Children spend a lot of time daydreaming.

Many a child though, doing it at the wrong time, has been caught though at the brunt of a verbal assault from an adult. But the fact i,s that as a child we’re learning to develop necessary skills that will help us win over mediocrity.

Adults who never achieve in life are usually those who have stopped dreaming.

All the great men and women who have ever lived have been big dreamers.

But if you have stopped dreaming, how can you start to dream again?

This is where you have to become childlike all over again.

Do these simple things…

1. Take a blank piece of paper and pen.

2. Go find a quiet place.

3. Start by writing down all the things you would like to do. have or be.

4. Don’t hold back.

In this way you will unclog your dream machine – and what magnificent things you will discover.

Dream Big is a post from: MyBlackPiano

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Here is just a short set of words that I wrote some years ago.

Every time that I read them they move me to express myself afresh. May they have the same impact upon you.

Take time to think.

Take time to write.

For in thinking you have

captured your thoughts,

and in writing you have written upon the tablets

of your heart.

Take Time… is a post from: MyBlackPiano

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To be the least is to become the greatest. The greatest leader is the greatest servant.

Those who rule with an iron fist are despised. They have been devoured throughout the annals of history. Destined for destruction, their self-interest offers no lasting value to humanity.

Sacrificial giving though stands the test of time. It has lasted from time immemorial in the hearts and minds of generations.

Love is the most powerful force known to mankind.

But how can I serve, you may ask? A kind word, a note of thanks, a gift unexpected, a smile unannounced, a hand unrequested, and when wronged, forgiven.

It is the little things that impact lives. They can change the very destiny of a life, the chartered course of a nation and even the very future of our world.

Sow love seeds wherever you go. Plant them unconditionally and watch the bountiful harvest of your life blossom before your very eyes.

Serve With Love is a post from: MyBlackPiano

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Times clock ticks on…

Second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour, the hands move on relentlessly. Life’s opportunities are found in the seconds of today. They are not found in the regrets of yesterday nor in the hopes of tomorrow. For that which separates a man’s life from success and failure, is based upon whether he lives each day to the fullest.

Today is the day for decisions. Today is the day for action. Today is the day for change.

Don’t procrastinate. Use today while it is still today. Your every thought, motive and action are shaping your tomorrows. They are the substance on which tomorrow is built. They are the very foundations of your future.

Waste not the minutes. May every waking hour be a joy of discovery, and may it bring joy to those whom you touch with a smile.

Be the master of time. Harness the reservoir you have been granted while alive on this earth, and channel it in the direction that will irrigate the only life you’ve been endowed with.

Plan your time. Time to study. Time to work. Time to play. Time to relax. Time to dream. Time to love. Time to laugh. Many have said that ‘time waits for no man’, but I say, make time wait on you. Let it be your waiter as you feast on the goodness set before you on the table of life.

Make time your friend. Let it be by your side. Plan tomorrow today. Plan your week in advance. Goals help you harness time so that wastage is minimized.

The sands of time pass quickly through the hourglass of your life. One day you look in the mirror and see a young man or woman. The next day, as you pass that same mirror, an old man or woman has taken their place.

Seize today. Design the life you want to live. It is in your hands.

What do you want to achieve in your lifetime? Where will you be in five years? Take time to think. Take time to write. For in thinking you have captured your thoughts, and in writing you have written upon the tablets of your heart. You have taken charge of your time.

Never be afraid to say ‘no’. For if you can confidently say this to those things which seem ‘good’, but are not necessarily ‘best’, you will use time to its fullest as you travel along the road to success and fulfilment.

Savour The Seconds is a post from: MyBlackPiano

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‘I must be myself.’ Ralph Waldo Emerson

There are so many pressures placed upon us in this world to conform.

Men, through the power of organization and a desire to control and bring into order, have so often institutionalized that which otherwise can be performed as an overflow of our uniqueness.

But my observation has been this, that there are many roads that lead to the mountaintop of true worship.

For many it is to take the well-worn highway, but there are other trails to traverse, and for some they must cut their own path for they must be themselves.

In my spiritual journey this has become more evident in my own life with the passing of years. For my first 25 years I conformed to the religious ways of my parents. It was a fairly smooth pathway that carried me along to that point.

A Blast Of Light

And yet at the age of 25 my settled life was penetrated by a blast of light – not dissimilar to Paul on the road to Damascus. This divine interruption to my life challenged the very foundations of my first 25 years. I was like a child again discovering a goldmine of new and exciting divinity like I had never before experienced.

Never at this time though could I believe that the company of believers whom I would then join could be as bound by the traditions of men as those whom I had been in the company of for my first 25 years.

And yet they were.

Sure, it was packaged in a more attractive array of presentation – but alas it was riddled with the same treacherous things that sought to engulf my uniqueness in a spirit of dead religion, guilt oppression and expected conformity.

Breaking Free Again

For years I struggled with this because I hoped and wished that it would not be so – but as insidious as was the tentacles of the religion that I had left at the age of 25 I found myself another 25 years later leaving again because of the very same level of manipulative operation at the hands of men.

This is not God’s problem. This is the instrument of men – which may suit some – but for me to be what I have been called to be I cannot be a part of such a machine.

I must be myself – free from judgment, free from manipulation, free from the driving force of guilt positioning, free from the puppetry performed on stage and free from the expectation of conformity.

I was not born to be conformed. I was created to be transformed by the ongoing renewal of my mind.

I have found my own expression. I have found my own voice. I have found the truth. I have found the way. I have found the life that the General of the Universe has for me.

I am and so I will be, so I will speak, so I will write, so I will create and so will I live.

Alone at times – yet not – in the company of those whom I love and those who love me just as myself.

Why I Must Be Myself is a post from: MyBlackPiano

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Carry the spirit of a child with you wherever you go and in whatever you do. For within a child there is a fire lit by God himself, which brings energy and vibrancy to everything he or she touches.

Find an idea that overtakes you. Link it up with a definite plan to bring it to fulfillment and you will discover enthusiasm. It will take you over and through whatever obstacles stand in your way.

Set a goal and reach for it.

Build expectancy with each step. Reward yourself every time you have a little victory. You will experience an enthusiasm that you’ll never lose.

Ideas change things. There is an idea waiting to be found just by you.

Allow your enthusiastic idea to take hold of you. Let it fill your thoughts day and night. Watch the opportunities open up before you. Your enthusiasm will create an abundance of energy; the fountainhead of all your accomplishments.

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War unveils the best and worst in mankind. So fight the good fight of faith, for the best fight to fight is the fight you win.

Don’t accept defeat,, but treat it as a minor setback or obstacle that in time, you will overcome. Focus on victory. Have faith in God and yourself. Use upheaveal as a time of learning and a time to consider your future. Begin to dream beyond the battle. Turn turmoil into triumph.

Start by declaring that ‘Today is a great day. I will rejoice and be glad in it!’ Don’t dwell on yesterday. Be anxious for nothing.

Use today to think high thoughts. Dream tall dreams. Meditate on them. Engage in contemplation. Plan mentally. Survey visually. Your burning desire is possible.

Write it down. It will drive you to action. It will lead you along the path of achievement.

Your greatest battle will never be found where armies have fought. Your greatest enemies will never be other nations or nationalities. The greatest enemy of enemies, that has slain multitudes upon the battlefield of life, is fear itself.

Win over fear through action.

If you fear a mountain – climb it. If you fear the ocean – swim across it or build a boat and sail over it. If you fear the wind  - then set your sail and be propelled towards your goal. If you fear the valley or river – build a bridge and traverse it. Whatever fear you have within, face it head on. Confront. Don’t run. For those who run from fear will be overtaken, but those who run towards it will overcome it.

The battle is yours to win. There will always be war, but know that there will alaways be victory as you couragesously face your life and fulfil your dreams.

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David Wilkerson (May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011) was an American Christian evangelist, best known for his book ‘The Cross and the Switchblade’. He was the founder of the addiction recovery program Teen Challenge, and founding pastor of the non-denominational Times Square Church in New York.

Wilkerson’s widely distributed sermons, such as “A Call to Anguish,” are known for being direct and frank. He emphasized such Christian beliefs as God’s holiness and righteousness, God’s love toward humans and especially Christian views of Jesus. Wilkerson tried to avoid categorizing Christians into distinct groups according to the denomination to which they belong.

David was killed in a car crash in Texas on April 27, 2011.

Wilkerson served as a pastor in small churches in Scottdale and Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, until he saw a photograph in Life Magazine in 1958 of seven New York City teenagers charged with murder. He later wrote that as he felt the Holy Spirit move him with compassion, he was drawn to go to New York in February 1958. It was then that he began a street ministry to young drug addicts and gang members, which he continued into the 1960s. Later in 1958, he founded Teen Challenge,an evangelical Christian addiction recovery program affiliated with the Assemblies of God, with a network of Christian social and evangelizing work centers.

Wilkerson gained national recognition after he co-authored the book The Cross and the Switchblade in 1963 with John and Elizabeth Sherrill about his street ministry. The book became a best-seller, with over 50 million copies in over thirty languages, and is included in Christianity Today’s “Top 50 Books That Have Shaped Evangelicals”. In the book, Wilkerson tells of the conversion of gang member Nicky Cruz, who later became an evangelist himself and wrote the autobiographical Run Baby Run. In 1970, The Cross and the Switchblade was turned into a Hollywood movie starring Pat Boone as Wilkerson and Erik Estrada as Cruz.

In 1967, Wilkerson began Youth Crusades, an evangelistic ministry aimed at teenagers whom Wilkerson called “goodniks”—middle-class youth who were restless and bored. His goal was to prevent them from becoming heavily involved with drugs, alcohol, or violence. Through this ministry, the CURE Corps (Collegiate Urban Renewal Effort) was founded. It was intended to be something of a Christian version of the Peace Corps and Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA).

In 1971, Wilkerson moved his ministry headquarters to Lindale, Texas, where he founded World Challenge, an organization whose mission is to promote and spread the Gospel throughout the world.

Wilkerson believed that In 1986, while walking down 42nd Street in New York City at midnight, the Holy Spirit called him to return to New York City and to raise up a ministry in Times Square. He founded and became the pastor of Times Square Church,which opened its doors in October 1987. The church first occupied rented auditoriums in Times Square (Town Hall and the Nederlander Theater), later moving to the historic Mark Hellinger Theatre, which the ministry purchased in 1989 and in which it has operated ever since.

From the 1990s, Wilkerson focused his efforts to encourage pastors and their families throughout the world to “renew their passion for Christ”. In his own words:

“I’ve been an evangelist for 50 years, but I didn’t want to preach to pastors until I had gray hair, until I’d pastored. Now after 15 years of pastoring, sharing the hurts, pains, and difficulties of the ministry as a pastor, I felt the Lord finally release me, that I might have something to say.”

Wilkerson and his wife Gwen moved to New York City at the inception of Times Square Church in 1987, and in 2006 began splitting their time between New York and Texas. They have four children and eleven grandchildren.

Wilkerson claimed to have received a vision in 1973 regarding the future of the United States, subsequently published in a book called The Vision. Some of the subject areas of this reputed prophecy were: “Worldwide recession caused by economic confusion”; “Nature having labor pains”; “A flood of filth and a baptism of dirt in America”; “Rebellion in the home”; and “A persecution madness against truly Spirit filled Christians who love Jesus Christ”.

On April 27, 2011, while driving east on US Route 175 in Texas, Wilkerson crossed into the westbound lane and collided head-on with a tractor trailer. He was reportedly not wearing his seat belt, and was pronounced dead on the scene. His wife was wearing a seat belt, and was injured.

Rev. Wilkerson’s last blog post stated the following: “To those going through the valley and shadow of death, hear this word: Weeping will last through some dark, awful nights,” he wrote, “and in that darkness you will soon hear the Father whisper, `I am with you. I cannot tell you why right now, but one day it will all make sense. You will see it was all part of my plan. It was no accident.”‘

Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Wilkerson

In Honour Of David Wilkerson is a post from: MyBlackPiano

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‘I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.’ Mohandas K. Gandhi

What a sad summary of those who claim to be ‘little Christs’ by a man who in many ways lived more Christlike than most Christians.

Gandhi was speaking of his generation, but the question is what would he say about today’s generation of Christians if he were still alive?

Now before I start pointing fingers at others I choose to point five fingers straight back in my direction.

And the question I ask myself is this:

Would that be a statement that the great Mahatma would have leveled against me personally? Would he have pinpointed areas in my life that fell short of what Christ has asked of me?

• Am I a light in this world?
• Am I salt?
• Am I a city set on a hill?

…for these are the instructions given to me by Christ.

• Do I pass judgment on others?
• Do I try to get the speck out of my brother’s eye while still suffering from a log in my own?
• Do I lay hands on the sick?
• Do I cast out devils?
• Do I go into the entire world and preach the Gospel?
• Do I demonstrate a pure religion that cares for the widows and the orphans?
• Do I give with no expectation of return?
• Do I pray as Christ instructed?
• Do I speak truth?
• Do I hunger and thirst after righteousness?
• Does my tongue bring forth good words and not evil?
• Can I be trusted?
• Do I live a life of integrity and consistency?
• Do I love the unlovely?
• Do I forgive others?
• Do I think on those things that are good and honorable?
• Do I practice what I preach?
• Do others follow my example as I follow Christ’s example?
• Am I a hypocrite – say one thing and then do the opposite?
• Do I work harder for my boss – Christian or non-Christian – than those others who work for them?
• Do I care for my clients in an honorable fashion as a Christian entrepreneur and businessman?
• Am I honest in all my dealings with others?
• As a father do I live a Christian life that my children will aspire to live themselves?
• Am I proud, or do I live a life filled with humility?
• When I make a mistake do I accept full responsibility for it and seek to rectify, seek forgiveness and say ‘I am truly sorry”?
• When measured against Christ – how does my life stand up to the test?
• Do I speak Christ, live Christ, breathe Christ in all that I do and say?
• Am I in the light as I am in the dark?
• Am I in the open as I am behind closed doors where only God can see me?
• Can we join with the Apostle Paul by saying, ‘I have fought the fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith’?

What would the Mahatma say of yours and my life – Christian – if he were still alive today?

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