living for eternity today

Tag: disciple (Page 20 of 31)

Good Friend, Good Conversation!

For the past week or so we’ve looked at four different daily habits we can start right now to help improve our outlook on life and help us manage some of the challenges we face. Now we turn to some key habits that aren’t really feasible to be done daily but more on a weekly basis. All of these eight habits in total can be started in whatever sequence you’d like. None of them are magic, but they are all things that can be very beneficial if done intentionally.

One of the greatest blessings in life is having good friends! A really good friend can be a rock to lean on when times are tough. A shoulder to cry on when sadness strikes. Someone to laugh with at the good times. Someone to sing off key with to the favorite song on the radio. And someone to just talk to who will help keep you grounded in life. That’s today’s habit actually.

Time to Talk

Having a good friend is great but making time for that friend to share your good times and bad times is really important. Today’s habit is about intentionally setting aside time to talk to a friend for about an hour a week. This can be one friend for an hour or a couple of friends for shorter times, but don’t cut these conversations too short!

Practically speaking you can do all sorts of things. You can schedule this as a time to talk face to face over coffee or supper. You can make this conversation happen while exercising. If you’re married, then you can have this weekly conversation as a couple. However it works best for you is how you should do it.

The point of this weekly conversation with a friend is to just talk and catch up on life. So take a few minutes to list out the friends who you truly value. Then set times to call them to catch up. You can talk to the same person each week or a different friend each week. Just feed your soul with a good conversation with a great friend and enjoy all this life has to offer as you do life together.

Phone Second

The Pros and Cons of cellphones in schools – Dobie News

The final daily habit we want to take up in our creating a new daily habit series is to not grab the phone first. This is probably harder than most people realize. Unfortunately the phone has become an extension of ourselves to the point that we grab it before we grab anything else.

This isn’t a healthy scenario. Grabbing for our phone, whether it’s for work or social media or even just playing games, it sets our minds and hearts in a distracted place. When we reach for our phone to scroll our social media feeds, we are all too tempted to start comparing ourselves to the likes and shares of those around us. We don’t have teeth as straight as the perfectly polished selfie we just saw. Our tree doesn’t look nearly as nice as theirs does. We wish we could lose weight the way she did. Or be as strong as he is.

There are so many things that happen in our social media lives that are just not healthy or good. But it’s not just there either. When we roll out of bed and glance through our work emails or fiddle with our virtual games we set our minds on things that don’t provide any lasting benefit.

Instead a practical first step for us should be to grab our Bible and start each day as followers of God with a quick read through something from God’s word. It may sound cheesy or like a bit of a gimmick but it’s honestly the best way to start the day!

When we open the bible first thing in our day, we automatically set our minds to be looking for the ways that God is already at work around us. Try it for 7 days and see what happens. Let me know how it works for you. Tomorrow we’ll begin looking at some weekly habits we can start that will again be helpful in setting us up for greater success in life.

Revolutionary

Revolutionary by Josh Wilson on Amazon Music - Amazon.com

Ok so I’m going to just be blunt for a minute. I’m sick and tired of this mess. No, I’m not talking about the whole covid thing, although I’m getting tired of that too but something bigger than that. I’m not even talking the politically charged world that’s become the normal, at least for now.

I’m talking about the hate. I’m sick and tired of the hatred people are slinging around lately. Have you ever been to the zoo? Ever watch the monkeys when they get upset with each other? They sling their crap at each other. Well, this world is starting to act like a bunch of monkeys doing just that very thing. And it’s ridiculous.

Look – I get it. You don’t agree with your neighbor. Who cares? Your family member voted for a different political candidate. Well, good for them. You don’t wear a mask but your friend does. Sure sounds like a ridiculous thing to let ruin a friendship to me!

Can you please tell me when hate became the new normal? Why is it that we feel so much more comfortable throwing people under a bus than having an honest and civil conversation? And when you have that conversation, don’t expect the other person to bend to your will. You see that’s the fallacy many are working with right now. They think that as soon as they present their case in a well-thought out manner, the other person no longer is allowed to disagree.

Well, sorry to be the bearer of truth here but if you’re allowed to have your opinion, then your neighbor is allowed to have theirs too.

This is not rocket science. It’s not even science! It’s common sense! Just be kind. Quit trying to be king. Just be kind! Don’t agree? Get over it. I’m not trying to be mean here but seriously don’t let a disagreement tear apart a friendship or family. Be kind!

You see if you really look at it. We can all defend our position. You can defend your political stance, but so can your neighbor. You can find someone who speaks your viewpoint on covid, or seatbelt use, or vaccines, or the safety of online shopping. But so can the person who does things different than you. The issue isn’t that we do things different. The issue is that we let difference divide and breed hate. Be kind!

Today’s Music Monday is about just that. It’s time for a revolutionary idea. Let’s get back to the basics of humanity for just a minute. Be kind! It’s really that simple. Disagree and be kind. Agree and be kind. Argue but be kind. Be angry but be kind. It’s possible – you should try it!

Just One

Being a part of the church growing up was a great learning experience. I attended a Christian school and went to church nearly every Sunday. Growing up in the church we went through something called confirmation. This is when we learn the ins and outs of what we believe and actually claim it as our own. Up until this point, you’re learning but if I’m being honest it’s a lot of going through the motions. But in confirmation something clicks. we grow deeper and ask more questions and being to be able to apply what we know.

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Bible Memorization

As some continue to stay in distanced situations and as still others are afraid of coming out of their homes and back into the general population, we need to find creative ways to dig deeper into the Bible. So how do we amp up our depth of spiritual awareness? How do we grow as followers of Christ when we aren’t doing life together for the time being?

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Powerful Words

bible

The old adage is so wrong. Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me. I’m not sure who came up with that load of nonsense but they obviously lived in isolation from everyone their entire life. Words have power. Yours and mine! So be careful how you use them. But our words aren’t the most powerful words around. There’s a word with far more power.

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Discipleship In A Digital World

Digital Discipleship

By now many of us have started to acclimate to this fully digital and physically distant world in which we now live. With the inability to meet together we have been forced to come up with creative and technology rich solutions for our meetings, study times, worship services and even our extended family time. But how do we maintain a life-to-life discipleship approach in a fully digital and socially distant society?

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