Jan 9 Don’t Worry About All the Steps. Begin.

Affirmation: I look in the mirror and live who I see & so does God.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son that whoever believes in Him shall not die, but will have eternal life.John 3:16

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Wholehearted Guidepost from Brené Brown 

Guidepost 4: Cultivating Gratitude and Joy, Letting go of Scarcity and Fear of the Dark

Imagine you’re watching a movie. The opening scene is a beautiful, sunlight day in the mountains. There’s a young family driving along the mountain road. They’re laughing, and smiling together. The camera cuts from scene to scene, showing their joy, and watching them as they drive together.

…What do you think happens next?

If you’re like most people, you had a thought like:

“They get hit by a truck.”

“They drive off a cliff.”

“The dad has a heart-attack.”

This is what Brown refers to as “Foreboding Joy.” It’s the fear that the other shoe is going to drop when good things happen to us in life.

Many people carry an unconscious belief that says “I can’t have too much of a good thing…”

This belief comes from a place of scarcity. It says “I won’t let myself feel this joy, because it won’t last forever.”

Gratitude provides a clear pathway to experiencing more of this joy. By practicing gratitude for the opportunities you have to experience joy, you can be with it fully, even though it’s impermanent. And when the experience ends, you can be grateful that it happened at all!

The quickest way to eliminate joyful experiences from your life is to hold yourself back from feeling joy in the first place.

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Mastering the 7 Decisions from Andy Andrews 

The Responsible Decision 

The Buck Stops Here!

Each of you must be responsible to do your creative best with c s c On your life. Gal. 6:4

If decisions are choices…and our thinking dictates our decisions—then I am where I am because of my thinking.

The Responsible Decision for Personal Success represents the beginning. Taking responsibility for your past will segue you into an extraordinary future of your choosing.

My thoughts will be constructive---NEVER destructive.

Responsibility is about HOPE and Control. Make better choices.

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Reading for Today

Walk in Grace. Live in Love by Bob Goff

Jan. 9

DON'T WORRY ABOUT ALL THE STEPS. BEGIN.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which _transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7 

Have you ever run a marathon? Me neither. I have some friends who have done it, and I've learned a lot about life from what they experienced. They say that they feel like their bodies are going to shut down at multiple points in the race, so they keep moving when they stop by tables with water ,or orange slices. Some say they get a little delusional at certain points and sometimes feel an unexplainable sense of euphoria. All the friends I've asked say they couldn't think too far ahead when they felt like they were falling apart. In other words, they couldn't think about mile twenty-two when they were on mile twenty-one because it was just too overwhelming. They had to focus on putting one foot in front of another, and repeating this, until they finally crossed the finish line.

 

I think the same is true for most of us when we start a new project or pivot to a new direction in our lives. We can do our best to plan and train, but once we're in the race, all we can do is be present in the moment. We won't know what needs to happen at mile twenty-two until we get there. Some people delight in this, but most spend too much energy feeling anxious about a mile marker they haven't yet arrived at. Does that sound like you? Usually the things we worry about the most don't happen anyway. We fear there will be disaster only to find balloons when we arrive.

 

Take heart. If we're diligent and thoughtful each step of the way, we don't have to fret over contingencies down the road. Don't worry about what may or may not happen; stick by Jesus and trust He will work it all out in the end.

 

What's your next step? When will you take it?