This past year that I have stepped out to discover a life of faith for myself. I would like to share some of the golden nuggets I’ve gained along the way of my crazy amazing journey along the year of 2016. These things have not only changed my life but continue to refine, renew, refresh, enlighten, change, and breathe into my very being – as I hope they do the same for you.
That being said I invite you to search deeper, seek better, and become greater with me. Why? Because we are worth it! So here we go, 120 points of insight I’ve been given the past 12 months that can come to challenge us as we step into 2017. Shall they speak to us, inspire us, and ignite the flame within us to chase after God this year like we never have before. Here’s to January 1st, 2017, and every day which follows!
- Knowing about God is not the same as truly knowing God
- God speaks through everything
- God’s voice always brings life to you and others
- “Don’t be scared to fall, for I am with you”
- Pray with faith and know your authority in Jesus
- Be bold, what is there to lose?
- When we speak life, our life speaks
- Love is more than a feeling, its a choice
- There is no end to love
- The more we know God, the more we know ourselves
- What we believe about ourselves with supersede what we are capable of
- We are made in God’s image, we are children of a good father
- The more we give, the more we receive
- Repentance is not a condition to salvation, but a choice we make in the process of being sanctified
- We aren’t meant to do this alone
- Boundaries are healthy and beneficial to us
- The Lord is our redeemer, The Lord is our refuge
- Perseverance takes time
- We are set free from the prison of our own minds through Christ
- We are a working masterpiece, God is our master artist
- We are the co-author of our own stories
- Relationships are about what we can offer not about what we can gain
- Love is to seek the higher good for someone else
- The more we walk with the Lord the closer we get to discovering our destinies
- To have amazing faith our faith must remain active and alive
- God has the potential to change our lives every moment; it our choice to stay engaged
- There is always an opportunity to step into the unknown
- God places, knows, and values each and every desire of our hearts
- Hebrews 10:14 By one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified
- Through the cross we have been given forgiveness, healing, righteousness, life, blessing, abundance, glory, acceptance, and eternal renewal
- Letting go and letting God is always a good idea
- To be a light we must know the light
- The environment we pursuse should match up with the dreams we have
- To need God we must look to do the impossible
- God doesn’t want worthy, He wants available – we dont have to be worthy, just availible
- We can make our own plans and hope God blesses them or we can pursue the plans God has already made and has already blessed
- We shouldn’t compare our chapter 3 to someone else’s chapter 20, but instead get inspired by it
- Encouraging others can only do good – no harm in helping
- We have to choose to see the gold in other people
- We have the capability to deliver others from that which we have been delivered from
- We are responsible to obey God, we are not responsible for the outcome of that obedience
- Relationship is the soil for revelation
- God longs to restore our identity through a culture of honor and empowerment
- Guard that which is precious to you
- True value comes from knowing our identity in Christ
- We choose the world we live in
- Purity is a process (a process that’s worth it!)
- God continues to pursue a deep, real, and sincere love relationship with each and everyone of us
- God invites us to join Him in the work He is already doing
- We are predestined for purpose
- We are anointed to fulfill the purpose of that which we have been called to
- Whatever is feeding you will be the fruit you bear
- “If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me”
- Wake up every morning anticipating something great, and great will come
- Our job isn’t to change or people, but to love people where they’re at, and allow God to do the rest
- Humility breathes humility
- To lead well we must love well
- Don’t react to the storm, respond to what God wants you to do in the storm
- There are valleys, and there are mountains; there is potential for life to spring from both
- As we obey God and put Him as our reward, we will never lose our way
- We have been set free from condemnation
- Don’t try to be perfect, do try to be better
- God doesn’t change but is viewed differently among different parts of the world, the more we accept that the more we will see Him move in cultures that are not our own
- Approach the future being mindful of the past without being imprisoned by it
- To have a faithful friend, we first must be a faithful friend
- God’s timing is perfect
- God doesn’t give us anything we aren’t ready for
- What we are learning now can be used that we may thrive in whatever God has for us next
- Never give up
- Provide a platform for God to move
- We need to treat disunity as a crisis, because it is one
- God has called our generation into such a time as this
- Where there is darkness there is great redemptive purpose
- “Whoever holds onto his life, will lose it”
- Do not let anyone who is speaking out of a motive of fear, speak for you
- Hospitality is our strongest evangelistic strategy
- God is jealous for justice
- When we accept our weakness we are able to accept God’s uniqueness
- Be willing to forgive yourself
- If we’re going to do it, let’s do it to our full potentials
- We are meant to walk in fullness, not in fear
- There must be passion to persevere
- Knowing, learning, and loving diversity allows us to understand how it paints God’s bigger picture
- ‘The important thing is to be able, at any moment, to sacrifice what we are for what we could become’
- Let your dream become your occupation – that’s what it’s there for
- God is love, and love is the key to every lock
- Everyone needs a king like Jesus
- Seek out honest feedback and never stop learning
- Hold yourself accountable, and have other accountable people hold you accountable
- Everything we do influences someone in someway
- Since we are made in God’s image we have the capability to create, think, write, (etc.) something that no one else ever has before
- Every single person sees life through a different lense
- Our actions will reflect what we deeply value
- The best thing we can do is respond in a Christ-like way, no matter the situation
- Living a fruitful life is living a life of quality rather than quantity
- Let’s have people in outs lives who see us for what we could become while still appreciating who we are right now
- Serving others leads to self discovery and leadership development
- ‘You never graduate from the foot of the cross’
- Being God’s and being unique are the two best things we could ever be
- Our character is constantly being developed for either the better or for the worst – let’s choose for the best
- Life is made up of seasons and putting ourselves in context of our current season will help us gain greater perspective
- Keeping perspective is to view every situation through eyes of hope
- We need to give each other permission to be working on ourselves
- Value the individual
- Jesus asks us to make a difference in this world by being effective servant leaders
- Let’s allow God to call us to a higher standard
- ‘Take God beyond the compartment of your private spiritual life and give Him free rein in all your daily actions and relationships’
- We were created by community, for community (by relationship, for relationship)
- We are breathing parables, written by God himself
- ‘One man or woman with passion is equal to 99 who simply have interest’ -J.s. Mill
- God wants to be known as the relational God He is
- Live in accordance to the Word, and trust that it is God’s best for us
- When we worship God we become more Christ-like
- Communication is far beyond our words
- As we draw wisdom out of our experiences and we allow ourselves to never stop learning
- There is a deeper, greater, larger place God is trying to take us
- Comparison does nothing but limit our own self
- Be who God is calling you to be, not who someone else already is
- There is beauty in all things, and we will se if if we are willing to search for it
- GOD IS SO SO GOOD, NO MATTER WHAT
and that’s only a tiny slice of the cake…. Here’s to 2017!!!