In this episode, we explore another life habit on the journey back to our heart called influencing through community. Where has God placed you in life to influence people for Jesus? You might be surprised.

Show Notes & Links

-We'll start with a review of our purpose in this next leg of the journey: Renew

-Renew is where we’re learning how to integrate spiritual habits into our everyday lives that will keep us at the center of our hearts with God.

-Renew is also about fortifying our legacy of faith with the people God has put in our lives. Who are your people?

-We all have an everyday, ordinary life where God gives us an opportunity to influence others for Him.

-How can you identify your circles of influence? Who has God put in your life?

-Learning the unforced rhythms of grace.

-Is church attendance sufficient to develop the kind of community that Jesus calls us to?

Scripture references in this episode:

• Deuteronomy 31: 12-13
• Matthew 11:28-30 (The Message)
• Romans 12:1 (The Message)
• Hebrews 12:1-2
• Hebrews 10:24-25

How to find your communities of influence:

Our lives are filled with groups of people we regularly move in and out of. We may not know all the people by name or have relationships with them outside those places, but we can develop a level of influence with them that reveals love and hope to them by the way we value their presence in our lives. Let’s think about what some of those groups might be.  Start a page in your journal called My Communities of Influence. As I give you these examples, maybe there are others you can think of in addition to the ones mentioned. Write them down in your journal as well. This will become a prayer list. Remember, you may or may not know their names. Just write down a phrase describing who they are if you don’t.

• They could be people you interact with in a club or hobby setting like a Bunco group, or a card-playing group, a book club, yoga class members, or a crafting group.
• They could be service providers you interact with regularly like grocery store clerks, baristas, home care providers, mail and delivery people, childcare workers, hair stylists, house cleaners, or the checkout person at Staples. Use your imagination. Who do you see in a day?
• They could be people at church you visit with but don’t socialize with outside of the church.
• They could be people you work with but don’t spend time with outside of work.
• Neighbors you don’t socialize with. You may see them at the  mailbox, but you don't really know them.
• Circle the people on this list you don’t have a name for. Make a point over the next month to find out their name and come back to your list and write it down. Dale Carnegie who wrote the classic, How to Win Friends and Influence People wrote, “a person’s name is to him or her the sweetest and most important sound in any language. Start calling them by name when you see them. This should be easy in most stores because employees are usually wearing a name tag. Greet them by name; smile at them.
• If your communities of influence are just one or two, add a prayer request to this list asking God to open the eyes of your heart to see the people around you every day that need a word of encouragement. Also, just a hint from doing this in my own life. If you go to the store or the coffee shop at the same time of day, usually you will start seeing more of the same people. Look around—take notice of the people God is putting in your life. These are the people He is asking you to influence for Him.

Links (click 'em, they're live):

The first episode of the journey back to your heart. Start here: https://womenfinishingwell.com/episode161/

Connect with me here:

• Women Finishing Well Facebook page
• Email me at [email protected]
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Coming Next Week:

Renew: Cultivating Mental & Emotional Resilience-Learning to Bring God Into the Good and the Bad Times