October 4 Grace Doesn’t Keep Score
Affirmation: I love the person I am and who I am becoming. I am willing to change & grow.
Appreciate who you are at the moment and all that you have gone through, your resilience, resourcefulness. And keep looking forward to who you are growing into. You are an amazing person.
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Ponder, Personalize, Practice: Continue to personalize Proverbs 19:17. This one requires action. Step out and show kindness to the poor. Donate food, help with clean up. Support orphaned, abused and abandoned kids in Kenya.
Proverbs 19:17 Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord and He will repay them for what they have done.
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Wholehearted Guidepost from Brené Brown
Cultivate Laughter, Song and Dance. Let Go of Being Cool and Always in Control.
But the flip side of that worry is even more powerful. As Brené Brown shares it:
“When we value being cool and in control over granting ourselves the freedom to unleash the passionate, goofy, heartfelt, and soulful expressions of who we are, we betray ourselves. When we consistently betray ourselves, we can expect to do the same to the people we love.”
“Which is why I now see being perceived as “weird” as a compliment. My aim isn’t “fitting in.” I just want to be true to myself. THAT is the path to forming authentic connections. And THAT is what it means to live wholeheartedly.”
*Dance Songs
Remember-Earth Wind and Fire
Shut Up and Dance With Me
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Mastering the 7 Decisions from Andy Andrews
The Guided Decision
“Knowing that wisdom waits to be gathered, I will actively search her out. My past can never be changed, but I can change the future by changing my actions today. I will change my actions today! I will train my eyes and ears to read and listen to books and recordings that bring about positive changes in my personal relationships and a greater understanding of my fellow man. No longer will I bombard my mind with materials that feed my doubts and fears. I will read and lis- ten only to that which increases my belief in myself and my future.
I will seek wisdom. I will choose my friends with care. I am who my friends are. I speak their language, and I wear their clothes. I share their opinions and their habits. From this moment forward, I will choose to associate with people whose lives and lifestyles I admire. If I associate with chickens, I will learn to scratch at the ground and squabble over crumbs. If I associate with eagles, I will learn to soar great heights. I am an eagle. It is my destiny to fly.
I will seek wisdom
Sometimes the questions are complicated, but the answers are simple.”
Ask and it will be given to you, Seek and you will find, Knock and the door will be opened to you. Matt 7:7
Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not lean on your understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will guide your steps. Prov. 3:5,6
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Reading for Today
Walk in Grace. Live in Love by Bob Goff
October 4
INSECURITY WANTS US TO KEEP TRACK OF OUR FAILURES. GRACE DOESN'T KEEP SCORE.
“If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you.” Psalm 130:3–4
I love watching baseball in person. The atmosphere is electric. If the game is tight in the eighth or ninth inning, every pitch and every swing feels more important than the ones in the first seven innings. Everyone is standing or craning their necks to see what happens. The only smart move is to slide your nachos under the seat or you’re bound to launch them with a spontaneous leap from your seat.
I always feel anxious for the batters in these late inning moments. When the game is on the line, all the pressure is on them. Every time they swing and miss, the umpire yells “strike!” And throws his fist through the air. The failure is amplified as the pressure builds. While it’s fun to experience the Pulse pounding moments of a tense ball game, I think T-ball games get it right. In T-ball games, there’s no umpire to yell strike and no pressure to connect in three tries. You can chop at the ball as many times as needed. No one keeps track of how many times they missed. We just wait for the hit so we can cheer. A lot of us treat life like a major league playoff game instead of a neighborhood T-ball. Instead of rooting for one another to swing for the fences and get a hit no matter how many swings it takes, we keep track of the misses, the failures, the disappointments. We treat life like it’s “three strikes and you’re out.” Jesus says we’re all in no matter how badly we’ve messed up.
When our insecurity wants to keep track of our failures, remember Grace isn’t keeping score. It doesn’t even start counting.
What part of your past has God forgotten but you keep holding onto?
I love watching baseball in person. The atmosphere is electric. If the game is tight in the eighth or ninth inning, every pitch and every swing feels more important than the ones in the first seven innings. Everyone is standing or craning their necks to see what happens. The only smart move is to slide your nachos under the seat or you’re bound to launch them with a spontaneous leap from your seat.
I always feel anxious for the batters in these late inning moments. When the game is on the line, all the pressure is on them. Every time they swing and miss, the umpire yells “strike!” And throws his fist through the air. The failure is amplified as the pressure builds. While it’s fun to experience the Pulse pounding moments of a tense ball game, I think T-ball games get it right. In T-ball games, there’s no umpire to yell strike and no pressure to connect in three tries. You can chop at the ball as many times as needed. No one keeps track of how many times they missed. We just wait for the hit so we can cheer. A lot of us treat life like a major league playoff game instead of a neighborhood T-ball. Instead of rooting for one another to swing for the fences and get a hit no matter how many swings it takes, we keep track of the misses, the failures, the disappointments. We treat life like it’s “three strikes and you’re out.” Jesus says we’re all in no matter how badly we’ve messed up.
When our insecurity wants to keep track of our failures, remember Grace isn’t keeping score. It doesn’t even start counting.
What part of your past has God forgotten but you keep holding onto?
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