February 3 LOVE ISN'T SOMETHING WE DO. IT'S SOMEONE WE BECOME.

Affirmation: I am gentle with myself and my mistakes. I treat myself and my body with love and respect.

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;”‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭6:19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

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Wholehearted Guidepost from Brené Brown 

Cultivate Rest and Play. Let go of  

Exhaustion as a Status Symbol and Productivity as Self-Worth

MAKING A PLAYLIST

Make your own PLAYlist using Dr. Stuart Brown's seven properties of play. What kinds of activities truly feel like play to you? 

RECOMMENDED MATERIALS

Your journal, a few good markers and any other art supplies you like (such as watercolors, crayons, stickers, stamps or cut-out shapes and glue). 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Review Dr. Stuart Brown's seven properties of play and think about what they mean to you. The properties of play are:

i. Apparently purposeless

ii. Voluntary

iii. Inherent attraction

iv. Freedom from time

v. Diminished consciousness of self

vi. Improvisational potential (As Dr. Brown says, "We aren't locked into a rigid way of doing things. We are open to serendipity, to chance.")

vii. Continuation desire (you want to do more of it)

2. Open your journal to two blank, facing pages. On one page, interpret these seven properties of play and write them in your own words. For example, for the third property, inherent attraction, Kelly Rae Roberts wrote, "delights the soul." For the fifth property, diminished consciousness of self, Brene wrote, "I'm free to be me."

3. Decorate this page however you like, with gouache, stickers, markers or cutout shapes.

4 On the facing page, write down five to 10 different activities that fulfill these properties of play for you. This might include walking outdoors, swimming, daydreaming, decorating, listening to music or even watching movie trailers!
My playlist: Walking, reading, sailing, playing with grandchildren, playing games, swimming and gardening

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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

LOVE ISN'T SOMETHING WE DO. IT'S SOMEONE WE BECOME. 

Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

MATTHEW 7:24 

Next time you meet someone, listen for their "I am" statements. It usually comes when we ask what they do and they say, "I am a ___ ." They're an attorney or a pastor or an actor or a college student or a stay-at-home mom. With that one piece of information, we can imagine the broad strokes of their life. In other words, the details of someone's life flow out of who they think they are.

 

I think love works the same way. When our identity is based on who we are as God's beloved kids, we start to live like we're just that. Beloved kids. We don't have to give ourselves pep talks just to visit a friend who's a little lonely, because our instincts begin to look like love. When we see people through a filter of love and imagine them as worthy of love, we can't help but snag a seat in their fan section.

 

This isn't the same as having an identity based on a religion. A lot of people say they're a Christian before anything else, but it quickly spirals into these same people thinking they have "the truth" everyone else needs. This may be true, but here's the problem: it morphs into an identity rooted in having answers rather than being love.

 

Jesus didn't tell us to become religious. He told us to be like Him, and He was love. We won't need to break our backs trying to convince others about Jesus if who we are, before anything else, is love. The reason is simple. Love isn't something we do, like a job. It's someone we become, like Jesus.

 

How have you been becoming love lately?