So this "week" the character trait I have been reading about is humility. The authors talk about how pride comes across differently in different people. False humility is considered pride. Putting yourself down is considered pride. I've never really had a problem with pride as we normally see it, but I have had a lot of problems in my past with false humility and putting myself down. I tend to think that nobody really likes me and that people are talking bad about me, etc. In reality, that's pride. By putting the focus on myself, I am being prideful. Who am I to think that people are talking or thinking about me? Am I really that important that people would take the time to pay attention to me?
The book also talks about how we need to have the right perspective of God. God is holy and perfect and more than we can comprehend. We need to remind ourselves of that so we don't get a big ego. The book talks about having a balance. You don't want to be too prideful, thinking "Look at me" or "look at what I have done" yet you also don't want to be thinking "Woe is me".
The key verses used for this week were from Philippians 2:3-8:
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself
and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!
My Action plans for this week are:
I will worship God. I will turn more events of my day into a prayer so that he will increase and I will decrease. I will include God in my thoughts while driving, walking, working, chatting with someone, or watching television. I will acknowledge his great power by talking to him about my worry, fear, anger, frustration, and anxiety, as well as my delight and cheer!
I will study God. I will dive deep into exploring who God is. I will do this through studying his names, his character traits, and his love toward me in Scripture.
I will not tear myself down. I will see my attitude of worthlessness for what it is -- pride. I will replace my negative self-talk with thanks to God for hwo he has made me.
I will obey God in an area in which I have been holding back. Instead of saying "that's just the way I am," I will work on areas -- with the power of the Holy Spirit -- in which I am offensive, irritating, hurtful, selfish, or out of control.
I will be an encourager. I will stop comparing myself to others, and instead turn my attention to others and freely give genuine compliments. I will not be judgmental. I will replace my tendency to be harsh, opinionated, and critical, with words and acts of kindness, affirmation, and understanding.
I will be a helper. I will get my eyes off myself, especially if I am going through a difficult time. I will look for ways to turn my attention outward and be a help to someone else. I will shift the balance from being more of a taker to being more of a giver.
October 27, 2010
October 11, 2010
Contentment
So this "week" while going through my Character Makeover book, I learned about contentment. One of the key Scriptures they used in this book was from Philippians 4.
4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
10I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
The verse that spoke to me the most while reading this was verse 12 because Paul went through horrific things in his lifetime yet he found what it meant to be content. He had nothing at times yet he was still grateful for what he had. That is the kind of attitude I want to have about life. Some of the quotes that the authors used in this section says:
"Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have." Unknown author
"To experience happiness we must train ourselves to live in this moment, to savor it for what it is, not running ahead in anticipation of some future date nor lagging behind in the paralysis of the past." Luci Swindoll
"Greed, jealousy and envy are akin to each other. Greed wants more. Jealousy hoards what it already has. But envy wants to have what someone else possesses." Charles Swindoll
"What makes us discontented with our condition is the absurdly exaggerated idea we have of the happiness of others." French Proverb
"If happiness could be found in having material things and in bein able to indulge yourself in things you consider pleasurable, then we would be deliriously happy. We would be telling one another frequently of our unparalleled bliss, rather than trading anti-deoressant prescriptions." W.W. Norton & Company
"We spend more but have less; we buy more but enjoy less; we have more convenience, yet less time; more leisure and less fun; we have more knowledge but less judgment; we have more gadgets but less satisfaction; more medicine, yet less wellness. We spent too recklessly; laugh too little; drive too fast; get angry too quickly; stay up too late; get up too tired; read too little; watch too much TV; pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values; we talk too much, love too little and lie too often. WE've learned to rush, but not to wait; we have more parties, but less fun; more acquaintances, but fewer friends. These are times of fancier houses, but broken homes; higher incomes, but lower morals. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life, not life to our years." Bob Moorehead
My goals for this coming week:
1) I will be thankful.
2) I will redefine my "needs".
3) I will develop myself. I will expand not what I have, but who I am, by cultivating friendships; enjoying conversation, music, and art; savoring reflection and solitude; or exploring hobbies and interests.
4) I will rest. I will plan some leisure time into every day. I will give myself a short break at least once a day where I do something I enjoy, such as read a book, crochet, or take a catnap. I will sit outside to eat my lunch, weather permitting.
5) I will make eye contact with every person I meet this week, and I will be generous with my smiles.
6) I will watch my vocabulary and eliminate negative words such as struggle, hassle, exhausted, frustrated, draining, and impossible. I will inject more positive words such as adventure, explore, exciting, potential, hope, and celebrate.
4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
10I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
The verse that spoke to me the most while reading this was verse 12 because Paul went through horrific things in his lifetime yet he found what it meant to be content. He had nothing at times yet he was still grateful for what he had. That is the kind of attitude I want to have about life. Some of the quotes that the authors used in this section says:
"Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have." Unknown author
"To experience happiness we must train ourselves to live in this moment, to savor it for what it is, not running ahead in anticipation of some future date nor lagging behind in the paralysis of the past." Luci Swindoll
"Greed, jealousy and envy are akin to each other. Greed wants more. Jealousy hoards what it already has. But envy wants to have what someone else possesses." Charles Swindoll
"What makes us discontented with our condition is the absurdly exaggerated idea we have of the happiness of others." French Proverb
"If happiness could be found in having material things and in bein able to indulge yourself in things you consider pleasurable, then we would be deliriously happy. We would be telling one another frequently of our unparalleled bliss, rather than trading anti-deoressant prescriptions." W.W. Norton & Company
"We spend more but have less; we buy more but enjoy less; we have more convenience, yet less time; more leisure and less fun; we have more knowledge but less judgment; we have more gadgets but less satisfaction; more medicine, yet less wellness. We spent too recklessly; laugh too little; drive too fast; get angry too quickly; stay up too late; get up too tired; read too little; watch too much TV; pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values; we talk too much, love too little and lie too often. WE've learned to rush, but not to wait; we have more parties, but less fun; more acquaintances, but fewer friends. These are times of fancier houses, but broken homes; higher incomes, but lower morals. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life, not life to our years." Bob Moorehead
My goals for this coming week:
1) I will be thankful.
2) I will redefine my "needs".
3) I will develop myself. I will expand not what I have, but who I am, by cultivating friendships; enjoying conversation, music, and art; savoring reflection and solitude; or exploring hobbies and interests.
4) I will rest. I will plan some leisure time into every day. I will give myself a short break at least once a day where I do something I enjoy, such as read a book, crochet, or take a catnap. I will sit outside to eat my lunch, weather permitting.
5) I will make eye contact with every person I meet this week, and I will be generous with my smiles.
6) I will watch my vocabulary and eliminate negative words such as struggle, hassle, exhausted, frustrated, draining, and impossible. I will inject more positive words such as adventure, explore, exciting, potential, hope, and celebrate.
September 18, 2010
Self-control
So today was my last day of the self-control week in the book Character Makeover. Today, the book had me choose actions plans. One to two from each section and like three sections total. My action plan is what things I am going to try to work on, this week and from now on. The six things I decided to work on are:
1. I will stop and thinkin before saying anything.
2. I will be gentle in what I say.
3. I will eat a balanced diet. I will, with God's power, not let food control me. I will find other God inspired ways to reward or comfort myself when I would normally turn to food. I will acknowledge my emotions and not use food as a substitute. I will eat only when I'm hungry, and only what I need, not as much as I want.
4. I will stop procrastinating. I will ask myself, "What is the best thing I could be working on right now, and what is keeping me from doing it?"
5. I will have a daily mini-Sabbath.
6. I will find an accountability partner.
Then, after that, I had to pick one of these six as the most important thing and put it in my Master Action Plan. THe one thing I decided to put on my Master Action Plan was to stop procrastinating.
1. I will stop and thinkin before saying anything.
2. I will be gentle in what I say.
3. I will eat a balanced diet. I will, with God's power, not let food control me. I will find other God inspired ways to reward or comfort myself when I would normally turn to food. I will acknowledge my emotions and not use food as a substitute. I will eat only when I'm hungry, and only what I need, not as much as I want.
4. I will stop procrastinating. I will ask myself, "What is the best thing I could be working on right now, and what is keeping me from doing it?"
5. I will have a daily mini-Sabbath.
6. I will find an accountability partner.
Then, after that, I had to pick one of these six as the most important thing and put it in my Master Action Plan. THe one thing I decided to put on my Master Action Plan was to stop procrastinating.
January 15, 2010
What's on my heart
God has been using this song to speak to me the last couple days, but I did not realize why until now. There have been times when I have felt that my prayers were in vain. I felt uncertain about so many things. I did not know WHY things were happening. I just did not understand. I knew God was there, and I knew He cared, but knowing something and FEELING something are two totally different things. You can know something in your head but until you completely believe it with your whole being... it's pretty much worthless.
Today God spoke to me in a way that I don't think I have ever experience before. God used a friend of mine at church to tell me that He thinks I am BEAUTIFUL, that He is glad I am growing in Him, and that He wants me to PRESS IN to Him. To those who may not know me that well, you may not understand this, but...
I have had problems all my life feeling very lowly about myself. I did not feel like I was beautiful, nor did I THINK I was beautiful. I was made to feel like I was WORTHLESS and ugly since I Was in grade school. Over the years that thinking has slowly changed to something a little more positive, but my FEELING was still the same. I still did not feel or believe that I was beautiful. I still felt ugly and worthless. God spoke to me today to let me know that He truly believes that I am beautiful and that I need to believe that too. When God uses somebody else to tell you something, you KNOW it is important to Him. When somebody tells you something that God told them to tell you. Believe it. Take it to Heart. God loves us SO much. I mean, He sent His ONLY son. Whom He loved SO much to die for US. Talk about love. We cannot IMAGINE that kind of love. We can only experience it first hand. God longs to meet us. He longs for us to come to Him and experience the love He has for us. In return, He will fill you with a feeling you have NEVER experienced before. It is so powerful that it just pours out of us. God cannot be contained in one person. He spills out to everybody because He is just that great.
I hope this song speaks to you in the way that it has to me. God is holding onto us. He does not want us to leave Him. In times of desperation and doubt, He is always there for us.
The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Psalm 18:2
I Will Not Be Moved by Natalie Grant
I have been a wayward child,
I have acted out,
I have questioned sovereignty,
and had my share of doubts,
And though sometimes,
my prayers feel like their bouncing off the sky,
the hand that holds won't let me go,
and is the reason why
I will stumble, I will fall down
But I will not be moved
I will make mistakes, I will face heartache,
But I will not be moved
On Christ the solid rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand,
I will not be moved
Bitterness has plagued my heart,
many times before,
My life has been a broken glass,
and I have kept the score,
of all my shattered dreams,
and though it seemed,
that I was far too gone,
my brokenness helped me to see,
it's grace I'm standing on.
I will stumble, I will fall down
But I will not be moved
I will make mistakes, I will face heartache,
But I will not be moved
On Christ the solid rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand,
I will not be moved
And chaos in my life,
has been a badge I've worn,
and though I have been torn,
I will not be moved
I will make mistakes, I will face heartache,
But i will not be moved
On Christ the solid rock I stand,
all other ground is sinking sand,
I will not be moved
Natalie Grant's video
Today God spoke to me in a way that I don't think I have ever experience before. God used a friend of mine at church to tell me that He thinks I am BEAUTIFUL, that He is glad I am growing in Him, and that He wants me to PRESS IN to Him. To those who may not know me that well, you may not understand this, but...
I have had problems all my life feeling very lowly about myself. I did not feel like I was beautiful, nor did I THINK I was beautiful. I was made to feel like I was WORTHLESS and ugly since I Was in grade school. Over the years that thinking has slowly changed to something a little more positive, but my FEELING was still the same. I still did not feel or believe that I was beautiful. I still felt ugly and worthless. God spoke to me today to let me know that He truly believes that I am beautiful and that I need to believe that too. When God uses somebody else to tell you something, you KNOW it is important to Him. When somebody tells you something that God told them to tell you. Believe it. Take it to Heart. God loves us SO much. I mean, He sent His ONLY son. Whom He loved SO much to die for US. Talk about love. We cannot IMAGINE that kind of love. We can only experience it first hand. God longs to meet us. He longs for us to come to Him and experience the love He has for us. In return, He will fill you with a feeling you have NEVER experienced before. It is so powerful that it just pours out of us. God cannot be contained in one person. He spills out to everybody because He is just that great.
I hope this song speaks to you in the way that it has to me. God is holding onto us. He does not want us to leave Him. In times of desperation and doubt, He is always there for us.
The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Psalm 18:2
I Will Not Be Moved by Natalie Grant
I have been a wayward child,
I have acted out,
I have questioned sovereignty,
and had my share of doubts,
And though sometimes,
my prayers feel like their bouncing off the sky,
the hand that holds won't let me go,
and is the reason why
I will stumble, I will fall down
But I will not be moved
I will make mistakes, I will face heartache,
But I will not be moved
On Christ the solid rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand,
I will not be moved
Bitterness has plagued my heart,
many times before,
My life has been a broken glass,
and I have kept the score,
of all my shattered dreams,
and though it seemed,
that I was far too gone,
my brokenness helped me to see,
it's grace I'm standing on.
I will stumble, I will fall down
But I will not be moved
I will make mistakes, I will face heartache,
But I will not be moved
On Christ the solid rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand,
I will not be moved
And chaos in my life,
has been a badge I've worn,
and though I have been torn,
I will not be moved
I will make mistakes, I will face heartache,
But i will not be moved
On Christ the solid rock I stand,
all other ground is sinking sand,
I will not be moved
Natalie Grant's video
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