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WINNING WITH THE WORD “Winning with the Word” is a weekly blog that will help you to be a winner in life by applying God’s principles for living the abundant life as found in the Bible, God’s manual for life. AN INVITATION TO YOU: To subscribe to this blog, click here.  To subscribe to this podcast, click here. If this blog and podcast have blessed you, please encourage your family and friends to subscribe as well. Thank you! Be sure to check out our Featured Book of the Week at the end of this post. ______________________________________   Do you prefer listening instead of reading? Then click below to listen to today’s blog post on podcast. https://media.blubrry.com/winning_with_the_word/content.blubrry.com/winning_with_the_word/Are_You_Reading_the_Wrong_Story_.mp3 ___________________________________________________________________________ NOTE: This is a reprint and replay of an earlier post. Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, novelist and Certified Life Coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is Monday, February 7, 2022, and this is Episode #6 of Series 2022. This episode is titled "Are You Reading the Wrong Story?." Years ago, I was driving along the Beltway outside of Washington, DC, when I missed my exit. Of course, I didn't realize that I had missed my exit until I started passing the same landmarks I had already passed. But, I had to go around the Beltway yet again in order to reach my exit. So, around the Beltway I went. Again! Perhaps your life feels like my Beltway ride. You're going around the same circle again and again. Or you're going around the same mountain again and again, getting nowhere except frustrated. If so, I can relate. There's a saying that doing the same thing over and over again without getting results is insanity. If this describes you, perhaps you're reading the wrong story. What do I mean? Well, each of us reads and follows a story for our lives. It is usually the story we've grown up with or been told along the way. We think it's the right story because the ones who told us the story were trusted people in our lives.  For example, we may all have heard the story that, to be successful, we need to "grow up, get a job, and work hard." That's the story I heard growing up. Perhaps it's the same story you heard. So, let me ask you: "Is that story working for you?" You see, it's not necessarily working hard that makes you successful; it's working smart with the wisdom of God.  What does it mean to work smart? Here are a few thoughts I'd like to share with you: 1__Working smart being doing things God's way, not our own way. Years ago, I was talking with the Lord when He spoke these words to me: "Your vision is Your provision."   One huge thing I learned when I stopped reading the wrong story is that working smart does not mean trading hours for dollars. You see, when you trade hours for dollars, if you need more dollars you have to work more hours. That's what most people are doing today. They are trading hours for dollars. In fact, that is the work model throughout most of the world. And this "hard" work model is stressing out a lot of people, leaving them little better than they were when they started the journey. If you're like most people, you're thinking, "the harder I work, the behinder I get."  Yet, the Bible tells us in Proverbs 23: 4 MSG, "Don't wear yourself out trying to get rich."  This verse sheds light on something very important. It implies that we don't have to kill ourselves in order to achieve financial freedom. Or any other kind of freedom for that matter. Another wrong story I read growing up was that I had to earn my way to Heaven. I remember asking a priest one day, "How and when will I know if I've done enough to get into Heaven?" He said, "You'll find out when you die!" What? I looked at him in disbelief. I don't know about you, my friend,