Hope Filled Living

Choosing Hope and Cultivating an Inspired Life with Author, Mary Clewley

Approval Seeking/Day 38

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Day 38

Approval Seeking

Prayer: Father, as I grow in you, help me recognize approval-seeking behavior in my life. Help me to see myself through your loving eyes when I am in doubt of my own worth. When I feel uncertain, Lord, I will look to you. Amen.
Affirmation: I will take care of myself today, abandoning the need for approval of the person I have become. I understand my own value.
Describe some of the ways and areas you seek approval.
Give God thanks that you understand your own value.
Some possible approval seeking behaviors include:
Habitually asking for the opinion of others.
Denying our own needs to meet the needs of others (yielding).
Questioning yourself about encounters with others.
Trying too hard to impress others.
Being overly polite/accommodating.
Placating.
Conceding.
Patching up, making things ok, placating.
Unhealthy self-sacrifice.
Manipulation.
Provocative behavior/dress.
High need for attention.
Drama/exaggerated emotions.
My workbook notes on this topic…
Helpful Scriptures:
“Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.” Psalm 62:5
“I am the way, the truth and the life.” John 14:6
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27
“God chose you out of all the people of the earth as his cherished, personal treasure.” Deuteronomy 14:2

Recognize Envy/Day 37

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Day 37

Envy can help us to recognize the areas where we feel weak.
Prayer:  Lord, sometimes there are areas of my relationships with others in which I find myself filled with envy. I recognize that envy can be very dangerous to my spiritual well being, so I ask you today to use envy as an opportunity to help me better understand and address my own needs. Help me to see why I carry envy in certain relationships. Help me recognize areas of discontent in my own life, areas where I feel unfulfilled. Lord, I understand that those areas symbolize a void in my own life that only you can fill. Thank you for your mercy, God. Amen.
Affirmation: Today I will recognize areas of envy in my relationships. I will seize this opportunity to be more introspective about my own needs.
Admit areas of envy and describe how envy can be destructive to your well-being.
Some words to ponder…
“Self-love is the form and root of all friendship. Well-ordered self-love is right and natural—so much so that the person who hates himself or herself sins against nature. To know and to appreciate your own worth is no sin.” Thomas Aquinas
 
“The day of my spiritual awakening was the day I saw and knew I saw all things in God and God in all things.” Mechtild of Magdeburg
“The truly wise person kneels at the feet of all creatures and is not afraid to endure the mockery of others.” Mechtild of Magdeburg
Humility and reverence.
Kneeling is more from our hearts than our heads.
Our Lord Jesus oftentimes said, “This I am. This I am. I am what you love. I am what you enjoy. I am what you serve. I am what you long for. I am what you desire. I am what you intend, I am all that is.” Julian of Norwich
Scripture Memorization:
“But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.” James 3:14-16
“A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.” Proverbs 14:30
“Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” Philippians 2:3
“Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?” Proverbs 27:4

Start a Journal/Day 35

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Day 35

Start a Journal
Our workbook assignment today is to start the art of journaling, not only in the workbook, but to create another journal. I have chosen to use a prayer journal as an example.
Think about what it is you want to record. Name your journal. Take some time in your workbook today—to describe how you think keeping a journal may be beneficial to you.

 

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Keeping a Prayer Journal

I kept a prayer journal for many years…. I actually have a whole stack of journals, dating back to the nineties. I found that designating a specific journal just for my prayers was very cathartic. Whenever I had burdens on my heart, I could write them in my journal and spend time praying over them. Once I had written them down, I could leave them on the pages and move on. I would then go back and record what I felt God was trying to tell me through my prayers about the burdens I had put before him. My journals were not filled with just burdens but also the hopes and dreams that I had put before God, praying that they were aligned with what He had for me and for my life. I often go back through my prayer journals and I am always amazed at how God answered specific prayers and how certain situations played out. My journals have revealed so much about me and seasons I was going through and I can see personal and spiritual growth within the pages. You can start a prayer journal with any notebook or scrapbook. It does not have to be fancy, but it should be personal. It helps if you embellish it with your own unique style so that it becomes a sacred place for you to let go of emotional and spiritual weight. I also like to doodle in my journal…
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  1. Begin with prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit, your Counselor, to open your heart and guide you to the truth.
     
  2. Write what is on your heart. Start talking to God and share your joys, victories, desires, frustrations, anger, fears, hurts and heartaches with Him. Record scriptural and spiritual insights, revelations, strengths, weaknesses, your love and praise, goals, prayers, dreams, memories, and special events. See below for journaling prompts.
     
  3. Don’t worry about mistakes. Don’t be concerned about spelling, penmanship or content. Thinking too long about what you are going to write may hinder you.
     
  4. Listen and record. Record what God impresses on your heart. His voice will always line up with His written Word.
     
  5. Date every entry. To help you see the progress you have made, it is important to record the date of each journal entry.
     
  6. Use a highlighting pen. Highlight scriptures and words God speaks to your heart, so you can easily locate them in your journal to re-read later. Sometimes God speaks repeatedly trying to get your attention to warn you or prepare you for the future. 

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Cultivating Healthy Self-Discipline/Day 34

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Monday, February 3
Day 34

The workbook pages for today are about CULTIVATING HEALTHY SELF-DISCIPLINE…

How many of us lack the discipline necessary to complete a project, lose weight, eat right, exercise, develop a routine, or spend time in prayer? I do! But I am working on it… by working the steps each day in the workbook!

Here are some important things the Bible teaches us about discipline:

Hebrews 12:11
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Proverbs 25:28
Like a city whose walls are broken through
is a person who lacks self-control.

2 Timothy 1:7
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

What We Can Control/Day 33

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Day 33
Recognize the things you cannot control.
She walked down the long dirt driveway, daisies on each side, early morning birds chirping, the dew on the wheat grass. At the end stood a fairytale house… the pink and white palace my dad had built for her to wait for the school bus rambling down the dusty road each morning. I was 12 the year she was born. I waited on the grassy hill with my eight-year-old sister, anxiously– for my parents to bring her home from the hospital. We could hear oohs, ahhhs and laughter across the fields as my parents stopped to show their new gift to the neighbors.
I was there to experience many firsts with my new baby sister. First sledding, first ice-skating, first swim lesson, first puppy, first day of kindergarten, first friend, and first losses when our grandparents and uncle went home to be with Jesus. 
She was six. I was eighteen. She started school and walked to the pretty pink and white fairy princess house each morning to wait for the bus. I left for college. I remember saying good-bye. My heart ached. I longed for her everyday while I was away. She was the baby of seven adult children… and tired parents. They had already done six rounds of graduations, proms, birthday parties, boyfriends, first cars and first kisses. They had children in college, married children and grandchildren.
She sent me picture books—pieces of paper stapled together with stick figures drawn on each page…always stories of the two of us, holding hands. I have never overcome the feeling that I had abandoned her—I was eighteen… just starting my adult life.
How do you live your life knowing that a small child is waiting for you to come home? You swallow the lump in your throat and quietly forget. I still miss all the things I missed. She was eleven when I was married and moved away. We were always playing catch up. Lives out of sync, always trying to take hold… and slipping.
She was fourteen when I was pregnant with our first child. She came to visit with us for the summer. We set up a room for her and she begged to stay. “Please, let me live with you.” I had to let go one more time, swallowing the lump in my throat and quietly forget. Life is like that, perpetually holding on and letting go, swallowing hard and quietly forgetting… out of sync. All the hard places eventually wear smooth. 
I have a collection of rocks on my desk, gathered on special occasions when we have hiked or visited shorelines as a family. The rocks remind me that in order to have smooth edges, we must be tossed about, tumbled to and fro for for a few years. Eventually, our edges become round and smooth, worn with age. The ache in our hearts, sense of longing, sadness…  becomes smooth through the tossing and tumbling.
“The most tragic strain in human existence lies in the fact that the pleasure which we find in the things of this life, however good that pleasure may be in itself, is always taken away from us. The things for which men strive hardly ever turn out to be as satisfying as they expected and in the rare cases in which they do, sooner or later they are snatched away… For the Christian, all those partial, broken and fleeting perfections which he glimpses in the world around him, which wither in his grasp and are snatched away from him even while they wither, are found again, perfect, complete and lasting in the absolute beauty of God.” Peter Toon, Heaven and Hell: A Biblical and Theological Overview
Perhaps you are struggling with the things that you cannot control in your life. Struggle produces worry, which produces fear, which produces anxiety. We have the assurance of our Heavenly Maker that all of the losses, the things that bring great sadness to our lives, the areas we feel we don’t measure up, the good-byes will be “found again, perfect, complete and lasting in the absolute beauty of God.” When Christ comes again, He will restore everything we have lost.
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There won’t be any more death. There won’t be any grief, crying, or pain, because the first things have disappeared.” Revelation 21:4

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

Please, let me live with you… We are God’s children and He is waiting for us to come home. He longs for us to make room for him in our hearts and in our lives. The years of tossing and tumbling, angst… he swallows hard as we learn these lessons. He has been there watching over us in all of the firsts. He is the water that washes over the hard places and wears us smooth. 

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for helping me see that worry is not productive or healthy. I release all of my worries to you today. I rest in the comfort that no matter what comes, you will never leave me or forsake me. You are my refuge in the storm. I know you will see me through. Amen.

Affirmation: Today I will give myself permission to break free from worry. I will hand my worries over to God and recognize those things I cannot change.

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. 2 Thessalonians 3:16

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