8 Ways I’m Saying YES to God
Have you read Lisa Hendey’s new book – The Grace of Yes: Eight Virtues for Generous Living
After reading The Grace of Yes, I wondered –
What is God asking me to say Yes to?
Generally speaking, He is asking me to love Him, and those around me, and myself. But how? How can I say Yes to this?
In her book, Lisa offers us Eight Virtues for Generous Living to help us say YES more to God in our lives. Using these as my guide, here are the ways I hope to say YES more to God.
1. The Grace of Belief – TRUST God, in everything.
When something is bothering me or I’m feeling anxious, I will step away and pray. I will get down on my knees, close my eyes for a moment, and really earnestly hand it over to Him. Jesus, I trust in you, Jesus, I trust in you, Jesus I trust in YOU.
2. The Grace of Generativity – Live generously for others, especially in a way that will bear fruit for many generations to come – even if I will never be recognized or thanked for it.
I will look for ways I can serve others with a genuine and generous heart. I will perform secret and random acts of love for my husband, my children, my family, friends, neighbors, parishioners, and those I do not even know. They’ll never know it was me, and I’ll never need to tell them or look for praise or recognition for it.
3. The Grace of Creativity – BE NOT AFRAID to serve God with the talents He has given me.
I will write more – freely and whole heartedly – without worrying about if it’s “good enough”. I’ll pour my heart out and declare my love and adoration for my beloved and His unfathomable love. I will give time to drawing, painting, crafting and other creative work I daydream about but always put off because I’m afraid I will fail or that I’ll get interrupted. Yes, I might fail, and yes, I will probably get interrupted a million times. But, like I tell my children, I can never fail at trying.
4. The Grace of Integrity – Be who I am with myself and with others.
I will stop comparing or idolizing others. I’ll put my envious and judgmental heart away and look at myself in the mirror and be the woman looking back at me. I will be the woman, the wife, the mother, the daughter, the sister, the friend, the neighbor, the person God asks me to be.
5. The Grace of Humility – Think about myself less – not less of myself – and think about others more. Humbly acknowledge God does have a purpose for me and submit myself to Him with courage.
I’ll stop thinking all about how I feel or what I want in life. I’ll accept that I am not perfect – nor do I need to be. God is calling me – plain and simple me – to say Yes to Him. All I have to do is accept and let Him lead the way. He wants me to get out of myself and see the other souls around me – they are yearning and searching for His Love. I will say Yes to bringing His love to them. I will pray more for others, and less for myself.
6. The Grace of Vulnerability – Be willing to give and to love – even if it makes me uncomfortable.
I will reach out of my comfort zone and give and love, even if I’m not comfortable. I will look beyond my comfortable home, beyond what is familiar and safe, beyond who I know…to the stranger, the one who has no one, the forgotten and abandoned one.
7. The Grace of No – Do less – pray, give, and love more.
I will simplify my life, cut down the to-do list, activities, and commitments. I’ll organize my home and daily life so I can live less harried, more peacefully. I’ll try to feel less overwhelmed, more available for my family, for myself, for God. I will learn to pause, reflect, and pray before saying Yes to anything new. I will ask for help. I will say no to false guilt. I will say no so I can say yes more.
8. The Grace of Rebirth – Allow God to transform me, to continually draw me closer to Him, to learn from my past and move on.
I will give Him my failings. My mistakes. My sins. And I will allow Him to forgive me, I will ask those I’ve hurt or offended for forgiveness. I will forgive myself. And then, I will let it go, and continue. I will start again and let God transform me. Metanoia.
How about you? How is God asking you to say YES to Him?
Today is a very exciting day – the Grace of Yes day! Pray and ask God what He is asking of you. And then join Lisa Hendey, the CatholicMom.com community and maybe even the whole world in saying YES to God.
Enjoy Lisa’s awesome video and then check out the Bloggers Resources for the The Grace of Yes Day. Print out Your Signs, snap a picture and share it with all your social media friends! Let’s make The Grace of Yes Day take over the internet!
And, like I mentioned, if you haven’t had a chance to get your hands on a copy of Lisa’s book, I teamed up with Lisa and her publishing team, Ave Maria Press, to host a special Give-Away of The Grace of Yes: Eight Virtues for Generous Living
