Between the Blogs

Personal Epiphany: When I step out on my own, failure is my constant companion; but with God, “all things are possible.”

Between the Blogs

Personal Challenge: I am determined to live a life that accurately reflects Christ’s unconditional love, but when I try to do this on my own the words that roll off my tongue are often heated and angry instead of kind and encouraging. I have come to recognize that I can’t do it on my own, so I am challenging myself to begin each day with an earnest and sincere prayer inviting God into my day, allowing His abundant love to permeate my every transaction—fully embracing His perfect peace, profound wisdom, and transforming love.

Between the Blogs

Quick Quote: I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do. ~Edward Everett Hale

Between the Blogs

Question to Ponder: Do others see Jesus when they look at you?

Between the Blogs

Bible Blessings: The King will answer them, “I can guarantee this truth: Every time you helped someone in need, you helped Me.” ~Matthew 25:40 (Randy Reed Paraphrased Version)

Setting Aside Selfishness (Savoring the Joy of Service)

Along the way I’ve often viewed a life of service as a draining, unsustainable lifestyle—a lifestyle of self-sacrifices where I’m required to allow others to push me around and trample me under their selfish, little feet.

But this story is simply a lie I repeat to soothe my selfish desires. I allow this little lie to grow and replicate until, in an honest moment of deep self-examination, I am surprised to discover within me a heart of stone instead of the beautiful heart of flesh I desperately desire—the one God faithfully promised in Ezekiel 36:26.

One of the best kept secrets about helping others is beautifully described in this quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson: “It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.”

  

Living unselfishly does not require me to run myself ragged, to give up everything I enjoy, or to relinquish my personal desires; instead, it means putting my life fully in the hands of an ever-loving God and asking Him to exchange my heart of selfishness for a heart for service. Only when my will is fully aligned with God’s will can I truly begin to live—embracing His beautiful, joy-filled, service-filled plan for my life.

So join me as I ask God to redefine my view of service, allowing His love to shine through my actions, and finally fully embarking on my joyful journey of service.

Naked and Vulnerable (Thoughts from the Pot): The true spirit of service enlivens and invigorates, it does not drain or demoralize. 

Between the Blogs

Personal Epiphany: When we embrace the fullness of God’s love our hearts are gloriously transformed; they overflow with His outlandish love—a love so abundant it can’t be contained; it spontaneously pours out onto everyone around us in an exuberant torrent of joy-filled service.