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Kindle Notes & Highlights
Learning to ride a bike at first is completely unnatural. Once it clicks—the balance, pedaling, steering—it’s hard to imagine not knowing how to do it.
Jesus talks about taking up a challenge to live differently. It’s sort of like riding a bike. He wants us to live in grace and walk in love,
He wants to take our mind off of falling so we can pedal more fearlessly.
What if we simply commit to love?
If you have to choose between your plans and your loved ones, go with the sure thing and choose love. Who do you need to focus your love toward today?
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
The shaking, jerking, and rattling in our lives are telling us we’re getting close to the breakthrough.
God hopes we’ll develop a greater fear of inaction than of failure, because then, we’ll experience with wide-eyed excitement what it’s like to cruise, doing what we were made to do. Where is fear holding you back right now?
There’s no question that something awesome is going to happen. It might be a big success or an epic fail; the only question is how close you’ll be when all the fireworks go off.
Trusting Jesus is like watching a lit fuse; it’s only a matter of time before He’s going to do awesome things in your life. Quit playing it safe. Press the button.
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 1 JOHN 4:7
What is it that you’ve been planning without starting? You don’t have to take all the steps—just the next one.
It’s actually the best use of time to spend time with the One who created time in the first place.
He urged us to spend time with Him because He knew it would actually change everything.
Here’s the thing: we encounter God all over again every time we’re desperate enough to realize we’re not actually in charge.
As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. COLOSSIANS 3:12
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. JAMES 1:22
The power of love is in the sacrifice and commitment it requires.
Love looks like showing up with hands to help even when we don’t know what to do. Love looks like stopping by even if we don’t know what to say. Simply put, love doesn’t just think about it; love does it.
I want to tell them God gave them unique gifts and passions, and they’re free to run after all of them,
We don’t need to do what we’re merely capable of doing. The trick is to figure out what we were made to do
Ask God to show you what the newest version of you was made to do.
nicknames
So many of us were labeled by whatever it was that made us stand out, and the label stuck
remember what God calls us—He calls us His beloved.
God chose to put different parts of His image inside every single person, so we all reflect Him in unique ways.
remember that the God who spoke the universe into existence, who hears the thoughts you don’t speak out loud, says you’re beloved and you’re His. That’s His name for you.
Sometimes He makes lakes for us to dive in and other times He makes foundations for building our character on.
What hole do you have in your life that God can use to build deeper character in you?
What most of us long for, more than anything else, is a community where we can simply be known and loved. We want to be seen for who we actually are, not what we do or the person we appear to be.
If your schedule robs you of the joy of simply being fully present with the people you love, then it’s time to quit a couple of things.
it is in our pursuit of Him where we’ll find our greatest joy.
captivated with purpose,
We need to love each other without an agenda. Do it any other way and we signal to each other that others need to be like us to be liked by us.
The cost of acceptance is way too high if it costs people who God made them to be.
Instead of implying to people that they need to change in order to be welcome at the table, let them know they’re welcome just as they are.
You see, God’s more interested in where we’re heading with Him than all the places we’ve gone alone. He’s not that impressed with our flashy social media posts if those pictures tell a story of a life lived without Him.
He wants to surprise us with unexpected joys and spread love to others through us.
Success with Him has always meant simply living in grace and walking in love.
Fav Concept?
It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. EPHESIANS 2:8–10
Fav Verse
I’d rather have a couple of ideas fail than a faith that won’t try.
Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” LUKE 18:27
be more
They also will answer, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?” He will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” MATTHEW 25:44–45
But before He healed them, He saw them.
Of all the things Jesus did, I’m struck by what a miracle it was that He always had room for more.
He seemed to pick up friends wherever He went: some who were hungry, some who were hurting, and some who were on a hunt for a new identity. Wherever they were, when they came with humble hearts, He said they were welcome.
JANUARY 30 MOST OF THE THINGS JESUS ASKED HIS FRIENDS TO DO WERE SIMPLE, BUT THEY WEREN’T EASY. Follow me. JOHN 1:43
He said to bring people—even strangers—into your home so you can share your food with them around the table. I love this because tables feel like a great equalizer. We all sit side by side at the same height, eating the same food, passing the butter, and knocking over the salt.
make more room for love by getting your ego out of the way.
