February 20: Start Pursuing Purpose Before You Tip Over Trying To Find Balance As

Affirmation: I am compassionate. I care about myself and others.

“When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they replied.” (Matthew 9:27-31)
Who we come to believe depends importantly on two things:1. Knowing the person who made the promises or spoke the words;2. Our actions in response to those promises and words upon hearing them.

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Ponder, Personalize: Today, personalize the phrase: “…He will take great delight in you;…” As you go through your day, remind yourself that God takes great delight in YOU. (This is a perfect focus for everyone everyday. No matter what is happening in my life or your life, God is with me and you and still loves us. It is true for everyone.)

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/sIaT8Jl2zpI?si=O-UE0lkGMf09BXUr

Lauren Daigle. You Say

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Chasing Whimsy: 365 Days of Possibility by Bob Goff

                     Feb 20

Start Pursuing Purpose Before You Tip Over Trying To Find Balance 

It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones. Psalm 127:2NLT.

Many of us ask how to balance work and life, and it is a fair question. There was a time when I spent so much time trying to find a balance in my life, I almost tipped over. Balance implies a set of scales with equal amounts of work on one side and pursuing pleasurable things like vacations, time off, downtime – on the other side. You put some work on one side of the scale, and you need to balance it out with some fun on the other side. What if, instead of trying to find balance in our lives, we pursued purpose?
I totally get the desire to find some kind of balance. We can’t spend all our time working; think of work as carbs. I don’t know anyone who eats a stack of pancakes every day. Eventually, you would stroke out or explode if you did. Your life isn’t Waffle House, and you were not designed to be open for business 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We need to put some guard rails around the time we spend working. But I’m not sure that trying to equal out the scales between work and play is the answer. The truth is, only faith–infused purpose has the ability to be the great balancer.

Replacing balance with purpose is not for rookies, and it isn’t going to happen with a snap of your fingers. It will start, but not end, with identifying the most purposeful endeavors for you to invest your time in. Ask yourself if what you were considering is loving and lasting. Does it merely change your life for the better today, or could it impact someone else’s life forever? When your activities check these internal boxes, you will tap into an entirely new economy of reward and joy and peace that transcends work, activity, and acknowledgment. At some point, we need to get off the hamster wheel and take agency in our lives to pursue more of what is purposeful and lasting. As we do that, we will find a new definition of balance in our lives.

What will be your next courageous move toward purpose that will outlast you rather than balance, which is certain to escape you?