Jan 30 MOST OF THE THINGS JESUS ASKED HIS FRIENDS TO DO WERE SIMPLE BUT THEY WEREN'T EASY.

Affirmation: Peace and Happiness are Inside Me.

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Wholehearted Guidepost from Brené Brown

Guidepost 7: Cultivating Play and Rest, Letting Go of Exhaustion as a Status Symbol and Productivity as Self-Worth

This guidepost has two big elements.

First, play. There are a few key properties of play:

It’s time spent without purpose

It’s something you don’t want to end (lose track of time)

It dissolves your hyper-self-consciousness. You lose yourself in the action.

Play is the opposite of how most achievers live their lives: Everything has to be for a specific aim, time must be tracked intensely, and we’re constantly concerned with how we’re appearing to others.

As such, play is written off as trivial, or foolish.

But Stuart Brown, author of Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul, begs to differ. He tells us that play isn’t a luxury. It’s actually a necessity for us to operate in the fullness of our potential.

This is because “The opposite of play is not work, the opposite of play is depression.”

Put another way: the more that play disappears from your life, the closer you move towards a state of depression.

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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 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.

The Responsible Decision

The Buck Stops Here.

From this moment forward, I will accept responsibility for my past. I understand that the beginning of wisdom is to accept the responsibility for my own problems and that by accepting responsibility for my past, I free myself to move into a bigger, brighter future of my own choosing.

Never again will I blame my parents, my spouse, my boss, or employees for my present situation. Neither my education or lack of one, my genetics, or the circumstantial ebb and flow of everyday life will affect my future in a negative way. If I allow myself to blame these uncontrollable forces for my lack of success, I will be forever caught in a web of the past. I will look forward. I will not let my history control my destiny.

The buck stops here. I accept responsibility for my past. I am responsible for my success. I am where I am today—mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally, and financially—because of decisions I have made. 

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Reading for Today

Walk in Grace. Live in Love. by Bob Goff

Jan. 30

MOST OF THE THINGS JESUS ASKED HIS FRIENDS TO DO WERE SIMPLE BUT THEY WEREN'T EASY. 

Follow me.

JOHN 1:43 

 

Some people make faith seem really complicated. It's hard to know what words written in the first century mean for those of us living two thousand years later, and I used to feel like I needed a pocket dictionary when someone threw around terms they learned in seminary.

 

Jesus wasn't confusing, though. Most of the things He asked His friends to do were simple, but they weren't easy. He told them to drop their plans because He had new ones for them, and it meant they had to give up being in charge. They had to let go of their need to be in control. He told others to give away all their money like they wouldn't need it tomorrow. What's the point, He asked, in saving up all your money if you're not going to take it with you when you die? He said to give it away now, when people around us need it to survive. Jesus told His friends to welcome both the popular speaker and the weird uncle. He said to bring people-even strangers-into your home so you can share your food with them around the table. I love this because tables feel like a great equalizer. We all sit side by side at the same height, eating the same food, passing the butter, and knocking over the salt.

 

Next time your head starts to get foggy from all the big religious words, go back to what Jesus said. Not only will it be clear to you, but it will show you a clear way to grow your faith by radically loving the people around you.

 

What simple message is Jesus calling you to hear and obey?