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Taking Small Steps to a Better You by Helping Others
Reflection of the Day: Lent is a good time to cut off some of those annoying and distracting things around us. Some of them are truly bad and wrong and should annoy us. We also try when possible to change some of them – or at least do our part. At the same time, some of them are far beyond our ability to significantly impact on our own. Sometimes we become paralyzed by these things that we fail to impact those areas of our lives in which we actually can make a difference. Tip: Forget about saving the world today, find one kind thing you can do for one…
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Try to Make a Change
Reflection of the Day: I am not sure that the adage, “the path to hell is paved with good intentions” is accurate. God is pretty good at reading our hearts, and, if they are in the right place, I think we are in good shape with God. Having said that: good intentions need to be reflected in good actions that put those intentions into practice. This requires the discipline to do so; to not get distracted by whatever is our excuse this time. Lent is the perfect opportunity to undertake some sacrifice that gets us out of our own way to get us more in tune with God…
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What Does Holy Mean?
Write down the first three words that come to mind when you think of the word holy. Are the words about God, me, or someone else? Think about them for 5 minutes. What do these words mean to you? Do any of these words apply to people you know, who you think are holy? What can we do to be more holy people? Holiness means hanging enough with God to let God’s ways and perspective rub off on us. But God’s a sneaky one. If we hang with him enough, we’ll figure out he’s always concerned about our families, friends, and even our enemies who need things to live their…
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Sing Out God’s Goodness
Reflection of the Day: Sometime human analogies are helpful n thinking about our relationship with God. I recently heard someone say the most important thing she valued in a relationship was time spent with the other person. Put negatively she was not interested in having a relationship with someone unwilling to spend time with her. Gifts, money, pedigree, etc. all came in a distant second to “spending time.” God has so much to offer, but it’s hard to take it in if we don’t hang out with God and allowing his presence to be with us. As with human friends we don’t always have to have a plan or a…
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Don’t Focus on Mistakes
Reflection: God has an easier time forgiving us than we have forgiving one another, and even forgiving ourselves. Many times it’s difficult to simply stop doing something wrong, without substituting something positive. Focusing on a different and better future is more effective than simply lamenting or obsessing over the mistakes (sins) of the past. Spending some time reflecting on the past to learn and accept responsibility is far different than obsessing and being paralyzed from past missteps. Tip: If you have a hard time doing something good for someone whom you do not like, instead find someone you do like and do something extra nice. Remember the father…
