December 22 We’re Living Letters.
Affirmation: I am grateful for my body, mind and soul. God made me and loves me.
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Ponder, Personalize, Practice: Practice loving God with all your heart, soul and mind and loving your neighbors as yourself each and every day. As you talk to God today tell Him how much you love Him and let your love be given to those you meet today.
“And the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:39
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Wholehearted Guidepost from Brené Brown
Guidepost 1: Cultivating Authenticity and Letting Go of What Other People Think
As you read the definition of authenticity in the chapter for this lesson, you'll see that the real heart of the work is practicing the courage to be imperfect, to set boundaries and to allow ourselves to be vulnerable. So many of us were raised to believe that being vulnerable and/or imperfect was being weak and that setting boundaries is selfish and a sign that we can't handle what's on our plates. In this lesson, we start to challenge those beliefs.'
This Lesson's Intention
"I am never more courageous than when I'm embracing imperfection, embracing vulnerabilities and setting boundaries with the people in my life."
Mastering the 7 Decisions from Andy Andrews
The Certain Decision
I have a decided heart.
It’s not about what it IS…
It’s about what it can BECOME!
What you decide in your heart will be done and the light of God will shine on your ways. Job 22:28
The Certain Decision for personal success is what fuels your actions from the active decision. The clarity of vision you maintain in your mind is directly proportional to the effectiveness of your actions. A decided heart is unwavering in the face of continual challenges and setbacks and that ensures victory and a lifetime of greater fulfillment.
HOPE, DREAMS, ANTICIPATION…DECIDE.
Scripture:
We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. -John 9:4 (NLT)
Reading:
There are some things which must be done today, things that you and you alone where created to accomplish. Some of us are wasting our time burning daylight when what we need to be doing is seizing the power of every moment. -From Chasing Daylight by Erwin McManus
Reflection:
The window of opportunity will close. The sun shining with good intentions will set. Your child will one day leave home. If you wait for the perfect moment on the perfect day…you will wait until you die. The day to act…is today.
Blessing:
May you experience God’s presence in the present and thereby learn His plans for every given moment and follow it into whatever joy and struggles it brings.
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Reading for Today
Walk in Grace. Live in Love. by Bob Goff
We’re Living Letters. Every Time We Love People Without An Agenda, We Add A Page.
“Above all, love each other, deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8
There is a movie, called Stranger Than Fiction, where the actor, Will Ferrell plays a workaday guy who gets stuck in the rut of his routine. He is quite meticulous, too, which doesn’t help. He times how long he brushes his teeth (and sometimes the tops and bottoms of his mouth.) His closet is never disorderly – everything has its exact spot. He takes the same route to work, clocks in and out at the same time, and never ever deviates from the routine. Until…
One day he starts hearing a voice. It is not a voice in his head – it is an audible voice. Spoiler alert: this voice is the narration of a fiction writer whose book somehow has him as the main character. Without his permission, she starts writing his life – his real life.
It is a fun plot device, especially if you love books. But it puts on display, I think, the fact that we don’t live our story in isolation. You and I may not have some far away writer typing out the steps we take, but the steps we take are influencing the stories other people are writing with their lives.
When people look at followers of Jesus, they see us as a team living in a combined story. When someone does something lovely in the name of Jesus, they have just added another page to the story we are telling about Him. The truth is, we are living letters. Every time we love without an agenda, we are telling the story of Jesus’s life all over again.
What story are you telling about love these days?
There is a movie, called Stranger Than Fiction, where the actor, Will Ferrell plays a workaday guy who gets stuck in the rut of his routine. He is quite meticulous, too, which doesn’t help. He times how long he brushes his teeth (and sometimes the tops and bottoms of his mouth.) His closet is never disorderly – everything has its exact spot. He takes the same route to work, clocks in and out at the same time, and never ever deviates from the routine. Until…
One day he starts hearing a voice. It is not a voice in his head – it is an audible voice. Spoiler alert: this voice is the narration of a fiction writer whose book somehow has him as the main character. Without his permission, she starts writing his life – his real life.
It is a fun plot device, especially if you love books. But it puts on display, I think, the fact that we don’t live our story in isolation. You and I may not have some far away writer typing out the steps we take, but the steps we take are influencing the stories other people are writing with their lives.
When people look at followers of Jesus, they see us as a team living in a combined story. When someone does something lovely in the name of Jesus, they have just added another page to the story we are telling about Him. The truth is, we are living letters. Every time we love without an agenda, we are telling the story of Jesus’s life all over again.
What story are you telling about love these days?
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