August 22 Sailboat without a Sail…

Affirmation: I am grateful for this body, mind & soul. God made me.

I have had times in my life that I questioned God’s existence, His goodness, His love. But my questions never changed the reality of His love for me and it won’t change the reality on your life either. He created you in your mother’s womb. He loves you intensely.

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Wholehearted Guidepost from Brené Brown

Cultivate Gratitude & Joy. Let Go of Scarcity & Fear of the Dark.

Gratitude provides a clear pathway to experiencing more of this joy. By practicing gratitude for the opportunities you have to experience joy, you can be with it fully, even though it’s impermanent. And when the experience ends, you can be grateful that it happened at all!

The quickest way to eliminate joyful experiences from your life is to hold yourself back from feeling joy in the first place.

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Mastering the 7 Decisions from Andy Andrews

1- The Responsible Decision 

The Buck Stops Here!

Each of you must be responsible to do your creative best with your life. Gal. 6:4

If decisions are choices…and our thinking dictates our decisions—then I am where I am because of my thinking.

The Responsible Decision for Personal Success represents the beginning. Taking responsibility for your past will segue you into an extraordinary future of your choosing.

My thoughts will be constructive---NEVER destructive.

Responsibility is about HOPE and Control. Make better choices.

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Reading for Today

Walk in Grace. Live in Love by Bob Goff

AUGUST 22 

FAITH WITHOUT ACTION IS LIKE A SAILBOAT WITHOUT A SAIL—IT WON’T GET VERY FAR. 

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. JAMES 2:26 

Whenever I’ve got a free afternoon at home, the first place you’ll find me is on my sailboat. Richard and Adam, my sons who are the dauntless sailors of the family, will raise the sails, and we’ll make our way into the bay or into some adventure. 

It’s the wind that takes a sailboat anywhere at all. So if I showed up one day and told my sons, “Let’s not use the sails today,” they’d look back at me with scrunched faces and think I had lost it. Sometimes we operate like faith is one choice or one pivotal moment and then God does the rest. A stationary sailboat isn’t much of a sailboat. It’s just an extension of the dock. In the same way, belief that doesn’t find itself doing much isn’t doing much good. 

Faith that isn’t experiencing by doing what it has learned is a boat tied to the dock. It’s a sailboat with no sails. Jesus has a personal revolution in mind for each of us, and it starts with doing, not just believing, and certainly not merely agreeing with what Jesus said. When our sails are unfurled, we can’t help being moved by the wind. Pull anchor on your beliefs and hoist the sails. Now you’re going places. 

Jesus didn’t want us to just be believers. He wanted us to be participants. It’s tempting to think that following Jesus is about learning the right ideas, saying the right words, memorizing a couple of verses, and singing the right songs. It’s tempting to think a thumping church service, the right conference, or the right book will validate our faith. 

Don’t get me wrong—there’s nothing wrong with the church or the conference or the book. But faith without works is a sailboat without a sail. God is calling you toward the horizon with Him because He knows what can happen with your faith when it unties from the dock and starts to move. 

Where is God inviting you to trust the wind of His Spirit more?