TAKING TIME TOCARE.

          " Taking Time to Care "

“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others,

faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10

Be intentional today to stand as one loved by God, with purpose and dignity.

Reach out in kindness to someone today and feel His love flow to you … and through you.

God’s love, given generously through you, has a way of coming full circle back to you.

You have much to give! Stand tall! His grace will shelter you and protect you.

His grace will fulfill you. His grace will enable you to step forward and not shrink back.

His grace will enable you to give CARE even when you desperately want to receive care yourself.

His grace is given to you in order to be given away.

Let His grace flow to you … and through you as you care in the ways He has made you to uniquely show His love.

It will fill you up in an unexpected way.

Four ways to show C A R E today …

C – Compassion = concern, kindness, consideration.

As you go through your day today ask God to show you where and how you can show kindness,

consideration and concern in a meaningful and simple way to someone on your pathway.

When you feel the nudge take the time to respond. Show consideration.

A – Appreciate
Show appreciation in an intentional and specific way to someone whom the Lord highlights

on your radar screen today. Be genuinely appreciative. Say “thanks”.

R – Reach Out
Don’t wait for others to take the first step to greet, speak, say or do something.

Be ready to reach out in the moment you become aware of the choice. Go first.

E – Encourage
It costs nothing to say a sincere and encouraging word.

Be aware today that you have the power of life and death in your tongue.

Bite your tongue when careless words want to spill out.

Ask God to fill your mind and heart with His goodness toward others.

Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. Use your words to build.

Prayer to help action CARE in your life:

Father God, Today my heart yearns for love.

To answer that yearning, please help me to extend CARE to those in my circle.

Let me feel Your lavish love toward me today and help me to pass it out.

May consideration, appreciation and encouragement mark my attitudes,

words and actions today as I reach out with Your love.

In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

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" Act of Positive Thinking "

 

Harness your positive power

A negative outlook usually leads to negative experiences, but taking an optimistic approach to life, 

and everything it throws your way, can reap dividends and lead to positive experiences. 

Some evidence even suggests that being positive makes us happier, and happier people generally live longer!

Be in control of yourself

The biggest difference between people is their attitudes. 

We can be positive or negative, and this is reflected in our enthusiasm for doing things, 

or our response to certain situations. Although you cant necessarily control the things 

that happen to you, you can control how you react to them. 

For example, if an accident holds you up on your way to work, you are likely to be late 

and quite possibly very angry — but getting angry is wasted energy. 

Have a coping mechanism or strategy — just accept you are going to be late and deal with it.

Dont dwell on the past

What is gone is gone, and how you deal with the aftermath is the most important thing. 

There is no point apportioning blame, either on yourself or others. You have the power to 

change a situation and move on. It is so easy to say ‘I should have done things differently 

with the benefit of hindsight. However, if bad things have happened, look at tomorrow 

at exactly what it is a new day  in which good things can happen, if you let them.

Get off to the right start

On waking, take some time to lie there and think about the day ahead and your feelings about it. 

Think about your attitude to each aspect of the day and consider if there is any part that you feel 

particularly negative about. If so, think about the best way to deal with the event in this situation, 

but more importantly, where possible, think about how you will manage in the future — is there a way 

of not putting yourself in this situation again in the future?

Enlist help

If there is any particular task that you really cant face alone, then enlist some help. 

There is nothing like getting someone else on board to help out to make you feel more positive 

about tackling a job be it at home or at work. 

You could even try enlisting the help of your family  dont be a martyr and end up feeling 

miserable about your chores and responsibilities.

Be pro-active

If there are things in your day that you are truly going to struggle to be positive about, 

try and work out what is it about them that makes you feel that way. Is there anything 

you could do that could change your attitude towards it? 

If you regularly dread your commute to work, then perhaps you could consider 

a different mode of transport. 

If it is your job that is the problem, then is it perhaps time to start looking for work elsewhere.

Carry happy memories

If you are ever feeling negative, nothing quite perks you up like a happy thought. 

Think of the positive times in your life and when you were at your happiest. 

You might be able to prompt your memory and happy feelings by carrying a cherished item 

or photograph, or even by listening to a favourite song with positive associations.

Tomorrow is another day

Aside from famously being the last line in Gone with the Wind, this truism should be used in your daily approach. 

However bad your previous day may have been (and you might be feeling your previous optimism didnt pay off), 

it is worth persisting rather than letting yourself turn towards your dark side.

Thinking positively is about making a commitment to yourself to get the most out of your day. 

It is about being enthusiastic, keeping your mind focused on important things and developing 

strategies for dealing with problems. 

The best advice is to do your best each day and try not to look back at things that 

happen to you along the way  just reflect on them in a positive learning way.

Of a person's mood, Abraham Lincoln once said, 'Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be'. 

It's up to you as to how you feel, and how you act. In turn, this will affect the way in which others react towards you. 

Remember, if you always do what you've always done, then you'll always have what you've always had.