Refresh Your Soul – Rivers of Living Water

God Wants to Refresh Your Soul

Do you ever feel exhausted and overwhelmed? Has something been weighing on your heart or mind recently?

In this noisy, chaotic, broken world, it’s easy to feel worn out with no way to find true relief. Like you are stuck in a desert, yearning for a cool drink that’s nowhere to be found.

Today, Matthew reflects on one of the most spectacular images in all of the Gospels. If you let it, this one incredible promise from Jesus will wash away your worry and refresh your soul.


Get To Know The Shepherd 

THIS WEEK’S GOSPEL IS JOHN 10:27-30

How do you live the kind of life that overflows with joy and purpose? What will lead you to the only peace that lasts? How can you face extraordinary trials with unconquerable hope?

The deepest questions and greatest desires of your heart all have one answer. Just one.

Allen’s unforgettable story today holds that answer.


60 Second Wisdom – 13 Things Money Can’t Buy

“Is your life focused on the things you can buy with money or the things you can’t buy with money? Here are 13 things that money can’t buy that are worth more than all the things that money can buy.

1. Meaningful work.

2. Character.

3. Wisdom.

4. Self-esteem.

5. Friendship.

6. Inner-peace.

7. Health.

8. Love.

9. Respect.

10. A clear conscience.

11. Loyalty.

12. Happiness.

13. Another chance at a lost opportunity.

Whether you are earning money, spending money, saving money, investing money, or giving generously with money, it helps to remember, that while we need money to survive in this world, the things that make us thrive cannot be bought with money.”


Life is Messy – When the Problems of the World Overwhelm You

“The world is a mess… again. The news each day brings news of war and famine, destruction and dehumanization, people behaving like animals and people being treated like animals. All of this can lead us to experience stress, anxiety, depression, and a general feeling of being overwhelmed.

The problems of the world are a summons to reassess the way we are living our lives and an invitation to participate in the much-needed situations.

Feeling overwhelmed makes us feel helpless, but we are not helpless. None of us. Ever. There is always something we can do to improve our situation and the situation of others. It may seem small, but even small efforts radically alter our psychological, emotional, and spiritual health.

When the problems of the world overwhelm you do something besides worry.”


Life is Messy – The #1 Reason You Are Unhappy

“There are four aspects to the human person: physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual.

Physically, when you exercise regularly, sleep regularly, eat the right sorts of foods, and balance your diet, how do you feel? You feel fantastic. You feel more fully alive. You’re healthier, happier, and you have a richer, more abundant experience of life.

Emotionally, when you give focus and priority to your relationships, what happens? You switch the focus off yourself and onto others. As you do, your ability to love increases… and as your ability to love increases, your ability to be loved increases. You become more aware of yourself, develop a more balanced view of life, and experience a deeper sense of fulfillment. You’re healthier and you’re happier.

Intellectually, when you take ten or fifteen minutes a day to read a good book, what happens? Your vision of yourself expands; your vision of the world expands. You become more focused, more alert, and more vibrant. Clarity replaces confusion. You feel more fully alive, and you are happier.

Finally, spiritually, when you take a few moments each day to step into the classroom of silence and reconnect with yourself and with your God, what happens? The gentle voice within grows stronger, and you develop a deeper sense of peace, purpose, and direction. You’re healthier, you’re happier, and you have a richer experience of life.

Physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually, we know the things that infuse our lives with passion and enthusiasm. We know the things that make us happy. We just don’t do them.

It doesn’t make sense, does it?

On the one hand, we all want to be happy. On the other hand, we all know the things that make us happy. But we don’t do those things. Why? Simple. We are too busy. Too busy doing what? Too busy trying to be happy. This is the paradox of happiness that has bewitched our age.

Perhaps it is time to slow down. Maybe a better future involves less rather than more.”


Life is Messy – How to Change Your Situation

“Life is choices. This is a great truth and a hard lesson. It is a great truth because it reminds us of our power. Not power over others, but the often untapped power to be ourselves and to live the life we have imagined.

It is a hard lesson, because it causes us to realize that we have chosen the life we are living right now. It is perhaps frightening for us to think that we have chosen to live our life as it is today. Frightening because we may not like what we find when we look at our lives today. But it is also liberating, because we can now begin to choose what we will find when we look at our life in the tomorrows that lie unlived before us.

What will you see when you look at your life ten years from now? What will you choose? Life is choices.

You have chosen to live this day. You have chosen to watch this video. You have chosen to live in a certain city. You have chosen to believe certain ideas. You have chosen the people you call friends.

You choose the food you eat, the clothes you wear, and the thoughts you think. You choose to be calm or restless, you choose to feel appreciative or ungrateful. Love is a choice. Anger is a choice. Fear is a choice. Courage is a choice. You choose.

Sometimes we choose the-best-version-of-ourselves, and some- times we choose a-second-rate-version-of-ourselves. Learn to master the moment of decision and you will live a life uncommon.

Life is choices. Most people never fully accept this truth. They spend their lives arguing for their weaknesses, complaining about their lot in life, or blaming other people.

We choose, and in doing so, we design our lives.”