Jan 15 DON'T LET OTHER PEOPLE DECIDE WHO YOU ARE.

Affirmation: It’s okay not to be okay. I allow myself to feel what I feel.

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Wholehearted Guidepost from Brené Brown

Cultivate Gratitude and Joy. Let Go of Scarcity and Fear of the Dark.

From Jacque 

I find that practicing gratitude moves me from scarcity and fear. I look out and see the sky, the trees and grass and I am reminded that Hod cares for the sparrows. 

For that I am grateful and my focus changes. Fear and scarcity wane. I am able to and appreciate God’s presence with me.

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Mastering the 7 Decisions from Andy Andrews 

The Persistent Decision 

(This is my favorite one…JP)

7. I WILL PERSIST WITHOUT EXCEPTION.

I possess the greatest power ever bestowed upon mankind. I hold fast to my dreams. I stay the course. I do not quit.

I acknowledge that most people quit when exhaustion sets in, but I am not “most people.”

I am stronger than most people. Average people compare themselves with other people, and that is why they remain average.

I compare myself to my potential. I am not average. I see exhaustion as a precursor to victory. By persisting without exception, my outcome—my success—is assured.

It is my wish that you have gained something positive and productive from reading about these seven decisions.

I strongly believe that there is nothing you can’t do if you have the proper mindset and conviction.-Andy Andrews

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength.

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Reading for Today

Walk in Grace. Live in Love. by Bob Goff

Jan. 15

DON'T LET OTHER PEOPLE DECIDE WHO YOU ARE. ONLY GOD GETS TO NAME US. 

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

JOHN 15:15 

 

The nicknames we were given as kids often stick with us our entire lives. Sometimes the nicknames are given to us in jest and bear no resemblance to us. For instance, the basketball center called "Shorty" or the football linebacker called "Tiny." Other times they can be spot-on.

 

When we're most innocent and vulnerable, we sometimes latch on to the worst labels, then carry them with us wherever we go. These aren't labels others give us in jest, they're names we give ourselves through our pain. For some of us, it's self-effacing names we gave ourselves about our weight or our intelli­gence. For others, it's about where we lived or how much money our parents had or didn't have. So many of us were labeled by whatever it was that made us stand out, and the label stuck to us like duct tape and continues to define us today.

 

Our Creator cleared it up for us, though. When Jesus called Peter a "rock" after he had failed, He demonstrated that many of these labels we've given ourselves just aren't true; they're lies masquerading as reality (Matthew 16:18). When you find yourself calling yourself by a name that just isn't true, remem­ber what God calls us-He calls us His beloved.

 

We're all different. Not just a little bit different, but wonderfully and some­times dramatically so. God chose to put different parts of His image inside every single person, so we all reflect Him in unique ways. Not so we would ricochet off of each other, but so we could refract His light in us in wonderfully colorful ways. What made you stand out as unique might be the thing God wants to use to show what He looks like to the rest of the world. What people used to tear you down is something God wants to use to build you up. 

 

The swirls that make marbled stone so unique are also the points of great­est weakness. Don't let your uniqueness break you. Don't let your failures define you. Don't give or receive names God never had for you.

 

The critics don't get the final word in God's kingdom. God gets to tell us who we are, and He says we're loved. Not just a little, and not for a while, but from here to eternity and back. The next time you hear the old tapes that make you feel unworthy, remember that the God who spoke the universe into existence, who hears the thoughts you don't speak out loud, says you're beloved and you're His. That's His name for you.

 

What nickname have you given yourself or been given by others that has hurt your sense of worth?