Using the resources you've been given

How many of you have a few or more close friends you greatly admire and enjoy hanging out with. Maybe for you, its just your family that you really enjoy spending time with. I know for me, I enjoy hanging out with a few very close friends, and also I really enjoy my family. Usually you can only count your closest friends on one hand, and that is definitely something I have found to be true. Through and through all these other people who call themselves friends just fade away. The main people who I have chosen to stay in unity with are mainly a few friends and my family. Everybody else is only superficial. I encourage you to do the same.

Find a few close friends who you can rely on and talk to about anything without them criticizing you. The best way to guage whether someone is a true friend is if they can listen to your problems, not be offended, and try to help you work through the pain. Don't go in search of all these other people to fill the emptiness or loneliness you feel inside. Rather learn to trust and rely on your family and few close friends; you know they won't let you down. The other friends will come later when your not even trying to make a friendship happen. This goes for all kinds of relationships.

Maybe you feel like you can never seem to make any friends or maybe your faamily has desserted you. Well I wanted to tell you now about the friend who has transformed my life. He never lets me down. He listens to everything I ever tell Him, and His promises for me are greater than I could ever imagine. You see, this friends name is Jesus Christ and He has set me free and redeemed me from a hopeless life of sin.Jesus loved me and called me a friend long before I ever even thought of Him. Romans 5:6 says, "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly." That was me, you, my family, your family, my friends, your friends and everyone else that Christ died for. You know He died for you and I so that we don't have to strive to make friends because of emptiness and loneliness we feel inside. Why? you might ask. Well it is because He loves you and I more than we could ever imagine. Romans 8:38 says "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers,  nor powers nor things present nor things to come, (39) nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to sperate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

You see God loves you so much that he wants to be your closest friend so that nothing can seperate you from His love. He loves you more than you can imagine.

Please respond to Him. Romans 10:9 says, ":That if you believe in your heart the Lord Jesus, and confess with your mouth that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Believe in Christ and what He has done for you (He died a horrific death for you so that you didn't have to, and this payed for every sin you ever have done so that you don't have to pay the consequence I promise you if you respond to this overwhelming love of God out of a true heart of repentance from your sins and tell others about it,  your life will be radically changed and Romans 5:1 will become so true in your life, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." This amazing peace is waiting for you. Respond to Christ in belief and faith in His Son Jesus Christ and what He did for you.

He will take every fear, every rejection, every hurt, every pain of losing those closest to you, every tear over a disability or anger problem you may now have now, and even every rage or anger you may feel towards somebody for causing you harm. He will take all of these things and wipe them away. He'll take away the heavy weight off your chest, the depression you battle, and the hopelessness you live with everyday and throw all these burdens as far as the east is from the west!

Please, I implore you to respond to Him and let me know, or maybe you have questions,
 EMAIL ME at williamb374@msnsn.com    or qualityoflifewill374@ymail.com  or

call me any time which works for you (704)682-8711

Be Fearless

Fear. This four letter word defines the greatest battle I faced for the longest time. I lived in a state of perpetual fear. I was fearful of what others thought of me, fearful of losing my friends, fearful of cancer, fearful of death, fearful that I would not finish college, fearful I wouldn't find a girl who could love me for me, fearful of failure, and even fearful of others letting me down. The list goes on. There were so many things, thoughts, ideas, and situations I feared. For the longest time I struggled with this, but then I came to realize that every thing, thought, situation, or person I feared actually had no way of hurting me and nobody had any intention of thinking any of the things towards me that I feared. The majority of our fears are created in our heads, and thats all they are; just thoughts and silly imaginations. Once I realized this, I was able to have a completely different outlook on life. No longer did I isolate myself out of fear of what others thought or said. Not to mention, that I also found inspiration through the Bible. A powerful verse which greatly strengthened me was 2 Timothy 1:7, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

I realized God had given me a spirit of power and a sound mind, and fear was just a distraction.

I don't know what your fears are. Maybe you fear that you will never walk again, or maybe you fear nobody will accept you, or people will make fun of or mock you. Maybe you fear your friends/family will dessert you. Well I have news for you. Everything we fear in this life usually never comes to pass. Most of your fears are just thoughts which have krept in your life. If we live in a state of continual fear, our lives will slow down, and we won't be able to accomplish all we've been placed on this earth to accomplish. Fear clouds your vision, yor thought life, and even your passions. I challenge you today to not let fear hinder you from accomplishing your dream, life goal, or what you've been placed on this earth to do. Be FEARLESS!

Maybe you have questions about how I overcame fear, or how God helped me overcome fear and has given me a spirit of power.

Email me at williamb374@msn.com   or qualityoflifewill374@ymail.com. I want to talk to you.

Your experiences qualify you

Whatever you are going through in life, whether it be having a tbi like myself, maybe you have cancer, or maybe you had a stroke or strokes, or maybe you are going through something completely off the charts that not many people go through or think about. Well I have news for you. Your struggles are qualifying you for something else that you are going to accomplish later in life, or maybe you are accomplishing it now as I write this! I know for me, God allowed me to go through what I went through so I could truly encourage tbi and/or stroke survivors because now I can relate to them. Not only that, but now I have an overwhleming pasison to reach the younger generation. When I was paralyzed or when I couldn't take care of or feed myself, or when I had to go to therapy everyday, I didn't think of how one day I could use everything I had gone through to help others. I promise you if you will open up your mind to see past your present struggles, you will see hope in how you can help others going through the same or worse situation than what you are going through or have gone through. Cry out to God, and He will save you and show you how you can help others in need.

Finding Unity

I mentioned yesterday how a you can stay in unity with others by walking in forgiveness for others and laying down your pride by not always having to be right about everything. This is a sign of humility and people will respect you for that. Proverbs 15:1 says, "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Maybe for you as a tbi survivor, you constantly encounter a famliy member who you can never seem to get along with. I challenge you to rather than lash back each time he/she says or does something hurtful, start answering with a soft answer of kindness. Many times, for those situations, it is helpful not to say anything at all; this is definitely a sign of humility. This will cause the other person to consider how his/her unkind words are not needed and they don't provoke the reaction from you they want, which is for you to retaliate in anger.

Whoever you may be and whatever condition you may have, I challenge you to Answer softly those who criticize you. Everybody can learn this one lesson, and it will promote unity ans thus benefit anybody's life; I gaurantee it.

Being in Unity

How do you stay in Unity with Others and live in a constant state of Unity with those closest to you? Lay down your pride. You don't always have to be right. Forgive others for the wrongs they do, and always focus on how you can brighten somebody else's day. People are going to hurt you by saying mean things, gossipping, and criticizing you. Life hurts sometimes. The best medication I've learned for that is always be ready to forgive, and I have learned it I don't have to be right about everything. Humility is key.

Everybody is searching for something

A tbi survivor, a stroke survivor, a cancer survivor, someone suffering from epilepsy, a business man, business woman, nurse, doctor, or even someone suffering from deperession, and anyone for that matter, all have something in common, believe it or not. They are all searching for something. You and I are both searching for something. Maybe you are searching for success or fulfillment through completing college or becoming a millionaire. Maybe you are searching for love, or looking for love by going to different people, and being in different relationships. However, you never seem to grasp ahold of the very thing you are searching for. When it all boils down to a point, we are all searching for something or someone to fill the void we have in each of our lives.

For me as a tbi survivor, I used to constantly search for other people to accept me, but a lot of people always seemed to shy away from that. I realize now that they simply did not understand. Maybe for you as a tbi survivor, you constantly search for others to accept you and affirm you, but you never can seem to break past people's walls they build.

Maybe you are not even a tbi survivor, and yet you struggle with the issues I have mentioned.  I know exactly how you feel. For the longest time I struggled with this same issue. But then I realized most people simply were unsure of how to communicate with me did not know how to; it was nothing I did wrong. People are not automatically going to be angry or ciritical of you. You have done nothing wrong and their is nothing wrong with you!
I realized something else; That no matter how other people treated me, that did not change who I was or my position as a child of God. You see, Romans 8:38, 39 says, "For I am persuaded that niether death norl ife, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, (39) nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to seperate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." God has so much love for me that he loves me just because He chooses to, and their is nothing I can do, nor anything any body else can do that will change that. So, when those people, old friends don't except me or want to hang out or whatever, it does not phase me, because I know who genuinely aceppts and loves me.

Also another lesson I have learned comes from the verse Ecclesiastes 4:12, which says, "Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold chord is not easilly broken."  I have found those encouraging, supportive friends to come alongside me and encourage me and support me as an individual, and just be a true friend.

I hope you realize that no matter how Others act towards you or treat you, that does not define who you are or change the great person you are! Also I hope you realize how Awesome the love of God is, and how much he loves you. Grasp that and respond to him, I encourage you to, He invites you to. It does not matter how people treat you, or how hopeless you may be, the love of God surpasses every opinion, agenda, fear, and criticism of any person, as well as any hardship you may be experiencing or sin you may have committed.

Your identity is not wrapped up in your tbi, disabled body, paralyzed body,  or even anything bad you may have done or said.

Please, email me if you have any questions or comments about what I have said. Email me  at williamb374@msn.com or qualityoflifewill374@ymail.com.

Unity in Your Passion

It's so important to Be in unity with your passion. You may ask yourself, Why does he say that? It's so vitally important to be in unity with other people who are passionate about what you are passionate about because this adds excitement to what your passionate about. For me, I would not be where I am today, if I had not found other people who have the same passions that I have. I would not be as passionate as I am today about speaking to people about purpose, being in unity with others who have a passion for God, running, wellness, working out, or any of the other passions/interests I have if it had not been for the mentors and friends I have found who share the same passions I have and have encouraged me in my passion.

For me, staying passionate about the activities/interests I love has helped me to fight feelings of sadness or anxiety over the years of my recovery.

I encourage you to stay passionate and find other supportive people who are just as passionate, if not more passionate about the same things you are. This might mean finding a good mentor who may be a lot older than you who shares your passions or may just be a good supportive friend you can rely on and who will encourage you in your passion. These were the kind of people I first found who were supportive of me in some of my passions.

I encourage you to find an older individual, because older people have so much more wisdom!
It is so vitally important to stay passionate; this keeps you young and full of life, energy, and even health.

Philippians 1:9 "And this I pray that your that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and all discernment."

Romans 12:10 "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves."

Being in unity with those who share your passions will help you as an individual overcome so many issues, such as depression, hopelessness, sadness, fear, and any inability you have to healthilly interact with others.