I Choose Today...

I Choose Today to be an Affirmer

I have been reading a book with a friend called Balcony People, by Joyce Landorf Heatherley. In the book she talks about two types of people: evaluators and the affirmers. The evaluators are “people who either broke our spirits by their critical or judgmental evaluations. The affirmers are those who “healed us by their loving perceptive affirmations.” When I read these descriptions of evaluators and affirmers, my mind went right to the people who have been evaluators. Those people and the things that they said that crushed my spirit by their critical perceptive things they said to me or how they treated me. Those memories came quickly, with no effort on remembering them. The affirmers took a little more thought. But you know what? The affirmers were there too. The people who came alongside me to breathe life and love into me. Those who helped me recognize my worth and that I could heal. They walked with me on my healing journey. I believe God brings affirmers in our lives to walk with us, to encourage us in our faith, and to come alongside our healing and life’s journeys. I praise God for all the affirmers in my life past,

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I Choose Today to Nurture My God-Given Gifts

In Romans 12, we learn that the unique gifts God gives us reflect different facets of Christ’s character. Christ is the embodiment of all these gifts, and we, as His body, represent parts of Him. Romans 12:4-5 reminds us, “Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.” Each of us has a unique role, and together we form a complete picture of His love and purpose. To fulfill this purpose, we must first recognize the gifts God has placed in us. We need to cultivate and use these gifts to bring Him glory, growing them through discipline and commitment. God has given each of us a “bent” toward certain gifts, but it’s our responsibility to nurture and develop them into maturity so they can be used fully for His kingdom. I recently learned something that blew my mind—the manna God provided to the Israelites in the wilderness wasn’t fully made bread; it was a seed. Numbers 11:7-8 (NLT) tells us, “The manna looked like small coriander seeds, and it was pale yellow like gum

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I Choose Today to Number My Days

I once heard of a gift to give to a new or expecting parent. It is a jar of 6,579 marbles. Seems weird, but that is the number of days from the time the child is born until their 18th birthday. The idea is every day the parent would take out a marble. This signifies that each day is precious with that child. It gives a reminder to use the time with intentionality. Not to hurry their development, but to enjoy every day, every moment for the significance that they are. Just think if we had that type of jar for our lives. How would that change things for us? Would we treat each day as precious, important, or just keep on treating them like just any other ordinary day? Moses talks about this very thing in Psalms 90:12 when he prays, “Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.” Here he is asking God to teach him how precious life is and to give him the wisdom to use each day wisely, effectively, boldly, purposefully. Let’s face it, most of the time when we approach the day we do so with

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I Choose Today to Keep God Center

In the vastness of the universe, there is an order and purpose that holds everything together—a design that keeps planets in orbit and stars in place. Imagine if everything in existence revolved around one fixed point, a single source of strength and purpose. When God is at the center of our lives, He becomes that fixed point, the foundation around which everything else finds its balance and meaning. He is not just a part of our lives; He is the heart of it all, directing our steps, shaping our priorities, and bringing peace to the chaos. Living with God at the center means aligning our lives around His wisdom, love, and guidance, allowing Him to be the steady axis that keeps everything else in its proper place. There is a saying in the church community, “We live in a fallen world.” This means we live in a world that is overcome with doing evil, doing wrong, or worse yet, doing right in one’s own eyes. I recently heard someone say, the universe was meant to have one center in which the whole universe orbits around. This one center keeps everything aligned and orderly. The problem since (and the reason) sin

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I Choose Today: I am Enough

Do you, like me, ever doubt you are enough? I was spending time with God this morning and asking Him if I loved Him enough; if I did enough for Him. It was like I was insecure in my relationship with Him and trying to be worthy… enough. In that moment, when I was questioning my worthiness, He lovingly told me I was enough. I didn’t need to strive to be enough because I already was. He cares so much about you and me that He even knows how many hairs we have on our heads (Matt 10:30). Do you know anyone else who would want to know that much detail about you? He knows every single detail and says “you are enough.” Enough for Him to love. Enough for Him to send His Son to die so we may have an intimate relationship with Him. Enough for Him to use. Enough to be chosen, redeemed, seen. Enough to delight Him. Enough for Him to take the time to care. You are enough for Him. Zephaniah 3:17 tells us that “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in

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