God's best for you includes every good thing you could possibly need.

If I began to tell you about heaven, I couldn't give you any firsthand information because I haven't been there. But I can teach on prosperity because that is something I have experienced. I've gone from absolutely nothing to abundance in my life.

God's ideal prosperity includes healing, protection, favor, wisdom, success, well-being and every good thing you could possibly need. It's what Jesus provided for us by laying down His own life.

In the nearly 40 years of my Christian journey, the Lord has led me in the way of true prosperity using seven steps. Let's briefly take a look at these key elements to living the prosperous life—the blessed life for which Jesus redeemed us.

The apostle John reveals the first step, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth" (3 John 4, NKJV). "Truth" means to walk in the light of God's Word, according to His ways and His wisdom. It's living a godly lifestyle in obedience to what God says is right. You can't do it and not be blessed.

Faithfulness is another step that moves us closer to prosperity. It's a fruit of the Spirit you received when you were born again. Scripture says: "'His lord said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord"'" (Matt. 25:21).

To live abundantly we must also be diligent. The Word repeatedly says we are to seek God with all diligence, hearken to what He says and obey His commands. Why? Deuteronomy 28:1-2 says that when you listen diligently and obey, blessings overtake you! Diligence brings increase. As Proverbs 10:4 says, "The hand of the diligent makes rich."

Tithing and giving are essential too. The Bible says, "Honor the Lord with your capital and sufficiency. … So shall your storage places be filled with plenty" (Prov. 3:9-10, The Amplified Bible).

My husband, Ken, and I never had any financial growth until we became faithful in tithing. The tithe belongs to God. As we give it to support those who feed us spiritually, we honor Him.

In addition to tithing, we must give as the Lord leads us to the people and places where we are to sow. The Hebrew word for "offering" comes from a root word that means to "draw nigh." We have the privilege of coming close to God when we obey in the area of finances.

Second Corinthians 9:6 says: "He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully" (NKJV). God desires to increase you and bless you because He loves you.

To live prosperously, we must practice believing and saying God's Word. "Since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, 'I believed and therefore I spoke,' we also believe and therefore speak" (2 Cor. 4:13).

Faith must be in two places—in your heart and in your mouth. Believing in your heart and saying with your mouth produce the operation of faith.

I learned to take the Word literally as God speaking to me. I learned if I put it in my eyes, put it in my ears, and let it get down into my heart in abundance, it would come out my mouth in faith-filled words.

I learned faithfully and diligently to do what it says to do. My life and circumstances changed, and they still get better every day.

To me, these are the major steps to enjoy the prosperous life that God offers to every one of His children. I can tell you from my own experience that these steps will bring you increase, no matter where you are in life and no matter what you need.

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Gloria Copeland is co-founder and vice president of Kenneth Copeland Ministries in Fort Worth, Texas. She and her husband, Kenneth, are known for their teachings on faith, healing and victorious Christian living. Their daily TV broadcast, Believer's Voice of Victory, airs globally on more than 300 stations.

I once heard a profound quote: Love makes the world go around, but it's laughter that keeps us from getting dizzy.

Many people living today take life too seriously. As a result he or she can grow sick of the stresses and circumstances that one may encounter during a lifetime. Laughter is like a cheap medicine. It eases our tensions and makes us feel everything will work out fine. Laughter is a gift we can give to ourselves and to others.

American cartoonist Charles Schultz is a man who helped people learn to laugh through his comic strip, Peanuts. Although Schultz encountered tremendous difficulties in life, he continued to make his audience laugh at their mistakes. He discovered a secret that helped people persevere through their mistakes and failures. The secret was to learn to laugh at themselves. "If I were given the opportunity to present a gift to the next generation, it would be the ability for each individual to learn to laugh at himself."

Think about all the mistakes and failures you have made. Now, remember how six months later you were able to laugh at those mistakes. Life is not always perfect. Use Schultz's idea to create a great future. Give yourself a gift. Give that gift to others. Now is a good time to laugh your way into a great future.

I had the fantastic opportunity Sunday night to MC a fundraising event for a great ministry in Hollywood: Hollywood United. It’s essentially a collaboration of three organizations:

The Hollywood Prayer Network
Greenhouse
Act One Hollywood

The event accomplished three things:

1. It allowed people to see a vision of what God is doing in Hollywood through building up the Christian community, unifying the people and the ministries, and impacting lives and professional relationships. For those of us that have been involved in ministry in Hollywood for a long time—last night was the start of something new and significant.

2. To encourage people to join what God is doing by meeting other people, volunteering with the ministries to speak, offer expertise, and mentor and share contacts and resources.

3. Perhaps most important—to give financially to the ministries, starting with these three who are serving the entertainment and media communities.

When I was about 10 years old, I fell into a hornets’ nest. The hornets got caught in my clothing. The more I fought, the more they stung me. Later I counted about 20 stings. It was a painful few days, but I survived. Every now and then, I see someone caught up in a flurry of painful but meaningless activity.  I am reminded of my childhood experience and often use the age-old expression, “They fell into a hornets’ nest.” Most Americans agree that President Obama fell into a Middle Eastern hornets’ nest during the last few months. Despite the toppling of totalitarian states and the possibility of the establishment of new democracy, it is difficult to see a realistic end to the terrorism, bloodshed, and warfare in this important region of the world.   

The death of Osama Bin Laden marked a symbolic end to America’s war on terrorism. National jubilation is the only way to describe our corporate feeling about the demise of this “arch enemy” of everything Americans stand for. Perhaps this euphoric victory led the administration’s foreign policy strategists into a subtle state of hubris. This false feeling of power may have convinced them that they could actually advance the peace process by imposing the US will on the Palestinian/Israeli peace process.

The entire nation is aware that on Thursday May 19, the president declared Middle Eastern peace talks could only progress if Israel would agree to return to their 1967 boundaries. After a veritable maelstrom of rebuttals, the president's international policy team realized the error of their ways. Therefore, the next Sunday morning (5-22-11) the president retracted his peace talk ultimatum. He even went so far as to claim that he was misquoted. His clarification speech occurred at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's (AIPAC) annual meeting in Washington, DC. Despite the public acquiescence of former Prime Minister Netanyahu, the president seemed to create even more controversy. As I walked through the more than 11,000 pro-Israel advocates, I heard everything from motherly articulation of forgiveness to numerous people declaring they would never vote for President Obama again.    

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has begun traveling his state on what he calls his “People First Campaign.” This not an effort to hear from his people, as the name would imply. Cuomo is actually attempting to sell three policy agendas. The following quote tells the story in his own words, "Our entire team is...speaking directly to New Yorkers...about the issues that can move this state forward...We need to pass a property tax cap, ethics reform, and marriage equality during this legislative session and time is short.”

For social conservatives the most alarming aspect of this campaign is the fact New York’s Senate blocked a same-sex marriage bill in mid-2009. The bill was stopped because of an amazingly motivated electorate’s desire to maintain traditional marriage. Instead of listening to the will of the people, Cuomo’s website carries this rhetoric, “…it is time to for our state to retake our leading role in guaranteeing equal rights for all. This is about civil rights and equality.”