Intro

Hope, joy, faith, peace and love. In the coming weeks as we expect, prepare, proclaim and reveal the reason we celebrate the coming of our savior throughout advent, we will take these simple, basic words and weave them into the reality of a baby born in a manger to bring God to us. Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with an encouraging word for your day, during the advent season. As we look at hope this week, I believe that you will be encouraged to put more and more of your hope in God. Here is your encouraging word for today.

Monday

Oh Come, oh come Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel. Whenever I hear this song during the holidays, I am always so thankful that we are not waiting for, or still looking toward, or still hoping for our Savior to come to earth. There are many who don’t know this truth. In fact there are people all over the world who are still awaiting the first arrival of their Messiah. But He already came! The prophesies of old were fulfilled. Our hoped for messiah has come. He is here! Emmanuel means just that, God is with us. The simplicity of a baby born in a stable, contained the magnanimous revelation that God is with us. No longer do we have to hope for Him to manifest, He is Here. What an awesome thought! The waiting and the search is over. He found us and now we can find Him! He came to us, now we can come to Him. He offered His life to us, now we offer our lives to Him. His love was demonstrated, so that we can demonstrate our love back to Him. He was a willing vessel, and God’s plan was perfectly executed because he was willing and then obedient to every part of God’s plan. You know the Bible says With GOD, nothing is impossible. The opposite of that is without God there are lots of impossibilities. But God is with us. He is here, so now what was once impossible, is possible. Hope can be manifested into sight. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. He has come. He is with us. He is here. Emmanuel.

Word for the Day: Isaiah 7:14 …A virgin will conceive and bear a son, and His name will be called Emmanuel.

Tuesday

During the time of preparation for a baby, Mary and Joseph were on a journey. It was unexpected for both of them. They probably had their life planned out a little differently than what was now happening. Their personal hopes and dreams had taken an unusual turn. They made their way on this long journey to Bethlehem, to do, of all things, pay taxes. Didn’t anyone know how inconvenient it would be for a pregnant woman to travel on a donkey during her 9^th month of pregnancy? Joseph and Mary weren’t quite prepared for this, but this was their reality. This is not what they had hoped for. Our earth journey is really preparation for heaven. Earth really is very short, and heaven is really very long. What we have to look forward to in and hope for in heaven is way beyond what we can imagine with our finite minds. What the young couple on a journey to Bethlehem had to look forward to, with God’s own son living in their home, was way beyond what they could have imagined. But they made room for Jesus. And when they did, God gave them a taste of heaven on this earth. When we make room for Jesus, He does the same for us. The kingdom of God is within us. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (Matt 6:10) The very presence of God, His life, His nature, and His ability resides in us, empowering us to make our earth life, a little bit of heaven. The very evidence of things we have hope for! He is giving us a foretaste of things to come. Yes, Lord, we welcome you. You are the one we have hoped for. What great preparation for an extraordinary celebration!

Wednesday

Be it unto me according to your word. This is one of my most favorite passages of scripture. It was said by a sweet young woman who had a big mandate on her life. Her name was Mary and she would become the mother of Jesus. She told the Lord when she was asked to do something way out of the ordinary, “yes Lord, be it unto me according to your word”. Those simple words she said, were words of hope for the world. Mary was willing to do whatever she had to do to see that Jesus would be born to the earth, to bring hope to everyone. Mary visited and stayed with her cousin Elizabeth who was also pregnant and would soon have a baby boy who would grow up to become John the Baptist. After speaking with Elizabeth, Mary sang this beautiful song.

My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant

From now on all generations will call me blessed

For the mighty one has done great things for me.

This humble servant girl had the most important thing God was looking for – a heart that was open and willing to do whatever He asked. Be it unto me according to your word, and The Mighty One has done great things for me. This holy season, let’s have that same attitude…be it unto me according to Your Word. Whatever assignment you are given, let your answer be a willing yes!

Word for the Day: Luke 1:37 For with God, nothing shall be impossible

Thursday

I once heard an acronym for the word Hope which has stuck with me. Honest Optimism Persevering eternally. Hope starts with honestly assessing where you are, and then realizing where you want to be. Hope is optimistic, and sees good in the future. Hope perseveres, and keeps on, even when it feels easier to give up. Hope doesn’t give up….it keeps on going, eternally if necessary. Hope sometimes gets a bad rap, but without hope, there would be nothing to shoot our faith toward! Faith is the substance of things we hope for. When we realize that Jesus himself, coming as a baby, was the substance of what the world was hoping for, we see that his life brings hope to us. We can live honestly, and optimistically realizing that when we do persevere until the end, we will see our desire manifested. When Jesus was manifested to the earth, everything we ever needed was delivered to us. He brought life, and not just average get by life. He brought life abundant. He brought life to the full and overflowing. So as we celebrate advent, and realize that our hope has been fulfilled in Jesus. He gives us hope for the difficult circumstances we may be facing in our own life. Is God big enough to handle them? He took on the whole world, so be confident, our God is able. Our God is willing, and our God wants you to overcome! Let’s be honestly optimistic and persevere eternally if necessary. Our faith will be sight….that is what we hope for.

Friday

Uncommon hope. In our world today, it isn’t uncommon to see people without hope. If we look only to the natural realm, things don’t look that great. The economy is suffering, many are jobless, and people everywhere are looking for an answer. During the season of Christmas, things can seem even more desperate for those without hope. One thing we know is that their answer won’t be found in the natural realm. In other words, the government won’t be their answer, a new relationship won’t be their answer, even a new job, or better job won’t be their answer. Jesus is the answer. He was the one the world was hoping for 2000 years ago, and He has arrived! Because of Jesus Hope should be common! As believers, especially those who know the truth, and live in truth, we should have hope abounding. The advent season is a reminder of hope for all the world. When it seems the darkest, the light will shine. When it seems like circumstances are overwhelming, God will make a way. When relationships bring disappointment, we are reminded that God never fails. I hope that encourages you today to be more hopeful than ever. Everythings we see in the natural realm is subject to change, but we serve a God who never does. He is always faithful. He gives us reason to be full of uncommon hope.

Saturday eword for kids

There is a scripture in Isaiah 1:19 that says if we are willing and obedient, we will eat the good of the land. We’re beginning a journey to Bethlehem, and this week is the first week of Advent we are talking about hope. I want you to think about what Mary must have felt like when she was told as a young teenager that she was going to be the mother of Jesus. When the announcement came to her through the angel Gabriel, she didn’t reply with “no way”, or “I don’t think so”. She said without hesitation, I am the Lord’s servant, be it unto me, just as you have spoken. Then she sang this hopefilled song and the Message Bible says it like this:

I am bursting with God news, I’m dancing the song of my Savior God

God took one look at me and look what happened

I’m the most fortunate girl on the earth

What He has done for me will never be forgotten.

Willingness and obedience in the heart of Mary led to great joy in her life, and a new song in her heart. She was pregnant with Jesus who would bring hope to all the world. God looks at our heart, and loves to see in you a willingness to obey. This advent season, set your heart to obey willingly – your parents, your teachers and especially God’s Word. When we do, we set in motion the opportunity to be a blessing to others. Maybe your obedience will help someone else have hope for their own life.

Word for the Day: Isaiah 1:19 If you are willing and obedient you will eat the good of the land.

Sunday

Sometimes you don’t just get what you expect, you get more. That would definitely apply when it comes to the birth of Jesus. When Mary was told that she would be the birth mother of a holy child named Jesus, she probably had no idea of what that all meant. The “world” was looking for and expecting a Savior, and she was expecting baby, still cradled in her womb. This baby was the darling of heaven deposited to the earth. He was sent to bring Joy to the world!She had great expectations for this baby, yet I am sure her wildest imaginations were exceedingly, abundantly, surpassed.

The phrase that Mary spoke when the angel first told her the news of her impending pregnancy was….. “Be it unto me, according to your Word. May it be just as you have spoken.” That phase should be the joy filled theme of our life. Whatever you want Lord, be it unto me, according to your Word. The great repository of truth, the Bible, has both the plan and the process for us not only to know and love God and His Word, but it has the revelation knowledge of the path and provision for a life filled with His joy. That is something to magnify God for!

Jesus gave it all. He gave up heaven for an earthly home. He willingly made a way for us to have exceeding joy and an abundance of peace, on the earth. He brought heaven to us, and made a way for our relationship to be restored to perfect intimacy with His Father. That certainly is exceedingly, abundantly above all I could have ever asked or expected!

Intro
Hi this is Dorette Schaal with an Encouraging Word for your day. In the coming weeks we’re going to be exploring how we can love more like Jesus. When Jesus invited us to love like Him, He not only told us how to love, but He demonstrated it by how he lived. During this journey we will be discovering how we can connect more deeply with Jesus, and be transformed into His image. This week will be an introduction to this “School of the Soul” and will begin to answer the common question we so often ask ourselves which is, “can I ever change?”The answer is YES!!! We can be love drenched, others focused and courage filled. Here is your encouraging word for today.

Monday
Where is your focus? We hear about focus a lot in our world. What we are focused on is what we will move toward. In the center of every Christian’s visions should be the image of Jesus. Our whole world should revolve around Him. He is the object of our affection and the lover of our soul. Because of His love, He desires for us to love like He does, as His character is formed in us. I think it is easy to become casual about serving God, or lackadaisical, and even sloppy when it comes to how we live. Jesus lived a better way, and He set the example for us to do better. He doesn’t expect perfection or for us to live perfect lives, but lives of excellence as we CONNECT with Him, demonstrating who He is the world around us. When we do the connecting He does the perfecting! So as a launching point for this whole series, we will be asking you to take some time each day to ponder, how Christ-like as I? Is my life love drenched, others focused and courage filled? If we want true transformation into the image of Christ, our lives will be! The transformation process will take us from the place of asking what would Jesus do, to how would Jesus do it? And how Jesus did it, is how we do it in our world. Are you ready to be transformed? I sure want to be and I hope you do too. Let’s love like Jesus.

Tuesday
One of the things we want to do during study is to comprehensively look at being transformed into the image of God. There are a couple of ways to do this. The best way to become like someone is to spend time with them. Another way is to read what others have said about them, and still another way is to read what they have written to you. What is so wonderful about that for Christians is that it is as easy as opening up the Bible and beginning to devour God’s Word to you. Jesus is the Word made flesh, and the Bible is all about Him, and His Words to us. So to get to know Jesus better we can do those three things….spend time with Him, read about His character, and actually study His words. If we do that on a human level, we would know someone pretty well. Today let’s talk about spending time with Jesus. This happens several ways. It can be personal, on your own, or corporately with others. To have the daily spiritual discipline of communicating with Jesus during your personal time of devotions and spending time with Him can be one of the most renewing and energizing things you can do. Making the choice to align your day by taking time to give God first place shows that we love Him. We spell love T I M E, and when we give our time to someone, we show them that we value them. In His presence we get “our cup” filled up. Taking time to worship and adore Him on a personal level is a great way to break into freedom. When we do all of these things with others, we get the benefit of the corporate anointing. Just as one can chase a thousand, and two can chase ten thousand, the power isn’t just added, it is multiplied. There is great joy in hearing others around you worship God. In fact, one of the most wonderful times of worship I’ve ever experienced is when I was at a Women’s Conference and all you could hear was thousands of women’s voices. I encourage you to daily practice being in God presence, and then worship God with others regularly in a church setting.

Wednesday
Another good way to be transformed in the image of Jesus is to read what others say about Him. The most reliable book source about who Jesus is, is the Word of God. A great place to start is in the New Testament with Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The gospels actually are 4 different accounts of Jesus’ life on the earth. It is good to know His character, and see how He interacts with people from four different perspectives. It is good to notice what kinds of questions He asks, and how He responds to questions that are asked of Him. You can find all of that in the four gospels. One of the most obvious things we see is that He showed compassion to the ones we might walk right by. He was more concerned about others than He was Himself. And most definitely He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil. If we want to have the same kind of attitude that Jesus had we can learn about it as we read about Him. Perhaps you’ve heard this that the Old Testament is the Word concealed, and the New Testament is the Word revealed. We can see shadows and types of Jesus in so much of the Old Testament. When Jesus walked on the earth, His motives and character were revealed for us to imitate. But the good thing is, we don’t just have to try to act like Him, He actually put His spirit in us, shed His love around in our heart, and gives us the power to be a new creation, as it says in the New Testament. This might sound odd, but we don’t have to “act” like Him, He is within us and we get to demonstrate “God in us” to the world. We are filled with the fullness of God when we know the love of God.

Thursday
I remember so well the time when my husband and I were engaged, and we lived a 13 hour drive apart from each other. As busy as his schedule was, going to school and working, and serving in a ministry, he took time every day to write me a letter, and I did the same. This was before email and cell phones, when we actually used pen, paper and stamps!!! Needless to say, I looked forward to getting the mail every day. And the very first thing I would do when I got home from college or work was read the letter from my beloved. Do you realize that the words God had written by men inspired by the Holy Spirit in the Bible were designed as a love letter to you? When it comes to being transformed into the image of the One we love, we should take time to read what He has written. When you know and love someone, you value their words. You can’t wait to read what they have written, or listen to them when they speak. You’ve probably heard it said that couples who have been married a long time often look like each other. They begin to finish each other’s sentences, and often don’t even have to ask their mate’s opinion because they already know what it is. As our connection and love grows with Jesus, what is so cool is that can happen with us. We start to look like him. His words are so familiar to us, that they naturally roll off of our lips. We don’t have to ask what His will is, because we already know it. That sounds like transformation to me!

Friday
As we develop spiritual disciplines, they are meant to lead us into a deeper relationship with God and at the same time into joy and goodness. They help us to show more mercy towards ourselves and others. It isn’t a way to earn God’s favor, because we already have it. Disciplines are a way to develop habits that connect us to Jesus and His transforming power. The disciplines we will talk about are not just for elite Christians. Anyone can do them. They are not necessarily hard either. They can fit into the fabric of our lives and can be practiced daily. And maybe the most important part of practicing spiritual disciplines is doing them with the right motivation. We don’t do them to impress others, or to look like we are super spiritual. The whole goal is to connect with God. As we connect with God and spend time in His presence, read His words, and live for Him, we will be transformed. The word transformation relates to the word metamorphosis. Whenever I hear that word, I think of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. It is a total transformation, from ugly to lovely! If you can relate to the psalm that says that God rescued us from the pit, or the miry clay, you can see how transformed we become when we wear the radiant robes of righteousness that we receive at salvation. We are changed from the inside out. We are transformed into the image of God, never to be the same again. After salvation, as we practice spiritual disciplines and connect more deeply with God, the transformation continues and more and more we demonstrate the love of God to our world.

Saturday
We are going to be talking about how to love like Jesus loves today. When we realize that God’s love is on the inside of us once we ask Jesus into our heart, we can not only love ourselves, but we can love others around us. We can be transformed from being concerned mostly about ourselves, and really be concerned about others. That takes transformation. The Bible says that we are transformed by renewing our mind to the Word, which really means changing the way we think. We can do that with every breath we take. In each moment as we breathe in, we can take our thoughts and exchange them for thoughts that line up with what God’s Word has to say. When we do that, it will be like breathing out the tender love, mercy, and grace of God to those around us. We can do that when we wake up, when we eat, when we go to school, when we are with friends, when we are doing homework, when we watch tv, when we do chores, when we read, and when we go to sleep. As we continue to think about Jesus in everything you do, and our friendship with Him, we start to become like Him. Our own desires will be much less important than pleasing and obeying God. As we experience the love of God on the inside of us, and we will begin to do everything we do in the same way that Jesus would. So we can know what Jesus would do, know how he would do it, and then do it ourselves. That’s real transformation.

Sunday
Have you ever felt like you were getting squeezed by the circumstances in your life? I know we all have. It can be intense when we feel pressure from every side. There is good news associated with pressure. It’s probably time to get prepared for a promotion! If you go to a higher altitude in an airplane, or a lower altitude in a submarine, both places require a change in cabin pressure. So if we want to go deeper in God, or fly higher – with our strength renewed like an eagle, don’t be overly concerned when the pressure comes. On the other side of pressure is likely a promotion, higher or deeper ----if you pass the test…. If you don’t pass, get prepared to do it over again.

Moses and the children of Israel took 40 years to make an 11 day trip with lots of pressure. They kept circling, because they didn’t pass the test.

Abram passed the test after flunking first. He caved to the pressure to make the will of God come to pass on his own. He had his own plan, and because of Ismael, we now have upheaval in half of the world. Then he passed….Isaac was born. Then another test. Will he give Him back to God? Another passed test. God had a ram in the thicket to take Isaac’s place on the altar.

David passed the test with Saul

Are you going to pass? Or are you circling in the desert for a while? Use the pressures of life to your benefit! Know God more deeply, and use His strength on the inside of you to go to a higher place in Him.

Intro
Our church family is participating in a Bible Study to learn together how to show love better to the community around us and to each other. This study is a key way for us to connect meaningfully with people around us, and make a lifelong impact in our community! Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with an encouraging word for your day. As we continue this journey, we invite you to join us. Together we can Love Like Jesus, and positively change our world. Here is your encouraging word for today.

Monday
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 love project, we are hoping to make it more obvious to the world around us that we are believers. Believer’s 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?

Tuesday
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 to 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!

Wednesday
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 and not putting things away. 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, 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. Good things happen when you show kindness….you usually get kindness in return.

Thursday
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 of 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 paid 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!

Friday
Kindness is the first characteristic of a loving life that we are studying this week. 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!

Take every opportunity to make smile at people
Remember the elderly, the mentally or physically challenged have additional
hurdles in life….try to help make life easier for them through kindness
Let others in line ahead of you
Be kind in traffic!
Give compliments!
Hold the door for others
Pay for someone’s meal or drink in the coffee line or fast food restaurant
Tip well
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.

Saturday
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, 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, as part of the love project at your house! 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
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 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 be 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.

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 through being honest.

Sunday
Live in truth! Doesn’t that sound like the best idea ever? I know in a real world where it is acceptable to distort the truth and to live in one’s own perception of reality, being a person who tells the truth and lives in truth is a rare thing. Let’s not make it a rare thing in our life. In John 8:32 it says that when we know the truth we know, the truth will set us free. The Message Bible says it this way, if we stick to what Jesus has told us, we are truly His disciples and we will experience the truth and the truth will free us. I think one of the most fabulous things about being a Christians is being able to experience freedom. When we realize that freedom in our lives is connected with truthful living, it should make us even more conscious of how we live our life. Honesty and a pure life go hand in hand. If we want to be clean before the Lord, our words, our actions and our thoughts are to be consistently loving. One thing I have discovered in my own life is that we never outgrow the desire to be told the truth. As children, we wanted to know the truth, will it hurt, will it be hard, will you keep your promise, are as adults we still want the truth. Will the product really do what you say it will, are there any hidden charges, will I have to receive emails from thousands of other companies because I purchased something from yours? Maybe you haven’t had that scenario happen to you, but some of us have. We believe the ad, and either we don’t get what we paid for, there are hidden charges that being showing up on your credit card statement, or you get more junk email than you ever wanted! And sometimes a virus in your computer as a bonus. Let’s not be like the world. We live a higher standard. Our standard is truth and honesty. Utter honesty is clearly refreshing in our world. Let’s be the ones that others say about us, they always are honest, if you need to know the truth, ask them, or their life is full of integrity and they are totally trustworthy. What a great reputation we can have if our words, thoughts and deeds are filled with truth and honesty.

Monday
A new definition of honesty is a loving consistency in speech, thought and action. What we say, what we think and what we do can all be constant, or be in line with the truth. Think back in your own life. You probably have a memory of a time or even many times when you weren’t told the truth, or someone wasn’t honest to you. Or perhaps you were told the truth about someone else who wasn’t being honest with you. Most often those kinds of memories are not pleasant. You feel like you were deceived. Once you have felt something like those emotions, usually you would think that because of how it made us felt, you would never want to do something like that to someone else. Sometimes that happens, and sometimes not. Whatever the case, let’s make sure that from this point on, whenever we are given the opportunity to speak truth, to do it in love. Any time you are not sure whether to say something or not, ask yourself, do my words reflect every trait of a loving person? Then think about the other attributes of love that we have talked about up to this point. Do my words demonstrate kindness, patience, forgiveness, courtesy, humility, generosity and most definitely honesty. What would your relationships look like if that was your criteria for any words that come out of your mouth? I think we would live in much happier homes, more peaceful communities, and even a better world. We hear it often, in our green world to think locally and globally. We can do that with our words too……start where you are the little ripple can begin an even bigger ripple around you. We do affect our world one life at a time. So measure your thoughts, think on things that are pure, godly and honest. Measure your words, by saying only things that are filled with truth. And then measure you actions. Does what you are about to do line up with the characteristics that show love as a way of life? They can, and they should. Let’s be the ones who do that consistently.

Tuesday
Most of us know what honesty is. It is being a person who tells and lives in truth. If we look at the opposite side, we should find out what telling the truth does not mean. We can damage the lives of those we love if we are brutally honest with our words.

According to Gary Chapman in Love as a Way of Life, telling the truth does not mean: Telling everything that we have knowledge of. We don’t want to damage a reputation by telling everything we know to everyone we know. You probably know someone like that! You have to be careful when you are around them, because you know whatever private thing you might tell them will be public knowledge.

Verbalizing all of your emotions. It can be detrimental to speak forth everything you feel, all the time. Feelings and emotions need a filter.

Making an excuse to be unloving. Allowing your emotions to control your behavior and expressing them under the guise of honesty stimulates additional negative emotions in the other person’s mind.

Telling secrets for personal gain. Don’t sacrifice truth on the altar of success or even just a feeling of being one up on another person, or having the last word.

Jeopardizing justice. Men and women of integrity will not tell everything when to do so would be detriment to the cause of justice. (An example of this would be the families who hid Jewish citizens to protect them from the Nazis.)

When we live truthfully, we are being authentic. We are being people of integrity. That is who we are called to be. When we live in truth, we are free to love others for who they really are. As we live honestly we can reveal who we really are. What a wonderful way to live. Freely loving others, and letting others know the real us.

Wednesday
“If you have nothing nice to say, saying nothing at all.” Those famous words are from the movie Bambi. A very profound thought from the mouth of a bunny named Thumper! The lesson behind it is don’t say things that aren’t nice. Untruthful words, are not nice! Sometimes truthful words said in a harsh ways are not nice as well. The lesson is to watch what we say and how we say it. Life and death are in the power of the tongue. The Bible says that exactly. We are to speak the truth in love, and if we really want to be people who demonstrate love as a way of life, not only will we think about what we say before we say it, we will watch the manner in which we say it as well. Body language and timing are very crucial in showing love through our words. When someone is hurting, is not the time to feel the need to truthfully say that you told them so……about whatever ! Being a loving person is one who uses their words to build and encourage. They ask God to give them wisdom to confront situations in a truthful way, in the right time, and the right setting. The seeds we plant with our words will eventually grow. What do we want our words to go up and become? They do produce after their own kind. And usually the seed doesn’t fall to far from the tree. Do you want your legacy to be one of encouragement, and a life lived in the truth? Or do you want your legacy to be of a deceitful life, where perception and reality were disconnected? As people who serve the Lord, who have made a decision to follow Christ, our words should be rock solid. There should be no doubt that every time we open our mouth, we speak truth. We are promise keepers, we are truth tellers, we live our lives honestly, and we will use our words to bring life, help, hope, encouragement and blessing to those around us.

Thursday
When we live truthfully, we are being authentic. We are being people of integrity. Loving with integrity means being open about our weaknesses. We may want to appear better than we are, but that is not living authentically. Loving with integrity means recognizing how important the truth really is. Christians live on a higher plane, just because others don’t tell the truth, doesn’t mean we can lower our standard. We must remember that thinking, speaking and living in the truth is what we do as Christians. It is who we are. The life of a truth teller continues to influence others even after death. Loving with integrity means being consistent in our life choices. Our body language speaks as much as our eyes or our words, and they must be consistent. They should all reflect the same truth. Loving with integrity means being a risk taker for the sake of the truth. If confrontation is hard for you, this may be a difficult point. It may not be comfortable, but it is essential. Integrity calls us to take the risk of loving others by telling them the truth when it is needed. Loving with integrity also means keeping your promises. It takes only one promise left unfulfilled for someone to question your integrity. If we really want to love with integrity, let’s do those five things….be open about our weaknesses, recognize the importance of truth, be consistent in thoughts, words and deeds, take necessary risks to live in truth, and keep our promises. When we promise something, let’s stick with our promise. Let’s do everything within our power to hold to our vows to our spouse, or our promises toildren, or our commitment to our employer/employees. If we want to live authentically, and love authentically, let’s fight for truth, let’s stand up for what is right, and let’s live life with integrity. The world is watching. Let’s show them how Christ would do it, by how we live! Make those words of Paul part of your life, follow me, like I follow Christ.

Friday
We ended yesterday with the thought, that the world is watching us as believers. Let’s live how Christ would live. Let others follow me, like I am following Christ, just like Paul said. Obviously we are not perfect like Jesus, but we have been given power to live life boldly, authentically, and in truth. The tools are ours, all we have to do is operate in them. How does that world out in the real world? It can happen in lots of ways. As we finish out this week talking about honesty as one of the foundation principles of a loving life, I think it is good to see the connection of honesty with every other trait we have talked about so far.

Think of how honesty is tied to each of these traits with an example of how to put it into action.

Kindness- A kind person will be honest- I love the kind honesty of a friend who tells me when I have lipstick on my teeth, or a thread hanging off of my jacket.

Patience – A patient person will be honest – There is a gentle way to say I wish you were on time. It could sound like this. You are important enough in my life to wait for, but when you take up my time by being late, I have to reconfigure my schedule.

Forgiveness – A forgiving person will be honest. I choose to forgive, even when I don’t feel like it, because an honest person realizes forgiveness isn’t based on feelings, it is a choice.

Courtesy – A courteous person will be honest. Excuse me, I didn’t realize that my car was in your way, or apologizing when your actions were selfish or haughty, by saying, please forgive my rude behavior, it was totally uncalled for.

Humility – Is living honestly . We know where we get our value from and we are not overinflated, or underinflated! We are a cracked pot – a jar of clay, but we hold a treasure that can’t be measured with human hands.

Generosity – A generous person will be honest. I would love to give to your cause, but I have already chosen to give to my church and the other charities that I support.

We can say things in a loving way, and still be kind, patient, forgiving, courteous, humble and generous. So this weekend, find a way to be more like Jesus. Act like He does. It is Biblical! We are told in Gal 5;1 to imitate Christ. Put the Word into practice today!

Saturday Eword for Kids
There is blackness in the little white lie. There is nothing little or white about telling things that are not true. We are talking about being honest today, as one of the ways that we can show love to those around us. Honesty really is speaking truth. It is revealing who you really are. It is being consistent in what we say, what we think and what we do. The problem with lies is that you have to keep telling more of them. You start with one, and sooner than you know it, you have to tell another one to cover the tracks of your last lie. Life gets really complicated. Not only complicated, but it can be exhausting. The one who told the lie has to remember what lie they told to what person, and then have to keep up the story. Living in truth is so much better. You probably remember the story of Chicken Little when he told everyone the sky was falling. Because it was just an acorn that fell, nobody believed him when there really was something to be concerned about. It’s a lot like the little boy who cried wolf. We need to speak the truth, so that when we really do need help, no one will question our honesty. We live in a world where everybody lies right? No! And you don’t have to. Just because everybody else does it, doesn’t make it right! If you are asked to lie for someone, just say no. We can be the ones who think the truth, say the truth and live the truth? Does that sound hard? It could be, but there are great rewards for living in the truth, so start today….be a truth teller, a promise keeper, and an honest person.

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!