365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 24

My bible study group gathered last evening over a potluck dinner and discussed the second in a series of fictional books. During our discussion, it was brought up how a teacher of one of the ladies grown children had come up with a positive phrase about each child in the class and she brought these up everyday throughout the year. We discussed how awesome that would be if that could happen to all of us in our workplaces, families, neighborhoods, etc. This building up another person with encouraging words is an act of love. What a world this would be if everyone every day just said some encouraging building-up words to just one person! One of my prominent spiritual gifts is encouragement so this is fairly easy for me but I am still going to set a goal for myself to do this with purpose and intention each day. I am around my co-workers and my family the most so I will pick one person for each day from both groups and make sure I have said at least one encouraging word, one thing that will build up that person, one thing to let them know they are loved. Who can you say encouraging words to today?

Tip: try setting an alert on your phone to remind you of building someone up today or any goals you have.

1 Thessalonians 5:11
So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 23

I spoke a bit with a co-worker who called me yesterday to ask about how to do something for which she has been given the task to do at work. She, like I think most of us at work, is struggling with the negativity she feels towards our boss and the culture from which he is from which is so different from ours. I told her that I struggled with it too and looked to God’s word and was reminded that God loves all of us and Jesus calls us to love not just the easy to love but the hard to love. I have found that by simply praying for my boss that the negativity has diminished and I am remembering him more as a human being that God created. With my first day back to work today since being off for my shoulder surgery, I am going to start a daily prayer for my boss and other people I work for that trigger negative emotions and keep my focus on what Jesus calls us to do in loving all our neighbors. We don’t have to like what they do and say but we have to love them as God loves them and all of us.

Job 34:19 who shows no partiality to princes, nor regards the rich more than the poor, for they are all the work of his hands?

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 301

Last night my 9 year-old daughter was playing restaurant server. She made up some menus, took orders, served and gave us a bill. It was so sweet to watch and she was very excited to get her first tip.  She has been into serving lately. She will bake brownies or cookies and than serve everyone. I love seeing this serving attitude in her. She does it with joy and love. Serving others and loving them is our core purpose given to us by God. This core purpose will fit into our lives and our gifts that God has given us. If we are teachers, we will serve and love through our teaching. If we are administrators it will be through adminstrating. No matter how our purposes get lived out, the real core purpose is to serve and love the Lord and love your neighbors and that means everyone! God's glory will shine through all our love.  Today I will go through my day with these questions. How am I showing my love for you today? Is God's glory shining through me? Thank you Lord for the children in our lives who show us examples of how we are to be loving and have a servant's heart.

Psalm 86:12 "I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever."