Pour out fear. Pour in love.
At the beginning of a new year, folks are all abuzz about their resolutions or some discuss their “word” for the year. Well, now we’re three months into 2016 and, although I didn’t make resolutions (too stressful! I like to make goals or plans instead), I have decided on a “word,” one that’s been floating in and out of my heart and mind nearly every day since January.
POUR
Pouring out. Pouring in.
Out and in of me. Out and in of others.
And pouring over. Like cleansing rain. Like anointing oil.
Pouring out of me: fear, doubt, pain, heartache, disappointment.
Pouring into me: love, mercy, courage, patience, hope, bravery, resiliency.
Then overflowing with all that good stuff, I pour out what’s been poured into me!
Love, gratitude, acceptance, forgiveness. God’s spirit!
Early twentieth-century Scottish evangelist and teacher, Oswald Chambers, best known for the devotional My Utmost for His Highest, wrote, “Are you willing to give and be poured out until you are used up and exhausted not seeking to be ministered to, but to minister?”
And the Bible reminds me: “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5)
God doesn’t simply splash a little love and joy and peace in my general direction. He pours into me all I need, until my arms are filled and my heart is ready to burst. He blesses me with happy day moments every day and infuses my life with an abundance of joy.
So this is what I’ll do:
Pour out that love, pour what’s poured into me. Put fear in its place.
As I tweeted this month: “Put fear in the back seat. It should look at the scenery and just be quiet. And never give it a map.”
Then I’ll not seek to be ministered to, but to minister … as I do in one small way by sharing a Happy Day Moment …
So these are a handful of happy bits of wisdom (because I am old and can say that) that {I’m ministering to} and I’ve posted in the month of March 2016 on my Happy Day Moment Facebook Page…
COMPASSION
Pursue love.
Any day can be shifted, to lift another, to make a difference.
Grace keeps reaching out, reaching for others, reaching straight across boundaries and walls and barriers.
A peaceful person is not one who’s always in a good place, but one who always has a good attitude in every place.
Each day contains moment after moment where we choose to follow love or fear. Choose love.
FORGIVENESS
We cannot serve God if we do not have a heart of forgiveness.
By letting go of unforgiveness, bitterness, and limiting beliefs, our hearts can be released into peace and new blessings.
Kindness and compassion not only require forgiveness, but also help us to do it.
Stop judging. Start accepting. Stop rejecting. Start embracing. Stop withholding. Start giving.
Let’s work hard at living at peace with each other.
PERSEVERANCE
Pray and don’t give up.
You’re brave and brilliant and oh-so resilient…..hang in there!
Always in the midst of despair, or daily bumps, or life altering disasters, there is hope.
We can’t change yesterday, but we can do something about today. Don’t quit.
And then there’s this I posted that was liked/shared/commented on…………because, yeah, we need to be pouring out kindness…. 🙂
