April 23 THE WAY WE LOVE DIFFICULT PEOPLE IS THE BEST PROOF THE TOMB IS EMPTY.

Affirmation: I find balance between giving and receiving.

Lord, grant that anger or other bitterness not reign over me, but that your grace, genuine kindness, loyalty, faithfulness, generosity & gentleness may reign in me. Amen 
~~~~~~

Ponder, Practice, Personalize: Today let’s focus on Psalm 23:5. The song, This is How I fight My Battles, helps me visualize this verse.

https://youtu.be/YBl84oZxnJ4?si=E8iWDt6YOQbby75T

1“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. ‭‭Psalm‭ 23‬:‭1‬-‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

~~~~~

Wholehearted Guidepost from Brené Brown 

Cultivate Laughter, Song and Dance.

Let go being in control and being cool.

Stevie Wonder has beautiful songs to sing along and dance to.

Isn’t She Lovely

Ribbon in the Sky

Happy Birthday 

I Just Called to Say I Love You

My Cherie Amour

https://youtu.be/mwn7ChFTf7c

~~~~~

Mastering the 7 Decisions from Andy Andrews 

The Persistent Decision 

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.

~~~~~

Reading for Today

Walk in Grace. Live in Love. by Bob Goff

April 23

THE WAY WE LOVE DIFFICULT PEOPLE IS THE BEST PROOF THE TOMB IS EMPTY. 

Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs. 

PROVERBS 10:12 

Every group of people has a few who clearly didn't get enough hugs when they were kids. You know the ones. They're usually easy to spot because they never like the food they order at a restaurant and they don't laugh at any of your jokes. There's a familiar phrase: "When you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail." Well, they're some of those hammer people, and you've been nailed a couple of times. It's tempting to want to tag out and call it quits with people like that. Life is so much easier when you don't have to deal with difficult people, isn't it? 

But the way we love difficult people is the best evidence we have that the tomb is as .empty as we've said it is. We spend a lot of time talking about exactly how it happened-how Jesus defeated death and made grace the currency we would spend for the rest of history. We have beautiful ambitions for everyone around us. We want people to know they're forgiven. We want them to know evil won't have the last word. We want them to know Jesus isn't a philosophy or a worldview or just a historical figure. 

 

The best way for us to convince people love won over death and is still alive is to live like His love is still alive in us. We won't convince people with our arguments or Bible verses; we'll move them with the kind of sacrificial love that precludes every other explanation. 

It's easy to love people who love us back, but the empty tomb has far more depth to it than that. The resurrection says God loves the good people and the difficult ones too. Don't downplay the story and miss the message by only loving the easy ones. Go a little deeper with your love. Engage the people you've avoided. Delight in how different they are. Will they still be hard to love? You bet. Do it anyway. 

 

Who's the difficult person in your circle? What can you do to change your perspective about them?