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Greatness in you, God's gift to the world! Part VII

8/26/2013

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“Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you...”~1Tim. 4:14a (NASB)
Today we wrap up a seven part series dealing with Greatness...God's plan to bless the world through us. Today's key wraps up my three points on "Greatness Displayed" by touching on the one aspect of Greatness that truly allows our values, gifts, passion, confidence, and integrity to have impact: Selfless Sharing.

Selflessness is a vital part of true character and brings me to my final suggestion on greatness displayed. It is simple: find a way to incorporate everything that is at the core of who you are, your values, into everything you do. We can not effectively display greatness by being passive. 

Marianne Williamson wrote:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we subconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Talents are not given to be possessed. They are given to be shared. Whatever your gift/talent, find a hobby, career, or ministry that will allow you to share it. And then go a step further. Share not just your gift/talent, but share who you are: your sense of value and passion with everyone you know. Not in the sense of pushing your own values and passions on others; but, let them see the confidence you have in your own abilities, values, passions, skin; and, then give them permission and encouragement to do the same.

To summarize, Greatness displayed is: 
  • First and foremost through confidence. Confidence comes from having a clear understanding of our God, how He made us with our values, and the gifts and passions freely given to each of us. 
  • Second through integrity. Use discipline to develop integrity that will allow us to stand by our values and live in excellence day in and day out, in great accomplishments, and extreme pressure.
  • Thirdly through selfless sharing. Selflessness of heart will help us actively seek to make a difference through confidently, not aggressively, sharing our values, gifts, and passions in every situation and circumstance we find ourselves.

Friends thank you for taking this journey of Greatness with me! These best practices have allowed me to rise above mediocrity, wavering of heart and mind, and weak character. God desires Greatness for all of His people....not for selfish gain, but to make a difference. I pray that these practical points will help you as much or greater than they have, and continue to help me! Make Mondays Matter!

God Bless,
Dawn~
(running my race!)


"Run Your Race"
I have put the blinders on
I am coming around the home stretch
Finally the race has come down to
  the battle between what I have accomplished 
  and what I am capable of 
I have never bet more on the latter
Risking it all has never felt more right 
The goal never more in sight
Throwing off weariness, discouragement, 
  distractions has never been more vital
I'm running my own race now.
~dlb 

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Loving One Another Begins with Loving God

8/20/2013

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 “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39 ESV)
Love is eternal. It is not limited by time. When you commit yourself to loving someone in a relationship…you make your commitment to EVERYTHING that person is. You are who you are because of your history…because of all that’s happened before. To be loved effectively, we have to allow others into our history.

Sometimes it is very difficult to love someone. Sure, it’s easy to love the lovely people…but what about those unlovely people that we come in contact with sometimes on a daily basis? In the Old Testament we see the Ten Commandments as given to Moses in Exodus 20. In the New Testament when Jesus was questioned by the Sadducees regarding which is the greatest of the commandments He said that all of the commandments can be wrapped into just two. This first one encompasses the first four of the original Ten Commandments, they deal with loving God. Look at what Jesus said:

Mark 12:28-30
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ’Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength…”

In that account with the Sadducees and the scribes Jesus also told them about a second greatest commandment. This second greatest commandment includes the last six of the original ten.  Here is what Jesus said:

Mark 12:31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
When we believe that we “no longer love” our husband or wife or that we just cannot love that “unlovely” person we are DECEIVED… because clearly we are commanded to love each other, even our enemies.  But “how” do we love one another? The truth of the matter is that the kind of love that we should show to one another is an “ACTION” kind of love. We see this demonstrated by our own Heavenly Father in that “God so LOVED the world that he GAVE His only begotten son…” Our love for one another is best displayed in our actions toward them. Here are some practical things that you can do to show your love for one another:
  • Tell someone you love them
  • Do something special for one person on a regular basis
  • Spend time listening to someone’s needs
  • Be honest
  • Don’t hold a grudge
  • Volunteer in church
  • Invite the Pastor and his wife over for lunch or supper
  • Be flexible and put other’s needs above your own (Phil 2:3-4)
  • Let someone else receive praise instead of yourself
  • Don’t walk on your neighbor’s lawn
  • Go to a Nursing Home and visit those that have no family
  • Pick up trash when you see it on the sidewalk and put it in a trash container
  • Allow your pets to have a private space in another room when you have company
  • Offer to return someone else’s shopping cart to the store from the parking lot
  • Let someone go before you in the grocery checkout line; especially if you have more groceries then they do
  • Invite someone to church and even offer them a ride to church
  • Allow someone else to have that parking space that is close to the building
  • Offer your seat to someone on the bus or train
  • Play your car radio at a reasonable level as not to disturb someone else
  • Share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a stranger today
  • Offer to have one-on-one Bible study with a new believer
  • Give an anonymous love offering to someone who always shows up to do whatever job is needed in the church.
  • Send your Pastor a gift card to a Christian Book Store, just to let him know you love him
  • Turn your cell phone off when you are driving in your car, at church or waiting in line for service.

You will be amazed at the results of doing some of these small gestures…and what a difference it will make in your week. Once again it’s Monday…So Let’s Make It Matter!


God Bless,

Angela
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The Blessing in Being Obedient

8/12/2013

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"If they hear and serve Him, They shall end their days in prosperity, And their years in pleasures." ~Job 36:11 (KJV)
Picture
There is a Blessing in Being Obedient

Do you try to determine what will benefit you the most, or perhaps you strive to please or impress others? Maybe you let emotions take control or attempt to make a logical choice. Wise men and women learn to obey God, and leave all the consequences to Him. There is nothing more important in life than following Jesus and trusting Him to care for your needs.

Obeying God is difficult in the world we live in but we are so much better off by learning through obedience. What we don't learn through obedience…will usually be taught the hard way to us through difficult experiences. So why take yourself through unnecessary difficulties?

The Lord rewarded those who were willing to follow His commands. Look at these faithful biblical characters: 
  1. Noah was asked to build a massive boat—which made him the laughing stock of his community. But he was ready when the flood came. 
  2. Moses, a desert nomad, had to appear before Pharaoh, the leader of a powerful civilization, and demand freedom for the Israelites. Ultimately, the people were allowed to go.
  3. Joshua was told to march around Jericho for seven days instead of relying on the military tactics he knew. And God destroyed the enemy. 
  4. Nehemiah boldly asked the Babylonian king for supplies to rebuild Jerusalem and received all he needed, including guards to help him safely reach the city. 
  5. In captivity, Daniel and his three friends refused to eat meat because it was not prepared according to Hebrew dietary laws. Yet they were healthier than all the other young men. 
  6. Peter and the apostles refused to stop preaching about Jesus, even though they were threatened with flogging and imprisonment.

As believers, we must believe that God is sovereign…He controls ALL things at ALL times. He is ALWAYS in control! We must trust that He will work for our good in EVERY situation and EVERY circumstance…even if it doesn't make sense. The Bible says we show our love for Him by obeying His commands and not just when they are convenient and desirable. Listen to Him. When you pray, make time to hear what He has to say. Be courageous because obeying God takes courage because following His will often leads to conflict. You must be willing to do what is right anyway. And you must fully surrender to Him.


When you are obedient, you will experience personal victory if you follow His will, even if the world does not consider you a success. Obedience will lead to supernatural peace and joy in every circumstance. Also, spiritual growth and maturity results when believers continue to walk with God in the midst of suffering.

When you are a believer, God may ask you to do something that doesn't make sense from a human perspective. Or He may lead you to give up a hobby or donate a valuable item.  He may prompt you to give financially when money is scarce. Or He just might want you to serve in your church or take a leadership role although you feel inadequate…So what do you do? All I can say is there is a BLESSING in being obedient!

When you need to make an important decision, don’t rely primarily on your own reasoning, the opinions of others, or even what worked in the past. Get on your knees before the Lord and pour out your heart. Spend time prayerfully reading His Word. Listen for His voice, and then follow His specific guidance for your life.

Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him. If you will take to heart this one principle, you will have the awesome privilege of watching the Lord accomplish great things in and through you…And believe me, I know… I am a living witness…there is a BLESSING IN BEING OBEDIENT!

Choose to walk this day in obedience and let’s MAKE MONDAY MATTER!

God Bless,

Angela

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Greatness in you, God's gift to the world! Part VI

8/5/2013

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“Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you...”~1Tim. 4:14a (NASB)
To continue our series on Greatness, I am sharing the next key to “Greatness Displayed.” Last time we focused on how to gain the confidence needed to walk in Greatness that is rooted in knowing who we are and whose we are, and what we are created to do in life. This week we need to deal with a character trait that is greatly lacking in society, and which is at the very heart of any true display of Greatness: Integrity. Integrity is absolutely vital to Greatness because it causes us to hold true to who God created us to be, in public, in private, and under the most intense times of pressure. No one can do truly great things, or display truly Great character when they have varying or rotating standards of conduct. So let's look at integrity...

Integrity: The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.

According to Forbes.com's November 28, 2012 article by contributing writer Amy Rees Anderson (www.forbes.com), “If I could teach only one value to live by, it would be this: Success will come and go, but integrity is forever. Integrity means doing the right thing at all times and in all circumstances, whether or not anyone is watching. It takes having the courage to do the right thing, no matter what the consequences will be. Building a reputation of integrity takes years, but it takes only a second to lose, so never allow yourself to ever do anything that would damage your integrity.”

Friends, take the time and discipline to develop integrity! Developing integrity means mustering the discipline to live life THE SAME WAY, day in and day out. It means striving to:
  • Resist: fear, selfish pride, the desire to be right, the desire to be comfortable
  • Rise above mediocrity by considering the effect of: gossip, laziness, deception, stubbornness, bitterness, complaining, resentment, un-forgiveness, sarcasm, meanness, doubt, fear, false humility, and pride in one's life
  • Stick by commitments even when it is inconvenient
  • Take courage DAILY to display leadership and make hard decisions
  • Challenge our own perspective when we feel we have been wronged
  • Stretch the definition of love, kindness, honesty, right, wrong, and even integrity, just a bit more than what others may feel is understandable

In a nutshell, living a life of disciplined integrity means pushing the mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical limits of disciplined goodness in order to grow into the greatest life possible! Discipline gives hands and feet to values and passions. Integrity enables those values and passions to touch and speak to everyone we connect with... 

Friends if you find yourselves displeased with the impact you are making in your environment, check your Integrity; the lack thereof could be blocking your Greatness!

Next time we will close out this series with the final key to Greatness Displayed: Selfless Sharing. So don't forget to tighten up your Confidence and Integrity, and keep those blinders on...you are running your own race!

God Bless,

Dawn~

"Run Your Race"
I have put the blinders on
I am coming around the home stretch
Finally the race has come down to
  the battle between what I have accomplished 
  and what I am capable of 
I have never bet more on the latter
Risking it all has never felt more right 
The goal never more in sight
Throwing off weariness, discouragement, 
  distractions has never been more vital
I'm running my own race now.
~dlb
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    Make Mondays Matter

    Scripture warns God's people to live soberly, watching always for Christ's return. In the midst of so much fear and confusion we, as His people, need something certain and unifying to focus on. In the midst of so much death and destruction, what better to put our focus on than His return and rewards?

    In 2021, we at Make Mondays Matter will try to do that.

    Picture
    live sober


    ~dlb~
    dawnlbedingfield

    "You don't know the cost of the oil in my alabaster box..."

    Picture
    *The phrase, Relationships Ever Abiding in Love, and the title, R.E.A.L. Moment Monday are the intellectual property of Costly Oil LP and Dawn L. Bedingfield, Inc. All Rights Reserved. R.E.A.L. Moment Monday blog posts are the express and sole property of the writer, no copyright infringement is intended. 
    Alabaster II Original Artwork painted by Jun Jamosmos, www.jamosmos.com
    Artwork and Design, Copyright 2014 Costly Oil LP. 
    All Rights Reserved.

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