Look at What YOU have

Linger too long in the stench of your hurt, and you’ll smell like the toxin you despise. I spent too much of a summer sludging through sludge. Oil field work is dirty at best. But the dirtiest job of all? Shoveling silt out of empty oil tanks. The foreman saved such jobs for the summer help. Thanks boss! My mom burned my work clothes. The stink stuck!

Your hurts can do the same. The better option? Look at what you have. Your hurts and pain took much, but Christ gave you more! Catalog His kindnesses. Everything from sunsets to salvation—look at what you have.

Let Jesus be the friend you need. Talk to Him. Spare no detail. Disclose your fear and describe your dread. Will your hurt disappear? Who knows? And in a sense, does it matter? You have a friend for life. What could be better than that?

from Facing Your Giants

HOW is your heart?

God Looks at the Heart

First Samuel 16:7 says: “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Those words were written for misfits and outcasts. God uses them all. Moses ran from justice, but God used him. Jonah ran from God, but God used him. Rahab ran a brothel. Lot ran with the wrong crowd, but God used them all.

And David? God saw a teenage boy serving him in the backwoods of Bethlehem. Human eyes saw a gangly teenager, smelling like sheep. Yet, “the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one.” God saw what no one else saw: a God-seeking heart.

Others measure your waist size or wallet. Not God. He examines hearts. When He finds one set on Him, he calls it and claims it.Your Father knows your heart, and because He does, He has a place reserved—just for you!

from Facing Your Giants

Where is YOUR focus?

Giant-Slayer

God called David a “man after His own heart!” One might read his story and wonder what God saw in him. He fell as often as he stood. He stared down Goliath, yet ogled at Bathsheba. He could lead armies but couldn’t manage a family. Raging David. Weeping David. Bloodthirsty. God-hungry. Eight wives. One God. A man after God’s own heart?

That God saw him as such gives hope to us all. David’s life has little to offer the unstained saint. Straight-A souls find David’s story disappointing. But we need David’s story…most of us do. Giants lurk in our neighborhoods. Giants of rejection, failure, and revenge. We must face them. Yet we need not face them alone.

Focus on God. The times David did, giants fell. The days he did not, David fell. Lift your eyes, giant-slayer! The God who made a miracle out of David stands ready to make one out of you!

From Facing Your Giants

"They have built things to last." By Dani Johnson

The Daily Fix

What "Ripples" Are You Leaving On Your Pond?

Hey Friend, 

I'm writing to you from Scotland today. I am here with 3 of my 5 children, and we are traveling around Europe, learning about and experiencing the history.

I want to share with you some of the insights we got from our time in Scotland. This trip is not just about taking a vacation; it is about exploring the culture and the history while discovering how we can use this newfound knowledge in our own lives.

I asked my son, Roman, what stands out to him the most about Scotland, and he said, "They have built things to last." This really is a very deep subject, and we all jumped on that statement and began to dissect it. We discussed what it means for something to be built to last.

Uncover the power to leave a legacy for generations to come

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There are buildings here in Edinburgh, Scotland that are hundreds and hundreds (some even thousands) of years old. They have clearly been built to last.

I am first-generation American on my father's side and second-generation American on my mother's side. Our nation is so young, we have not yet had a chance to see what has been built to last. Compared to so many other places in the world, America is a baby country. We really don't know what will last, especially when our Constitution is being challenged every day.

But you have to ask yourself what things do you have in your life that have been built to last? When you build things cheaply or you establish things in your family that are fleeting and have no meaning, they are not built to last. Today is a good day for you to evaluate this in your own life.

Marriages used to be built to last. Relationships are supposed to be built to last. Wealth should be built to last.

What do you have in your life that has been built to last? What thing in your life has a solid structure that will last through plagues, wars, fires, storms? What in your life will stand through the hard times, the pain, the disappointments and the suffering?

We only have a certain number of years in this life. What are you establishing that will stand long after you're gone?

I'm looking around Scotland, and the castle is still here. So many of the age-old cathedrals are here. The streets and some of the homes are here. All of this was established long before any of us were on this earth. The history is all around us here. These things were built to last.

This is a really important thing for you to think about today. What are you building that is here to stay? What solid foundations are you creating, what structures are you building in your life that will stand through trials and earthquakes? What is in your life that will still be standing long after you leave this earth?

I would love to know your thoughts about today's message. Please leave me a comment and tell me about the things in your life that have been built to last. I can't wait to read your comments!

Also, please pass this message along. It will only take a minute, but the impact will be huge! You could help your friends, family and co-workers to create a long-lasting legacy by just forwarding this email or posting the link on Facebook and Twitter.

I am so excited to talk with you Sunday night on The Dani Johnson Show! Turn on your TV or radio, and join me live at 9 pm ET/8 pm CT! Check the sidebar for more details.

I hope you're enjoying these messages from our educational adventure here in Europe. Watch your Inbox tomorrow morning for another letter from somewhere else in the world!

In great faith,