This quote speaks for itself really! What do we believe? How do we feel about ourselves and others? Important things to assess because they determine how we act every day.
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If we believe we can then we will and are more likely to try again and see failure as part of the process rather than a final destination.
We often hear the phrase “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery..” which is taken from a quote by Oscar Wilde. Usually, it’s spoken in the context of frustration or pride as someone attempts to imitate another or their work. However that’s only part of the quote, here’s the full sentence,
“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.”
Ouch!
It’s good and quite natural to look up to others, to aspire to be like those further along the path. Children do it naturally as they learn from their loved ones. It’s also important and necessary to be teachable and glean wisdom from others, to seek different opinions and keep a keen eye on experts.
What’s not ok is when we start to imitate others. Imitation can stem from comparison, insecurity, laziness or even admiration gone too far. When we imitate we will only ever be second best or second rate and an incomplete version of ourselves. Imitation only takes away from who we really are. We will never fully and truly discover the light within ourselves whilst we’re mimicking someone else or what they do. We must trust in our ability to bring our unique expression to any given situation. It might be similar but it doesn’t have to be the same.
Just as children grow in the discovery of themselves so must we continue to do so as we grow older.
Fortunately, we are connected to and created in the image of the ultimate Creator. He is the ultimate Artist, Physician, Communicator, Scientist, Teacher. We have free and loving access to His unlimited resource. The only person we should imitate is Christ. Beyond that, we can trust Him for what we need in order to fully be free to create and use all that He’s placed within us.
A little injection of encouragement into your inbox this Wednesday lunchtime 🙂
Rich, Sienna and I over the last few months have been traveling back and forth, living out of suitcases, starting new jobs and nursery whilst also selling our house and buying a new one! Pretty much every weekend since February has been spent either showing people around our house of viewing prospective new ones. Before that, it was clearing and decorating ready to sell. • • We knew this would be a crazy season and so we decided from the offset that we wouldn’t panic, we would trust God and have faith. • • Worry is a choice and faith is a choice. I can’t say we’ve had a 💯 record of worry-free days but by and large, we’ve felt calm as we’ve DAILY relinquished control of what the outcome of each endeavour might be. In doing so we’ve left room for God to move and honestly, He has, in every way! In provision, timing, and peace. I can’t say it’s because we’re super wise or holy but we looked at the future and decided who we wanted to be and what we wanted to have achieved by the end of it all. AND what we didn’t want, which was to only survive to the end of this having clung on by our fingernails with full heads of unnecessary grey hair. • • What I’ve learned is that when we panic we plan our way out of miracles. It’s really ok to just take one day and week at a time and do what you can and hand over the rest to God. We either live by faith, or we don’t. • • I just started Erwin McManus’ book, “The Way of The Warrior” on Audible today. As I was driving to work I heard the above quote amongst a plethora of golden wisdom that the book contains. His words just rang so true. • • How will you act? • • • #faithdiariesblog#dontworry#encouragement#christianblogger#lifestyleblogger#wednesdaywisdom#faithblog
Because it’s Wednesday and to give you a taste of what you’ll find on the new #wednesdaywisdom page, here are a few recent posts to whet your appetite.
Please note they are short with the aim of providing a quick soul ‘snack’ for your midweek break, rather than a full belly filling feast!
Enjoy, comment and share 🙂
#wednesdaywisdom • • “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou • • This weeks #wednesdaywisdom comes to me as a sobering reminder to look at what I focus my energies on when occupying any space alongside others. Whether that be in the home, at work, at church, the street or any other kind of environment that I find myself breathing in the same air as another. • • Task, is important, details are important, taking ground, making traction, pioneering, innovation – all important, but the ‘things’ that have the most eternal significance are not measurable in numbers and growth charts. How we treat people matters. • • Why can’t we be awesome builders and kind? Why can’t we have healthy debate, disagreement and respect? Why can’t we be driven and motivated whilst also noticing people in the process? Why can’t we create excellent things and be full of love? • • Well, I believe we can but it takes effort. It takes intention. It takes assessing our blind spots, being aware of self and surrounding ourselves with loving and honest people who will not only encourage our strengths but also call out our weaknesses. • • “People will follow a leader with a heart faster than people with a title” – Craig Groeschel • • Be kind – it’s free! It could change the trajectory of someone’s life more than a project or programme ever will. • • • #wednesdaywisdom#wednesdaymotivation#faithdiariesblog#faithblogger#christianblogger#lovewins#bekind#mayaangelou#leadership#leadershipquotes#encouragement
#wednesdaywisdom • What does rest look like for you? • • What does it mean to you? • • Is rest important? Is it passive or active? Is rest a weakness or strength? • • In my devotional this week it suggested that rest was a form of worship. Interesting.
Given that Romans 12 talks about our whole lives being an act of worship I thought, “yes, it would fall into that category so it makes sense” Why did I struggle to see rest as worship? • • As I let the thought permeate further I realised, rest = trust. Rest requires belief, it requires faith that God is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do. Rest allows God to be God. Rest is a gift. Rest restores and heals, physically and mentally, rest gives space to stop and think. Rest is God’s idea, He programmed our bodies to rest, to sleep to re-energise. Nature rests. We have day and night. Rest acknowledges that our value and worth are not found in being unhealthily busy, in doing and having and achieving more by our own merit. Rest creates room for miracles, because when we’ve done all we can, we trust, we wait, we rest, we hope and we sleep because He who is faithful never does. • • Rest knows that God has our back. • • “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 NIV • • • #wednesdaywisdom#wednesday#wednesdaymotivation#encouragement#rest#bestill#romans12#faith#faithdiariesblog#faithblogger#christianblogger#gritandvirtue#christianlifestyle
#wednesdaywisdom • • Sienna turns two this week and for a whole year, she has loved to run! From pelting it down our concrete garden path to seeing how far she can escape in the vast open space of our local park. • • One thing she absolutely loves to play is chase, the trouble with this is that mid-sprint she often turns her head to look back. As she does this her little two-year-old orientation falters and the inevitable face plant ensues. • • This reminds me that we rarely move forward in our own lives if we’re always looking back. If we pay too much attention to past failures and hurt it continues to define our present. Likewise, if we live on past successes we make no haste to grow into more for our future. • • We mustn’t ignore or bury our past to the detriment of healing, and we definitely must use it to learn from. However, we need to let the future we want to build define our present, fuel our decisions and keep us forward facing. • • “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14 • • • #christianblogger#wednesdaywisdom#wednesdaymotivation#faithblogger#faithdiariesblog#christianlifestyle#encouragement
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