Justice, Kindness, and Humility

Micah 6:8 is a beautiful reminder of what our priorities should be. Acting and reacting with justice, kindness, and humility. 

To tie this in with positivity, I have some good news. Even though there's no way that we can act and react with justice, kindness, and humility on our own, God provides guidance for us through the Holy Spirit. Through His power we are able to act and react differently than the world does and ultimately by our actions we are able to lead others to Christ. 

Here's the challenge this week: do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly. 

What does that look like?

To be just is to be fair and truthful. Give everyone their chance without preconceived judgement. Pray to see people through Jesus' eyes. 

To love kindness is not just to be compassionate and nice, but love doing it. Pray for genuine compassion and kindness to show others. 

To walk humbly is to surrender to God, to put yourself last, and put others first. 

I know that you can do this! You've been equipped with everything that you need the moment you received the gift of salvation. Start using it!

Blessings, 

JJ

The Sharpie Mug

So who doesn't like a little bandwagon jumping every now and then? I mean... when the product is awesome, I just can't help myself.

Mr. Luke and I spotted some plain cream mugs at a local thrift/antique store in town. We snatched 4 of them up, bought some new sharpies, and carved out some free time for a craft project!

Plan out what you want to draw, crank up the oven to 300, and stick them in for 30 minutes.

We had a great time and love drinking out of our new mugs!

Blessings,
JJ

Salty Sweet

Last week I posted that this month's focus will be on Positivity with a special emphasis on social media. This is one of my favorite topics! 

Social media is such a huge part of our lives. Our culture loves to document everything like food, shoes, hanging out with friends, and a million other things. I mean.... I do that. It's fun! We like to show people that we are doing interesting and cool things with the intention of gaining a like or a comment of approval. Being able to share things that you love and make connections with other people is what makes social media so cool. 

I want to challenge you to be aware of what you're posting, sharing, and liking. As believers in Christ we are called to be salt and light (go read this cool chunk of scripture!). What does that mean?

Think about salt. It brings flavor to bland food, helps heal wounds (even though it hurts like crazy!), helps fresh flowers last longer when in vases (add a pinch of salt into the water), plus a ton of other useful things. Long story short, salt makes a difference. 

Light also makes a difference. If you're in a dark room, the tiniest bit of light can help your eyes adjust and you can slowly start to see. 

According to Matthew 5:13, we are supposed to be that difference in our culture. 

You have the opportunity to be salt and light over your social media handles. You don't have to post negative tweets, statuses, or comments. You can glorify the Lord with positivity even when you're dealing with problems. 

Go do it!

Blessings, 

JJ

Fun with Diptic Part 2

Previously I posted Fun with Diptic. This is a photo solution to the problem of being somewhere cool with someone cool, but no one is there with you to take the picture.
The same thing happens when you're in a group! Someone volunteers to take the photo or a stranger takes the photo. Every time I let a stranger snap a photo with my iPhone or camera, I'm 40% grateful for their display of kindness and 60% scared that they are going to run off with the goods.


Instead of someone being left out or someone stealing your stuff, try piecing your photos together in Diptic after taking a couple of group shots. After all, no one really wants to be left out of the group shot.


Here are a couple of examples of our group shot diptics:

Remember: stand in the same place to take the photo and make sure that the people in group 2 don't stand in the same places as group one.

Show me what you come up with!
Blessings,
JJ

Walk It Out

Part of being a Follower of Christ is telling others about Him. We should want to talk with others about Jesus! Here are a couple of tips that I've gathered as I've shared my faith:

1. Just say it. Push through the feelings of awkwardness and anxiety and just do it!

2. The next conversation, whether it's with the same person or someone else, is significantly easier.

3. Your actions and your words must match up. Conversation and actions go hand in hand.

I want to encourage you to walk it out! I know that you can do it. FYI: the buffalo have no significance. I just thought it was a fun picture. 

Blessings,

JJ