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One word. Five minutes to write about it. This is the idea behind Five Minute Friday and this is today's free-writing post.
deliberate effort
deliberate disobedience
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For this week's word prompt, I made the deliberate decision to look up a definition to get ideas. To do something deliberately is to think it through, weigh the options, consider a course of action and then follow through with full knowledge of the likely consequences. Or as a verb, you might deliberate over all the possible choices in order to make a decision. A jury must deliberate and agree on a verdict.
We used to get impatient with a couple of our kids for taking longer than we thought necessary to make decisions or do homework. Sometimes they were being slow, but sometimes they were actually being deliberate. Taking their time to consider their choices or to do something just the way they wanted.
Never fear to deliberately walk through dark places, for that is how you reach the light on the other side. ~Vernon Howard
All that deliberation might make others impatient when you're taking a very long time to decide what to order at a restaurant, or which socks to wear, but when it comes to important, life-changing decisions, it's wise to take time to deliberate and be sure. We don't want to jump into decisions and then realize we can't follow through or that we hadn't considered all the factors.
Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in. ~Andrew Jackson
Making the decision to follow Jesus is ALWAYS wise, and God wants every one of us to make that decision. But it's not one to be made lightly, because there is a cost. It means obeying God in everything, and it won't always be easy. It might mean being misunderstood or even hated by those who don't follow Jesus. God promises us that it is worth it, but we should be aware that it won't be always be just sunshine and lollipops.
Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, "This man began to build and was not able to finish."
Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
~Luke 14:27-33~
But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ . . .
`~Philippians 3:7-8~
Strategy is about making choices, trade-offs; it's about deliberately choosing to be different. ~Michael Porter
A deliberate decision to follow Jesus allows us to make deliberate decisions every day to do what is right and will glorify God. What a privilege!
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised in faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds . . .
~Hebrews 10:23-24~
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Kym, Just right! You hit the nail on the head here. I love what you did with this week's word. I'm a mismatched sock person, and I'm one of those people who takes forever to decide what to order at a restaurant.
ReplyDeleteVisiting today from FMF#14
Great reminders, Kym, that we need to be deliberate in our decisions and in our obedience to Him. I did this recently over a major decision, which I had to make on my own, and I'm glad I did because the opposite decision would have been disastrous. Thanks for sharing. Kath, your FMF neighbour at #6 this week.
ReplyDeleteI think on each decision
ReplyDeletewith resolve both firm and strong,
and then with great precision,
pick courses that are wrong,
like cars that are not practical
(but really look awesomely cool!),
and are quite intractable
as a transportation tool.
Commuting by Ferrari
sure can catch a lady's eye,
but things get kinda hairy
when tall dogs walk by,
and to Almighty God I beg
that I won't see a lifting leg.