perspective runs deep.
we all have a filter that the world we see runs through.
our interpretations of our experiences will determine our filter.
and this filter, this perspective, will determine how we interact with everything and everyone.
what you take in will determine the outflow of your heart. everything that comes in, will come out.
Matthew 6:22-23 msg
“Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have.”
what are you taking in? how do you interpret things? does it bring life? does it bring death?
does life happen to you or do you happen to life?
we don’t have control over a lot of things, but we have control of our filter, of our interpretations.
it just takes self-awareness.
take a step back, look at how you see things.
for instance, over this weekend I went to the beach with some of the Racers, and what a time it was.
these people are so full of life and it fills me up so much to be around them.
this last week the Lord resurfaced something He brought up awhile ago when I was India.
extravagantly simple. if you know, you know.
these last few weeks, and especially this week, have been so simple. and that’s where the extravagance has been. the abundance is in the simplicity.
this perspective has instilled this holy contentment inside of me. something I’ve been longing for. and I really think it’s all rooted in perspective.
will I choose to let simplicity come alive or just move right over it like it’s nothing.
here’s some simple things that I’ve been finding so much extravagance and abundance in.
being welcomed into homes.
someone bringing me home a Coke.
seeing Gap T on their hands and knees receiving His love for them.
sitting at a rooftop coffee shop watching a storm come in over the mountains.
smiles and the way peoples eyes light up.
casual deep conversations.
chicken bus rides with the window down.
the men washing the women’s feet and serving us so well.
playing in the ocean with some of Gap T.
that wifi isn’t always readily accessible.
seeing my teams step out in boldness and grow in their intimacy with the Father.
the clouds, always the clouds.
driving through the Guatemalan countryside.
digging deep into scripture and not staying on the surface with it.
laughing very frequently.
taking mental pictures.
chasing kids around on their playground.
walking home from ministry.
praying over people.
I could let this list go on forever.
and the reason these things hold so much weight for me is because Jesus is in it all. He’s in the simplicity and He’s the extravagance. He’s the abundance.
here’s a quote by Erwin McManus that I would love to leave you with.
“We are interpreters. This is the way we are designed. We are translators of meaning, and thus everything we see, hear, smell, touch, taste, and experience is processed through all our previous experiences and perceptions. We don’t see people for who they are; we see them though the filter of everyone we’ve ever known. We don’t see circumstances as they are; we see them through the filter of everything we’ve ever experienced. No experience is an experience in isolation. Every experience is interpreted by the overarching story of our lives, and those experiences give us greater clarity.”
how will you interpret your experiences?
will you let Him define them or will you let false narrative define them?
I refuse to settle for anything less than the perspective Jesus gives me.
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for a deeper look into ministry and life the last few weeks head on over to my Instagram! @alyssahammett_
