Life Stew 1

INGREDIENTS Goal Setting Taking Action Gratitude Energy Time 2

Goal Setting Process by which we form better habits. 3

Taking Action 5-4-3-2-1-Go! Moving with a Spirit-led focus 4

Gratitude Elevates our perspective, changes our outlook. 5

Energy We are continually being re-created with God’s never-ending, everlasting spiritual energy. 6

Time We manage our priorities and not our hours and minutes. 7

Savory Relationships 8

A Look Ahead Tonight: Relationships Aug. 2: Listening Aug. 9: Camp Aug. 16: Courage Aug 23: Well Being Aug 30: Mindfulness 9

Savory: 1. “Pleasant or agreeable in taste or smell.” 2. “Morally wholesome or acceptable.” 10

What does the Bible say? Proverbs 13:20 20 Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm. John 15:13 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.   Hebrews 10:24-25 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Ephesians 4:2-3 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 11

What does the Bible say? Proverbs 31:10-11 10 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. 11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.   Exodus 20:12 12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. Spirit-based relationships last for eternity 1 Peter 1:3-5 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 12

What does the Bible say? 2 Corinthians 6:14 14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? Genesis 2:18 18 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”   John 3:16 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 13

What does the Bible say? Genesis 2:24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity. Philippians 2:3 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Romans 12:10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 14

Matthew 22:34-40  34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 15

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Keys to Relationships Begins with an acknowledgement of who God is and what he has done for you. Understanding “love your neighbor as yourself.” We are created in God’s image You are part of a winning team You are the recipient of the greatest gifts Your worth is born out of gratitude 32

Keys to Relationships REMEMBER: Our self-worthiness is too often based on what other people tell us about ourselves. The one, true authority on our self-worthiness is Jesus Christ, and since He gave His own life up for us by dying on a cross, that should tell us just how valuable we really are. We are Christ-worthy! 33

Understanding Relationships We have our differences We have our disagreements Relationships require healthy compromise Relationships require maintenance and nurturing Relationships require change Remember how God chose you. Your security rests in God’s love for you, not another’s opinion of you. 34

Building Better Relationships Nurture our relationship with the Father each day. Recognize that we cannot control others, but we can control ourselves. Develop an attitude of serving the relationship instead of it serving you Be a good listener Be available Be present in the relationship 35

To-Done Exercise Write down 5-10 things that you appreciate about the person with whom you are trying to improve a relationship with. Focus on those things. 36

Next Week: 37

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