Day 37/40 – A good word from Sonja…
Hello all my dearly loved PEPpers and other far-flung friends!
This 40-days schedule has been keeping me pretty busy lately so I’ve been kind of quiet in “blog-land”. However, this morning I read my wife’s weekly newsletter that she writes to her Sunday School class (Homebuilders) and thought it would be a good word for all of us and so I thought I would post it for us. Hope it blesses you and hope to see many of you at our service tonight. Tonight and Saturday night are our last two services before Day 40 / finish strong!
Sonja’s newsletter:
Hello to all of my fellow Homebuilders. I hope you are having a great week.
Sonja Kemp, teacher of Homebuilders Sunday School Class, Fort Mill Church of God
Have you heard of “pay it forward?” This is a great concept in which you look for ways to bless others, especially strangers, with an act of kindness. It can include paying for people’s food in restaurants or in the drive-thru line, or doing chores that you notice need to be done in your neighbors’ yards or just picking up trash so that our world can be a cleaner, nicer place. In the big scheme of things, when someone does something nice for you, instead of paying them back, you “pay it forward” by doing something nice for others. If everyone did this, our world would certainly be a much better place to live in.
I love the concept of “pay it forward.” But today I want to challenge you with another concept that I feel is just as dynamic – “play it forward.” I’m talking about thinking ahead. I’m talking about the fact that our choices have consequences and the things we do and the words we say will affect our future. I recently ran across this concept in the book “9 Things You Simply Must Do.” (Dr. Henry Cloud) But this thought was not original with the author. The Bible has many references to this truth.
Proverbs 22:3 – “A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it” is one of them.
It reminds me of some books that Lee used to read when he was a child. They were called “choose your own adventure.” The books had several different endings and you could keep changing the plot by choosing different pages in the book to read. As married couples, we too are choosing our own adventure. Every choice we make will have a consequence. Successful couples learn to play it forward. They realize that the actions and choices they make each day will not only affect them, but will also have an effect on their spouse and children and the future of their homes.
God help us not to be “simple” (See the verse above!)
As you are making decisions each day, play it forward like a film and ask the Holy Spirit to help you envision the outcome of that choice. If a warning bell goes off in your head, STOP and choose another adventure! Choose God’s adventure and you will never be sorry.
From my heart,
Sonja
