“Compare thyself one with another”…Although this is not in the Bible, we are often tempted to think that way.  When we compare ourselves with others, we tend to let our thoughts run toward two negative  extremes.
     One extreme is that we can become envious of someone’s looks, lifestyle, or possessions. We can become bitter and jealous.The other extreme is that we can become judgmental and “look down” on people that have less than we have or is different than us. It is obvious that both of these attitudes are wrong and are not pleasing to The Lord. Psalm 119:37 encourages you and I to think differently: “Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to Your Word.”  
    We should focus on the on our relationship with God and love for others regardless of their status in life. As we see ourselves and others as God sees us it will allow us to keep the proper perspective. We are able to maintain the right attitude by getting into studying the Bible and apply it to our daily lives on a regular basis. 
    Also, we need to realize that we are uniquely created by God. I had a professor in graduate school say often “God don’t make no junk.” That is true, and we should celebrate God’s love and grace in our lives and not get caught up on what we have or don’t have in life but focus on God’s love and grace for ourselves…and others.

       “The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.” – Sidney Harris

         “Your soul is like a battery that discharges each time you give life away…and it needs to be…recharged regularly.” – Wayne Cordeiro

“When we insist on doing too much, we are not only  inflicting the damage on ourselves; we are sharing the damage with those we love the most.” – A.W. Schrac

  “His Divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness” 2 Peter 1:3 (NIV)

          “To keep a lamp burning we have to keep putting oil in it” – Mother Teresa

   It is easy to get overloaded with issues and problems you and I face on a daily basis, which is all the more reason to take time to refresh ourselves spiritually. There are times we need to get away from our busy schedules to just stop and spend time talking with God in prayer. Jesus did this often, especially before and after major events in his ministry. After an eventful day of helping people and the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000…”Jesus went up into the hills by himself to pray” (Mark 6:45). You may not be able to get away for an extended time but you can block out some time to just pray and recharge yourself in His Presence. Some suggestions might include, getting up a little earlier or blocking out some time later in the day or evening, whichever works best for you and your schedule.
     I have also found it very helpful to read some from the Bible, and also good Christian books, blogs, or devotional material..this way I am not doing all the talking in prayer and this allows me time for God to speak to me. May The Lord grant you and me the courage to say “NO” to even good things that may clutter our daily lives to say “YES” to the more important priority of spending time alone with God so that we don’t “run on empty” spiritually…