Posts Tagged: on not complaining
“SECRETLY INCREDIBLE”
Here was my report and affirmation to my 12-step sponsor the other day:
Dear _____,
Today, my report and affirmation to my 12-step sponsor read as follows: “No violations, other than some passing fantasies. I didn’t let them pass as quickly as I would have liked, but they did pass.
Today, by God’s grace, I will not complain about anything or anyone. This includes myself. Instead, I will be grateful, and will do whatever I can to serve God and others, in order to make this a slightly better world than it is right now.”
My sponsor’s reply was at once an encouragement and a rebuke. “So, I see a contradiction in your report and your affirmation. You said you did not let them pass as quickly as you would have liked and then you state that you won’t complain about anything. Relish your success.
Be secretly incredible today to tie in to your affirmation.”
I wrote, “Thanks so much for the correction! You are right.
Thanks also for giving me a wonderful idea for a blog: “Secretly Incredible.’”
So, let me make a list of things about me that stand a chance of being “secretly incredible.” Of course, since I am posting this, it will be an open secret. So, here is a not-so-secret list of my current secret incredibles:
- I am honest about my weaknesses, at least some of the time.
- I am admitting to others some of my weaknesses, in order that they both hold me accountable and encourage me.
- I am making positive affirmations, and trying to live by them.
- I am aware of the danger and yukkiness of complaining, and am seeking to avoid it.
- I am capable of having my contradictions pointed out without coming unglued.
What are your secret incredibles? Most of us are aware of our faults and failings. Are you also aware of what’s right about you? Sometimes I think we hide all our secrets deep inside, unaware that some of those secrets might be just fine.
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
- DTEB, “Getting Christ and Ourselves Back in Focus” November 11, 2024“Col. 3:1 ¶ If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Col. 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Col. 3:3 For you have died, and your life is hidden […]
- “Search Me!” October 27, 2024“Psa. 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24, English Standard Version) I am participating in a Bible study, and this is a prayer […]
- “Christian Speech” October 26, 2024“Eph. 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.” Foulkes, in his excellent commentary on the Book of Ephesians, writes the following, which I quote at some length: “29. Now the […]
- “God is in the Details” October 11, 2024“The devil is in the details.” (A general saying, often quoted by lawyers, reporters, and negotiators.) “God is in the details.” (Me, almost certainly not original.) “Luke 12:7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Jesus) God does not micromanage, but God […]
- “Grandma’s Pump” October 8, 2024When I was a little critter, I would stay at my grandma’s house for a night or two sometimes. I liked this for a lot for many reasons. One thing I liked about staying with her was that Grandma’s house was much more technologically advanced than ours was. For one thing, she had indoor water—sort […]
- “Wearing the #14 Wrong-Side-Out” October 5, 2024Pete Rose, #14, is dead. Many of the old guys with whom I play softball watched him play and appreciated him greatly. I do as well. He was one of the greatest players who ever played the game. Yes, he admitted (eventually) to betting on baseball. But many of us still regard him as one […]
- “Passing Along the Love (and a Link)” October 4, 2024Several years ago, a friend of mine put me onto a daily meditation by Richard Rohr and friends. I don’t read them all the time, but I probably should. They are good! I thought that today’s writing was especially good, and I also figured that this would be a good way to post something. I […]
- “Witnessing Versus Being Witnesses” September 19, 2024“Acts 1:1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, Acts 1:2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. Acts 1:3 He presented himself alive to them after […]
- “A Bathroom Prayer for Hurting Hands” September 11, 2024A week ago Sunday, my hands were hurting so badly at church that I went to the bathroom to run hot water over my hands. Arthritis perhaps, or carpal tunnel, or general orneriness—I don’t know why my hands hurt, but they do. They have for years. So, while I was running hot water over my […]
- “Waiting and Seeking” September 10, 2024“Lam. 3:19 ¶ Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! Lam. 3:20 My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. Lam. 3:21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: Lam. 3:22 ¶ The steadfast love of the LORD […]
Recent Comments