November 25: God Moves Us With Love

Affirmation: I am self-compassionate. I value my beliefs and opinions, and I am willing to rethink and relearn.

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Ponder, Personalize, Practice: This week our focus is on giving thanks. There are more than 100 verses about giving thanks to God. I chose 1 Thessalonians 5:18. Begin a journal entry of at least 5 things you are thankful for each day this week. Talk to God about them each day. Begin to memorize this verse:

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”                1 Thessalonians 5:18.

Thankful for the People in my life: Douglas❤️, our family❤️, our friends❤️, Cypress Tribe❤️, Springs of Hope Kenya family❤️, Shiloh church❤️ and school❤️, YOU.❤️

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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

Making A PlaylistMake your own PLAYlist using Dr. Stuart Brown's seven properties of play. What kinds of activities truly feel like play to you? 

RECOMMENDED MATERIALS

Your journal, a few good markers and any other art supplies you like (such as watercolors, crayons, stickers, stamps or cut-out shapes and glue). 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Review Dr. Stuart Brown's seven properties of play and think about what they mean to you. The properties of play are:

i. Apparently purposeless

ii. Voluntary

iii. Inherent attraction

iv. Freedom from time

v. Diminished consciousness of self

vi. Improvisational potential (As Dr. Brown says, "We aren't locked into a rigid way of doing things. We are open to serendipity, to chance.")

vii. Continuation desire (you want to do more of it)

2. Open your journal to two blank, facing pages. On one page, interpret these seven properties of play and write them in your own words. For example, for the third property, inherent attraction, Kelly Rae Roberts wrote, "delights the soul." For the fifth property, diminished consciousness of self, Brene wrote, "I'm free to be me."
Thankful for rest and play!

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Mastering the 7 Decisions from Andy Andrews 

The Joyful Decision 

5. TODAY I WILL CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY.

Happiness is a choice. I am enthusiastic about each day. I am alert to its possibilities.

I will become the master of my emotions.

I will greet each day with laughter. I know that enthusiasm is the fuel that moves the world.

The world belongs to the enthusiastic, for people will follow them anywhere! My smile has become my calling card. It is, after all, the most important weapon I possess. I am the possessor of a grateful spirit. 

Joyful Decision

Today, I choose to be happy.

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Romans 12:12

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Reading for Today

Walk in Grace. Live in Love. by Bob Goff

November 25

He Doesn’t Try to Motivate Us With Love. He Moves Us With It.

“Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept.”Genesis 33:4

There is a story in the Bible about two brothers, Jacob and Esau, who had a falling out after the younger one (Jacob) stole his older brother’s inheritance. After doing the deed, Jacob ran away to start fresh somewhere else. He got married, had kids, and acquired a bunch of lifestock and land, and after a few decades passed, he and his family had to move on to another land.

But there was a problem. He would have to pass through where Esau and all his people had settled. He would have to face his brother. Jacob did what any of us would: he worried and planned, and tried to appease his brother. He sent cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, and camels ahead of him as a gift. He hoped the hundreds of animals might help smooth things out.

Shortly after, he received word from his servants that Esau was on the way with hundreds of men. Uh Oh. Jacob went back to the sketchbook to come up with a battle plan. This is where the plot twist happened. When Esau finally reached him, he ran to Jacob, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. They held each other and wept. He said he didn’t want his brother’s stuff. He just wanted his brother back.

This story gives us a taste of God’s heart for you and me. God does not want to motivate or manipulate us. He wants His love to move us toward Him. Much like Esau, who wanted his brother back more than he wanted his stuff. God wants us to be His.

How hard is it for you to believe that God wants you? If you really believed it, how would you move toward Him?