Grief Bites: Day 6

Devotional: Always remember that God will never leave or forget you…He loves you so very much that He willingly chose to have you forever tattooed on both of His hands. He even knows the exact number of hairs on your head! His thoughts about you outnumber the grains of sand on the earth?

Think about these amazing truths for a moment. Truly ponder them.

–   God has you tattooed onto His hands

–   His thoughts of you outnumber all the grains of sand on the earth

–   He is ALWAYS with you

–   He will never leave, forsake, or forget about you.

These are amazing truths that every believer should remember throughout their grief experience.

Now thing about these truths:

1. God is an incredible source of comfort, love, and joy—in ALL things and every situation!

2. Your life has amazing worth—don’t waste it…the gift of being alive is reason enough to celebrate God’s love and presence every single day!

3. You are incredibly valuable and loved—you have a greater purpose than you realize…pursue God’s heart to find it!

God loves you so much that you are constantly on His mind. Take comfort and find HOPE in God’s love today. Remember His great love each and every time you brush your hair or look at the palms of your hands this week! And the next time you are at a beach, pick up a handful of sand and look at the entire beach to see just a fraction of how many thoughts God has of you!

Isaiah 49:15-16

Luke 12:6-7

Psalms 139:17-18

Daily Meditation

Self-confidence is so relaxing

There is no strain or stress when one is self-confident

Our lack of self-confidence comes from

trying to be someone we aren't

Anne Wilson Schaef

http://www.livinglifefully.com/people/annewilsonschaef.htm

Today's Meditation:

Who are you?  Genuinely and sincerely, who are you?  And are you trying your best to be that person all the time, no matter where you are, whom you're with, or the situations in which you find yourself?  If you have true self-confidence, then you'll find that whoever you are, that's enough for you, and whatever you're doing, that's enough for you as long as it truly reflects who you are.

A strong self-confidence is one of the most important things we can develop if we want to get the most out of this life we're in.  And we lose our self-confidence when we put ourselves in situations in which we don't really belong--when we're trying to be something we aren't.  Books are full of stories of people who spent years pursuing jobs they weren't qualified for or that weren't fulfilling, or who wasted much of their lives doing things more to impress others than to use their own true skills and abilities.

And those stories can teach us something very important about ourselves and our lives--that when we're true to who we are, we can't lose our self-confidence because we'll be doing what we were called to do, doing things that we know we can do well.  And when we're doing that, our lives become easier and more relaxed, for we don't have to worry so much about mistakes and failures--we'll still have both, of course, but in such a place in our lives we'll be able to deal with them quickly and easily.

The greatest gift I can give to the world is to be myself.  Anything else that I can give already has been given.  And when I focus on being myself my life becomes easier, and I can be myself even better.  What a great endless circle that becomes!

Questions to consider:

• Are you always true to who you are?
• Do you have a positive effect yourself on your own self-confidence?
• How can self-confidence be relaxing?

For further thought:

Whatever you are by nature, keep to it; never desert your own line of talent.  Be what nature intended you for and you will succeed; be anything else and you will be ten thousand times worse than nothing.

Sydney Smith