February 19: Don’t Break People; Start Them

Affirmation: I am blessed, grateful and abundant.

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.”‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭17:7‬ ‭NIV‬‬
There is much to be grateful for each day. Consider cultivating the habit of keeping a gratitude journal. It can be simple. Each day jot down at least 3 things you are grateful for. (•the morning light,•clothes to wear,•the love of God)

~~~~~~~

Ponder and Personalize: As you continue to read and recite Zephaniah 3:17, begin to personalize the statement: 

“The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves…” 

Think about what your day holds, visualize God walking beside you as you go. Then picture God as “The Mighty Warrior who saves.”

Zephaniah 3:17 

“The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” 

https://youtu.be/L85gOnIswdw?si=_9gtI1AQYzeK6QpW

Tommy Walker. Only a God Like You.

~~~~~~~

Catching Whimsy: 365 days of Possibility by Bob Goff

                        Feb 19

Don’t Break People; Start Them 

February 19

Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.  1 Thessalonians 5:11

Across from a retreat center, I own, we built an equestrian facility. I didn’t really know much about horses, but I knew I wanted many of them so our guests could take them on trail rides, and participate in equine therapy and feed them carrots. What I didn’t realize initially was having fields and hay and a big barn was a magnet for people who wanted to give away their horses to me. When the first horse arrived, I thought how nice of them, until I tried to put a saddle on the new addition and take it for a ride. Then I received a second and a third and a fourth free horse. Each one was worse than the previous one. Good heavens, my free horses, all bucked and jumped and snarled, and when I eventually did get a saddle on them, I was everywhere, including on top and off. I immediately understood why these unruly horses were given to me for free. They were so mean they made hornets look cuddly.

One day, I pulled our farm manager aside, shaking my head, and said, “we’ve got to break these horses and get them in line.”He squinted his eyes at me in the afternoon sun, pushed his cowboy hat up a quarter inch like the sage cowboy, Curley in City Slickers, and corrected me with the kindness of Mother Teresa and the wisdom of Solomon. “Bob, we don’t break horses here, we start them. “

Starting a horse is about getting them familiar with the rider, the saddle, the inputs, and the expectations; it’s about building a relationship. Breaking a horse, on the other hand, is about compliance rather than about trust. That will preach.

I wonder what would happen if we started more people in their faith rather than thinking, we need to break them of their bad habits to comply with Jesus. My guess is we would form stronger bonds with God and one another if we did. God wants a relationship with us based on trust and built overtime. We should do the same with the people we encounter today

Don’t break people; start them.