Day 2: CHOSEN – Making Right Holiday Choices

Each day during The PURSE-onality Challenge: "A Holiday-Ready Heart" in October, Untangling Christmas by Karen Ehman and LeAnn Rice, will be our give-away prize!  

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How It Works (via Bullet Points & Videos!)
Day 1: LOVED (+ 2 Vital Questions to Ask NOW)

“I feel lonely during the holidays.”

“I feel as if ‘everyone else’ is together and having so much fun.”

“This Christmas will be the first since the separation /divorce, so I won’t be going to some gatherings (but have to make sure the kids get to them).”

Feeling Left Out

Nobody likes feeling left out.

Our extroverted Sanguines love being the center of attention and Cholerics like orchestrating the action. 

And while our introverted Melancholies and Phlegmatics tend to be drained by people rather than energized, they don’t want to be excluded. They like to be invited, to have the option to decline or to come for a while and then leave when they’re ready.

We want to be wanted.

We need to be needed.

We long to be chosen.

And the good news is:  We already are!

Already Chosen

I am chosen by God: past tense, continuing indefinitely!

I don’t need to ask, “Has God really chosen me?”

He’s made it crystal clear:

“You didn’t choose me. I chose you. 

I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, 

so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, 

using my name.” 

John 15:16

But I do need to ask:  Have I chosen God or have I chosen me?

My answer will be evident in my attitudes and actions.

Choosing the Right Gifts

I love choosing gifts.

I browse catalogs year-round, imagining how much fun it’ll be to watch (for example) my daughter’s face as she opens a gift I’ve picked out just for her.

“Where did you get this?” she’ll gasp in amazement.

“That’s my secret!” I’ll reply smugly. “I saw it and thought of you.”

I’m intentional as I choose gifts, matching a unique item with the special person who will appreciate it most. 

Choosing the Right Attitudes

Sadly, I’m not nearly as care-full about choosing my attitude.

Instead of gauging whether my current state of mind will bless or curse others, I take a one-size-fits-all approach: 

Everyone gets the same “baditude,” like it or not. 

And I don’t even include a gift receipt in case they want to return it!

That's what happens when I choose me.

Choosing the Right Actions

Jesus tells me clearly what kind of “lasting fruit” my attitude and actions will bear when I choose Him:  

I will choose to love others.

Even though each PURSE-onality makes this challenging in their own way:

• Sanguine enthusiasm can inundate.

• Choleric accomplishment can intimidate.

• Melancholy precision can frustrate.

• Phlegmatic calm can irritate.

But I will choose to love others, because I am chosen.

And I won’t dwell on whether others choose me, because I am chosen.

The Greatest Gift

The lyrics to a well-known Christmas song ask, “So what can I give Him?"

The answer:  “I'll give Him my heart.”

It’s a good answer. 

But what might “I’ll give Him my heart” look like, in action, during the upcoming days and weeks?

When I need to love others who make themselves hard to love? those who choose not to choose me?

I will try whispering, “Happy Birthday, Jesus.” 

And because I am chosen, give His love to those I can not love on my own...and to those who choose not to choose me.

I’ll give Him my heart by choosing Him rather than me.

I don’t need to choose me.

He already has.

Your Turn:

• Do you find it hard to love a particular PURSE-onality? Which one and why?

• How might mentally preparing to pray "Happy Birthday, Jesus" when you encounter challenging people during the holidays make a difference for you?

• Anything on your heart!

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