Seven Principles to Live By

Affirmation: I was born to love and be loved. 

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

“Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat. We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. Bring them here to me,” he said. (Matthew 14:16-18)

Pay attention and obey. Such a simple command, and that is all He asks of us. Do this (love others), and let God do His part.

If you don’t get The Daily, a daily Bible vets, reading & reflection, from Cypress Meadows each day let me and I can get you on the daily text list. 

This weeks song is one of my favorites: Don’t Give Up On Me by Andy Grammer https://youtu.be/KL9qp0FNEzU

Jacque’s Note

I have focused my daily reading and personal work on the 10 Guideposts for Wholeheartedness that Brené Brown writes about in her book, The Gifts of Imperfection. From there I slip in the Seven Decisions, one each day.  I learned these from author and researcher, Andy Andrews. I read his book, The Traveller’s Gift and shared it with Douglas. He did a teaching series on the seven principles each week at Cypress Meadows.

It has been more than 7 years since I first read Traveller’s Gift. I dedcided to use these principles in my life.  To create a daily reminder, I made events in my calendar so I started on Monday with the first principle, and each day I have a principle to focus on. They repeat every week: 

Monday- The Responsible Decision 

Tuesday – the guided decision
Wednesday – this certain decisions

Thursday – the active decision
Friday – the joyful decision
Saturday Dash the compassionate decision
Sunday – the persistent decision

I copied a short paragraph or two for each decision in my google calendar so it comes up on my phone, iPad or computer. Then I write the guidepost and the decisions in my weekly planner.

For the next few weeks, my blog will focus on one of the decisions or principles. These will probably be familiar to you since I share one each day of the week.

Today, I just want to introduce you to Andy Andrews and what led him to write the books. (The Traveller’s Gift, The Noticer, Mastering the Seven Decisions)

At the age of 19 Andy’s life changed quickly. His mother died of cancer, and then his dad died in a car accident. He didn’t have a job, no way to make house payments nor pay the bills. He says he made decisions that took him from bad to worse. He ended up in Gulf Port, Alabama living under a pier or in the garages of unknowing homeowners. 

He felt like had drawn the losing lottery ticket and his lot in life was useless and he was a throw-away. 

He contemplated suicide because it seemed he was a lost cause. He had no extended family, few friends & no hope.

A chance encounter with an old man made him curious. He used the library as a safe place of escape. He began to read biographies of successful people. It became a 25 year reasesrch project for him. 

The seven principles he writes about came from that research. Principles , as you know are different than suggestions or good ideas. A principle: is a truth that is constant.

Andrews recognized and identified these 7 principles after reading 100’s of biographies, doing interviews, testing the principles in his own life and now millions of readers have tested the principles. 

I am one of those readers. I believe these 7 principles have guided me me to be the woman I am, today. Thanks for going on this journey with me.

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Guidepost 1: Cultivating Authenticity and Letting Go of What Other People Think

There’s no such thing as an “authentic person” and an “inauthentic person.” Because authenticity isn’t a fixed quality. It’s a skill you PRACTICE over time.