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Living The Solution – Online Newsletter |
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June 19, 2008 ISSUE |
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Opening Thoughts:
If we truly believe in the Holy Spirit
then we will live our lives with a desire to know and do
what God is guiding us to do through the Holy Spirit’s
guidance and inspiration. This is fundamental Christian
teaching, but how many of us don’t live that way?
I find myself confronted by this question. I believe God
is real, the Holy Spirit is real and yet I don’t
always rely on God’s helpful guidance.
A recent conversation with a friend of mine brought this
home to me. He was sharing his own concerns about life
and his lack of trust in God. His spiritual director directly
told him he wasn’t acting like he really believed
in the Holy Spirit. It reminded me that saying you believe
in something without living that faith doesn’t get
it done. Faith without works is dead!
I don’t think God micromanages our lives. But the
Holy Spirit is real – God dwelling in and among us – and
we should access this great power and great gift! Writer
Catherine Martin encourages us in her book Set My Heart
on Fire to let our sails be filled with the wind of the
Holy Spirit. We need to ask God for direction in all our
decisions. The answers will come when we let go of running
life on our own power.
Peace and joy,
Tom Gilbert
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IN THIS ISSUE
Feature Article: Living and Working on Purpose
In The Spotlight: Summer Reading
Daily Thoughts: Practice Real Love
Prayer & Sharing Requests
Quotable: The Mystery of Pentecost |
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| FEATURED
ARTICLE |
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Living
and Working on Purpose: Finding God's Calling for Your
Life
Article by Bradley
Davidson (Coach Brad), © 2008
Reprinted by permission of the author
In a recent newsletter I wrote for my coaching clients, I
profiled the life of Truett Cathy, the founder of "Chick-Fil-A", and
how his vision of giving kids a chance has transformed countless lives. As I
was thinking about the individual I would like to feature in the next month's
article, I thought of several highly recognizable individuals whose lives have
been lived with purpose and passion. As I asked myself which of these individuals'
stories would have the greatest impact on my clients, something occurred to me.
My brilliant and gifted readers have a story of life purpose that will be more
meaningful that any story I can tell. I now extend that sentence to include you.
YOU have a wonderfully compelling story of life purpose just waiting to be told.
When you read the last sentence I just wrote, many
of you probably agreed. Many of you have found your life's vision and purpose
and are living it with great joy. However, some of you read that sentence and
said, "What is he talking about? Me? Brilliant and Gifted? I have a story
to tell about what?" To those of you who have found your life's calling
and purpose, congratulations! To those of you who are still seeking, I am EXCITED
for you. What a joyous journey to begin! Let's do it together. How? Read on.
Read the full article here.
More articles here.
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| IN THE SPOTLIGHT |
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Summer
Reading
There
is a lot at our online store to choose from. Summer time
is a great time to pick up a good novel. Check out our
offerings from the best Christian writers of mystery, suspense,
romance, children and young adult novels.
Details
Here
Be sure to visit our
Spotlight Specials page for other special resources and causes.
Our Living the Solution online store
has resources to help you grow spiritually. It’s
secure and extensive with many great gift ideas!
Visit our
online store
There is something for everyone. When you shop with us,
you support our ministry – thank you!
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DAILY THOUGHTS & REFLECTIONS |
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Practice Real Love
My dear children, let's not just talk about
love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're
living truly, living in God's reality. It's also the way to shut down
debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For
God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we
do ourselves. (1 John 3:18-20 — The Message)
You have heard that love covers a multitude
of sins, but how does it do that? Love extends grace,
love forgives and love forgets. The real love John speaks
of here is the kind of love God has for us--unconditional,
gracious, forgiving, being willing to look past the sin,
all because of the loving sacrifice of His son. This is
the heart of God, a heart of perfect love. That is why
John can call living out of love real living because it
is living God’s way, with grace, compassion, understanding
and forgiveness. This was displayed even on the cross
when Jesus said, “Father forgive them because they
do not know what they do.” People were killing God’s
son and the reaction was to forgive them, to extend to
them love and grace. That is real love.
Notice that John is not just talking about living a life of love towards others;
he is also talking about living a life of love towards ourselves. “It's
also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something
to it.” If we are going to live a life of love, the “real” life,
truly living, then we need to extend to ourselves the same love, grace, understanding
and compassion that God extends to us. We should not beat ourselves up every
time we mess up. We are human, just like our family members, friends and co-workers,
and if we are going to effectively extend love to them we must first extend love
to ourselves. We cannot love them any more than we love ourselves.
The world and culture we live in desperately need to see and be shown true love
and the real way of living. Start with yourself. Accept yourself as God accepts
you and then move on to others and to the world. Spend time with God and learn
the way of love, the way of true living, and the way God designed us to live.
Live intentionally, purposely, free and with passion,
Pete Reinbold
Get daily inspiration with a Scripture verse and commentary
at
Daily Thought
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PRAYER REQUESTS & RESULTS |
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Prayer works. It really does.Submit your prayer
requests and we will pray for them.
Of course, we keep your information confidential.
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My thoughts are shared regularly on the pages of
our web site, especially on
the Journal pages.
We welcome and appreciate your feedback. If you would
like to submit an article please see our writer's
guidelines.
It is our hope that the content of Living The Solution will
stimulate you to deepen your faith. That is certainly a result for us in both
our writing and reading. If you would like to see articles on a particular topic
or you have comments please let us know.
Send an email
Quotable: The Mystery of Pentecost
"The mystery of Pentecost is that the gift
of discernment is breathed into the world, enabling us to see the
presence of the divine in the midst of the human — not as an aside
or an afterthought, but as the main event of our lives"
— Jay Rochelle
Copyright 2008 Living the Solution, all rights reserved.
Tom Gilbert
Editor/Web-servant
Living The Solution
www.livingthesolution.com
P O Box 25584
Albuquerque, NM 87125-5584
Toll free 1-800-399-2564 (US only) or 505-247-3232
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