SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE

Dear Friend:

In a class you find the talkers, the over-spiritual participant, the sympathizers, the non-emotional, the quiet reserved, the needy, the lonely, the intellectuals and the problem-solvers. I want to value each type. Not always easy.

Conviction waves over me like a gush of wind. I stop. Reflect. Pray. Seek and obey the Holy Spirit's prompting. I find thankfulness for each individual. This is not always easy. A cliche':  Each of us is on our own individual journey. Appreciate.

Love is beautiful and serious. Let us rejoice and appreciate/celebrate each individual.

I heard recently that it is called being socially intelligent to try not to judge but appreciate each person in the circle.

"There are those that speak rashly, like the piercing of the sword, but the image of the wise brings healing". (Proverbs12:18 NIV).

Lord help me to be humble on not proud to embrace everyone even if were not on the same wave length. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Happy day of love. May you find it in small and big ways! Hugs! God is love.

Stand firm understanding the Lord's love.

Love from above,

Elaine

OVERLOOK AN OFFENSE

Have you ever set time aside with a friend, spouse or co-worker and it ends up being a flop? I mean your looking forward to it but clearly that person shows lack of interest to your conversation, they seem distracted and to top it off they rush off short of the time allotted. Your left will a pit in your stomach, lump in your throat and a question on your mind like "What did I do to deserve that?"

We do not deserve that treatment I validate us but when we begin to stew on it to long it maybe a problem for us and that relationship.

I feel when this happens I come to a fork in a road and it becomes a choice as to which road I will take. Will I take the anger road where my mind races, why did they do that, I don't deserve this...I form arguments in my mind all the time with my finger on the button to call and confront them. Or I take the passive anxious road...I will call them, no wait I won't, how will I say it without sounding goofy, they may not even realize they just did that therefore I look crazy. 

The third road is just to overlook the whole thing and chalk it up to a bad day and chose to truly let it go. How do you do this? We pray, we wait...we pray, we wait. 

I like this scripture:

Overlook an offense and bond a friendship; fasten on to a slight and—good-bye, friend! (Proverbs 17:9 MSG)

Does reading this scripture take away our pit in the stomach, lump in the throat, loose thoughts? That scripture is wisdom but really helps is when we pray we realize God loves us he never falls short of attention for us, tell ourselves it is going to be okay, realize that we they may have been having a bad day and it is their issue. We can be forgiving by reminding ourselves that we could have done the same thing or have already done the same thing to another person. In any case we take the thoughts to higher level thinking. 

We begin to self soothe ourselves with truth. Maybe in the past other have let us down and it is a familiar feeling and we get triggered. It takes extra time to think it through but inviting higher level wisdom gives us permission to feel hurt but then helps us to move on. Of course time heals that.

PINK RIBBON

He got out of his car to see if the other driver was okay. Their cars hit each other and all he could think of was she okay. As he walked toward her he noticed her license plate had the pink ribbon symbol on it. Hmm, cancer awareness symbol something he was familiar with himself. Cancer had crept up on him years before. The battles he had won were many. In fact he was on his way that very moment to get a CT scan. There was a possibility of another kind of cancer invading his body. With that in mind he greeted her. He found out she was okay and that she had just moved to his city four days prior. He depended on God and was sensitive to the Holy Spirit. This incident prompted him to state “I believe this accident was not an accident at all.” Their worlds collided and they both had a need for God.  He told her of his involvement with a Cancer support group at his church. He learned that she would need to find a church so he invited her to his church.

As he drove away He dismissed the thoughts of the hassle it would be to reschedule his CT scan and  repairs needed for his car. Instead he chose to trust God with this sudden interruption in his life and count it as a divine appointment.

It is hard not to look at an accident as an inconvenience which quickly turns into a chore with the follow-up of insurance, repair etc.

Tune into God and you will not be surprised that God helps you to see an accident differently.

What a rich way of living free from being entangled in the world full of disappointments. Stories like this fill us with hope and joy. Jesus is alive and working on a quilt, which is the world, the tapestry design so intricate full of color and detail. Thus the saying “He’s got the whole world in His hands.”

It was such a joy to hear this story from the man who lived it. His heart told a story that helped him find satisfaction from God and more zeal for life.

I am sure he could agree with David the psalmist when he penned “I will be full satisfied as with the riches of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.”

A prayer written by Author, Lee Strobel prayer:   "Lord, here I am fully available to you, use me as you have never used me before."

#lovealwayswins

Dear Friend:

She handed me the money. I didn't deserve it. I didn't have to earn it. She just gave it to me.
Let me back up a bit. This story is amazing. I don't know how I did it, but I lost a hundred dollars. I don't know where. It was a gift from this lady. When I realized I could not find it, I tore through every place it should be. Two days later I knew I had to admit it was gone. I felt sick. I told this person I lost it. Her response was "I found $100.00. Here it is." When I left this person I was thinking I am not sure this was the same one hundred dollars. I felt like she just wanted me not to feel bad. She knew I did not mean to lose it. She just gave me another hundred. I did not have the heart to go back and discuss. I knew the person's heart was in the right place. I just thought I should leave it alone. I felt really loved. I am in awe of this person and their gracious heart.

Good things do happen!

I related this story recently to the grace of God. He loves me so much. He gave me forgiveness for all my wrong doing. I like the story above I did not deserve it. Both God and this lady could have just said "To bad for you." They did not give up on me. They just showed me love with grace.
Why did that lady do that? Why did Jesus die for me? Being on the receiving end of that kind of love prompts me to want to find opportunities to be more gracious in my life.
The rhythm of giving grace destroys the ugliness of darkness and brings us to a life of freedom and light.
Have you considered the changes that can occur in us and our world if we spread grace? Not only to spread grace but be humble enough to receive it.

"For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God;
Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law’s demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.] (Ephesians 2:8-9 AMP)

Striving. Stressing. Can we stop?


Let's pray:  Father in heaven thank you for your love. Thank you for people who have shown me your love. Help me to be humble and learn from you so that I can pass your grace on. In Jesus' name. Amen.