your words matter

"Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them." (Ephesians 4:29)

Your words matter.

Your words matter.

Your words matter.

What we say and how we say it is everything. I am not sure why our brains are this way, but there are days where things are going great. It's sunny, warm, you just closed a big deal, life is good!! But then someone says something that throws you off. That person who said something might not have even said anything about you but their negativity and pessimism throws off the entire course of your day.

Ever been there? I have those people in life. I know they might not be this way on purpose, but I know that every time I have a conversation with them, something bad and negative is going to get brought up and it affects me. 

Let everything you say be good and helpful. We need to hear that more than ever right now!! I was challenged by a mentor of mine to try and not say anything negative for 24 hours. I remember getting the text and thinking it didn't seem like it was that hard. Then immediately as my day got busier, it was harder for me to not say anything negative. I was amazed at how many times I had to bite my tongue before lunch time! 

I wish I could tell you, I made it the full 24 hours, and felt amazing, but I didn't. I might have made it 5. 

I challenge you and myself. For the next 24 hours lets commit to not saying anything negative. It's going to be hard, but you'll be amazed at how much awareness you will have when you do this. 

Your words matter, choose them and use them wisely. 

the entire universe

Christ filled the entire universe with himself.

"When he ascended to the heights,

he led a crowd of captives

and gave gifts to his people." 

"Notice that it says "he ascended." This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself/." (Ephesians 4:7-10)

Where is the significance in this? Well, in a world like we live in today, you don't really get the whole identity of everyone you come in contact with. You might know people very high level on the surface, you follow people on social media where you only see all the good that's going on in their life, etc. It's easier more than ever to make your life look like it's perfect  and that there are no flaws. 

We are also living in a time where it seems like what's temporary is valued more than what's eternal. Treasures on earth or more important than treasures in heaven. Yet again, one side is being portrayed as better than the other.

Here is the significance of Christ ascending and descending...it causes him to fill the entire universe. Christ is everywhere. Both here with us now, and also in the heavens. 

It is Christ alone…who connects heaven and earth: he is the only Mediator who reaches from heaven down to earth: he is the medium through which the fullness of all celestial blessings flows down to us, and through which we, in turn, ascend to God.

spiritual growth

In Ephesians chapter 3, Paul has a very specific prayer when it comes to spiritual growth..I believe there are parts of that prayer we can take away and apply today. 

The reason I want to share it with you and the reason I believe it's encouraging is because I struggle with this all the time. I am not great at prayer, and when it comes to the specifics I often don't really know what to say when it comes to spiritual growth. Well, other than the usual "God please help me continue to grow closer to you every day."

I pray that  from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through the his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep your strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, high high, and how deep is love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fulness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we could ever ask or think. Glory to him and the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:16-21)

Imagine a prayer including words like: unlimited resources, empowering, trust, roots, growing, understanding, love, glory, accomplishing infinitely more, etc.

I believe we can go deeper, along with being more specific and direct. I know for me, I put God into a box in my prayers because I am not specific enough. One of the best ways to set your sights on accomplishing a goal is to be clear and specific. When I ran my financial practice, we would have monthly vision meetings where we would share what we wanted, and what our goals were. Here again I struggled, I would talk about how I wanted a truck, and how I wanted to take my wife on these amazing vacations, but I never would give a specific timeline, make on the truck, or what I really needed to do in order to make that happen. 

Whether it's spiritual growth or growing as a person, there is power in being specific. I encourage you to commit to that as you start your week, be specific about everything you do and everything you want. It will be worth it, and it will start to bring you some clarity.

we are God's masterpiece

You are a masterpiece.

We aren't just small fish in a big pond, although it might seem like it. 

We are a masterpiece because God is so rich in mercy, and he loves us so much. Even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead.

For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:10)

You are a masterpiece because God loves you. You are not a masterpiece because of the nice things you have, the money you make, the awesome car you have, how much you travel, etc. We are a masterpiece because of God's love for us. 

Whenever I see or hear the word masterpiece, I think of the most beautiful artwork in the entire world. That's us!! 

Whether you are coming off an amazing week or a week you wish you could do all over again, you are still a masterpiece because of God's mercy and love for you.  

thriving over surviving: full-plate mentality

The past few weeks I have been reading a book written by David Nurse called Pivot & Go. If you are looking for an easy read and a book with all sorts of lifestyle tips and tricks, this is the book for you! I get incredibly excited each day to pick up this book and read it. 

Essentially, Pivot & Go is a 29-Day Blueprint to Redefine and Achieve YOUR Success. 

Today I want to share a brief section from the book that I was deeply encouraged by. 

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It's all about pivoting the mindset from surviving to thriving. Waking up each morning and understanding the day ahead is an opportunity to thrive. Going to work and positively encouraging someone, empowering a co-worker to reach new limits they never thought they could hit. Swallowing the car inspection cost because you know your bank account isn't what gives you joy and stability-it's the safety of the family at home, the kids waiting for you to scoop them up for hugs the moment you walk in the door. It's the ability to live each day with the full-plate mentality: knowing that God is going to fill your plate up with only the things you will get done in that one day, giving you the comfort and contentment of knowing you did all you could for the day with the plate you were given and that your plate will be filled again tomorrow. It's a full-plate mentality that allows us to shut off the surfing worries and turn on the thriving power. It's not an endless buffet mentality, where we suffocate ourselves. 

Matthew 6:26-27: "Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in the barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

We are all going to have struggles throughout the day. It's just how life is. However, the confidence we gain by going through these challenging times, knowing we will make it through no matter what gets thrown our way makes everything in life better. We come out the other side stronger, with an even deeper knowledge of our true selves. 

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I hope this encourages you like it encouraged me today! Also make sure you check out the book. It's one of my favorites. 

boasting of the cross

"As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world's interest in me has also died." (Galatians 6:14)

Paul got to the point in his life where he wasn't boasting about anything other than the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. I strive to get to that point! I would like to think that I am not a boastful person, and I hope that most people who know me would say the same thing. I know there are sometimes where I selfishly boast a little bit, but I never feel good about myself when I do it. 

I do wish I boasted about the cross more often, because I don't. Paul boasts about the cross of our Lord Jesus because of the cross, his interests in the world have been crucified! That's what we all need to happen because we are sucked in. The interests of the world have us, and distract us like no other. 

We can crucify those interests when we boast about the cross. Jesus died on that cross for ALL our sins. Not just some, but ALL.

As you attack today, don't forget about the power of the cross. Boast about it too! 

you will get what you plant

I really don't know a lick about farming or planting, but I do know that whatever seeds you plant and put in the ground are the ones you harvest. If a farmer is planning to harvest corn, the farmer will plant corn seed. Same goes for wheat and beans, if a farmer wants to harvest wheat and beans, the farmer will plant wheat and bean seed.

What do you want to plant? I believe that's a question we should start asking ourselves daily. When we wake up in the morning, when we have interactions throughout our days, when we experience wins, and even when we experience losses. 

What I mean by asking that question is, do you want to harvest death and decay or everlasting life? 

Do you to live by the Spirit or do you to live and satisfy your sinful nature? 

Don't be misled-you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up. (Galatians 6:7-9)

Guys, let's not get tired of doing good! At just the right time, we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up. Sometimes it's hard to be patient. I think about the times growing up where my parents would plant raspberry bushes, and you always had to eat them at just the right time. I remember looking at the bushes everyday and as soon as the berries started to turn red I wanted to eat them, and each time I tired, they were so sour and tart! When I finally learned to be patient and wait, there was nothing better than a perfect raspberry straight from the plant. 

Life is a lot like that sometimes, we have to always be patient and never get tired of doing good and trusting the process in life. I believe in life that nothing happens to us, everything happens for us.

As you move onto your busy day, I challenge you to really think about some of the questions I asked in this post. What are you planting? What do you want to plant? Do you want to harvest death and decay or everlasting life?