Take a pen and paper and get alone. Go here it's quiet, where you can think. Find a place that will offer you an hour's worth of uninterrupted thinking. Then sit down. Take your pen in your hand and --are you ready?--write down what you believe. Not what you think or hope or speculate but what you believe. Put on paper those bedrock convictions that are worth building a life on, that are worth giving a life for.
For example, here are some not-for-sale, nonnegotiatble undeniables that I believe:
There is a God whose all-consuming concern is whether or not I love him
I have a reason to be alive.
Money is not the answer. Therefore, the abundance or lack of it will not rule me.
I will never die.
My family loves me and I love them.
I will live forever, and heaven is but a wink away.
I control my moods...not vice versa.
I can change my world.
The most important element in the world is another human being.
Now look at your list. Analyze it. What do you think? Is your foundation solid enough to stand on? If not, be patient. Give yourself some time to grow.
Don't throw that list away. Keep it. I've got a special assignment for you. Put your list someplace where you'll always have it. In your wallet, your purse...somewhere convenient.
The next time you're intimidated by Mr. Know-It-All or by Miss Have-It-All, the next time your self-image limps out the door, pull out your list. Take a long look at it. Have any or your undeniables been threatened? Has our foundation been attacked?
Usually not. Here's the point: If you know what you believe (I mean really know it), if you know what's important and what's trivial, then you won't be tied down by all the little Lilliputians in the world.
I really believe that.
---Chapter 27 | On the Anvil | Max Lucado
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Just sharing this one =) After 2 months, I started reading the book again. I'm on the second part already --On the Anvil. And wow! Indeed we are either on the pile of broken tools or on the anvil or we're included in the instrument for noble purposes. I think I'm on the anvil.. . =)
I also tried this one.. . here it is:
*Money does not define a person. Abundance or absence of it should not shake me and my love for the people around me.
*All things work together for good.
*Jesus' love is unconditional. His mercy is endless. His grace is abundant.
*He completes me.
*I am not alone. I am loved by the King!
*I am blessed in every situation (good or not so good).
*He sees me. He knows what I feel. He cares. He listens. He hears. He answers.
*He loves me unconditionally.
*I am free! Nothing else can enslave me but Him. He sees Jesus' righteousness in me.
*I will go to heaven when I die. There's a place for me there.
*He loves and cares for my family. He minds them as well.
*I am the apple of God's eye. He delights in me.
*My future is secured.
*There's power when I speak. I can be a blessing.
*There's something in me that's yet to be revealed.
*Relationships matter.
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