christmas Oratorio before. The oratorio spans eleven movements, with a performance time of around half an hour, performed in two parts, 1–6 before the sermon and 7–11 after the sermon.

Delight In The Lord Song Of The Week- This Is My Desire

-We wait quietly before God and give him our life. The good and the bad.

-He will not reject us. He has compassion towards us.

-He will take our life in his hands. He can be trusted. He is a good father.

-He will speak good things over our lives.

-He will break the areas of pride, unforgiveness, and death in our lives that need to be broken.

-The life that he gives back to us will be transformed into something that is satisfying.

Friday Favorites

1. I know it's Saturday, but I was busy on Friday.

2. I got a new Moleskine Notebook this week. My old one broke and they are not suppose to do that. Moleskine stands by their product and they sent me a new one. Everyone should journal, write, or draw in a Moleskine. It makes you smarter.

3. My daughter's second grade program was on Wednesday. Her school, Legacy, does a good job. She was a dancer during the song, "Good Day On A Bad Day." That song is about how God turned the bad of his son's death into the greatest good the world has ever known. They did a song called, "Make The Sign of Christ." I thought that song was powerful.

4. I went to the Chick-Fil-A LeaderCast on Friday at Fair Haven Ministry. I got to hear Tim Tebow, Andy Stanley, John Maxwell, and many others. It was quite informative. Plus Peanut M&Ms were on every table, and I discovered I like Peanut M&Ms. They did not have any Chick-Fil-A Sandwiches, which would have been awesome, but they did have really good chicken, broccoli, and cheese, stuff. So let me recap, informative and ate good. Now that's what I call a conference. I tweeted out quotes from and about the conference, so go here and follow my tweets.

5. My wife and I had a date night last night. Uccello's is really good. We saw a movie. I don't like advertising movies on my blog, I will just say Hulk Smash, and you figure it out. It was a fun time.

6. What was one of your favorite things from this past week?

Resist the urge to criticize

Resist the urge to criticize. When we judge or criticize someone, it says nothing about that person; it merely says something about our own need to be critical.

This is a quote from Don't Sweat The Small Stuff

1. I feel guilty after I criticize somone.  I most always end up saying, "I shouldn't have said that."

2. Does my criticism change a person or the situation.  If I have no authority to impact that person why do I offer unsolicited advice?

3. If people will talk bad to you about someone else, they will talk bad about you to someone else.

4. Why is it so much easier to focus on the bad instead of seeing the good?

5. On purpose speaking the good helps battle a critical spirit.

6. Help me Lord, Help us Lord.

7. How do you battle a critical attitude?