Lady Margaret Thatcher once said:

“I usually make up my mind about a man in ten seconds, and I very rarely change it.”

Have you ever heard the expression. . .you only have one opportunity to make a good first impression?

That’s true.  I will tell you that you can’t always judge a book by its cover. . .but the look of that cover may keep me from ever finding out what’s in the book.

The late Maya Angelou said:

10.  There are times to speak up and times to shut up…discerning the difference will increase the length of your life.  Proverbs 13:3

  9.  Never doubt that God planted a seed of greatness in you. . .after all . . .you were created in His image and after His likeness.

  8.  God wants our best moments in prayer and meditation on His Word…not the dregs or remains of the day.  Put Him first daily.

  7.  True happiness is not based on what you have...where you live or where you work. It's based on realizing who you are in Him.

  6.  Don't spend so much on Black Friday that you can't pay your bills off until Good Friday.

Here are the Top 5 Rich Thoughts Nuggets of the week.

  5.  A person may not have chosen to be born in or live in poverty but they definitely have made a mental decision to stay there.

  4.  One of four things will hold you back…old habits…wrong attitudes…lack of passion or stagnant ideas.  You can change all four.         

  3.  Some of God's greatest blessings are the opportunities He sends our way.  Be expectant.

  2.  Our lives would be so much richer if we listened more to what God has to say and less about what others have to say.

 # 1 Rich Thoughts Nugget you selected is:

  1.  Faith is believing in a God that you cannot see with an expectation of spending eternity in a place not found on MapQuest.

Who’s in your inner circle?  Do you have really close friends?

Write down the characteristics which make you consider each one a close friend.

How do you decide with whom you will spend time?

Are your social interactions uplifting and character building for everyone involved?

10.  Foolishness is worrying about what you can’t control.

  9.  Expectation creates the environment for miracles.

  8.  You never run into traffic when you’re going the extra mile because most people are headed in the other direction.

  7.  The Bible is not a book of exceptions, exemptions and excused behavior.  It is a book of absolutes.  The Bible says what it means.

  6.  The Lord’s office hours are 24/7.  You never need an appointment.  Stop by anytime.

Here are the Top 5 Rich Thoughts Nuggets of the week.

  5.  It’s a sin to make a decision in ignorance when the facts are available.  Proverbs 18:13

  4.  The problems you face will look either small or large depending on whether your thoughts on how to handle them are small or large.          

  3.  Time is constant…it never changes.  If we don’t have enough time…then we need to change how we use the time we’ve got.

  2.  Despite the changing political and financial landscape God is not surprised by what’s happening on planet earth…He has a plan.

 # 1 Rich Thoughts Nugget you selected is:

  1.  “I don’t have the time” is the greatest excuse for “I don’t want to.”

As Forrest Gump once said:

"Stupid is as stupid does."

A person is ignorant when they don't know what to do.

A stupid person knows what to do but doesn't do it.

Benjamin Franklin once said:

This is the time of year for Christmas lists…from the youngest family member to the oldest.

As our family members grow in age. . .so do the price of their toys.

Dale Evans, wife of Roger Rogers, my childhood heroes once said:

“Christmas, my child, is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give, it's Christmas.”

Roy L. Smith, a renowned Methodist writer of Sunday School literature, once said:

During two days last week on the Rich Thoughts For Breakfast phone calls we discussed seven scriptural insights to a better life.

These insights are all contained in Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 in the Message Bible which says:

“After looking at the way things are on this earth, here’s what I’ve decided is the best way to live: Take care of yourself, have a good time, and make the most of whatever job you have for as long as God gives you life. And that’s about it. That’s the human lot. Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what’s given and delighting in the work. It’s God’s gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now. It’s useless to brood over how long we might live.”

As I’ve read and re-read that verse in preparing the teachings. . .I was stirred by Ecclesiastes 5:19 which says:

"I went to the enemy's camp and I took back what he stole from me. 

“Took back what he stole from me. 

“Took back what he stole from me….

“He's under my feet."

10.  Today…purpose in your heart not to waste time on things that don’t matter.  Maximize your moments.

  9.  Where we see lack…God sees the potential for abundance.

  8.  It’s not what we know but what we do with what we know that makes us somebody successful.  Be a doer of the Word.

  7.  Thank a veteran that you still live in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

  6.  Your body may be in pain but you determine whether or not your thoughts are painful.

Here are the Top 5 Rich Thoughts Nuggets of the week.

  5.  There is never a dead end in your life…unless you make it so.

  4.  When you do your best. . .you will often become the best.           

  3.  What’s in our hands is a seed.  What’s in God’s hands is our harvest.

  2.  Peace and prosperity allow you to sleep at night without a pill and awaken each day to unlimited possibilities.

 # 1 Rich Thoughts Nugget you selected is:

  1.  Set your goals so high that it will take God to help you reach them.

I'm going to share with you two verses which describe an event that changed the course of human history.

Luke 3:21-22 says:

²¹ Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,

²² And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.”