Vicki,

Yes, I just read this one! lol. It's great! How did you do that? <smile>

Please let me know so I can pass them on to others without all the 
attachments. lol.

Thanks.

Lovings!

Pat Ferguson



At 10:16 AM 9/6/04, you wrote:
>I loved this today. Vicki
>
>
>THE PURPOSE-DRIVEN® LIFE Daily Devotional
>September 6, 2004
>Why Worry When You Can Meditate?
>by John Fischer
>Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand
>in the
>way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.  But his delight is in the law
>of the
>Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.  (Psalm 1:1-2)
>I'm a chronic worrier.  I come from a long line of worriers.  A good deal of
>my conscious
>time is taken up with the act of worrying.  According to Rick Warren, this
>means
>I would be good at meditation.
>Meditation is focused thinking.  It is not just for monks and clerics.
>David said
>that he loved to meditate day and night on the word of God.  Now this was
>also while
>he was running a kingdom, fighting a perpetual enemy on the battlefield, and
>at times,
>running for his life.  He didn't have a lot of time to sit with his legs
>crossed
>and go "Ommmmmm."  That kind of meditation is meant to clear the mind of all
>thoughts.
>Biblical meditation is thinking focused on a particular aspect of God, a
>part of
>God's word, or a reminder of what He has done for you.
>Worry is focused thinking as well.  It's focused on what I can't answer or
>solve
>about my situation.  Worry, at least for me, is returning over and over
>again to
>a place where I am stuck.  I must somehow negatively feed on that little
>flutter
>of panic each time I follow a path of worry to the same hopeless conclusion.
>These
>are thoughts that accompany me throughout the day.  I don't sit down to
>worry. Worry
>is nagging negativity.
>It would stand to reason that if I can do this kind of professional worrying
>while
>I go about my tasks for the day, then I could choose to meditate on God's
>word instead.
>Worry is usually all about what you can't do anything about anyway. It's
>never productive.
>Imagine all that attention turned to God and His truth.
>I have the feeling that if I learned to turn my chronic worrying into
>meditation,
>when I did actually sit down to do something about those things I'm tempted
>to worry
>about, I might be in a much better frame of mind to find a solution.
>Try it today.  If you catch yourself worrying, turn your thoughts instead to
>God
>and His word.  Take a portion of scripture and turn it over and over in your
>mind.
>Remember what God has done for you.  Be thankful.  Why worry when you can
>meditate?
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>from purposedrivenlife.com.