Hi all, Alicia here! I'm going to try to give a recap of our gathering this past Tuesday. As we progress into the new year, this is where we'll recap our events, so everyone has a chance to know what great stuff has been happening, and so you can add to the discussion from here. So get excited!
This past Tuesday Dayton finished up our short series on our covenant with God. The title for this summary (which I totally stole from Dayton), represents our discussion about how the covenant with God that we have in our lives is based on what we say, especially about ourselves. Dayton started us off by talking about how our words affect us. He pointed out that "death and life are in the power of the tongue" (Prov. 18:21), and how the Bible compares the tongue to a ship's rudder or the bit in a horse's mouth (James 3:3-4). He talked about the fact that nobody's going to say positive things about us like we can say about ourselves, and weren't going to respond to those things in the same way as when we say it to ourselves. We should be getting in front of the mirror every morning and reminding ourselves about who are and what we can do according to God's covenant. We should be telling ourselves how awesome we are, how smart and favored we are, how God's got amazing things for us, and how we're going to accomplish all those things. (I know what you're thinking -- and yes, you do look funny. But you'll get over it.)
After an eye-opening quote from Zig Ziglar (Ziggy!) how fleas are trained (seriously, I've never felt so sorry for a flea in my life - and we completely distracted Brooke for a few minutes), Dayton went on to talk about specific examples in his life and the lives of those around him where it events that happened were a direct result of the things people had been saying about themselves. And as he spoke, almost everyone else in the group was able to think of something that had happened in his or her life and tie it back to the words they had spoken over themselves, especially when they agreed with what God's Word says about them. For Brooke it was a blossoming career that started as an inside joke with a friend; for Aaron, acknowledgment and reward for hard work under fire, even when he initially wasn't expecting that kind of recognition. They didn't realize until later the effect their words were having. Chip explained that scientific studies have proven that how we hear our own voice is quite different from how we hear things external to us, because of how the sound travels from our mouths to our brains in a more direct manner. (Unfortunately, this doesn't explain all the other voices you keep hearing in your head.)
As different people recounted stories of how the words they spoke over themselves brought actions into their lives, we noted that some changes were evident very soon after the words are spoken, while others take a lot longer. Kevin pointed out that James 3:3-4 described those differences, with a horse being something that would respond instantly to the movement of the bit in it's mouth, while any change in a ship's course might not be noticeable until the rudder had been moving in one direction for a while. And Dayton noted how pointless it would be to go all that time saying the right things about ourselves only to get impatient and give up before the effort was rewarded. So don't give up!
So, the highlights:
-- You listen to you more than anybody, so you better speak to you more than anybody!
-- What you say about you really does change your life!
-- Practice: Get in front a mirror daily and tell yourself what God thinks about you (and if you don't know, I'd suggest reading His Word to find out)!
-- Remember, it may take longer than 3 seconds (or 3 weeks) to see change -- don't give up!
-- And finally, don't trap a flea in a cup with a glass lid. That's just cruel.
Whew! So what do you guys think? What else have you noticed about how God's covenant is fulfilled through our words? Chime in with your comments! I know I missed a few good points, so feel free to add what I've forgotten. But first, go get in front of a mirror!
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I think Alicia has done an awesome job of summing up our discussion, distractions and all. One thing I wanted to add is a verse I read when I went home that night. It really stood out to me because it went right along with the importance of thanking God for everything; to a pair of socks, as Dayton likes to use for an example, to anything else. It's 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
And, one other thing. There's a song by a boy-bandish group, 33 Miles, called "Thank You." It talks about how different our lives would be if we thanked God before we even have our first cup of coffee in the morning (or whatever your preferred drink is). What if we thanked God despite our circumstances and kept our eyes on Him, not the stuff threatening to overwhelm us? If you want to listen to the song (and I highly recommend it), here's their myspace link: http://www.myspace.com/33miles
Merry Christmas!
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