[Faith-talk] FW: [thefamilyoffaith] Little Decisions Make a Big Difference | Encouragement For Today

[Eric Calhoun]

Original Message: 
From: "TONY_at_FloridaHealth" <FloridaHealth21 at verizon.net>
To: <thefamilyoffaith at yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [thefamilyoffaith] Little Decisions Make a Big Difference |
Encouragement For  Today
Date: 
Mon, 25 Apr 2011 09:29:17 -0400

Little Decisions Make a Big Difference | Encouragement For Today |
Proverbs 31 Ministries


           
               
           
                       Little Decisions Make a Big Difference
                        25 Apr 2011


                        "Be very careful, then, how you live-not as
unwise but as wise ." Ephesians 5:15 (NIV)

                        Devotion:
                        Do you ever get tired of making decisions? I do.
Every day, decisions line up for my attention. I decide what I'm going to
do, how I'll spend my money, and what I'm going to say. Conversely, I make
decisions about what I am NOT going to do, spend or say.

                        One of the biggest challenges I face right now
has to do with what I eat. You see, I'm on Weight Watchers. For the past 19
years, I've battled to be at a healthy weight. Coincidentally, my oldest
child is 19. I'm certainly not blaming him. but, I'm just saying.

                        The first week on the program I recorded a
respectable loss of 1.5 pounds. The second week on the program, I lost
nothing. I was shocked. It seemed I had exercised and sacrificed more that
week than ever. But the scale told the truth.

                        The kind lady at the reception desk tried to help
me think it through. "Maybe you aren't eating enough," she said. No, that
wasn't the problem. "Are you drinking enough water?" she asked. Yes. That
wasn't the problem either.

                        Then it hit me. The problem wasn't what I was
eating when I sat down for a meal, it was all the bites that led up to that
meal. It was the French fry before dinner, and the bite of casserole as I
put away the leftovers after dinner. It was the nibble of my son's double
cheeseburger, and the extra scoop of dip with my carrots.

                        It wasn't the big decisions that kept me from
seeing progress; it was all the little decisions.

                        Unfortunately, I had minimized in my mind the
potential damage of all those little bites. Yet they added up to derail me
from my goal of losing weight that week. The next week I took control of
those BLTs (bites, licks, tastes and sips) and had a nice loss.

                        As I've pondered this reality, I've applied it to
other areas of my life. I easily minimize the damage of daily unwise
decisions. They aren't sin issues, so I can dismiss them as unimportant.
However, when added up, they have a big impact on achieving some of my
personal goals.

                        For example, when I make a decision to not read
my Bible for one day, there's no noticeable impact. But when I neglect this
important part of my spiritual growth repeatedly, I find myself lacking in
godly wisdom and discernment.

                        If you find yourself on a plateau in a certain
area of your life, perhaps this truth can apply to you as well. You may be
making all the right big decisions, but the little ones are having a
cumulative negative impact on you.

                        Not only that, but I believe God desires to do
amazing things through us, and is continually testing us to see if we can
handle bigger responsibilities. The truth is those little decisions that
seem minor, and inconsequential, really do matter. They matter to me as I
pursue personal goals, and they matter to God.

                        You see, it's in the arena of little
responsibilities that our true dependability is revealed.

                        My challenge today is to make every decision
count. I ask myself, "Is this decision going to get me closer to my goal,
or further from it? Is this decision going to show God I can be trusted
with the little things?"

                        Sometimes I ask these questions every hour. Which
is why I ate steamed vegetables for dinner, and my family had overstuffed
burritos. (Not that it's Monday night and I'm weighing in Tuesday morning
or anything.)

                        Dear Lord, thank You for caring about every
detail of my life. I know You have placed goals and dreams in my heart that
will take diligence to carry out. Help me to look to You when faced with a
decision, and I pray for Your wisdom as I make the right choice. In Jesus'
Name, Amen.

                        Related Resources:
                        Visit Glynnis' blog where she shares her top 10
list of important little decisions to make.

                        Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst

                        Dear Bathroom Scale, an excerpt from the P31
Woman magazine

                        Six Habits of Highly Effective Christians by
Brian T. Anderson and Glynnis Whitwer

                        Application Steps:
                        Identify one big goal you have for your life.
Name one helpful "little" decision you can make that will help you achieve
that goal.

                        Reflections:
                        What are some examples of little decisions I make
every day that can impact me positively over time?

                        Have I ever made a series of innocent choices
that led me down the wrong path? What did I learn from that experience?

                        Power Verses:
                        Ephesians 5:8-10, "For you were once darkness,
but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit
of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find
out what pleases the Lord." (NIV)

                        Colossians 1:10-11, "And we pray this in order
that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every
way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that
you may have great endurance and patience." (NIV)

                        © 2011 by Glynnis Whitwer. All rights reserved.


                        Proverbs 31 Ministries
                        616-G Matthews-Mint Hill Road, Matthews, NC 28105
                        877-P31-HOME (877-731-4663)