God bless you. It's always a joy to have you here. A joy to come into your homes. We are

believing for God's very best in your life. If you're ever in our area, I hope you'll

stop by and be a part of one of our services. I promise you, we'll make you feel right at

home, but thanks so much for tuning in today and thanks again for coming out. I like to start

with something funny each week and I heard about this scientist that said to God, we've

decided that we no longer need you. We can clone people, we can transplant hearts and

do all kinds of things once considered miraculous. God said fine, but to see that you really

don't need me, let's have a man making contest. The only rule is you have to make a man out of

dirt. The scientist agreed and he reached out quickly to get a handful of dirt. God said not

so fast, go get your own dirt. All right, hold up your Bible, say it like you mean it. This is my

Bible. I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have. I can do what it says I can do.

Today I will be taught the Word of God. I boldly confess my mind is alert, my heart is receptive,

I will never be the same in Jesus name. God bless you. I want to talk to you today about learning

to encourage yourself. One of the battles that we all have to fight is the battle with discouragement.

Our dreams don't always happen on our timetables, we go through disappointments,

adversities, and it's easy to lose our enthusiasm, to lose our zeal for life. It's good to have

family and friends that encourage us. It's good to have a coach, a teacher, a pastor, a cheer us on.

But one thing I've learned is other people cannot keep us encouraged. Other people can't keep us

cheer up. They may give us a boost, they may help us from time to time, but if you're really going

to live in victory, that encouragement has to come from the inside. You've got to learn to

encourage yourself. When times get tough and things aren't going your way, you don't feel like

pursuing your dreams. Your mind is telling you it's not worth it. It's never going to get me

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