Living BIG

In today's world, there are plenty of advertisements and commercials which try to tell us how to live our lives. If we don't drink Coca Cola, or use Lysol wipes, or get our cars checked at Auto Zone, then the commercials tell us that we are not living our best lives. Fortunately none of those things are true. Living our best lives has little to do with where we shop or who checks our cars, but with the wellness of our souls and bodies. Naturally, having a healthy and balanced life is not always easy. Jesus calls to us over and over again, through scriptures, other people, events in our lives, and what he calls us to is living a servant and selfless life. Thankfully, there are lots of supports in our community to help us all live the kind of lives Jesus calls us to.

Currently, the Vestry is doing a book study on Brene Brown's book, Rising Strong. In this book one of the topics Brown discusses is what she calls Living BIG. It's a mnemonic for trying to live with healthy Boundaries, Integrity, and Generosity. She says, "Living BIG is saying: "Yes, I'm going to be generous in my assumptions and intentions while standing solidly in my integrity and being very clear about what's acceptable as what's not acceptable."" Jesus is such a great example of someone who naturally lived BIG. He kept his boundaries and was clear with those who followed him what was acceptable and what was not. He kept his integrity in the face of Roman and Jewish persecution, torture, and death. He was generous with those around him, finding compassion and love in his heart for them.

Living BIG is one way to remind yourself throughout the day to follow Jesus' example and live the life God is calling you to. In our world, it is so important to keep healthy Boundaries, to keep our integrity, and to be generous with ourselves and others. How are you living BIG today?