Opportunities for Growth
Day 43 - a Year with God
The thing is, you have to be able to think about it as an opportunity for growth while it is happening or else there won't be much growth happening. Or at least not happening as well as you would like. Unfortunately, things happen that take us by surprise and we don't always handle them gracefully.
We aren't going to be perfect overnight and we wont always make the right choices and say the right things. We have to practice, pray and study the scripture to grow spiritually. We have to endeavor to continue to grow and make a commitment to keep pursuing growth despite our setbacks.
"Perseverence must finish it's work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:4
Patience is sometimes elusive to me. I read the scripture, I pray, I think about how I will behave when confronted with a situation. And I end up making a mistake anyway. I am working on having tolerance for my mistakes as well as the mistakes of others. I am my own worst critic sometimes; forgetting that I must love myself and give myself the forgiveness and understanding I give to others.
I am finding that to make the most of these growth opportunities, I have to be in the right spirit. I have to guard my mind and keep those thoughts out that are barring my spiritual progress. Getting in the right frame of mind means that I have to constantly be putting something good into it. Reading and listening to positive messages, choosing to keep good company and quickly taking my bad thoughts captive.
There are more opportunities for growth available than we would really like. There seems to always be something happening to us or to someone we love and care about. I can't even remember the last time I watched the news because they always focus on what is bad. The newspaper headlines are dominated by negative actions, as are television and radio news. I know enough about what is wrong with us as human beings. I am choosing to focus on what is right and good and try not to give even more power to the evil that is done.
Resources
Day 42 - Choose Peace By Holding Your Tongue
Bible Gateway - James 1:4
Published by Marilyn Quinn
Featured Video Games Contributor, Freelance writer, voracious reader, mother of four, wife and gamer who lives just minutes outside Albuquerque, in Rio Rancho, NM! View profile
- Maintain the Path to Self ImprovementMany have started a course of self improvement only to give up before reaching their goal.
- Weight Loss as Self ImprovementWeight loss and it's stipulation of self improvement.
- Some Free Self Improvement Advice to Stay HappyFree advice about self improvement is difficult to find even from people who are only happy to help because they could be as some others who are in more difficult situations.
- Self Improvement & External FactorsCommitting yourself to self improvement & personal growth (career, financial, social, & etc) is a critical factor in how one's future will reveal itself.
- Getting to the Core of Self ImprovementBefore you march out to your local Barnes and Noble or Borders for a copy of something like, "Ten Steps to a New You," consider a few pointers from a seasoned self-improvement fiend.
- Bible Study and the Original Languages
- A Bible Study of the New King James Version
- A Bible Study of the New King James Version
- Why I Love Bible Study Fellowship
- Self Improvement Really Does Help You Become More Successful
- Self Improvement in One Week
- Learn How to Achieve Self Improvement with Action