Intro
Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with an encouraging word for your day. Starting in 2 weeks, I will be spending several weeks on the subject of Loving Like Jesus. Last year, we did 7 weeks of concentrated study on our own” Love Project”, which encouraged us to walk in love, and exhibit the 7 main characteristics of a loving person. So as a review and follow up, we are going to spend this week being encouraged and motivated to walk in love and demonstrate love as a way of life through generosity. Be encouraged today! We can make a lifelong impact on our world by loving others by having a spirit of generosity.

Monday
This week we will be talking about the amazing foundational principle of generosity that accompanies a loving life. Whenever I think of the most loving and giving person I know, I can’t help but think of God himself. What a giver He is! Because He is Love, His whole nature is to give. Giving and loving definitely go hand in hand. As we look at generosity this week, I want us to consider ways that we can give ourselves to others. Generosity involves money, but it is much more than just money. Generosity is giving your attention, your time, your abilities, your compassion, or your money freely to others. When we think about how much we have freely received from God (Matt 10:8), we can be a conduit that continues the cycle, and show God’s generosity to others. So how can we give of ourselves to others. One of the greatest ways to begin being a more generous person is to begin developing a spirit of generosity around your life. When given the opportunity to give, determine to contribute what you can. That could mean opening your heart to the needs of others. Begin looking at your own stuff, and notice extras that are excess, or just take up space. One of the easiest places to do this is in your closet. Do you have something that you don’t ever use that could be a blessing to someone else? Why not give it to them! Another area is in our garage, or storage unit, if you have one. Why do we store an extra couch, or whatever, when someone we know might need one right now. Generosity does involve developing a giving spirit, but it also means we develop a heart for helping and serving others. How can what God has given to me, be a blessing to someone else, can be the question we ask ourselves regularly. The one foundational scripture that probably all of us can quote that gives us the best example of the love/generosity connection is John3:16. For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son……..God so loved, that he gave. We can show love, and sow love, by giving. Let’s keep our eyes open, and let’s expect our hearts to be enlarged as we develop a spirit of giving.


Tuesday
This week we will be talking about the amazing foundational principle of generosity that accompanies a loving life. If we truly are committed to making love a way of life, we will be people of a generous spirit. Generosity is giving your attention, your time, your abilities, your money and your compassion freely to others. Jesus said in Matt 10:42, that even giving a glass of water to someone who is thirsty would be rewarded. I love the simplicity of that thought. Giving of ourselves doesn’t have to be extravagant to get God’s attention. He is watching us to see if we are watching others. Are we sensitive to the needs of others? Do we notice when someone needs something as small as a bottle of water that will quench their thirst and meet a physical need in their life? God notices! We think He just notices the million dollar gifts, or the ones that man applauds. God sees when we give in small and in big ways. The most important thing He notices is the attitude of our heart. If we are looking for the world’s applause with our generosity, that is all the reward we will get. If we are looking to be a blessing, and don’t care if anyone notices, our reward will be great. The greatest reward for living generously is eternal, but the immediate satisfaction, and gratification that comes from being a blessing to someone else, is a feeling that is so wonderful, it is hard to describe. So how can we experience that wonderful feeling of joy on a regular basis? Why not become a regular giver? We can creatively think of ways, every day, to give to others. What are some creative ways you can give of yourself daily to those you love? It can be as simple as an extra hug as you become more generous with your affection, or handing your spouse a $20 bill and telling them to buy something for themselves that day. Operating in a spirit of generosity really has amazing results. Not only are you blessed as the giver, but someone else receives a blessing as you give. Why not determine to develop a generous spirit, and be more generous with others than you ever have been before.

Wednesday
Yesterday we talked about developing a spirit of generosity in our lives. As we talk about generosity as one of the foundational principles of making love a way of life, I gave you the opportunity yesterday to begin finding creative ways to live a more giving life. Have you noticed when you do give that joy and energy accompanies your giving? There is something that happens on the inside of us when we give from the heart with an attitude of love. It is a feeling of satisfaction that the world can’t take away! Besides just seeing someone else be blessed, we get to experience the rewards of improved relationships that bring and energy and enthusiasm that nothing can replace. So let’s be ready, willing and on the lookout for ways we can give to others. Here are two things to think about when it comes to giving our “stuff” away to bless someone else.

1) Most of us have much more than we need. Ladies, just look at how many shoes you have! I know there might be a few of you who just have 3 pair, but generally speaking, many women I know have more shoes than they will ever wear. Men, perhaps you have extra tools in your garage that might bless a young carpenter, or maybe there is even an extra car in your garage that could be a blessing to a single mom, whose own car is on its last leg (or tire!). Crisis centers can always use blankets, pillows, sheets, and you might have extras you can give. So number 1, find where you have extras or excess, and bless someone else.

2) Hold things loosely. Too often our early possessions become more important in our lives than they should be. What “thing or things” in your life hold a spot that is too tight. Sometimes it can happen honestly, we get our grandmother’s china and are furious if anyone chips it or, God forbid, would drop and break it. We have given the china place of honor because of our grandmother’s memory. Without realizing, we can damage the spirit of someone in our life, because we hold more tightly to the china, than we do to the relationship. Let’s value relationships over “stuff” and keep developing a generous spirit.

Thursday
Today as we talk about developing a generous spirit, and become more loving and giving person, I want to encourage you to think about the gift of time. You may have heard it said that kids spell love, T-I-M-E, but really, everybody spells love T-I-M-E. In today’s culture, time is one of the most important things we can offer someone. To give of our time is to give of a portion of our life. Let’s look at some ways we can give time to others. By….

Getting to know you- Until you take time to know someone, you are not likely to help them.

Asking good questions- Taking time to ask deeper questions helps build relationship and show that you value the other person.

Being a good listener – Offering a listening ear can go a long way in bringing hope and help to those who are hurting.

Spending family time – Being generous in offering time to our families is an important step in giving. The urgent things in your life, may not be the most important.

Sacrificing time- You are the only one who can decide how to invest your time. If we have our hearts set on giving, we’ll be looking for opportunities where we can give the gift of time to someone else.

So look at your schedule, look at the priorities in your life, look to the big picture, and make some changes if you need to. The next thing to look at is what are your time wasters? Are there things that just drain your precious time that you could eliminate? You can probably think of a few right off the bat. You can’t say your kids or your spouses!!! They are worth your time! Think of things that pull you away from those important people in your life. Could it be the phone, the tv, the computer, or video games? If you log the time you spend on these daily, you might be surprised on how much extra time you might find to go kick the soccer ball with your son, play cards with your kids, or take your spouse on a date. Don’t forget how important giving of time is to the quality of your “love” life. Let’s make generosity with time a way of life!

Friday
Today we are going to look at generosity in a different light. When we think of generous, we usually think of money, but we can show love by being generous with our abilities. The fingerprint of God is in your life, and God has gifted each of us with talents and abilities that He wants us to use to bless others. We can look to the big picture and see that the purpose he gifted us how he did is so that we can build the kingdom of God. His expression of love in you, can be your expression of love to the world! So what is it that you are gifted at? What are you good at, and what do you like to do? You can be generous with your gifts you give to others. I get to see it all the time in a church setting where people give of their time and volunteer to minister to others….from greeters, to ushers, to altar workers, to the hospitality team, to the interns, to the Bible Study and Life development class leaders, to the children’s workers, to the office volunteers, to the grounds maintenance. There are people that give hours each week to make everything that happens in church run smoothly. They are using their gifts and abilities, to bless others, and to bless the kingdom of God. That is an act of generosity. What happens as we do that, wherever we give our time, is that we experience satisfaction. When we realize we are called to love, we can find ways to use our abilities, beyond the context of our job. To find the best fit in the secular world for a job, often begins with finding your God given abilities and then funneling them into a career. Then we can use what we are gifted at, not only to earn a living, but to bless the world! Your generosity can go way beyond your job. How can you be generous with your abilities? What can you do? Can you read to children or the elderly? Can you help single men learn to cook? Can you rake leaves? Can you organize a tornado? Can you……fill in the blank! We all can be generous with our abilities and show love as a way of life.

Saturday Eword for Kids
Whenever I think of the most loving and giving person I know, I can’t help but think of God himself. What a big, huge, amazing giver He is! Because He is Love, His whole nature is to give. Giving and loving definitely go hand in hand. As we look at generosity this week, I want you to consider ways that you can give of yourself to others. Generosity involves money, but it is much more than just money. Generosity is giving your attention, your time, your abilities, your compassion, or your money freely to those around you.

Generosity is a demonstration of love.

Money is a part of your life, and will become even more so as you get older. Your job as an adult will be about making money to provide for your needs.
Here are some questions for you:
How do you earn money now?
Do you mow grass, rake leaves, or do chores?
How do you spend the money that you do make?
Have you decided to be a tither even as kid?

That is when I started, and it was a habit I developed that I have continued throughout my life.
Can you be more generous? We all can! Find ways to be a giver all the time. You can start simple by giving your brother the bigger piece of pizza.

Can you help others with your generosity? It helps others, but it helps you too! That’s the best part of generosity. It blesses you more than anybody! So determine to be like God, and be a great, big, amazing giver!

Sunday
When it comes to generous living, giving of actual money is a very important element. God set up the system so that we live under the umbrella of blessing when we give back to him from what he has given us. It is called the law of sowing and reaping, or the principle of the farm, or the seed. What you sow will grow! As Christians, who have the ability to work, love calls us to invest our energies into making money so that we can provide for the needs of our families, and have more than enough to give away. How do you determine what to give away? The Bible makes it very clear that the tithe, or 10% belongs to God. He gets the cream off the top, and we should order our lives to give that first. Our expenditures should never exceed our income, after we have given our tithe and offerings, and put away a percentage for saving for the future. That is not common thinking in our world. Many people live paycheck to paycheck, and then put on credit cards whatever extra they need. That is part of the reason the world is in the financial mess it is today. As Christians, let’s be good stewards. Let’s give God what is his, and use the rest wisely. If we want the ability to be generous with our money, we must be good stewards! We must make decisions based on Godly priorities. When it comes to actually making a decision of where to sow your offering (remember the tithe goes to the storehouse – so 10% goes to your church- the offering is above the tithe), here are some simple criteria. Because there are so many good causes you can give to, think big picture. Here are two really good questions to ask. 1) Is the organization I am giving to based on Christian principles? 2) Do they use any of the money I give to support things I don’t believe in? When we answer these questions we can give generously to those who really will benefit from our gifts. We can increase in our generosity and make love a way of life.

Intro
Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with an encouraging word for your day. In the coming season, I will be spending several weeks on the subject of Loving Like Jesus. Last year, I did 7 weeks of concentrated study on our own love project, which encouraged us to walk in love, and exhibit the 7 main characteristics of a loving person. So as a review and follow up, we are going to spend this week being encouraged and motivated to walk in love and demonstrate love as a way of life. Together we can make love a way of life, and positively change our world. Here is encouraging word about humility for today.

Monday
This week we will be looking at the characteristic of humility as one of the foundations for making love a way of life. How can you be encouraged to be humble? The Bible does tell us to humble ourselves before God, and in due season he will lift us up. So asking God to humble us isn’t the right way to go about it. We are to humble ourselves. Humbling yourself becomes something that we can do when look at this definition by Gary Chapman in his book, Love as a way of life. He says a new definition of humility is a peacefulness of heart that allows you to stand aside in order to affirm the value of someone else. I think all of us long for that peacefulness of heart! I know that there is a peace in God that the world doesn’t know about or even understand. It is something that goes beyond our natural comprehension. Because from the world’s perspective, we think peace comes from the outside in. From what we know as believers, we know that peace and any real change in our life only comes from the inside out. So instead of standing up and making ourselves look good, we do the opposite. We stand aside in order to affirm the value of someone else. We give them the opportunity to tell their story. We let them shine. In fact we can shine our light on them. When people feel valued, significant things can happen in life. Potential is increased, value is added and spirits are lifted. When we can help someone else feel valued, we are making love a way of life. And that is out goal. Let’s really live this out. Let’s put it into practice and be who we say we are! We are disciples of Jesus Christ, and the world will know us by the love that we show. So, instead of trying to get all the attention for ourselves, we are giving it away, and letting other people shine. That is an act of humility, and that is one way we can make love a way of life.

Tuesday
We are looking at humility this week and an excellent scripture about humility is in Phil 2:3, 4. It says Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interest of others. The next verses go on to say, our attitude should be like that of Christ! When you think about the humility of Jesus, coming to earth, becoming like us , so that he could take our place, I can’t help but think about the great example he put forth. He was love defined, and became humble to show how far His love would go. It would go to the garden of Gethsemane, up the hill of Golgotha, to the place of the skull, where he was crucified, and then to the depths of hell to triumph over the devil and his demons on their turf. Then he blew out of the grave, and rose again from the dead, all because of love. His demonstration of love to step down, so that we could step up, was the ultimate act of humility. Loving us required sacrifice on Jesus’ part. He was willing to do that not just to enhance our lives, but to give us the opportunity to receive his gift of salvation, and become a new person, and receive all that he died to give us. When we look at the demonstration of love, how Jesus demonstrated love as a way of life, we see that humility is a necessary ingredient. We can do like he did. When we choose to step down, so that someone else can step up, we are choosing the way of love. We are saying we value someone else enough to help them to go to their next level. We want to be that kind of encourager in someone else’s life. As we begin this week, think of some ways you can demonstrate humility that is proof of love working in your life. Shine your light on someone else, and make them look good. Jesus did that for us, let’s do that for others!

Wednesday
When we are making love a way of life, it is important that we acquire the habit of humility. How can humility be a habit? Just like any other habit we acquire, we make a determination that when given the opportunity we will give attention to someone else, instead of bringing it back to us. We can begin doing this as whenever we feel like we are wanting attention, by changing our attitude and asking someone a question about themselves, and then sincerely paying attention to their answer. Sometimes we can be so self centered that we think the world revolves around us, and our lives. Here’s a news flash!!!! IT DOESN’T! As much as we think everyone should put our needs first, we really are not any more important that the other 6 billion people on the planet! Who do we think we are? I know that may sound harsh, but to live in humility, like our greatest example ever, Jesus, we have to quit thinking so much about ourselves, are really begin to think about others. How can I help someone else? How can I be a blessing to my spouse? How can I let my kids know how much I value them? Those kinds of questions get our mind off of us. One of the lines in one of my husband’s songs says just that….get your mind off of yourself, and on to somebody, else, show them Jesus, by living to give. We could change the words for this week, and say, show them Jesus, by loving through humility. Sometimes, we need to look even further, and say there is a needy world out there that doesn’t have what I have, doesn’t know what I have access to knowing, and hasn’t heard about this wonderful loving God that I serve, and humility will take us out of our comfort zone, and lead us to serve someone. It could be in our own neighborhood, or it could be across the globe. Let’s be the ones who affirm others. Let’s be the ones who step aside in order to affirm the value of the people around us. Let’s be the ones who step down, so that someone else can step up. That’s humility and that is love in action!

Thursday
Part of humility is just being aware of those around us. Keeping our eyes open, and recognizing the needs of others can be an act of true humility. When we set aside our own concerns and consider what it might be like to be in another person’s place, we are making love a way of life, through humility. We have all heard the saying about not judging someone else until you have walked a mile in their shoes. One of the things that I have become so much more aware of since we began The Love Project is that everyone is fighting some kind of battle. So often we don’t see it, or we don’t know about it, but that doesn’t mean it is not happening. There are wars that happen all the time in the minds of those we are around. Whether it be them trying to reconcile past mistakes, or past abuse, or relationship challenges, work issues, self esteem or worth struggles, each person we meet is dealing with something. How can we as people of faith, who want to show the love of God to everyone we meet be able to lay down our own struggles, and begin to help someone else. What is the coolest thing about God is when we do look past our own issues, and reach to help someone else, very often we see our issue from a whole different perspective. It definitely seems smaller, and often just the very act of helping someone else, brings us to a place of humility where we see how blessed we are. We don’t have it nearly as bad as we thought we did. In the very act of helping someone else, we are saying, we will step aside so that you can step up. We will have that peacefulness of heart that allows us to stand aside in order to affirm the value of someone else. So wherever you are, be aware of those around you. Keep your eyes open. Be ready to help someone else. You’ll not only bless someone else, you’ll get blessed in the process too.

Friday
Have you wondered what is the difference is between true humility and false humility? Here are three thoughts that often accompany false humility...

1) Look at me! As we mature, we allow our actions to fade in the background and we don’t worry if no one applauds them. Ask yourself this question next time you perform an act of humility. Am I doing this for something in return? Am I doing this for attention? Or am I doing this as an act of love
2) Finding a new focus- A person who goes around saying, I’m not important, I’m a nobody, what I think really doesn’t matter, forget about me, may appear humble at first, but really could be trying to get attention. Ask yourself these questions - am I doing this for attention, do I really want a compliment, or for someone to think I am important?
3) The right motivation – True humility is sensitive to what actions would be most helpful to others. The goal is not to gain merit for ourself, but to foster the well being of someone else.
That often takes sacrifice.

So let’s think about those ideas, are you the kind of person who is looking of the attention of others? Are you looking for something in return? Are you just asking for a compliment? Or are you truly thinking about the needs of others. We can become Christlike in a world that is self centered. That is one of the attributes that will draw others not only to you, but to Christ in your and that is the evidence of the Love of God being lived out in your on a daily basis. You can make love a way of life, through true, authentic, humility.

Saturday eword for kids
I’m sure you don’t hear people talking about humility too often, but it is something that Jesus talked about that we should try to do. Humility is really the act of stepping down or aside, so that someone else can step up. We can do that in our homes, at school and even at church. We can make the decision to let others look good. I like to think of it this way, we can shine our light on others, so that they can look even better. When we operate in humility, there is a peacefulness on the inside that no one can take away. We are demonstrating the love of God and it empowers us to live like Jesus did. He was humble enough to step aside from heaven, come to the earth, and save us, so that we can be a part of his family. That is humility to the greatest extent ever.
This week, why not see how you can begin to help someone else by letting then shine their light. Don’t try to one up them, or to show them up, but let the love of Jesus shine through you as you recognize their value, by letting them go first, or letting them tell their story, or letting them have the right answer.
We can demonstrate love as a way of life by walking in humility. Try it this week, and see how true the Bible is when it say, when you humble yourself, God will lift you up.

Sunday
Here are some important things to think about when it comes to living a life of love through humility. Do you realize that everything you are and have is because of the people in your life? Sometimes we get high minded and think that we deserve what we have, or that we worked hard for it, but really as believers, the proper credit goes to God. His hand of blessing is on our life….without him we would be nothing. How about this thought. My knowledge is limited. Even the wisest among us hold only a small percent of knowledge in our little brain! In light of our great ignorance, how can we be so prideful! That brings humility down to where the rubber meets the road! How about this thought, I am utterly dependent on something outside of myself for life. Everything we have is a gift, including your next breath. Pride is reliance on our own abilities, humility means recognizing how dependent we are on the power of God on the inside of us. So if those thoughts didn’t bring you back to a place of humility, think about this. Where would you be in life if you would forgo your owns rights to be of benefit to others? What if you used your talents, abilities and status in life to help others succeed? Would your life look a lot different that it does today? Certainly our mind wouldn’t be on ourselves nearly as often as they are. Let’s look once again at how Jesus told us to think. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should not look only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Those are words we can chew on, and digest to begin to operate in a greater degree of humility, so that we can make love a way of life, every day of the week, every week on the month, and every month of each year.

Intro
Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with an encouraging word for your day. In the coming season, I will be spending several weeks on the subject of Loving Like Jesus. Last year, I did 7 weeks of concentrated study on our own love project, which encouraged us to walk in love, and exhibit the 7 main characteristics of a loving person. So as a review and follow up, we are going to spend this week being encouraged and motivated to walk in love and demonstrate love as a way of life. Together we can make love a way of life, and positively change our world. Here is your encouraging word about courtesy for today.

Monday
Have you seen the plaque that says “Be nice or leave”? My sister has one right by her back door and it cracks me up every time I read it. It is a reminder to have good manners at her house. This week we continue The Love Project, we are talking about courtesy. If you have ever had someone in your life who mistreated you on a regular basis, I’m sure that saying would be on your door too! Courtesy in relationships can make life much more pleasant. All the time, we are faced with angry people, people who are on edge, and truly people who are going through things we may never know about. You come across discourteous people everywhere, from the work place to Main Street. When we walk in love, we can become like a healing balm in tough situations. We can be courteous when others are rude. We can make a difference in our world, simply by our reactions. The new definition of courtesy from Gary Chapman’s book, Love as a Way of Life, that we will be looking at this week is this: courtesy is the act of treating everyone as if they were your personal friend. To be courteous, means to be friendly minded. Everyone we meet can be a potential friend, and is worthy of our friendship. They are someone who is worthy learning about and knowing. Every person has value, and as a person who is making love a way of life, you recognize it. Unfortunately, there are people who don’t treat their friends very nicely. There are people who don’t treat their families very nicely. But for the most part, if we value really value the people in our life, and really want to authentically love those we are in relationship with, courtesy is a valuable and necessary characteristic that we can model. Courtesy is a habit we can aquire, and we can learn to speak, act, and live courteously. As we begin this week, I challenge you, to listen to your words, watch your actions, and observe your own life. Can you get better in the area of loving authentically by being courteous. I know we all can. As it says in I Thes 5:15 we can be kind to one another!

Tuesday
This week the foundation of love we are talking about is courtesy. Courtesy has to do with our words, our actions and how we live our life. I Thes 5:15 tells us to make sure to be kind to one another and to everyone else. It isn’t talked about too often, but kindness and courtesy will get us very far in life. We live in a dog eat dog world, where people feel like they have to walk all over the next guy to get to the top. God’s system is exactly opposite. His Word tells us that when we humble ourselves, He will lift us up. Humility is next week’s topic, but it goes hand in hand with being courteous. We don’t have to be pushy and rude to experience success in life. God is our promoter, and walking in his ways, and obeying His commands will reap fabulous benefits in our life. Sometimes the biggest competitor to courtesy is busyness. Just in everyday life, we don’t have time to hold the door for someone else, or to help the elderly unload something from their cart to their car, or to give up our space in line for someone who has fewer items than us. It really boils down to overloaded schedules a lot of the time. So if we really want to operate in the foundational characteristic of love that demonstrates courtesy, we have to evaluate our schedules. Many of us are trying to cram way too much into one day. I would have to say guilty as charged! My own daily agenda can make me so focused on accomplishment, that good manners and courtesy are way down my list of priorities. Well, I know we all can do much better. Let’s begin today. Look for ways where you can become a more loving person by being more courteous. We can learn to express common courtesies to the people we love most, and even to those who we don’t know. Let’s start at home today. What do you think your family relationships will be like if we become more courteous right in your own house? Thank you and please are never out of date. Asking how you can help a family member, instead of demanding their help will make your home a much more loving environment. Why not start today!

Wednesday
In yesterday’s encouraging word, I challenged you to start operating in courtesy at home. Courtesy is one of the foundational characteristics of love that we are developing in the Love Project. Let’s get even more specific today. How can we take I Thes 5:15 that tells us to make sure to be kind to one another, and show courtesy in our closest relationships? Can you begin adopting attitudes of courtesy in your own home? Let me list a few and you think about each one.
How about letting everyone have their own voice? Never speak for each other
How about being a good listener? You can show empathy, just by taking time to listen
How about asking directly for what you want? Children and mates cannot read minds, don’t beat around the bush, so be direct, in a courteous way.
How about when you have a conflict, focus on finding a solution rather than being the winner.
If you need or want something, how about making requests, not demands?
Before you make a request for change, give two or three compliments to soften the conversation.
And here may be the biggest one….once a failure has been confessed and forgiven, don’t bring it up again.

As you were thinking about each one, I’m sure at least one of them hit close to home. It is amazing that even the tone of voice we have when we say something can make a request sound like a demand. The Bible says that a soft answer turns away wrath. When we make the choice to speak courteously with our voices in a soft tone, we will often stop arguments before they even start. We want our homes to be places of peace, not a war zone, and that can begin changing as we lower the volume. Another area of courtesy that hits very close to home is giving others your full attention. With the distractions that we have in our lives with TV, computers, cell phones, radios, and other chaos going on, to sit a listen, eye to eye can, with an open heart, can be a way of showing courtesy in our homes. So turn down the volume, and turn up your heart receptors! Let’s make love a way of life at home!

Thursday
Today we are going to talk about ways that we can develop an attitude of courtesy. If we really want to be known as Christ’s disciples, love will be at the core of who we are, and the foundational characteristic of courtesy will be part of who we are. Here are 9 ways that you be more courteous.

1) Seize the moment – Courtesy means acknowledging the presence or efforts of someone else. It can be as simple as remember birthdays, anniversaries, and sending thank you notes. Why not send a card to someone to encourage their day, or to let someone know you are praying for them while they are ill.
2) In the car – If we treated the person in the car next to us as our personal friend, driving would be a whole different experience! Pretend they are your friend, even if they have been rude to you.
3) Be a good neighbor – Courtesy is a synonym for being a good neighbor. The ones we live around can benefit from us being courteous to them.
4) On the cell phone- Learn that the person in your presence is more important than a call you might be receiving. Using courtesy about where and when to speak on your phone is important too!
5) Make the right choice – It is more satisfying to act in courtesy than to react in anger. It also takes less time and less energy in the long run. Treat annoyances as opportunities for grace.
6) Receive graciously – Courtesy is just saying thank you and being genuinely thankful when you are given something.
7) When giving bad news- Unpleasant things happen in life, be courteous even when we have to inform someone of something unpleasant.
8) Asking for forgiveness – We all make mistakes. Courtesy calls for us to put ourselves in the other person’s place, and to apologize in the most loving way.
9) Paying attention – When we are not tuned in to other’s conversations or actions, we are telling them by our actions that we don’t think they are valuable.
Put some of these into practice in your life today. We can make love a way of life everyday!

Friday
Today as we look at courtesy as one of the foundational characteristics of love, we are going to discuss practical ways to speak with courtesy. We’ve discussed attitudes of courtesy, and actual ways to demonstrate a courteous response this week. Today we are going to talk about speaking with courtesy. As we well know, the words we speak have the power of life or death. We can lift and build, or we can devalue and destroy with the words that come out of our mouth. As disciples, who are known by our love, our words should always be to lift and encourage. We should practice courtesy with our words. Here are some practical ways to do that.
1) Be the initiator of a conversation – Find some common ground with someone and start a conversation. You are saying to them that they are valuable, and worth knowing.
2) Give undivided attention – When you make eye contact with a person, your mind is less likely to wander, and you are communicating that you value the other person.
3) Listen for understanding – Take time to discover what the person is trying to communicate before you respond. When you do disagree, express your views as a friend or as a team mate, not as an enemy or someone who is trying to win.
4) Soft tones turn away wrath – the Bible says just that! When we raise our voice, or name call, or use harsh, condemning words, we are not operating in courtesy.
5) When you disagree, do it gracefully – We can reject ideas, without rejecting people.
6) Apologize when needed – it’s not too late to apologize! When we do speak rudely, a sincere apology will deepen and mend a relationship rather than destroy it.
Let the words of my mouth be courteous oh Lord! We can say that and pray that, and live it!

Eword for kids Saturday
Hi kids, today we are talking about courtesy as one of the attributes of love. Do you know that courtesy or good manners can get you far in life! I know you don’t have a manners class at school, but maybe we should have one here. I know when I was growing up, there were certain things that I was taught to do, and not to do to be courteous. Maybe your parents have taught you the same things. Here are some reminders:
Always say thank you!
Always say please!
Don’t talk with food in your mouth!
Ask permission before using someone else’s things
Don’t take the biggest piece, or go first unless someone says you can
Try every kind of food. Don’t reject any food without giving it a try
Knock before entering a room
Work first before play
Treat your relatives with respect
Take turns without complaining and whining
Don’t interrupt – if you need someone’s attention and they are talking, our signal is for my kids to touch my arm if it is really important.
No caps at the dinner table….come properly dressed too
Look people in the eye when you talk to them
Ask to be excused from the table
Clean up after yourself
Be kind to everyone
Treat others like you like to be treated

That may seem like a long list, but those are just common courtesies. Your family might have other specific guidelines, but if you start practicing just those, you will be way down the road. Courteous people are better drivers, get better jobs, keep cleaner spaces and are more pleasant to be around. It is not too hard to begin becoming more courteous, and having better manners, especially with God on our side, and His love on the inside of us. Be blessed this week as you show courtesy to everyone you meet.

Sunday
As we look at how we can be more courteous in our relationships, it is becoming more evident that courtesy takes time and effort, and really begins when we decide to be selfless. In a selfish world, we are going against the grain. But Christians should be distinctly different from the world, not in a flaky or obnoxious way, but we should be the most loving and courteous people around! As we finish talking about courtesy, I want you to think about these things. Do you agree with these statements?
1) All people are valuable. That applies to every race, every age, and every station in life.
2) All people have the potential to be a part of positive relationships. Do you believe that people can change their behavior? Even if they have been a knot head or irrational, can God really change people’s lives?
3) All people are facing some sort of struggle. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once said, “Every man has secret sorrows, which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.” Faces don’t always or even often tell the story of what is going on inside of a person.
4) All people need love. What the world needs now, is love sweet love! We do need to be loved. It is one of the basic human needs in life. Let’s be lovers!
5) Everyone’s life can be enriched by courtesy. Even the most discourteous people you run across can become softer if they are treated courteously.

I hope you know that you are valuable and that you can have positive relationships. If you are facing difficult circumstances, I want you to know that circumstances can change! God is for you, and I believe in you. God’s love is here for you, and it is in you to show to others. Courtesy can change us, and those we come into contact with. Be encouraged today!

Intro:
Our church family is participating in The Love Project, a church-wide initiative designed to learn together how to show love better to the community around us and to each other. This is week 4of a 10 week study which is teaching us keys to connect meaningfully with people around us, and make a lifelong impact in our community by loving others! Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with an encouraging word for your day. As we continue this journey, thank you for joining us. Together we can make love a way of life, and positively change our world. Here is your encouraging word about forgiveness for today.

Monday
This week as we look at forgiveness as one of the 7 powerful characteristics of a loving person, I want you to consider what forgiveness does not do.

1. It does not come easily
2. It does not remove all the consequences of wrongdoing
3. It does not immediately restore trust
4. It does not remove the offense from one’s memory

What does forgiveness do? It brings reconciliation and closure when it is received. Most importantly, it brings release to the one who gives it. So we know that offering forgiveness can really be a challenge, it won’t make everything right overnight, or restore trust immediately, and certainly the mind will try to hold on to the negative memory as long as possible. So is forgiveness worth the effort it takes? Most definitely!! When we make the choice to walk in forgiveness, we are putting love to the test. Do I love enough to make this right? Do I love the other person enough to make this right? Do I love myself enough to make this right? For the believer, our answer gets to be yes! Sometimes forgiveness happens one small scoop at a time, in other words, to take the whole mountain of pain down at once can be overwhelming. It can happen supernaturally, but most often, forgiveness begins with a choice to forgive, and becomes reality as each time a thought of the person who did you wrong comes to mind, you choose forgiveness once again. We once had a huge mountain to forgive, when an employer we trusted, stripped our livelihood and our reputation through false statements he made about us. Heartbroken, we had a choice. Does this man deserve forgiveness? In our minds, not for how he treated us. But did we know we would forgive? Yes Did it come easily? No. Did it take time? Yes. Did the relationship ever get restored? No. But forgiveness was necessary, and it brought healing to us. We were released from the evil accusations completely. And it was up to God to take care of the rest. Forgiveness may not come easily, but definitely worth the effort for peace in your life.

Tuesday
As we look at forgiveness as one of the 7 key characterisitics of a loving person, I can’t help but think of how forgiveness can change the world. I don’t know how often I have been in a store and have had someone bump into me and there is no acknowledgement on their part even to ask for forgiveness. Especially in foreign countries, and particularly in large cities, manners kind of go out the window. It is pretty much every man for himself….hold your ground, and stake your claim. Being the kind of person I am, I will say I’m sorry whether I was the one who accidentally bumped someone or not. One thing we have done with our kids when it comes to forgiveness is this. First you say you are sorry, then you ask the person, “Will you forgive me?” Because this isn’t standard practice in many homes, when the question is asked, “Will you forgive me?”, often the person doesn’t know how to respond. In our minds, as parents, we think this helps to solidify in our kids that forgiveness isn’t just a sloppy, “I’m sorry”, with the tone, “I’m sorry I got caught”, but it really is an act of forgiveness, and true repentance. How are you at asking, will you forgive me? There are so many times when we have the opportunity to show that we love, by being the first to ask for forgiveness. How hard is that to do? For some people it is excruciating. For others, it comes easily, because they have chosen to walk in love, cover things in love, and let the love of God on the inside of them really be authentic. So this week, why not do a forgiveness check. Are there things holding you in bondage because you have not forgiving someone? Do you want the chains of unforgiveness wrapped around your life? Or do you want to be released and have the opportunity for reconciliation. Let’s be lovers - with God’s kind of love – and forgive.

Wednesday
Would you say that you are a forgiving person? As we look at forgiveness as one of the seven characteristics of a loving person again today, I’ll ask the question again. Would you say that you are a forgiving person? According to Gary Chapman’s book called Love as a way of life, there are three things that will help you become more of a forgiving person. Here they are:

Forgive yourself – Self condemning words and actions are self destructive.

Apologize for your own failures in relationships – get real, you contributed in some way.

Have an authentic attitude of love toward others – be open to forgive, no matter how long it takes.

I have observed, in general, that women often can be the hardest on themselves when it comes to forgiveness. They can be lavish in their love and forgiveness of others, but they will keep on kicking themselves for years over past mistakes. Women and men, need to say, it’s in the past, I’ve admitted my part in the situation, I’ve asked for forgiveness, so leave it there. It is under the blood. Jesus died so we can be forgiven, so I can forgive me. Once we get past that hurdle, being truthful and not coloring or sugar coating our own contribution to the problem can be the next issue. Of all the counseling I have done, it is becoming increasingly evident, that there is always another angle to the story you are hearing. The other person involved sees it a whole different way. We do need to own up to our own failures and mistakes. Once we begin to make positive changes, stick to them. The third part that helps with becoming a more forgiving person is choosing to keep forgiving, even if it takes a while. I’ve noticed that sometimes, forgiveness is a daily choice that can takes persistence and time. In my own case, it took a year of everyday saying, I choose to forgive the person who wronged me. Almost a year to the day, when I thought about that person, there was not more knot in my stomach. I was totally released, and free. So are you becoming a more forgiving person? I know you can be, because of the power of the love of God on the inside of you!

Thursday
This week we have been talking about forgiveness as a characteristic of love. In any long term positive relationship, there will be opportunities for forgiveness. Misunderstandings occur, we can offend others, and we can do hurtful things. We can be the one who offended another, and sometimes that happens without us even realizing it. I’ve had someone come up to me and say I forgive you, and I had no idea they were not offended by me. That can happen when we innocently walk past someone without acknowledging them, or when they think I am thinking one thing when I am not. I have made a choice in my own life to be un offendable. I’m not sure that is a word, but there are times when there is the opportunity to be offended, and I choose not to get offended. That’s being unoffendable! Let’s always choose to walk in love. There are times to address hurtful situations, but we can be confident , that God will give the necessary grace to cover offenses. When we put ourselves in the other’s shoes, we can often see things from a totally different perspective and it changes the situation dramatically. To be un offendable, takes believing the best in people. It takes realizing that someone might be having a hard day. It takes an understanding that there are battles people are facing in their lives that we may never know about. It takes understanding that hormones, emotions and pain can make people do things that they don’t mean to do and say things they don’t mean to say. It takes love! It takes forgiveness! It takes the Word of God on the inside of us to keep our mouths and our hearts lined up with God’s thoughts and actions. We know that His thoughts are higher than ours, but we can walk the higher road, and begin seeing things how he sees them. Life and relationships deserve our forgiveness. Let’s become mature in our relationships, and make the choice to forgive. We have that power available through Christ, let’s be the best forgivers on the planet!

Friday
What is more powerful than a heart that is set free. As we conclude this week talking about forgiveness as a characteristic of a loving person, I must say that there is such great joy in seeing someone released from the chains of the past when they decide to forgive. It is such joy to see the joy come back to one who has held onto past hurts, and chooses to let them go. Seeing people set free is one of the greatest joys of serving in ministry. With the unspeakable things that are in the past of some of those we come into contact with, we can understand the forgiveness dilemma. The questions and the blame and guilt can be overwhelming. But we serve a God who can turn situations around. What has happened in the past, does not have to color our future. We can walk free. In Christ we are free to be everything God desires for us, regardless of our past. What a great God we serve!
As we close out this week, remember these powerful words of forgiveness:
I’m sorry
I didn’t mean to disappoint you
I will change my actions
I will forgive you
I will release you
I will love you.
These forgiveness words can change your world. When we learn to give forgiveness and receive forgiveness, we are demonstrating the characteristics of a loving person, and that is who we are called to be!

Eword for Kids Saturday
This week we are talking about the power of forgives as a characteristic of love. It is easy to love some one who loves us, isn’t it? It is simple to do that! What is harder is to still be nice and loving to those who don’t treat you well. Did you know that we can return good for bad, and demonstrate forgiveness as a loving person? When someone mistreats you at school, the easiest thing to do is to try to retaliate, and to treat them badly too. What love does is the opposite. What love does is determine to choose the right thing to do, even when everyone else is doing wrong, and even when it is hard. We can begin practicing forgiveness in little ways, and offer apologies even when nothing deliberately was done. Can you easily say these words?
I am sorry
I wasn’t thinking
Please forgive my behavior, my actions, my words
Will you forgive me?
Those words can make every relationship better. When others are unkind to you, or mistreat you, because of the love of God in your heart, you can say
I forgive you
I release you
I will choose to love you.
That’s authentic love, and true forgiveness.
You are capable of being the loving and forgiving person God has called you to be!

Sunday
Today , we are looking at the power of forgiveness as a characteristic that should be a part of our life. The world seems to be catching on to what the church has known for a long time, and that is that forgiveness isn’t for the other person, it is a complete release for you. Forgiveness is finding freedom from the grip of anger. I really like Gary Chapman’s new definition of forgiveness. It is using honesty, compassion and self awareness to reconcile with someone who has hurt you. Everyone of us have had the opportunity to walk in unforgiveness, because everyone of us have been hurt by someone in some way or another. When we choose to forgive, we are releasing the power of love to cover over a wrong that was done to us. When we address relationships, there is always the potential for misunderstanding. As well as you can know someone before you marry them, (the more the better, I would say) after you say I do, there are still going to be areas where you will misunderstand each other. It happens in marriage, it happens in friendships, it happens at work, it even happens at church. People get offended, and sometimes will even borrow someone else’s offense and begin to walk in bitterness for the wrong that they perceived was done to them or the one they love. In life, perception really is everything! Can we as the body of Christ get past those kinds of situations? I believe we can, and it flows from choosing to love, and then choosing to operate in the characteristic of love which is forgiveness. Because we are believers, we have had the greatest example of all when it comes to forgiveness. Think of Jesus on the cross saying, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Think of Jesus being betrayed, and then breaking bread with his followers that same evening, knowing that his betrayer was in the room. The acts of service and love that Jesus did just at the last supper and the cross are some of the greatest examples we can find of how to make the choice to forgive. Jesus operated in love….the greatest lover of all time was the greatest forgiver of all time.

Intro
Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with an encouraging word for your day. In the near future, I will be spending several weeks on the subject of Loving Like Jesus. Last year, we did 7 weeks of concentrated study on our own” Love Project”, which encouraged us to walk in love, and exhibit the 7 main characteristics of a loving person. So as a review and follow up, we are going to spend this week being encouraged and motivated to walk in love and demonstrate love as a way of life through kindness. Be encouraged today! We can make a lifelong impact on our world by loving others.

Monday
This week we will begin looking at the seven characteristics of a loving person. In a world where we are taught to look out for number #1, we are living in an opposite world when we begin to think about others first. This week we will be looking at Kindness as a characteristic of a loving person. A great definition of kindness is discovering the joy of helping others and the joy of meeting someone else’s need before your own, simply for the sake of relationship. A question we want to begin with is this: Would others classify me as a kind person? Do I look for ways to show kindness each day, or am I always looking out for number 1, and letting the chips fall where they may. Sometimes that answer is not clear cut, because if you are like most people, kindness is easier when you are not in a hurry, and when things in your life are good. We say that as Christians we are not moved by what we feel, but we generally are. If we didn’t sleep well, kindness is out the window. If we are in pain, or discomfort, or overstressed, kindness doesn’t come quite as easily. But kindness is a habit we can acquire, and have operate in our life whatever circumstances we are in. It comes along with being selfless. Selfishness centers everything on me. How I am feeling, how rushed I am, how others should treat me. We can begin asking those same questions about someone else. How are they feeling, are they rushed, can I treat them well, and help them in their day? Kindness really does begin with thinking about others more. It can start at home with those you live with. It can be a great avenue for your home life to positively change to be a more loving environment. Amazing what a little kindness can do.

Tuesday
Kindness is the first characteristic of a loving life that we are studying this week.
Kindness really is a great way to show God’s love to our world. It has great potential to change us from the inside as we begin to think about other’s care and comfort more than we do our own. Sometimes the biggest change we see is a change of attitude, and that is a great place to start. During this series, we are hoping to make love more obvious to the world around us that we are believers. Believers should be known specifically for one thing, and that is love. So as we talk about kindness this week, I see it as beginning to put love in action. We are not hearers only, we are doers of the Word! Love is an action, and definitely when we show kindness we are acting in a loving way. We live in a world with lots of injustice. We get to be the ones who start to turn the tide. Let’s not be the one who walks past an opportunity to show kindness. Begin right where you are, and start being observant to the world around you. Open up your eyes, and in the normal processes of life, you can begin demonstrating kindness by the little kind things you do, all the time. Your life will have a whole different feel when you begin to notice or recognize someone else’s needs. We will learn that kindness isn’t only a response to others being kind to us, but us proactively being kind to others. In fact, a great definition of kindness from Gary Chapman’s book Love as a Way of Life is this: kindness is discovering the joy of helping others and the joy of meeting someone else’s need before your own, simply for the sake of relationship. Will kindness have an impact on your relationship? You bet. Why not start showing kindness today?

Wednesday
When we look at all the characteristics of love, kindness rates high on the list. One great way to show kindness is through words. We can speak hope filled, positive, truthful and affirming words of love through kindness. Encouraging Words are my passion! How can your words bring hope? Sometimes just the simple words, it will all be ok, can bring a great measure of hope to someone who is in desperate circumstances. Kind words should be positive and uplifting. We know God turns negative situations around all the time. Our words can begin that process in someone’s life. Kind words are truthful. We are told in the Bible to speak the truth in love. It can be challenging, but we can speak truth in love. Kind words are affirming. I’m always encouraged and affirmed by words that uplift. We do need to put a guard on our mouth, we do need to listen to what we say and how we say it, and we do need to replace negative words with positive words. Being kind is all about seeing value and worth in each person. Kindness can be developed! You can break negative patterns and make changes just by being observant and taking time to think about what we say before it is said. So remember to speak those hope filled, positive, truthful and affirming words of kindness!

Thursday
Here is a good question to consider. How different would your relationships be if kindness was a quality of love that was practiced daily? I bet they would all improve! Bad Habits are the competitor to kindness. Bad habits can be things that we don’t do, like: leaving things out or not putting things away where they belong. What we say when we don’t take care of our own things is that we don’t care if we make more work for others. Often it is just laziness, and sometimes haste that keep us from being more thorough, but it makes things harder for someone else. Just consider the amount of work it takes someone at a restaurant to pick up what you may have dropped on the floor, to scoot your chair in, and to clean the table up. We think that since that is what they do for a job, we can leave a mess for them. That isn’t the kindest thing to do. We do need to consider kindness! Think about that at home too. When it comes to the simple things, show kindness by having good habits! Make it a good habit to take care of your own things. Do a little extra. Offer to help out. Be kinder than necessary! Good things happen when you show kindness….you usually get kindness in return.

Friday
Pay it forward was a popular movie several years back that had a great message. When you receive a kindness from someone, pass it on to someone else. Instead of paying you back, you’re paying it forward. Kindness generates kindness. Have you noticed how true that it? When you make a choice to show kindness, even if it is not reciprocated, it make some sort of impact. Sometimes it is as dramatic as shock and disbelief, but often it is just thankfulness. People are genuinely thankful when a kindness is shown to them. If you look back in your own life, I wouldn’t be surprised if somewhere in your past you have a vivid memory of someone being kind to you. My dad received a Steinway Grand Piano in an inheritance from someone he had been kind to. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for my dad, in fact, he was one of the kindest men I’ve ever known. He was always thinking about the underdog, and he was an encourager by nature. The awesome inheritance came to my dad because he would take time to show kindness to a mentally disabled young man, and his mom was so grateful she put my dad’s name in her will. She payed it forward. Is there some way you can do the same this week? Has someone helped you, or given you something, or made an impact on your life through kindness? Find a way to pay it forward!

Saturday
Kindness is the first characteristic of a loving life that we are talking about this week.
I’m sure you’ve seen people who act like this at school. You be nice to me, and I’ll be nice to you. We are taught in Sunday School and Children’s Church to be kind to one another. Your parents probably tell you the same thing, about your sisters and brothers. Be nice! It is easier to be nice to someone if they are being nice to you, but love tells us to be nice either way! So can you begin practicing kindness? I think you can. I know you might think that some people are just kinder than others, or that they got some special kind of kindness data input that you didn’t receive, but that’s really not the case. It can be from their environment. If you are around people who think about and care about others, you will definitely have a greater tendency to be kind. But even if you are not, you can start the kindness project this week! Kindness bring a smile to your face not only when you receive it, but especially when you give it. I hope you begin looking for ways to show kindness around you. Here are some easy ideas. Give genuine compliments, smile at people, help around the house without being asked, give someone else the last cookie, make an outsider feel like an insider….the list could go on forever! So now it’s your turn. What are you gonna do to show kindness to someone today? When you show your love to others, it does come back to you. So go and sow some seeds of kindness, and see what comes back in return.

Sunday
I hope you are beginning to think proactively about being kind all the time. To make it really practical, here are some simple ideas, or ways for you to start showing kindness to those around you!
1. Take every opportunity to smile at people
2. Remember the elderly, the mentally or physically challenged have additional
hurdles in life….try to help make life easier for them through kindness
3. Let others in line ahead of you
4. Be kind in traffic!
5. Give compliments!
6. Hold the door for others
7. Pay for someone’s meal or drink in the coffee line or fast food restaurant
8. Tip well
9. Call, text or email people in your world who might need encouragement

Never underestimate how much impact kind words can have on someone’s life. Always be looking for ways to affirm and value those around you. It is all too easy to do the opposite. We look for things that are negative naturally. We have to train ourselves to look for the positive and to use our words to say the kind thing instead of what might have come to mind initially. There is the power of life and death in what we speak, and kind words in any situation, have the power to change situations for the better.

Intro
During this month, I want to talk about the importance of giving God’s Word high priority. Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with an encouraging word for your day. From reading the Word, to taking time to study it, to meditating on it, and to memorizing and living it out, God’s Word is our guiding force. To make right choices, and to live the victorious life God has for us, let’s give God’s Word preeminence always! This week by talking about reading and studying God’s Word. Here is your encouraging word for the day.

Word for the Week: II Tim 3;16,17 Study to show yourself approved unto God…..

Monday
What does it mean to study the Word of God? I know lots of you read your Bible everyday, but do you know as Christians we are to study the Word of God as well? Remember the scripture “study to show yourself approved unto God”? The word study really is in there! When you study something, it isn’t just a casual read through. We should study the Word like we would study for a test. There might be a couple of them on on your journey!

What tools can make it easy to study? There are a couple of things I always use when I study the Bible. The most valuable tool to me is my concordance. I use a Strong’s Concordance, and it is fabulous. It is called an exhaustive concordance, because it is! Anything you need to find is in there. Additionally, there are all kinds of Bible helps available on computer, that I encourage you to use as well. A second thing that I always do is have something to write on or have my computer handy. When you receive some clarity on a scripture or a passage in the Word, I write it down. I would encourage you to write down your thoughts about what you have learned. Think about it, do some cross referencing which means finding other scriptures that say nearly the same thing, or relate in some way. Then do a word search to find other scriptures that have the exact word you are studying within them.

The greatest encouragement I could give you when it comes to studying God’s Word is to find a place to start. Why not make today the day you start studying to show yourself approved unto God. Then, don’t get down on yourself if you miss a day…..keep right on going! Make a plan, work the plan, and get ready to grow in God as you grow in your knowledge of the Word.

Tuesday
The Bible is a sharp sword….Eph 6:17, and a two edged sword as it says in Hebrews 4:12. Because not too many people we know use swords as weapons anymore (thank God!) those scriptures don’t have the same meaning to us as they might have to a new Christian who lived in the first century when a sword was an invaluable too. But even today, when cooking in the kitchen, sharp knives make life easier. A dull knife is just about useless, it makes things take longer and can even be dangerous because of the extra force needed to make even a simple cut. The Bible is a sharp sword! It has a point that gets to the point. As we talk about studying God’s Word this week, I think it is good to remember that the Bible is our best weapon against the enemy’s attacks. A good chef will sharpen his/her knives. A military man or woman will make sure they clean and care for their weapons. Even a hunter will make sure their arrows are sharp or their gun is well cared for. When we realize that we are in a war, but the weapons we fight with are not carnal as it says in II Corinthians chapter 10, it would be to our advantage to know our weapon. Knowledge requires study! We should become well acquainted with how the Bible is set up, why there is an old covenant and a new covenant. We should know who are the major men and women surrounding the most important person in the Bible - Jesus. It is great to know our weapon so that when we are attacked by the enemy, we have an artillery of scripture that can help us stand strong and not be shaken. Because we have studied, we will know the character of our God, and know how He operates and what He would want us to do in each situation. What great benefits we have from taking time to study His Word. Why not study your Bible today!

Wednesday
Yesterday we talked about the value of having the word of God hidden in our heart so that we can stand firm against any attack of the enemy, our adversary the devil. The Bible tells us to stand firm and be inflexible in Heb 10:23. We are to hold fast, tightly, rejecting all attempts of anyone who tries to steal it from us, not fickle in our commitment, but determined to be inflexible and unmoving in what we believe and confess as it says in another version of the Bible. Most of the time, it is good to be flexible. Certainly your muscles and joints feel better when we stretch them and are flexible. Dealing with people, we just can’t be pushy and inflexible when it comes to opinions and preferences. If you’re married you’ve certainly learned that being flexible enough to compromise is beneficial!!! Each opinion is important, and for peace in the home, we can be flexible. But when it comes to the Word of God, there should be no wavering. We stand firm! We will not be shaken! A huge key in having the ability to do that comes from reading, studying and meditating on God’s Word! Taking the time before an attack comes is so much easier than trying to read the manual during the battle. Advance preparation is key. So today remember this, we do have weapons to fight with, but they are not carnal. They are powerful, because they are our tools provided by our Heavenly Father to overcome in this life. The weapon is…..the Word of God. Read it, study it, be prepared to use it!

Thursday
It says in Col 3:16, for us to make God’s Word feel at home in your heart. Are you comfortable with it, and know it inside and out? In real estate, the mantra is location, location, location. I want to encourage you to find your perfect location in the middle of the Word! We can find our home and live and abide in the promises of God which are all wrapped up in His Word. On a daily basis we can have the freshly spoken word of God – the “rhema” become manifest in our lives as we read and study the building blocks or logos or foundational princples of God’s Word. Everything we do should be measured against the standard of the Word of God. Whenever we wonder about anything, we should find out what God’s Word has to say about it. When something comes out of our mouth, we need to make sure it lines up with God’s Word. A great question to keep in mind is …..where did you find that in the Word? So much of the time, we hear something repeated and because it sounds good, we take it for truth. But the enemy really finds joy in deceiving believers. The way to avoid deception is to be aware when God’s Word is being twisted or taken out of context, because you have knowledge of the context. When the Word of God is hidden in your heart, you won’t be easily deceived. The Bible tells us to pay attention to my word. All through the book of Proverbs, continually there is the admonition to pay attention to God’s Word. I want to encourage you the same way! Pay attention to the Word, plant the seed of God’s Word in your heart, and you will reap the harvest. Start planting today!

Friday
The Bible: God’s instruction Book….read it, follow it, live it! You’ve probably all heard the song that says the word Bible is an acronym for Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. I’m not sure who came up with that, but I think it is great. The time that having the Word of God planted deeply in your heart benefits us the most - is on this side of heaven. When we reach glory, we will be in the presence of the Word made Flesh – Jesus himself. So the Bible really is our manual for “doing life” on this planet. And truly the Word of God isn’t really complicated. The basics are pretty simple. When we love God with all of our heart, soul and might, and love our neighbor as ourselves we have summed up the whole book. Loving God is the easy part, sometimes we make the next part complicated. When we can love ourselves like God loves us, we can love others. When we take time to study the Word of God, we can learn the value God places on us, and begin to value and cherish what He has put on the inside of us. When we have love to give, everyone around us benefits. A great word study to do is to look up all of the scriptures on love. Study to find out how you can love more completely, and how love is supposed to act. You could probably take a year on that one word alone. We can get creative doing the Word. James 1:22 in the Greek means this: Put your heart and soul into finding ways to act on what you have heard. The NKJV says it this way, be a doer of the Word. The best way to do something is to know about it, to have read up on it, and to study it. So study away! To be an effective doer, get the Word of God planted deeply in your heart!

Saturday
Eword for Kidz
Do you know that starting a positive habit in your life when you are a kid has great advantages for the long term? There are lots of things that you can do in the natural realm that help you live healthy, just by developing a positive habit. How about the habit of getting exercise daily, instead of being a couch potato, or eating fruits and vegetables, instead of eating twinkies and drinking Dr. Pepper, or exercising your mind by reading or playing games, instead of watching tv or playing video games all day. One awesome habit to begin is to read your Bible everyday. What is so great about God’s Word is that it is jam packed full of wisdom, and it is full of life! The Bible tells us when given the choice between life and death, to choose life! So one way to do that is to read the Bible! It is great to have a reading plan, and be systematic, but actually, just getting the Word of God in your life any way possible will have tremendous benefits. The Word of God is a light to your path. It is wisdom for your life. It has the power to change your behavior. It gives your courage to face your fears. The list could go on and on. So why not read a chapter from the New Testament and a Psalm and a Proverb everyday. It will take you less than15 minutes, and you will gain more than you can realize. When you digest God’s Word, and make it a priority in your life, not only will you be empowered to succeed in the plan God has for you, but you will have mastery over the areas in your life that could have led you down a wrong path. So what kind of habit can you begin that will bless every part of your life? Read the BIBLE daily!

Sunday
I love the verse that tells us to study to show ourselves approved unto God, like a workman that doesn’t need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth. Most people as soon as they are done with school put study behind them forever. As Christians we are going to be life-long learners and life-long “studiers” of God’s Word. There is so much meat for us to digest, that truly in a lifetime, we can’t exhaust all the riches to be found in the Word of God. Each day as we read and study the Word of God, we are on a treasure hunt. What new “golden nugget” will we find today? What question in your life will be answered by taking time to read and study the Word of God? What preparation is taking place so that you can overcome any fiery dart the enemy may throw your way? What great foundation Pis being built so that when the storms of life hit, you will stand strong, and not be blown out of the water.

So how can we make reading and studying God’s Word a priority? One way is to put it in your planner. Make an appointment every day, just like you do any other important thing in your life. If you have a daily plan, you give yourself permission to take time to do something for yourself that is important. Probably most of you take time to exercise several times a week. (If you don’t you should!!!) Probably most of you go to church every Sunday to spend time worshipping God. (If you don’t you should!) Probably most of you take time to get to the grocery store to buy good healthy fresh fruits and vegetables at least once a week. (If you don’t, you should!!!) So why not make it a priority to eat some living bread, and drink some living water that will not only build your spirit, but give you wisdom and strength for your life. That sounds like something that is too good to pass up!

So make this commitment today. From this day forward, I will not only feed my body, I will feed my spirit. I will make sure that I nourish the most important part of me. My body is temporary, but my spirit is eternal. I will give God’s Word top priority in my life. I believe you can do it!

Intro
During this week I want to talk about the importance of giving God’s Word high priority. Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with an encouraging word for your day. From reading the Word, to taking time to study it, to meditating on it, and to memorizing and living it out, God’s Word is our guiding force. To make right choices, and to live the victorious life God has for us, let’s give God’s Word preeminence always! Here is your encouraging word about studying and meditating on the Word of God.

Monday
What does it mean to study the Word of God? I know lots of you read your Bible everyday, but do you know as Christians we are to study the Word of God as well? Remember the scripture “study to show yourself approved unto God”? The word “study” really is in there! When you study something, it isn’t just a casual read through. We should study the Word like we would study for a test. There might be a couple of them on on your journey! What tools can make it easy to study? There are a couple of things I always use when I study the Bible. The most valuable tool to me is my concordance. I use a Strong’s Concordance, and it is fabulous. It is called an exhaustive concordance, because it is! Anything you need to find is in there. Additionally, there are all kinds of Bible helps available on computer, that I encourage you to use as well. A second thing that I always do is have something to write on or have my computer handy. When you receive some clarity on a scripture or a passage in the Word, I write it down. I would encourage you to write down your thoughts about what you have learned. Think about it, do some cross referencing which means finding other scriptures that say nearly the same thing, or relate in some way. Then do a word search to find other scriptures that have the exact word you are studying within them.

The greatest encouragement I could give you when it comes to studying God’s Word is to find a place to start. Why not make today the day you start studying to show yourself approved unto God. Then, don’t get down on yourself if you miss a day…..keep right on going! Make a plan, work the plan, and get ready to grow in God as you grow in your knowledge of the Word.

Tuesday
The Bible is a sharp sword….Eph 6:17, and a two edged sword as it says in Hebrews 4:12. Because not too many people we know use swords as weapons anymore (thank God!) those scriptures don’t have the same meaning to us as they might have to a new Christian who lived in the first century when a sword was an invaluable too. But even today, when cooking in the kitchen, sharp knives make life easier. A dull knife is just about useless, it makes things take longer and can even be dangerous because of the extra force needed to make even a simple cut. The Bible is a sharp sword! It has a point that gets to the point. As we talk about studying God’s Word this week, I think it is good to remember that the Bible is our best weapon against the enemy’s attacks. A good chef will sharpen his/her knives. A military man or woman will make sure they clean and care for their weapons. Even a hunter will make sure their arrows are sharp or their gun is well cared for. When we realize that we are in a war, but the weapons we fight with are not carnal as it says in II Corinthians chapter 10, it would be to our advantage to know our weapon. Knowing requires study! We should become well acquainted with how the Bible is set up, why there is an old covenant and a new covenant. We should know who are the major men and women surrounding the most important person in the Bible - Jesus. It is great to know our weapon so that when we are attacked by the enemy, we have an artillery of scripture that can help us stand strong and not be shaken. Because we have studied, we will know the character of our God, and know how He operates and what He would want us to do in each situation. What great benefits we have from taking time to study His Word.

Wednesday
Yesterday we talked about the value of having the word of God hidden in our heart so that we can stand firm against any attack of the enemy, our adversary the devil. The Bible tells us to stand firm and be inflexible in Heb 10:23. We are to hold fast, tightly, rejecting all attempts of anyone who tries to steal it from us, not fickle in our commitment, but determined to be inflexible and unmoving in what we believe and confess as it says in another version of the Bible. Most of the time, it is good to be flexible. Certainly your muscles and joints feel better when we stretch them and are flexible. Dealing with people, we just can’t be pushy and inflexible when it comes to opinions and preferences. If you’re married you’ve certainly learned that being flexible enough to compromise is a good thing. Each opinion is important, and for peace in the home, we can be flexible. But when it comes to the Word of God, there should be no wavering. We stand firm! We will not be shaken! A huge key in having the ability to do that comes from reading, studying and meditating on God’s Word! Taking the time before an attack comes is so much easier than trying to read the manual during the battle. Advance preparation is key. So today remember this, we do have weapons to fight with, but they are not carnal. They are powerful, because they are our tools provided by our heavenly father to overcome in this life. The weapon is…..the Word of God. Read it, study it, be prepared to use it!

Thursday
It says in Col 3:16, for us to make God’s Word feel at home in your heart. Are you comfortable with it, and know it inside and out? In real estate, the mantra is location, location, location. I want to encourage you to find your perfect location in the middle of the Word! We can find our home and live and abide in the promises of God which are all wrapped up in His Word. On a daily basis we can have the freshly spoken word of God – the “rhema” become manifest in our lives as we read and study the building blocks or logos or foundational princples of God’s Word. Everything we do should be measured against the standard of the Word of God. Whenever we wonder about anything, we should find out what God’s Word has to say about it. When something comes out of our mouth, we need to make sure it lines up with God’s Word. A great question to keep in mind is …..where did you find that in the Word? So much of the time, we hear something repeated and because it sounds good, we take it for truth. But the enemy really finds joy in deceiving believers. The way to avoid deception is to be aware when God’s Word is being twisted or taken out of context, because you have knowledge of the context. When the Word of God is hidden in your heart, you won’t be easily deceived. The Bible tells us to pay attention to my word. All through the book of Proverbs, continually there is the admonition to pay attention to God’s Word. I want to encourage you the same way! Pay attention to the Word, plant the seed of God’s Word in your heart, and you will reap the harvest. Start planting today!

Friday
The Bible: God’s instruction Book….read it, follow it, live it! You’ve probably all heard the song that says the word Bible is an acronym for Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. I’m not sure who came up with that, but I think it is great. The time that having the Word of God planted deeply in your heart benefits us the most is on this side of heaven. When we reach glory, we will be in the presence of the Word made Flesh – Jesus himself. So the Bible really is our manual for “doing life” on this planet. And truly the Word of God isn’t really complicated. The basics are pretty simple. When we love God with all of our heart, soul and might, and love our neighbor as ourselves we have summed up the whole book. Loving God is the easy part, sometimes we make the next part complicated. When we can love ourselves like God loves us, we can love others. When we take time to study the Word of God, we can learn the value God places on us, and begin to value and cherish what He has put on the inside of us. When we have love to give, everyone around us benefits. A great word study to do is to look up all of the scriptures on love. Study to find out how you can love more completely, and how love is supposed to act. You could probably take a year on that one word alone. We can get creative doing the Word. James 1:22 in the Greek means this: Put your heart and soul into finding ways to act on what you have heard. The NKJV says it this way, be a doer of the Word. The best way to do something is to know about it, to have read up on it, and to study it. So study away! To be an effective doer, get the Word of God planted deeply in your heart!

Saturday
Eword for Kidz
Do you know that starting a positive habit in your life when you are a kid has great advantages for the long term? There are lots of things that you can do in the natural realm that help you live healthy, just by developing a positive habit. How about the habit of getting exercise daily, instead of being a couch potato, or eating fruits and vegetables, instead of eating twinkies and drinking Dr. Pepper, or exercising your mind by reading or playing games, instead of watching tv or playing video games all day. One awesome habit to begin is to read your Bible everyday. What is so great about God’s Word is that it is jam packed full of wisdom, and it is full of life! The Bible tells us when given the choice between life and death, to choose life! So one way to do that is to read the Bible! It is great to have a reading plan, and be systematic, but actually, just getting the Word of God in your life any way possible will have tremendous benefits. The Word of God is a light to your path. It is wisdom for your life. It has the power to change your behavior. It gives your courage to face your fears. The list could go on and on. So why not read a chapter from the New Testament and a Psalm and a Proverb everyday. It will take you less than15 minutes, and you will gain more than you can realize. When you digest God’s Word, and make it a priority in your life, not only will you be empowered to succeed in the plan God has for you, but you will have mastery over the areas in your life that could have led you down a wrong path. So what kind of habit can you begin that will bless you for your whole life? Reading the Bible everyday. Why not try it!

Sunday
I love the verse that tells us to study to show ourselves approved unto God, like a workman that doesn’t need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth. Most people as soon as they are done with school put study behind them forever. As Christians we are going to be life long learners and life long “studiers” of God’s Word. There is so much meat for us to digest, that truly in a lifetime, we can’t exhaust all the riches to be found in the Word of God. Each day as we read and study the Word of God, we are on a treasure hunt. What new “golden nugget” will we find today? What question in your life will be answered by taking time to read and study the Word of God? What preparation is taking place so that you can overcome any fiery dart the enemy may throw your way? What great foundation is being built so that when the storms of life hit, you will stand strong, and not be blown out of the water.

So how can we make reading and studying God’s Word a priority? One way is to put it in your planner. Make an appointment every day, just like you do any other important thing in your life. If you have a daily plan, you give yourself permission to take time to do something for yourself that is important. Probably most of you take time to exercise several times a week. (If you don’t you should!!!) Probably most of you go to church every Sunday to spend time worshipping God. (If you don’t you should!) Probably most of you take time to get to the grocery store to buy good healthy fresh fruits and vegetables at least once a week. (If you don’t, you should!!!) So why not make it a priority to eat some living bread, and drink some living water that will not only build your spirit, but give you wisdom and strength for your life. That sounds like something that is too good to pass up!

So make this commitment today. From this day forward, I will not only feed my body, I will feed my spirit. I will make sure that I nourish the most important part of me. My body is temporary, but my spirit is eternal. I will give God’s Word top priority in my life.

I believe you can do it!