I read a good book a while back...and I typed up my favorite quotes like I do...and then I forgot about the post and it's been tucked away as a draft ever since. Seems fitting that God would bring it back to mind as we are in this "identity" series at CCC.
The book is called "I Declare War: 4 Keys To Winning The Battle With Yourself" and was written by a guy named Levi Lusko and it looks like this:
AND it's got all kinds of good stuff in it.
Here are my favorite quotes...my
MOST FAVORITE QUOTES are bigger and/or bolder than all the rest
(and a very few of my thoughts are in italics). Consider this a sampling...and if you like the samples, check out the book! I'm happy to lend out my copy. All quotes are from Levi Lusko unless otherwise noted (except the images - I don't know who should get credit for some of those!).
Chapter 1 The Wolf You Never Knew You Wanted to Be
I want to be alone and I want people to notice me - both at the same time. -Thom Yorke of Radiohead
Some people call it a bad mood, I call it being held hostage by the version of me I don't want to be.
There are brand new mercies waiting for you - you don't have to wait for the start of the day; you can seek the grace when you need it. Only pride and silliness allow a bad decision to turn into a bad day and make you defer until tomorrow what you need to do right now.
The truth is, you don't have to stay in a bad mood any more than you have to stay in the wrong Uber. If you got in, you can get out.
Proverbs 25:28 "whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls."
Chapter 2 (+) or (-)
Bad things happen when you put a negative where there is supposed to be a positive.
I don't believe in positive thinking as a replacement for God but as a response to God.
What is faith if not a filter that allows you to process your experiences through the goodness of God, choosing to reject what you see and clinging to what you trust He is doing? Faith allows you to believe your beliefs and doubt your doubts.
Ever present joy is part of God's plan for our lives.
When you feel like complaining, see yourself acting selfishly, or find yourself slipping into a bad mood, shoot a prayer to God that is full of joy and gratitude instead. Setting your mind on things above you is declaring war on low-level thinking.
...the way to use the word good....isn't to say that the bad thing is good - but to believe that goodness will be the end result.
You can be thankful IN the hard things...or in any thing hell can throw at you - because God has a plan to produce good from what you are facing.
Chapter 3 TSA on the Brain
In battle, the advantage always goes to the side in control of elevated positions. Your mind is the high ground of your life.
"thoughts are like trains - they take you somewhere." - Kevin Gerald
When a train of thought shows up, don't just get on! Slow down before you board...where are you taking me? are we headed to Lovelyville, Virtuetown or Good Report Station? Is this train going to Jealousy, USA? Rage City? Gossip Central?
You can't stop thinking about something by trying to stop thinking about it. The only way not to think about pink elephants is to instead think about something else....Feed the positive and replace the negative.
Chapter 4 The Secret to a Miserable Life
"How much larger your life would be if your self could become smaller in it." G.K. Chesterton
I'm not angry at the kids who picked on me. I'm mostly sad at myself for wanting them to like me and for not respecting myself to the point that I put myself in harm's way.
...longing to be liked, celebrated, approved...I look for lesser versions of things that are already mine
Insecurity is a lack of confidence. It comes from uncertainty about your worth, value, or place in the world.
It's ironic that we put on masks in hopes of finding love and acceptance, but people can't love someone they don't know. (
an excellent description of a variety of masks we wear can be found on pages 55-58)
It's so much less work to just be yourself.
You are what He thinks, not what you think.
When you know who are you, it doesn't matter what you are not.
...instead of showing up empty and looking to receive affirmation from kids at school, by looking to Jesus his tank would be constantly full.
Chapter 5 Mind Your Words
Be mindful of the things you say...the words you speak to others, the words you speak to yourself, the words you speak about your life, and the words you speak when you are afraid.
If you flip over any virtue, you'll find vice on the bottom.
Bricks can be used to build hospitals or be thrown through windows. Water can quench a thirst or flood a city. Words are neutral in and of themselves; it's how you use them that determines whether they are good or bad.
When the tongue is working properly, it is both a spring that refreshes and a fruit tree that nourishes.
If Jesus is the Lord of your life, He must be the Lord of your lips too.
Chapter 6 If You Say So
Use your words to surround yourself with belief and strength
You will feel how you speak and find what you seek.
Your words can unlock a life you love or one you loathe.
In an atmosphere of expectancy, the poorest effort can catch fire. In an atmosphere of critical coldness or bland indifference, the most spirit-packed utterance can fall lifeless to the earth. - William Barclay
Chapter 7 Being Rude Is Not Cheap
Your intentions don't matter; your behavior does. No one can hear what you wanted to say; we hear only what you said. The impact you have on the world is what you're accountable for.
Being nice is one thousand times more effective than being a jerk.
Start taking note of the situations that blindside you and incite you to respond in a way you don't like.
How would the person I want to be handle this?
Ask God for strength and close the gap between who you are and you were born to be by making the right choice, regardless of how it feels in the moment.
...know that your perspective is not the only one. How you see the situation may not be entirely accurate.
THIS NEXT QUOTE (exercise) IS REALLY GOOD for communicating with others. really good:
The story I'm writing in my head is that you did ______ because you ______. If that is incorrect can you help clear it up for me? That lets the other person know how you see things and what your brain is trying to make of it, but it sets a soft tone because you haven't yet committed your findings to granite. It gives both of you the chance to see things through each other's eyes.
The language gives room for the possibility that what you are bringing to their attention might not be the whole truth, and you are humbly asking them to shed light on how you see their actions.
Chapter 9 Start Before You Are Ready
It's a gift to be unsettled and unsatisfied, because it is in those moments we can potentially find what we truly need from Him.
A note to younger readers: what you are doing now matters. You are putting habits into motion while you are in high school and college that are going to hurt or help you down the road...
Chapter 10 The Game Before the Game
No matter what God does for any of us, the real bulk of our lives is made of unglamorous, unsexy, unspectacular opportunities to keep our eyes on Jesus (or not), press through anxious thoughts and worries (or not), and demonstrate perseverance and passion (or not) in the trenches of daily life.
Worship is not a feeling expressed through actions; it's an act of obedience that, once expressed, often leads to feelings. Simply put, you do it because it is right. And in God's grace, many times the emotions follow suit.
I am not trying to impress people but am sent by God to bless people, a mind-set in which I am seeking to give a gift, not to receive one. This stops me from looking for validation by reminding me I am already valued. You don't need to earn what you already have.
Chapter 11 Never Bring a Horse to a Tank Fight
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to try to do God's work without God's power.
Chapter 12 Butterflies and Eagles
And neglecting the Holy Spirit is like declining the offer of a friend with a truck to help you move, and instead opting to drag your furniture by yourself down the road.
Conclusion
When you are authentically yourself and walk humbly as a follower of Jesus, you can live in confidence without fear, distraction, depression, anxiety, worry, regret, quarrels, addictions, darkness, selfishness, self-sabotage, narcissism, the held-hostage version of yourself you don't want to be, or anything else that gets in your way or stunts your growth.
THIS. THIS. This next quote may have been my favorite part of the whole book - it's certainly the quote I've shared most since reading the book...so many of you are battling and I truly think this is why:
When the devil messes with you, it's a mistake on his part. Because every time he fights against something, he's tipping his hand so you can see what matters to him. The only reason the enemy would come against you is because he sees value in you. he wants you to throw you off the trail of your God-given greatness. It's because you're precious that he tries to make you feel worthless. the devil opposes what he is afraid of.
There are people in your peripheral vision who need to be noticed, and if you pay attention to them instead of wanting the world to pay attention to you, you'll tap into things God put inside you that are being neglected.
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God, will you help us to be who you say we are - who we TRULY ARE.
Surely there will be more to come.
