I am feeling much more sparky and with it today. I feel like I have my energy back and by this I mean my emotional energy.

I listened to a preach this morning ‘You complete me’ and I feel like I have fully woken up. There was so much that spoke to me about where I have been in my own life and where I am seeking to move on from. If you follow me on twitter you will have seen plenty of quotes from this message – it is so rich in what it says.

I don’t want this post to simply be a précis of the message – I have included the link to encourage you to listen for yourself. This post is about thinking on a couple of the points raised and how we can ensure we are attempting to work towards them in our every day lives.

What does it mean to socialise like Jesus? Not coming, being consumed with self but looking for creative ways to add value to people.

How often in relationships or social situations do you look for ways to add value to people? In theory we would like to say we do that at all times, in all encounters that is what our relationships are about. Is that really true?

Are not relationships and encounters sometimes more about what we can gain? More about our needs and wants? About self rather than serving?

Ah, I mentioned that word – serving. Did it make you flinch or cringe slightly? The problem is, we have often taken the word serving out of context and associated it with meaning we have to do things we hate. Am I wrong? Serving in the church, serving others has begun to mean that there is a long list of things that need to be done and if you don’t do them then you feel guilty – it has become works based.

What about if we thought about serving as adding value to others. To me there is something beautiful about that, being able to be a part of something that adds value to people.

If we are to live out of the fullness of Jesus, where we are offered fullness and wholeness and completeness, we are offered peace and rest then ‘serving’ adding value to others could become a natural outpouring of our own fullness.

What would it look like if thousands of people lived, related and loved people from a full place. The knee jerk reaction was to give and add value.

Just think about that for a moment. What would it look like? Think of all that is going on in the world now. Think of the latest news stories you have read.

Was your first reaction ‘it could never happen.’?

The thing is, it could. It could start with you.

What would happen if today you sought to serve other people – you set out to add value to others. What would that look like?

What are the best ways to add value to others? What are the most creative ways?

What adds value to you – what things add value to your own life? I love encouragement. I think words are really important and powerful. Words can build up of tear down. Words can be influential, words can provide much needed healing for the soul, words can lift you, inspire you, keep you going even in the dark places.

Who could you add value to by encouraging them today?

What about giving? Again we have taken this word and learnt to associate it solely with money. Yes, giving freely of your finances to support and help others is great but there osis more to giving. Have you been content in your ‘giving’ that is solely monetary. Have you ever thought of other ways to give?

What else could you give that would add value to someone today?

How can you add value to others?

I am so struck today that we are promised a life of abundance and yet we so often live consumed by insecurity and fear. We focus inwards on self instead of on Him. We become selfish ‘all about me’ instead of selfless – All about Him.

I am expectant and excited about what God will do if we seek to add value to others and live out of the fullness of Jesus.

How about today, we focus on adding value? How about we start just where we are serving and giving and loving people?