Just a thought.

Working on my own heart tonight.  Assignment: Put yourself first.  This idea is 100% foreign to me.  I've jammed into my brain the idea to think of others before yourself for so long that I've forgotten how to love myself.  That's something that will put a lump in my throat.  Wheew.
(Painfully swallows)


-Proverbs 19:8

Whoever gets sense loves his own soul; he who keeps understanding will discover good.

and finally

 Psalm 37

Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. ...

New Self-assigned Task:

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Leviticus 19:18 (OLD Testament)
“Never seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone, but love your neighbor as yourself. 

Mark 12:31
The second is equally important: `Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” 

I am a naturally clumsy person.  That transcends into all areas of my life, emotionally, physically, and sometimes mentally.  But God also gave me the ability to love deeply, to find beauty where others see ugliness, to put someone at ease, and make a situation more comfortable.  He's given me a beautiful kind, loving family and breathtaking generous, loving, joyful friends.  

I have been given a beautiful life.  I delight in God's goodness tonight.  He has only done good to me.  Even when I am MOST undeserving, he still blesses me.

Reminds me of my earlier assignment from Luke 6:27-36:

²⁷ “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹ If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. ³¹ Do to others as you would have them do to you.   ³² “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.




My earlier assignment I gave to myself was to live out this verse.  It is one of the most difficult daily decisions I have ever had to make, because I have to chose to do so every moment.  Tonight, I delight in the Lord.  He is good.  He makes good creations.  He made us.  He loves us.  

 

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