Luke 4:14-30 says, "Jesus went to his hometown and no one listened to him because they were too familiar with him”. That is my paraphrase anyway. The line that you may know from that section says, “No prophet is accepted in his hometown” (verse 24). In other words, when things are always there, it is easy to overlook them or take them for granted.
One of the biggest challenges in life (I find anyway) is to keep looking at what you have instead of what you do not have. It takes some effort to see your blessings instead of your problems.
In church this week, I asked people if they could see the blessing of their friendships and their families. Then I told them that I was going to give them 30 seconds to get up and say something nice to the people around them. When I said, "Go" everyone jumped up and it was one of the nicest things I had seen in a long time! People were laughing, talking, hugging and smiling. It was not something that I had planned to do, but it was really special. For a moment at least, we remembered how much we really like one another and how much we would miss someone if they were not there.
A line from a Toby Mac song says, “You never know what you’ve got till it’s gone”. Well, I am going to make an effort to change that in my life. As this new week starts and I go back to my routine and my "familiar" stuff, I am going to try to see the good and not the bad. I am going to try to focus on my blessings and not just my problems. I am going to try to appreciate the familiar things in my life, instead of just overlooking them. I am going to try to know what I have before it is gone, because I think that may change how I live each day.
How about you?
One of the biggest challenges in life (I find anyway) is to keep looking at what you have instead of what you do not have. It takes some effort to see your blessings instead of your problems.
In church this week, I asked people if they could see the blessing of their friendships and their families. Then I told them that I was going to give them 30 seconds to get up and say something nice to the people around them. When I said, "Go" everyone jumped up and it was one of the nicest things I had seen in a long time! People were laughing, talking, hugging and smiling. It was not something that I had planned to do, but it was really special. For a moment at least, we remembered how much we really like one another and how much we would miss someone if they were not there.
A line from a Toby Mac song says, “You never know what you’ve got till it’s gone”. Well, I am going to make an effort to change that in my life. As this new week starts and I go back to my routine and my "familiar" stuff, I am going to try to see the good and not the bad. I am going to try to focus on my blessings and not just my problems. I am going to try to appreciate the familiar things in my life, instead of just overlooking them. I am going to try to know what I have before it is gone, because I think that may change how I live each day.
How about you?
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