“Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand – shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:15-16 MSG
Shine in this text denotes the transliteration of the Greek word, lampó. It is a primary verb, meaning “to beam, i.e., Radiate brilliancy (literally or figuratively) — give light, shine.”
And, if God says we are to do it, that means we can do it! Right?
We have absolutely no excuses.
It only takes 28 days!!! Can you believe it?
You better, because it’s the truth. Believing is your first step, and it is the start of a brighter life.
So, how does it work?
One word: Consistency. Within 21 consecutive days, any habit can be created, but with an additional 7 days, that habit becomes a long-term memory pattern. That’s the clincher and the most magnificent part of the process. By day 28, that old habit, of being dull (uninteresting, lacking luster, stupid, sluggish, listless) will be an attribute of your past.
Let’s Take the Challenge to SHINE BRIGHTER, Together, in 4 Simple Steps:
- Choose a different word that means to shine from the Wordlist each day for the next 28 days. I’ll add definitions as I go through the 28-day process.
- Meditate on that word with the five senses (see it, touch it, feel it, taste it, and smell what the Lord is cooking up in you)!!! It should take you about 5 – 7 minutes to do this.
- Throughout the day, find ways to use this word in your verbal or written communication. Maybe you will use the word in your journaling or in an affirmation or how about a compliment to someone else. *** If you need to remain accountable, as I do, come back to this post and share the action you took for the day.
- Repeat the above steps for the next 28 days.
The results!
Brilliance. Radiance, and the like. You will have developed the new habit and long-term memory of shining all the time, well beyond the 28 days it took to change your dull ways. Shining will have seeped from your mind and become a part of your heart.
The effects!
You and l will want to do better, be better and help others just as Matthew 5:15-15 tells us.
Isn’t this exciting?
Time really does work for us when we set our minds to stay the course. It changes our hearts and helps us to become all God created us to be. I pray you will accept this offer and never be dull again!
If this blog has inspired you, please take the time to post a comment. Thank you. Until the next time, SHINE BRIGHTLY and give God the glory,
Reallyleah.com
I have been remiss in posting new “shine” words. Life, Y’all. But I have been consistently thinking about ways to shine. Therefore, there will be a much-needed augmentation of this post to reflect my current thoughts.