October 14: The Cost Is Different for Each One

Affirmation: Asking for help is a gift I give to myself and others

Seek and you will find, ask and it will be given, knock and the door will be opened. Matt 7:7

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Ponder, Personalize, Practice: Today, begin to ponder and memorize Proverbs 4:23. Talk to God about your heart and how to guard it. Ask Him to show you your heart. Pay attention to what flows from your mouth, and what flows through your mind.

Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

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Wholehearted Guidepost from Brené Brown

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

GET DELIBERATE

In The Gifts of Imperfection, I share my own authenticity mantra: "Don't shrink. Don't puff up. Stand your sacred ground." Develop your own authenticity mantra and tell us how you're using it to stay deliberate in your authenticity practice.

GET INSPIRED

Is there a song, quote, meditation or prayer that inspires you to practice authenticity to be who you are rather than what people want you to be?

GET GOING

When people are asking me to do something, my boundaries mantra is "Choose discomfort over resentment," which means choosing one minute of discomfort from saying no rather than six months of resentment from saying yes. If we want to practice authenticity, we can expect discomfort. Setting boundaries and taking care of ourselves are two of the most important opportunities to put what we're learning into practice.
Lauren Daigle: Hold on to Me

https://youtu.be/FQbt9ADhCJc

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Mastering the 7 Decisions from Andy Andrews

The Joyful Decision 

5. TODAY I WILL CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY.

Happiness is a choice. I am enthusiastic about each day. I am alert to its possibilities.

I will become the master of my emotions.

I will greet each day with laughter. I know that enthusiasm is the fuel that moves the world.

The world belongs to the enthusiastic, for people will follow them anywhere! My smile has become my calling card. It is, after all, the most important weapon I possess. I am the possessor of a grateful spirit. 

Joyful Decision

Today, I choose to be happy.

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”  Romans 12:12

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Reading for Today

Walk in Grace. Live in Love by Bob Goff

October 14

Following Jesus Costs Each of Us Something Different 

Those of you who do not give up everything you have, cannot be my disciples. Luke 14:33

The Bible tells us about an extraordinary practice in ancient Israel called the Year of Jubilee. This came around once every 50 years and it was a time when all slaves and prisoners were set free and every debt was forgiven. God set it up for the people of Israel because He wanted to communicate in a human way what His mercy was like, and it looks like freedom for everyone no matter their burden or debt.

Everyone’s debts are different. I bet some were only short $50 and some owed what would be millions. The point of the celebration was to say God‘s mercy wiped all our debts clean, whether we have blown it in a big way or just failed to show up when it mattered. It’s all the same and God‘s economy.

Each of us starts in a different place when we choose to follow Jesus. The debts we owe reflect the different lives we’ve lived. The cost of discipleship looks different from person to person. Some of us have to give up our need to be the center of attention, and some of us need the courage to find our voices. What feels like a sacrifice to you might come naturally to your neighbor. They’re just facing a different kind of battle.

Following Jesus costs each of us something different, but mercy looks the same for all of us. It looks like God letting us off the hook for the ways we fall and short and a celebration for all of us because Jesus covered the cost.

What is following Jesus costing you this week?