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Diligence is doing what you do with an extra measure of excellence. Diligence is doing what you do with an extra measure of love.
stronger emotions result in tougher decisions and longer memories.
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition.”
Michelangelo’s maxim “Criticize by creating.”
Second, if you want it too much, you might want it for the wrong reasons.
If you want something too much, it’s often an indicator that you’re not ready for it. Why? Because it’s become an idol in your life. An idol is anything you desire more than God, and that includes God-given dreams and God-ordained callings.
one key to discerning whether a desire is God ordained is deciphering whether it waxes or wanes over time.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
most of us lose touch with who we really are and what we really want.
We let the expectations of others override the desires God has put in our hearts.
MacKenzie levels an indictment: “From cradle to grave, the pressure is on: be normal.”
The language of doors requires the gift of discernment, which goes beyond intuition based on accumulated experience.
Discernment is the ability to appraise a situation with supernatural insight. It’s prophetic perception that sees past problems and envisions possibilities.
we don’t interpret Scripture via signs; we interpret signs via Scripture.
faith is the willingness to look foolish.
the closed door equates to “released from” and the open door equals “called to.”
God closes doors to protect us. God closes doors to redirect us. God closes doors to keep us from less than His best.
delayed obedience is disobedience.
the effect of persuasion diminishes over time.
He speaks through memories of the past and dreams of the future.
I also believe in a God who dwells in the synapses of the brain and speaks to us at the level of thoughts, ideas, and dreams.
God speaks in dreams, and one of the dialects is mental pictures.
Sometimes God has to force us outside our comfort zones. We want Him to do something new while we keep doing the same old thing, but it doesn’t work that way. His voice challenges the status quo and nudges us in new directions.
the meaning of dreams isn’t always immediately discernible.
dreams are like doors: often one leads to another, which leads to another.
there are people we’ve never heard of, hidden figures, who have changed the course of history in ways we’re totally unaware of.
quit using your personality as an excuse! When you use your personality as an excuse, you no longer have a personality; your personality has you.
Confessing our sins to God nets forgiveness, but confessing our sins to each other is a critical part of the healing process.
The right word spoken at the right time can echo for eternity, and it starts with a prophetic ear.
“If you treat an individual as he is, he will remain how he is,” said Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. “But if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be.”
don’t let an arrow of criticism pierce your heart unless it first passes through the filter of Scripture.
If you live off compliments, you’ll probably die by criticisms.
Show me the people you surround yourself with, and I’ll show you your future.
Vision without timing takes a strike. Timing without vision swings and misses. It’s the unique combination of vision and timing that gets the hit.
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
Chronos is quantitative; it counts minutes. Kairos is qualitative; it captures moments.
Chronos time may be measured in minutes, but life is measured in kairos moments. Discerning those moments is part of hearing God’s voice.
We’re the beneficiaries of prayers we know nothing about. God was working long before we arrived on the scene, and He’s using us to set up the next generation.
We tend to think right here, right now. God is thinking nations and generations.
Our heavenly Father is far too wise to always give us what we want when we want it. He loves us too much to do that. Don’t settle for what’s expedient. Don’t settle for second best. Hold out for the best that God can give. Then hold on.
insomnia is sometimes a sign that God wants to speak to us.
God advertises His plans and purposes in much the same way. He patiently prompts us over and over and over again. And He often does it by using various languages.
if you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always gotten. To expect otherwise is the definition of insanity.
Don’t ignore those things that give you chills.
It’s impossible to calculate the full impact of anyone’s life because our influence outlives us.
Faith isn’t flying above the storm; it’s weathering the storm. It’s trusting God’s heart even when we can’t see His hand. It’s understanding that sometimes the obstacle is the way!
The best way to deal with pain is to verbalize it to the Lord. How? Sing over it. Sing through it.
You aren’t the mistakes you’ve made. You aren’t the labels that have been put on you. And you aren’t the lies the Enemy has tried to sell you.
All our identity issues are fundamental misunderstandings of who God is.
“Happiness is love. Full stop.”
