October 22: What Do You Trust?

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

Jot a list of what you are grateful for about YOURSELF. Keep cultivating self-compassion.

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Ponder, Personalize, Practice:  Back to James1:5. Spend time talking to God about His wisdom. There are always things happening that require wisdom. Ask God to generously give you the wisdom you need. 

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”James 1:5 NIV~~~~~~~~

Wholehearted Guidepost from Brené Brown

Guidepost 2: Cultivate Self-Compassion. Let Go of Perfectionism .

For your journal:Two pictures (as described in the instructions below), double-sided tape and colored pens or markers, watercolors or any other art supplies you would like to use to decorate your pages. 

INSTRUCTIONS 

1. Find two pictures or memories of times when you could have used some compassion times when you were struggling or had feelings of being alone or "not enough." If you do not have old photos, you can also use pictures or images (from a magazine, the Web or other personal photos) that represent the times on which you would like to reflect with your younger self. 

2. Open your journal and on facing pages affix each photo to its own page using double-sided tape. 

3. For each photo, think about what kind, loving and compassionate reassurance you would go back and whisper to yourself. Write down a self-compassion caption next to each picture. 

4. Decorate your page using your art supplies. 

Think about why you're going back in time to talk to your younger self and how giving your younger self advice can change you today.
(From Jacque: When I was in my early teens, I had a few people in my life who were discouraging and teased me with negative comments about who I was and what I looked like. I don’t think their intention was to be harmful or hurtful. But the comments left me some scars that needed to be healed through self-compassion. This is a great exercise to put you on the path to emotional health.)

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Mastering the 7 Decisions from Andy Andrews 

The Compassionate Decision 

6. I WILL GREET THIS DAY WITH A FORGIVING SPIRIT.

By the act of forgiving, I am no longer consumed by unproductive thoughts. I will forgive those who have criticized me unjustly. (Including my own self-criticism.)

I now understand that forgiveness has value only when it is given away. I forgive their lack of vision, and I forge ahead.

I now know that criticism is part of the price paid for leaping past mediocrity. I will forgive those who do not ask for forgiveness. From this day forward, my history will cease to control my destiny. I have forgiven myself. My life has just begun.

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:32‬ ‭NIV‬‬

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Reading for Today

Walk in Grace. Live in Love by Bob Goff

October 22

Think About All The Things you Already Trust In Your Life. Then Ask Why You Don’t Trust God More.

Trust in the Lord, with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways, submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5–6

Since my kids aren’t making mischief from home anymore, I’m always working on finding some reasons to hang out with them. My son, Adam recently took up skydiving, so I decided I get my sky diving license without telling him. I had this daydream of him free-falling through the air, and then I float down next to him. “Oh, hey, Adam. What are you doing here?” I would scream into the wind.
One weekend I drove Adam to the drop zone like I did each weekend. He got out of the car, grabbed a parachute, and got in the plane. This time I got out of the car, grabbed a parachute, put it on, and got in the plane next to him.

“Dad?!” Adam said, shaking his head at me.

“How hard could it be?” I shot back at him.
Sometimes on weekends, we’ll still grab some lunch, catch up on life, and then jump out of a plane together. It’s fantastic.

The craziest part about the whole sky diving thing is that when you’re falling through the air at around 125 mph, you pull the cord connected to a tiny metal pin to deploy a parachute. Your whole life depends at one piece of metal that is less than an inch long. When it’s pulled the parachute either goes off or it doesn’t.

The truth is, I sometimes trust God less than I trust that pin. I don’t believe He’s going to catch me at the perfect moment. I’m afraid He won’t be there when I need Him to be. I think He’ll let me plummet if I make a mistake or I believe He’ll withhold His grace if I mess up one more time.

Sometimes God leads us into difficult circumstances so we’ll realize our absolute need for Him.

In what difficult circumstances are you finding it difficult to trust God?