The Glory of Overlooking

Relationships are hard.

They're hard because people can be complicated, inconsistent, moody and opinionated. Also because we do dumb things sometimes. Insensitive things. And we have an ill-fated tendency to lash out at people when we feel threatened by them.

Despite these tendencies, the Bible calls us to live at peace with people. Part of that is knowing when to simply overlook an offense. In the example I shared in my devotion published at P31 today, a friend lashed out at me when I didn't agree with her plan of action. I wanted to save her what I felt would be a huge mistake. But she felt judged, or unsupported when I questioned her decision. She fired at me in anger.

She and I had known each other a long time. And I knew this was not the sort of thing to end our relationship over. She lost her cool in the heat of the moment and said some things she would no doubt later regret. But I've done that before.

I think it's biblical, when you feel transgressed against, to see if there is some log in your own eye that you have missed while fixating on the speck in your neighbor’s eye (Matthew 7:3-5). Let their mess up serve as a reminder to check our own eyes and our own actions. That doesn't excuse or make their actions just, it just keeps us from charging forward in a hypocritical manner!

In my flesh I certainly wanted to defend myself. I wanted to "hit back." But then again, I didn't really think she believed those things she said about me. Nor did I think she would continue saying them once she calmed down. And in my spirit I realized anything I'd say in that moment - in my own anger and defensiveness - I'm likely to regret. I'd be placing a log into my own eye, so instead I bit my tongue.

Sometimes we need to pause - mouth shut - long enough to ask:

•   Have I truly been wronged here, or am I just offended?

•   Is this person truly against me, or are we just not seeing eye-to-eye?

•   Are we arguing over a matter of personal preference, or a matter of scriptural right and wrong?

•   Does this have long-term ramifications, or is it something that'll likely not matter to either of us a month from now?

If it is an offense that can be overlooked, then the Bible says it is to your credit to do so.

"A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense." ~ Proverbs 19:11 (NIV)

Of course, God doesn't expect us to remain quiet in every situation - He doesn't insist that we be a whipping post or a door mat to sin. Rather He calls to us to look clearly at situations and the relationships involved and proceed in ways that will bring truth, light and hopefully peace onto the scene - as much as it is up to us.

So if there is a relationship in your life you're struggling to grant grace in, or a transgression you need to overlook, leave a prayer request and I'll pray for you and for them. And if you can get your hands on my new book It's No Secret: Revealing Divine Truths Every Woman Should Know, chapters 4 & 7 might be of further help.

Thankful for the peace God can provides even in the face of strife.

PS. Did you know I'm giving away a Kindle E-reader? There is one day left to enter - click here.

Overcoming Perfectionism

So after yesterday’s post I trust you see how counterproductive perfectionism is. It is not your friend!  It works you like a slave.  Or else, paralyzes you from accomplishing anything for fear of not performing perfectly. It saps your joy, sidelines you from opportunities, and erodes your relationships.
Are you are ready to kick it to the curb?

Great – but you’re probably gonna need Jesus in order to do that. 

These are deep-seated tendencies.  Knee-jerk ways of thinking. Auto-pilot ways of reacting.  They will take time, effort and some supernatural help to overcome. But I assure you IT CAN BE DONE. Nothing is impossible with God. 

No, that doesn’t mean that if you have God you can work full-time as the top employee, raise 3 well-mannered & high-achieving kids, keep a beautiful large home, cook regularly, serve as PTA vice-president, teach Sunday school, make your own hand-stamped cards, volunteer at the soup kitchen, plant annuals every spring, stick to a vegan diet plan, read a book a week, keep your nail polish from chipping, never forget a  friend’s birthday, and run marathons. It means that with God you have all you need for life and godliness – including the ability to overcome the tyranny of perfectionism.

We have to come back to the sobering truth we started with in Monday’s devotion, and chapter 7 of the book.  And that is that “life and godliness” is not about stain-free carpets, blemish-free faces, chip-free nail polish and typo-free reports. It’s about giving and receiving love. It’s the character of our heart, not the surface level issues we’re stressing over. We have to reprogram with this truth.

With all that said, I promised you some practical strategies for overcoming perfectionism, and here they are:

• Set realistic, reachable goals based on what you have accomplished in the past. This will enable you to rein in unrealistic expectations and experience the satisfaction of achievement.
• Set subsequent goals in a sequential manner. As you reach a reasonable goal, set your next goal one step beyond your present level of accomplishment.
• Relax your standards for success. Everything does not need to be perfect –in fact, everything cannot be. Choose any activity and instead of aiming for 100 percent, try for 90 percent, 80 percent, or even 70 percent success. This will help you to realize that the world does not end when you are giving less than 100%.
• Learn to discriminate among tasks.  Decide which tasks you want to give high priority to and which are are less important to you. On less important tasks, purposely put forth less effort in favor of increased rest and emotional stability.
• Focus on the process of doing an activity, not just the end result. Evaluate your success not only in terms of what you accomplished but also in terms of how you accomplished it. Did you remain calm and loving?  Did you enjoy the process?
• Use feelings of anxiety and depression as opportunities to question yourself: “Have I set impossible expectations for myself in this situation?” “Am I giving in to fear?” “Have I lost sight of what’s essential in God’s eyes?
• Confront the fears that may be behind your perfectionism by asking yourself, “What am I afraid of?” “What is the worst thing that could happen?” “… What does the Bible say?”
• Recall a recent mistake you made and list things you can learn from it. Mistakes are powerful learning tools. Most growth and success involves learning thru mistakes.
• Pray daily, giving your stresses and to-do list to Christ to oversee. Remember that His priority is your character and relationships, over your accomplishments. Meditate on verses like 2 Peter 1:3, Psalm 18:30-32, Ecclesiastes 7:16-18, and 2 Corinthians 12:9.

Have a great weekend this weekend with your friends & family.  And don’t sweat the small stuff!! I’m off on a weekend getaway with my crew to Myrtle Beach.  But I’ll check in here some so feel free to comment.

A Harmful Cycle

We’ve gotten about 20” of rain in the last couple of days – I’m floating over here on the NC coast.  And my kids are out of school today because of it. So I’m going to quickly lay out two ways our perfectionist attitudes start frustrating cycles in motion.

The Stress Cycle:
First, perfectionists set unreachable goals based on unrealistic expectations. Second, naturally, they fail to meet those often well-out-of-reach goals. Third, they become stressed, anxious and self-critical over their failure.  Finally, rather than realizing the true problem – unrealistic expectations – they demand a more perfect performance next time, or else avoid the pursuit entirely.

And that’s why procrastination isn’t always tied to laziness as people assume. Often it’s tied to perfectionism.  If you can’t do it “right” – or don’t have time to, or don’t have the time to do all of it right now – then you just don’t do it. Which, of course, leads to more stress and self-condemnation.

Another issue may be feeling that it is already ruined so why bother.  We perfectionists have lots of quirks based on our notions of what is a “perfect state.”  Like, what do we do with clothes that have been worn once, and are not soiled but are not “perfectly clean” anymore either.  We can’t hang them back in the closet with the perfectly clean clothes (that will contaminate the clean ones!). Or if the carpet has stains that won’t come out, why bother taking care of it now and vacuuming it often because it’s already ruined. So we abandon it’s care, lament it and hate it. Some of us have done this with our bodies/figures. All of this is stress-producing!

The Relationship Cycle:
Sometimes without even realizing it, perfectionists can apply their unrealistically high standards to others, becoming critical, demanding and difficult to please. Those who live or work with perfectionists regularly feel they can never do right, never quite measure up. The perfectionist’s frequent lack of grace, or unwillingness to cut any slack to themselves or others, damages their relationships.

Children often take on their parent’s perfectionist thinking – causing the stressful, self-defeating cycle to perpetuate through generations. Meanwhile, co-workers, spouses or friends may simply “check-out” of the relationship as much as possible after growing tired of trying, or of being fussed at.

Because perfectionists often lash out at others - in their stress, frustration and unrealistic desire for everything to be just so - they frequently wind up feeling guilty or bad about their relationships. But they get in the  habit of controlling and criticizing, of nagging and nitpicking, and can’t seem to stop themselves.  Their desire for perfection wins out over their desire for love and peace and fun. When they look back on it, they usually regret that priority. 

Furthermore, perfectionists avoid letting people see their mistakes, not realizing that self-disclosure allows others to perceive them as more human and thus more likeable. Because of this, perfectionists often have difficulty being close to people. Keeping people at arm’s length, they only let people in when they are confident they can control the situation and the other person’s perceptions of them.  This results in unsatisfying relationships – which only confirms in the perfectionist’s mind their lack of value or their need to strive harder. It’s a giant self-defeating cycle - a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

I’m off through the flood waters for a meeting at the church. Be back later to post about what we can do about this.  (And I’d like to talk more specifically about housekeeping and perfectionism as so many readers have commented about that.)

Meanwhile, think and pray through this post – realize what your perfectionism is really costing you.

Causes of Perfectionism

First off, I’m not a counselor or a psychologist.  I’m a woman who sometimes wrestles deep-seated perfectionistic tendencies. A woman who seeks God’s perspective on things. A woman that researches a lot. And that prays. So that’s where I am coming from on this series on perfectionism.

Pop over here and read the devotion that started the series if you missed it.

Yesterday you shared some of your struggles with perfectionism in the comments – and could I ever relate! Thunderstorms knocked out my internet for most the day so I had to head to Starbucks to read your posts.  The other coffee addicts would pass by me on the way in and see me giggling and smiling in agreement as I read.  They’d get their order and pass me two minutes later on the way out – and I’d be clutching my heart, salty water pooling in my eyes, shaking my head in agreement and prayer. I went through 2 lattes, 200-some comments, and 2 napkins as tissues.

Yesterday we also defined this thing we wrestle as:  a set of self-defeating thoughts and behaviors driving you to set, and to expect to reach, excessively high or unrealistic goals. Zero in on the phrase “self-defeating thoughts and behaviors.” It’s key to note both parts of that hyphenated word.  First, they come from self/our flesh/Satan and not from God.  And second, they defeat us rather than help or perfect us.

“For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do." ~ Gal 5:17 (ESV)

I could tell from your comments, as you read the devotion and spelled out your perfectionism’s particular brand of crazy, that you were seeing the truth of that.

So today we’re looking at some of the causes of this self-defeating thinking and behavior. The clinical experts in my research say a number of negative thoughts, feelings, and beliefs can drive our perfectionistic tendencies. Such as: fear of failure, fear of making mistakes, fear of disapproval, all or none thinking, and belief that others are effortlessly great.

Fear of failure. Perfectionists often equate failure to achieve with a lack of personal worth or value.

We sometimes equate failure – on something like a math test or an attempt to keep our closets organized  - on par with sin.  Like something that deserves condemnation, punishment or isolation. Messy closets do not equal murder, a crooked sewn quilt is not slander, cellulite and typos are not stealing.  God offers grace to murders, slanders and thieves!  Why can we not offer ourselves or our family a little grace on the math tests and closets?

Fear of making mistakes. Perfectionists often equate mistakes with failure – and therefore, with a lack of personal worth. In orienting their lives around avoiding mistakes, perfectionists miss opportunities to learn and grow.

Seriously - how many times have we missed out on something fun or enriching because we weren't certain we could pull it off well, or look good doing it? And how many things have we started and not finished because we felt we weren’t good enough at it?

Fear of disapproval. Perfectionists often believe if they let others see their flaws, they will no longer be accepted.

In reality, authentic transparency usually brings people closer. Trying to be perfect is a way of trying to avoid criticism, disapproval, and rejection. I think its also a way of protecting our pride - rather than letting it die with Christ on the cross.  By the way, Christ was criticized, disapproved of, and rejected – and He was truly perfect!  So it will happen to us too.

All-or-none thinking. Perfectionists frequently believe they are failures if their accomplishments are not perfect from start to finish. Every part must be flawless.   

We deny the existence of a learning curve, and discount the process of “failing forward.” 

Belief that others are easily successful. Perfectionists tend to perceive others as achieving success with a minimum of effort, few or no errors, little emotional stress, and maximum self-confidence.

This is a powerful one.  Maybe the most powerful of them all – that’s why it was so freeing to read everyone’s confessions yesterday. And that’s why even though we know what our perfectionism does to us and those close to us, we keep trying to be “perfect like them.” We compare our reality to assumptions we make based on their appearance. And sometimes “they” don’t exist anywhere but in our minds, myths or magazines!

Several of you commented that you learned your perfectionistic ways from your mother. And some of you said you can see it rubbing off on your children. (I have as well.) So we’ll keep talking about this.  Look over that list again and think about which one of these issues cause you the most trouble. And pray about that today. Feel free to share it with me and I’ll pray too.

_____________________________

Stay tuned for more on this topic.

Have you heard I’m doing a Kindle giveaway? If you’re anything like me, you’ve been wanting one.  I have an early generation Kindle and I’ve been waiting for a substantial improvement in the product to upgrade.  I think it is here now.  Check out Thomas Nelson CEO Michael Hyatt’s recent review of the Kindle 3.  Then follow the instructions on my previous post to enter to win one!

Fresh Direction

So far in 2010 God has me on a "taste and see" journey. I've been praying for vision, and He's begun pouring it on. Strong - like trying to drink from the proverbial fire hose.

I asked in a post at the start of the year how we can number our days aright in order to present to God a heart of wisdom. The answer I'm arriving at has a tremendous duality to it. I’m enthralled with the notion that life in Christ is simultaneously about stewardship and serving, and about enjoyment and rejoicing. It’s about both discipline and pleasure. The impulse is strong to make it one or the other, but God does not.

My heart is slowing down in 2010 to focus on both discipline and pleasure, and I'm so excited to see what wondrous paths He leads me down this year. I'm already catching little glimpses of eternity along the way. Look for changes ahead on this blog, in my ministry, as well as in my life.

Surviving Spiritual Slumps

Monday and Tuesday's winners announced at the end of this post.

Yesterday I asked 150 people what usually helps them when they're feeling spiritually "dry." A great many listed more than one answer in their responses - suggesting a multi-approach is wise. I thought I'd summarize their answers for us here.

Music - up beat praise music, worship, or hymns - 84

Bible - mostly just reading, though some mentioned formal bible study - 38

Friends & family - godly girlfriends & mentors, husband, mom or children - 28

Prayer - mostly just talking to God, some also mentioned contemplative meditation - 20

Books - devotionals, Christian books - 18

Reflecting - on blessings, on God, or on what God has done in the past - 16

Solitude - retreating, getting alone, spending time in the quiet - 16

Journaling - writing down problems, feelings or prayers; looking thru old journals - 8

Teaching - from sources like radio, TV, sermons, podcasts - 8

Exercise - walking, running - 6

Nature - being outdoors, enjoying or noticing God in nature - 5

Looking over this list I realize most of these deal with getting God's words of truth (back) into the forefront of your mind - Bible reading, music lyrics, Christian books and teachings. Even prayer and journaling, depending on what you are saying or writing. The friends category too (assuming they are speaking truth and godly advice to you and not just providing distractions).

The remaining strategies deal with unplugging from the daily noise and routine long enough to plug back into God and regain spiritual perspective - solitude, reflection, time in nature, prayer. Journaling or exercising could fit here too. Music also as it has the ability to "carry us away" as we close our eyes and listen or sing. I was not surprised that music was mentioned the most - it functions both ways.

I loved the gal who said sometimes she just goes and sits in her dry bathtub for some solitude. And another gal who said the upstairs closet is her retreat place at times. :)

I asked this question for two reasons. First, I really wanted to know your answers, your strategies. And second, I think its important for us to know what generally "works." For you and I to have a go-to plan to implement as soon as we recognize we're drifting into a spiritual slump.

The trick is to recognize it early and react quickly. Too often we make a long, slow decline of it and don't make adjustments until we're dehydrated and near bottom.

These same strategies that pull us out of the slump and bring God back into focus are the very ones that if utilized regularly, keep us from drying out in the first place. It's all about taking the time and making the effort to get and remain plugged into God.

But then you knew I was going to say that, didn't you?

Interestingly though, there are times God takes us through the desert on purpose. He took Moses to the desert. He took the ancient of nation of Israel to the desert. He even took Jesus to the desert. In those times we may not be able to escape the heat immediately - we have to walk the course - but these strategies will ensure we're in tune with God or His purposes as we walk that dusty terrain. And I believe they will prevent us from spending a single extra unnecessary day wandering there.
So if you tend to drift into slumps, or find yourself in a desert now, make a plan and get proactive. Plug into the source of Life and abide there, even if it seems nothing is happening at first in response. Life will flow again.

Winner of the $15 Starbucks gift card for participating in Monday's Devotional Carnival of Love is JENNY RAIN. I so enjoyed doing that carnival and reading the devotions, I plan to do another one on March 15. So stay tuned for that as I announce the new topic.

Winner of the P31 Whirlwind Giveaway "Bread for Life" is OLIVIA. Congrats to her! And thank you to everyone who took the time to answer and enter.

Thankful that spiritual slumps aren't a permanent way of life.

Life Comes at You Fast

That's me doing almost 50 mph yesterday.

(No, I wasn't speeding.)(Yes, I took this pic while driving.)

(Don't fret, nobody was on the road and I didn't have to look thru a viewfinder.)

Now look closely ... on the left side of my hood beyond the windshield.

It's a little green lizard hanging on for dear life!

(Yep, took this pic while driving too.)

 

Ever feel like that little green lizard? One minute you're lying in the sun on a car just a few feet from the hydrangea bush you live under. Life is grand. And the next minute, you're on a wildly unexpected, even dangerous ride that will take you miles from the comfort zone of your habitat. And you're thanking God for giving you sticky feet.

OK, well maybe God didn't give us sticky feet to hang on with when life comes at us fast, but He gave us something even better to hang on with - Himself.

"Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say:
Here am I."

~ Isaiah 58:9

"But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless."

~ Psalm 10:4

"The LORD is with me; he is my helper."

~ Psalm 118:7a

Note: No lizards were (intentionally) harmed in the making of this post. Although, he wasn't still on the hood by the time I arrived at church. I'm hoping maybe he hopped off at a stop light and crawled under the nearest azalea bush to catch his little lizard breath.

John Piper bends my mind, y'all ...

... in a good kind of way.


Today I'm reading in his book Spectacular Sins. I know, great title. (I thought I'd committed a few of those myself so I had to pick up the book and see what he was referring to.)


On page 48 Piper asks what I think is a totally valid question: "Why does God not simply wipe out Satan?"


Satan deserves it. He deserved it thousands, millions or quadrillions of years ago, and he still does today. He's never going to repent. In fact, Revelation 20:10 tells us that God is going to cast Satan into a lake of fire where he will be tormented forever more. So why isn't he there now? Why is he left to roam the earth, causing us such trouble between now and then?


Ever wondered this? Can we know the answer to this question?


Piper cites Colossians 1:16 as the ultimate reason: Because all things were created through Christ and for Christ, the continued existence of Satan somehow glorifies the Son. You see why my mind is bending? I'm looking sideways at the book, hoping the logic of that will come into view ... and I'm getting a crick in my neck.


Piper writes,

"The Son of God, Jesus Christ, will be more highly honored and more deeply appreciated and loved in the end because he defeats Satan not the moment after Satan fell, but through millennia of long-suffering, patience, humility, servanthood, suffering, and decisively through his own death. ... The glory of Christ reaches its highest point in the obedient sacrifice of the cross where Jesus triumphed over the devil. ... We would not know Christ in the fullness of his glory if he had not defeated Satan in the way he did."

I tend to read Piper in small spurts; he gives me so much to think about. Still, I relish these mind-warping bursts of Piper-sight he offers. Off to the treadmill to (slow) jog and ponder.

How far is heaven?

One of us recently got the question:

"Are all the Proverbs 31 ladies just blissfully happy all the time?"

I suspect each of us has been asked this question before, in some form. I have.

Just in case you too are under this delusion, or maybe you just haven't read on my blog this year about ... the recent death in my family ... the pressures of my deadlines ... my admissions to dealing with pride, vanity and lust ... the fact that I routinely fly across the country to speak in front of a group of strangers, hopefully without forgetting to pack deodorant and without throwing up from nerves ... that I hate doing laundry ... about my propensity to burn myself in the kitchen... or my unfortunate accident with a bath scrubbie ... you can pop over to Marybeth's blog and read her apt reply.

I wonder if this person is asking are-your-circumstances-always-blissful?, or if she is asking are-you-always-able-to-be-blissful-despite-your-circumstances? Big difference. Absolutely no one's circumstances on earth is alway blissful, and Christians are not guaranteed that either (see John 16:33).

Here are 4 definitions of the word "bliss":

1. supreme happiness; utter joy or contentment
2. Theology. the joy of heaven.
3. heaven; paradise: the road to eternal bliss.
4. a cause of great joy or happiness.

As Jesus said, we can rule out number 4 happening all the time here on earth. That makes expecting a constant state of number 1 in this fallen world, on this side of eternity, unrealistic. The other two are both linked to something beyond this earth. We're linked to that too. Though we're not fully there yet, we can find our bliss in that link.

What I strive to do is to lean into God and trust Him enough to receive His peace, comfort and direction no matter my current circumstances. Sure, I experience anger, frustration, fear, regret and tears just like the next gal - I just try to submit all those feelings and triggers to God. To allow Him to use them as He sees fit ... to change my circumstances, or to change me through them. And I remind myself that my time here is temporary - this is not my true home.

In that, I'm usually able to discover some bliss in the middle of my blunders. In that, I find pieces of definitions 2 and 3. And that is enough for me, for now. So, no bliss-filled perfection here ... just a girl trying her best, with varying degrees of success, to follow Jesus home.

PS. Here's a song I have on my I-pod for those times bliss seems far away: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaHwzkk6tOQ

Fight for It

Don't you love the days when you connect with God, maybe through morning devotions, and new insights click wildy. Warm fuzzies populate your heart. You cruise through your schedule seeing God in small and large ways, in the mundane moments and the glorious sunset. You feel alive, and on mission with God. Yeah, me too. And then there are the days ...

Don't ya loathe those days when you feel dry and uninspired? Morning devotions feel like drudgery – lacking in fresh revelation or tingly feelings. Pretty soon you stop doing them. You move through your day feeling unconnected and cranky. Those are the days we want to give up the good fight for now, and just indulge a little:

• 
  
  We want to blow off an inconvenient promise we made.
• 
  
  We want to yell at loved ones when we feel aggravated.
• 
  
  We want to read the gossip rags for cheap entertainment.
• 
  
  We want to skip church small group since we don’t feel like going, or being around those who are more in-step with Christ.
• 
  
  We want to gorge on the chocolate cream pie in the fridge. And we don't want to share.

It’s on these days I believe we have to fight for the joy we're missing. Pause and pray for God to fuel our focus. We have to ask Him to create a passion for obedience. Then, we focus on the task at hand - be it morning devotions or evening dinner - even if the feelings don’t immediately flood in. Our feelings will soon catch up.

Consider this quote from Pastor John Piper:

“As you are able to do some of your duty, ask God that the joy be restored. That is, don't sit and wait for the joy saying, ‘I will be a hypocrite if I do an act of mercy today, since I do not feel the joy of mercy.’ No, you will not be a hypocrite, if you know that joy is your duty, and repent that you don’t have it, and ask God earnestly to restore the joy even as you do the deed. That is not the way a hypocrite thinks. That is the way a true Christian thinks in the fight for joy.”

Let's fight for the joy today, girls!

Alive

Welcome if you've come over from my devotion today at Proverbs 31.

My pastor has a saying ... think about it for a moment:

"Every longing at its core is a longing for life."

John the Baptist said, "What counts is your life. Is it green and blossoming? Because if it's deadwood, it goes on the fire. I'm baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. The real action comes next: The main character in this drama—compared to him I'm a mere stagehand—will ignite the kingdom life within you, a fire within you, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out." (MSG)

Jesus is always the key to life - our lives have their source and fulfillment in Him.

Longing to feel truly alive today? Immerse yourself in worship - in Him.

I'm hoping to get back to the beach today. Got another chapter to work on first - but can't wait to wade into the water as my reward when I'm done.

A Surpassing Love

God's love is passionate and strong. Not lukewarm. Not indifferent. Not even tame - it's tender, yet fierce. It burns strong and bright ... fervently and intimately for you. It will follow you to the ends of the earth, and your time upon it.

It goes to the cross for you - to free you from sin.

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.”

1 John 3:16a

This is the love your God has for you. Grab a hold of it today. It has the power to overcome. In fact, it is the most transformational force in the universe.

Listen to what He'd say to you today:

"I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.
With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself."

~ Jeremiah 31:3

Insert your name in place of "my people" and memorize this verse this week. When you grab hold of this Love, it changes you. Just like it did the psalmists:

Psalm 42:6-8

When my soul is in the dumps, I rehearse everything I know of you,

From Jordan depths to Hermon heights, including Mount Mizar.

Chaos calls to chaos, to the tune of whitewater rapids.

Your breaking surf, your thundering breakers crash and crush me.

Then God promises to love me all day, sing songs all through the night!

My life is God's prayer.

Psalm 89:1-2

Your love, God, is my song, and I'll sing it! I'm forever telling everyone how faithful you are.

I'll never quit telling the story of your love—how you built the cosmos and guaranteed everything in it.

Your love has always been our lives' foundation, your fidelity has been the roof over our world.

Are you looking for someone to sing over you? To unfailingly love you 24/7? To be your solid foundation? To faithfully protect you? Here He is. Your Prince. Your Deliverer.

Your God.