He Is Risen Indeed

by | Mar 31, 2024 | concept

CONCEPT – BE KIND  (Day 1 of 7)

Take the day and let God talk to you about kindness (the quality of being friendly, generous, helpful, and considerate).

Love is … kind …  1 Corinthians 13:4b ESV

Think about how He has been kind to you and covered your life with many good things (James 1:17 ESV).

As an added suggestion, please do pray for those around you today and, if you attend church, please pray for those attending (be ready with handshakes or hugs too). Resurrection Sunday is one of the few times some folks show up.

welcoming people at church

I’m hopeful that people will see Jesus reflected in His kids and want to join the family.

If you are not able to attend a church service and would like to, please feel free to join me at my church. Our 11:15 service (Pacific time) will be streamed here.

 

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Image credit © Erika Giraud / Unsplash
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Have Patience

by | Mar 30, 2024 | conclusions

CONCLUSIONS – BE PATIENT  (Day 7 of 7)
(Need to start at the beginning? Day 1)

Wow, a whole week focused on patience.

Love is patient …  1 Corinthians 13:4a ESV

I learned I need more. 🙂

It was also interesting to look at what people and circumstances tended to push my buttons. I am doing better with my grandson (though I am still praying for a quick end to the current season of drama) and I’m catching the mental fussing at difficult situations a bit earlier.

thank you for your patience note

How did y’all do this week? What did you learn? Be sure to celebrate even the smallest of successes. Growth is a journey, not a destination.

My youngest quail are laying well.

quail eggs

The eggs are so cute and they are a nice snack when hard-boiled. I haven’t made deviled eggs yet (not sure I’m that patient).

 

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Image credits – thank you & quail eggs © Lori / Doing Marriage Well
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Look at the Roots

by | Mar 29, 2024 | resources

RESOURCES – BE PATIENT  (Day 6 of 7)
(Need to start at the beginning? Day 1)

As I’ve been thinking about patience …

Love is patient …  1 Corinthians 13:4a ESV

It just seems as though the roots of my impatience are in selfishness and poor time management.

Practicing forgiveness and grace help with the selfishness. I also like sharing my struggles with a small group of friends. We’re learning. We’re growing. We’re also talking about the role of discomfort in our lives.

The poor time management usually means I’m too busy and I’m sliding on the self-care. Good food, enough sleep, times of rest and play are all important. (I’m artsy-fartsy, so I must have some pretty in my life.)

I’m also at war with multitasking. I realIy don’t do as good a job as I think when I multitask, and it tends to make interruptions harder to handle.

multitasking woman

I have a planner that I like for time management. It works when I use it. It doesn’t work when I don’t use it. <sigh> I actually picked it up this morning and updated everything. It’s amazing how much I’ve done this morning and it isn’t even lunchtime (and I’m not stressed).

Here’s my first attempt at dot art (be kind).

dot art magnet

It’s a 2-inch wooden piece I’ll turn into a magnet for my fridge.

 

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Image credit – multitasking woman © Martinan / source, dot art © Lori / Doing Marriage Well
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Patience Practice

by | Mar 28, 2024 | second try

SECOND TRY – BE PATIENT  (Day 5 of 7)
(Need to start at the beginning? Day 1)

Another day of practice …

Love is patient …  1 Corinthians 13:4a ESV

During the day, keep an eye on your responses (including non-verbal stuff like rolling your eyes or tapping fingers). What do you do when you feel impatience start to stir?

woman pausing her words

If you catch it in time, try pausing for a moment to regroup. And, of course, there is nothing wrong with an apology and restating your words better if you don’t catch your words until after you express some kind of impatience.

Practice makes progress.  Author Unknown

 

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Image credit © fizkes / Adobe Stock
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Hang onto Patience

by | Mar 27, 2024 | road blocks

ROADBLOCKS – BE PATIENT  (Day 4 of 7)
(Need to start at the beginning? Day 1)

What keeps us from being patient?

Love is patient …  1 Corinthians 13:4a ESV

When I’m tired or too busy, I struggle to graciously make time for interruptions in my day. I can work to minimize some of the tired and busy, but sometimes, life just happens.

I think judgement is an issue too. If I think someone should act better, I may get frustrated and short with that person. I’ve seen that in my recent struggle with my grandson. I know he’s just five and learning to do life, but, man, it would be nice if he could dial it back a bit. Drama. Drama. Drama.

active boy

I could easily apply the same thing to my marriage as well. When I think my husband should be more like me, it’s easy for me to judge him and get impatient with how he does life.

As you walk through your week, try to catch those moments of impatience and backtrack to what you are feeling and thinking underneath. What is at the heart of your impatience? How does God want you to handle the person or situation?

 

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Image credit © Sergio Pavlishko / Pixabay
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Praying for Patience

by | Mar 26, 2024 | first try

FIRST TRY – BE PATIENT  (Day 3 of 7)
(Need to start at the beginning? Day 1)

Let’s start our day with a bit of prayer and self-talk.

Love is patient …  1 Corinthians 13:4a ESV

Patience is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23), so it is something that God works in us.

Talk to God first thing and ask Him to continue to grow patience in you. Ask Him to calm your heart and help you love on people in difficult or stressful moments.

(I have heard it said, that praying for patience is dangerous. I’m thinkin’ difficult people and situations are going to happen anyway and I’d rather stand with God than stand alone. So, I’m prayin’.)

patience loading symbol

The self-talk part is acknowledging that you are agreeing with God and practicing what He puts on your heart. Stay aware and look for those moments where you are tempted to be impatient (angry, upset, annoyed, or anxious).

Pause, pray, consider how to speak more kindly (if at all).

Learn from your successes and failures. Yes, I said failures. It one of those sad realities. We will fail, but that is not a reason to stop. It’s a reason to learn from the mistake and try again. Learning is messy business. It’s in the day-to-day practice that we get somewhere.

Y’all, God is so funny. As I’m writing this week, one of my grandsons is going through a difficult (and hopefully very short) stage where he is all drama (I probably should have typed that last word in all caps). I’m doing fairly well, but Paul is really rocking it and I’m learning by watching. He gets down on our grandson’s level, listens well, and then makes him laugh.

 

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Image credit © iXimus / Pixabay
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