I've experienced a disappointment this week, but DINO — Discouragement Is Not an Option. Why should you and I have Dino-like joy in spite of disappointment?
Disappointments create endurance. Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. (James 1:2)
Disappointments create patience.being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, (Colossians 1:11)
Disappointments create understanding of the Scriptures. For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. (Romans 15:4)
Disappointments create empathy. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. (2 Cor. 1:3-4)
Disappointments create faith.Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. (Romans 12:11-12)
Disappointments create hope.Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.” (Isaiah 49:23b)
Disappointments create kinship with Christ.For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. (2 Cor. 1:5)
Disappointments create greater glory. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. (1 Peter 1:6-7)
The problem is that our rebel can mistake any item on a to-do list as a rule. It can be perceived as a should, a have to, or a must which will really get our rebel's goat. My inner rebel seems to like doing anything BUT what is on a to-do list. That's why using something like The Now Habit where you schedule your leisure time can be very effective.
But if you have a really hardcore rebel like I do, you perceive doing something like scheduling your leisure time as a should, a have to, or a must and you don't want to do that either. Fortunately, there's a very simple solution: consider putting a question mark behind tasks that are likely to rankle your rebel.
Let's say your spouse has asked you to organize and clean a specific room or area of your home. (You're already in trouble, aren't you?) Instead of commanding your inner rebel to get busy on that tomorrow by noting:
Clean out spare bedroom
Notice the psychological difference the question mark makes:
Clean out spare bedroom?
The first is like an order from a drill sergeant, whereas the second is a suggestion from a sheepish subordinate. You still might not do it, but I would argue that you're MORE LIKELY to do it with the addition of a question mark.
I've mentioned before that I love Goodtodo because it's like every task has a question mark behind it. I can quickly and easily send tasks to alternate dates. Recently, I've created an Optional category as well. Adding tasks to that category is also like finishing them with the very respectful question mark.
Would you like to try using a question mark to help you GTD? 🙂
If you've ever Googled for reviews on health products, you've probably had the same frustrating experience I've had. You come up with page after page of sites that repeat the same staged review. Companies buy sites and throw up blogs or comparisons of products that suggest their gizmo "really works."
Today I found an excellent site I suggest you bookmark: Health Hound. Henry gives you the low down on the latest weight loss products and more with the added benefit of reading what hundreds, who have tried what you're interested in, have to say about it. I love how Henry keeps hammering away with truth, even when it isn't what we want to hear. Sounds a lot like someone else I know. His advice is free, too.
John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
George Mueller is one of my faith heroes. I have read several books about him and by him and continue to be inspired.
He wrote a small pamphlet called “Five Reasons Why Prayer Must be Answered.” George is known for receiving consistent and dramatic answers to prayer and as a result is a highly credible author on the subject. We can be confident pray-ers like George:
1) If we pray according to the will of God, we can be confident of answered prayer. “14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” (1 John 5:14)
2) If we ask in the name of Jesus and for His sake, we can be confident for what we ask. “14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (John 14:14)
3) If we believe He is able and willing to answer us, we can be assured that our prayers will be heard. “24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24)
4) If we avoid willful sin, we can be certain that the Lord will listen to our appeals. “18 If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;” (Psalm 66:18)
5) If we have a history of answered prayer, we can be sure that our God is the same God today. “7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?”
Lest you think that George was a man who believed that wealth, good health, and salvation for all were his for the asking, you should know that:
George gave up his earthly wealth to serve the Lord. The Lord provided for him in every way, but he had few earthly possessions.
George experienced chronic abdominal problems, though he lived a long life. George saw God using his periodic poor health for his good and the good of others.
George wrote that God “did not see fit” to confirm to George that his father was a believer before he died. Yet George continued to believe that God’s will was to bring many to faith through George’s work and testimony.
George was a sinner. Although George did not choose to call sin something else and did not knowingly and stubbornly engage in sin, he still led an imperfect, fleshly life. Even so, the Lord chose to bless him with an abundance of answered prayer. In other words, George’s standard for living is not too difficult for us.
George spent a great deal of time ascertaining the will of God. Before beginning a bold project and then asking the Lord for His blessing, he often spent months making sure he wasn’t pursuing something for his own purposes.
George often waited a long time before seeing the answers to his prayers and even experiencing significant trials as he did so.
Finally, if we want to pray like George, we ought to record our prayers. George was diligent to note the date he began praying and the date of the fulfillment of his request. Honestly, this is a practice I once had, but have let go. I hope you will join me this week in praying like George. If you haven’t read his biography or his book, The Life of Trust, I know you will be blessed to do so.
There is no meal plan, software program, or appliance that will cook for us, but that doesn't mean that these things don't help us get busy in the kitchen.
As you can imagine, every recipe in my house gets doubled. At least. Facing a giant bowl of batter to be made into individual cookies or muffins used to really drag me down. That's before I got the scoop. I am a big fan of Pampered Chef products because they are such high quality and completely practical. Unlike the vegetable decorating kit I once bought, my Pampered Chef products get used over and over again.
I have never enjoyed getting messy. Thus, I do not garden. My husband does. And my least favorite part of baking is the gooey fingers I get from sliding dough off a spoon or dribbling batter on its way to the muffin pan. The two sizes of scoops I purchased from PC make the mess a thing of the past. Not only that, but I get done baking so much faster. Yay! The large scoop is perfect for making big breakfast cookies pictured above (I sub Rice Krispies and chocolate chips and they're PERFECT) and for filling muffin tins. Pairing my scoop with my new habit of preparing breakfast and dinner together means we are starting the day with happy tummies.
What other kitchen tools make it easier for you to want to get cooking?
I’m a Christian psychologist turned homeschooling mother of six. My life can be a little crazy, so I look for sanity-saving ideas to use and share. I hope you’ll read my About page to learn more.
