Al Jennings II

Cheer Up!

Matt. 6:31   “Therefore do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?’ or “What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

No matter what you are going through or dealing with, here are some tips:
1. Things are not as bad as they seem.
2. Cheer up; choose to be joyful, it's going to get better.
3. Seek first the kingdom (get involved in God's kingdom work).
4. Don't worry about tomorrow, tomorrow will take care of itself; don't worry about anything!
5. Do what you have to do today; take action; move forward; do something now that will take you in the direction of your dreams.
6. Walk in love (love your enemies).
7. And don't you EVER give up or quit!

How can a Church speak the same thing?

1Cor. 1:10   Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

....to agree in what you say - Goodspeed
....I plead with you to be of the same mind, all seeing things from the same point of view - Taylor

How can you get an entire Church with a variety of personalities and personal preferences to speak the same thing? The only way to do that is through a common vision given by God to the Pastor.

Now that the cleanse is over.....

I'm trying the nutra-system food plan. So far so good. I was told that the portions are small, but they are bigger than I expected, with the sides you can add. Plus, you get to eat six times a day, so you really don't get hungry. And I have seen immediate results. And that's the bottom line for me: results.

Back to Eating: naturally and spiritually

It's been a minute since my last post. After the cleanse I guess I've been too busy eating to blog :-) Yesterday, I went with a Pastor to Cincinnati to eat at one of my favorite resturants: Pappadeaux seafood. It was wonderful.
I've also been having a great time of private devotional time with the Lord through prayer and the reading of the Word. So don't forget to feed yourself spiritually. Smith Wigglesworth said that most people feed themselves 3 hot meals a day and feed themselves one cold snack a week spiritually. What a bummer. Feed yourself on the Word of God and spend time in the Word. Make it a habit this year.

Cleanse update

This morning I woke up feeling weak, so I decided to end the cleanse. So I did 8 days. Carla experienced the same yesterday. She ended today as well.
The cleanse was a positive experience for me as I mentioned some benefits in a prior post. The weakness we experienced didn't happen the first time we did it. It may have been due to the fact that we cut back on the amount of maple syrup we used in the drink.
Having said that, I look forward 2 my next meal!

Late night question

What is your main focus for 2008? I would like to know what's on your heart? What's God saying to you? What's He doing in your life right now. Do you have clarity in your life on what you should be doing? Or, are you foggy or uncertain? Mainly, I would like to know what's going on in your life, if anyone would like to share answers to any of the above questions.

Update on my cleanse

This time as last time, I did not commit to do the whole 10 days. I always reserve the right to bail out. I told Carla the first time around, that if I starved, I would eat. But the truth is, I did get hungry at times (especially the first 2 days), but I never starved. There's something about this concoction that doesn't make you starve. It actually gets easier after the first 2-3 days. It's kind of down hill from there. So theoretically, I'm over the hump. I'll keep you posted.
Some benefits and observations from my cleansing:
1. It's a type of fast.
2. An increased mental alertness and clarity.
3. Better skin tone and complexion.
4. Increased energy.
5. A good time to hear from God.
6. Overall physical good feeling.
7. Soup tasted so good when I weaned off the cleanse.
8. When I went back to solid foods, at first, I got full after partaking of smaller portions.
9. Clearer eyes.

Listen, if you have doubt about whether you can do this, as much as I love food: if I can do it, so can you. God is helping me, and He'll help you. You can do like me, take one day at a time. And if you can't take it anymore, just stop. No condemnation. Just commit to do your best. It's hard for me to stop though, because I don't like to quit. But if I did, so what. At least I tried.

Here we go again: The cleanse

As many of you know, my wife encouraged me to do the master cleanse last year. Ok, I really didn't plan on doing it again this year, but here we go again. Carla said she was going to start at the beginning of the year, so I decided at the last minute to join her. Actually, I started one day ahead of her! And that was because at the last minute, she decided because of circumstances not to start the day she planned. Since I had already prepared myself mentally to begin on that day, I did it. BTW, if you should decide to do this cleanse, I would encourage you to get mentally prepared for it at least one day before you start. That helped me. The mind is powerful. It is amazing what you can do when you set your mind. And the Holy Spirit will strengthen and help you.
To go without food is major for me. And 10 days! Please. But I will tell you one thing, the main reason that I did it again was because of the positive results that I experienced in my body both during and after the cleanse. I actually went only 8 days (last year) because I had to take a long airplane flight, in which Carla encouraged me to go off the cleanse early because of the number of times I would need to go the the rest room, not being able to take my drink through security, and the hassle of me trying to make my own drinks when I arrived.
Anyway, I'm at the end of day 3, and so far so good!

He is good; all the time!

Here are some exhortations and thoughts from the 118th division of the Psalms:
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good: His faithful love endures forever. (1)
Let all who fear the Lord repeat: "His faithful love endures forever." (4)
Pray to the Lord when you are in trouble and he will get you out
Don't be afraid, because God is with you. Therefore, there is nothing to worry about. When you trust God, nobody will bother or mess with you. (5)
It's better to trust God than to put your confidence in people or government (8,9)
God's people sings songs of joy and victory in the Church; because of the glorious things God has done with His powerful arm! (15,16)
I will not die, but live to tell what God has done (17)
Saints love going to God's house (19,20)
Thank God for answering your prayer and bringing you out (21)

Happy New Year!

Josh. 1:8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Expect open gates in 2008! Give thanks to God in advance for the great things that He will do in your life this year. God loves you. He's for you, with you, and in you, to help you to succeed.Be obedient to whatever He tells you to do. Now go forth and live life like a conqueror. God sees you as a success, so see yourself the way He sees you and act like a champion.
I want you to know that I love you'all, and I'm glad that you take the time to check out the blog.