"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33 (NIV)
Today I was working on a craft project while listening to Chuck Swindol on the radio. My project is hand embroidered words of affirmation in cute little 4" hoops. I'm focusing on words that uplift and encourage. Words like...grace, forgive, laugh, love, joy, believe, adore, sing, life, praise, hope and serve. These words exemplify the character traits that we should embrace as Christians. My aim is to put these little hand-crafted encouragers up for sale in my Etsy store so that others can hang them in their houses or office to brighten their day.
While stitching away I heard Chuck say four words that caught my attention...fame, fortune, power and pleasure. He went on to explain that when our focus is on obtaining any one of these four things, our pathway is leading us into sin. How true, Chuck, how true!
I thought of other words that get us into trouble...envy, strife, greed, pride, self, hate, prejudice. Yuck!
Now, I'm even more determined to fill my home and the world with words that build up, not tear down, words that remind me who I want to be and who I want to encourage others to be. I took a short break from my embroidery to write these words to you, hoping that you would pause a moment to think about the words that describe your life.
Are they words you're proud of? Words that portray the real you? I hope so.
Now, back to my embroidery....must fill the world with good words!
Prayer:
Father, remind me to examine my life on a regular basis to see if the words that describe my life are ones that would make you smile. Help me to encourage others to reach for the highest goal...a life that pleases you. Amen
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(Copyright© 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)
Today I was working on a craft project while listening to Chuck Swindol on the radio. My project is hand embroidered words of affirmation in cute little 4" hoops. I'm focusing on words that uplift and encourage. Words like...grace, forgive, laugh, love, joy, believe, adore, sing, life, praise, hope and serve. These words exemplify the character traits that we should embrace as Christians. My aim is to put these little hand-crafted encouragers up for sale in my Etsy store so that others can hang them in their houses or office to brighten their day.
While stitching away I heard Chuck say four words that caught my attention...fame, fortune, power and pleasure. He went on to explain that when our focus is on obtaining any one of these four things, our pathway is leading us into sin. How true, Chuck, how true!
I thought of other words that get us into trouble...envy, strife, greed, pride, self, hate, prejudice. Yuck!
Now, I'm even more determined to fill my home and the world with words that build up, not tear down, words that remind me who I want to be and who I want to encourage others to be. I took a short break from my embroidery to write these words to you, hoping that you would pause a moment to think about the words that describe your life.
Are they words you're proud of? Words that portray the real you? I hope so.
Now, back to my embroidery....must fill the world with good words!
Prayer:
Father, remind me to examine my life on a regular basis to see if the words that describe my life are ones that would make you smile. Help me to encourage others to reach for the highest goal...a life that pleases you. Amen
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(Copyright© 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)