January 23: Identifying the Problems to Find the Solution

Affirmation: Find balance between giving and receiving.

This is part of self-compassion.The way you interact with yourself has a greater impact on you than any interactions you have with others. Allow others to help you, too.

~~~~~~~Ponder and Personalize: As you recite this verse, consider what descriptors are used to help us recognize Godly wisdom: pure, peace-loving, gentle (considerate) and willing to yield to others (submissive). As you listen or read news look for these four descriptors.

”But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.“

‭‭James‬ ‭3‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/116/jas.3.17.NLT

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Catching Whimsy by Bob Goff

                     Jan 23

Identifying the Problems to Find the Solution 
But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.  Psalm 5:11

Here is the thing about joy: you can’t catch it, net it, or manufacture it. You can only experience it. It will never trespass nor arrive uninvited. It loves to be welcomed, and it will leave only if it is being ignored.

So how do we welcome this elusive joy into our lives? It feels at first counterintuitive, but one way to welcome joy is to reflect on the things that do not bring us joy. Maybe you feel a little bit off in some of your relationships, and you’re not quite sure why. Who are the people involved, what are the circumstances, and when can you almost predict that you will feel your joy ebbing? We need to figure out how and where we got robbed of joy so we can take the necessary steps to prevent ourselves from being ambushed again.

Most of us have heard of the David. Michelangelo carved this magnificent statue out of a huge piece of marble. But what many people don’t know is the David was carved 2° off-center. It worked out fine for hundreds of years, but now his ankles are cracking. It stinks to be a marble statue sometimes, right? The reason I want you to think about the marble statues and broken ankles is that we all get one or 2° off-center from our joy without noticing right away. But overtime, the misalignment will show up as cracks in our relationships with people and how we deal with ordinary setbacks that come our way.
If we want to push back against those things that are stealing our joy, we need to ask ourselves, What is it that is getting between me and my joy? What is it that’s just a degree or two off center? Once you see it, you can understand it, and then you can take it to Jesus with humility and ask Him to intervene. This is what taking refuge in Him looks like.

Ask those questions today.