Abundant Living

Abundant living means embracing and engaging the world around us.

On December 19th Jim Carrey returns to the cineplex in the comedy Yes Man. The film is adapted from Yes Man, the unintentional self-help book that tracks one year of humorist author Danny Wallace’s life after a stranger on a late-night bus suggests
that he should “say yes more.”

In order to make his life more interesting, Wallace pledges not just to say yes more—but to say yes to everything: “I, Danny Wallace, being of sound mind and body, do hereby write this manifesto for my life. I swear I will be more open to opportunity. I swear I will live my life taking every available chance. I will say Yes to every favour, request, suggestion and invitation. I will swear to say yes where once I would say no.”

We need to find ways to say yes to life, to relationships, and to engaging God’s world more fully. But we cannot say yes to everything, and there is still a place for saying no. Danny Wallace’s approach to life, choosing to say yes to everything without thought or consideration, comes with plenty of problems.

Wallace must have been aware of this fact; in Yes Man he enlists a close friend, Ian, to make sure that none of the ventures are too wild. While we should not close ourselves off from the world by consistently saying no, we must use wisdom and discernment before saying yes.

I know that to a few individuals that I have been saying "yes" to too many things. As, I look back at the last few months, I have definitely took on a few more things and with "Bridges" coming around the corner, this will definitely be the case.

However, I am doing so - saying yes - with a purpose in my. Recently, I saw some talking points (3) and I believe they are "fitting" to me. Here they are:

Talk Topic #1: The Habits of No
KEY POINT: If we make a habit of saying no to new experiences and opportunities, we may miss out on the abundant life that God desires for us.

Talk Topic #2: The Power of Yes
KEY POINT: Saying yes means actively engaging and embracing God’s children and God’s creation.

Talk Topic #3: Saying Yes to God
KEY POINT: Theres a difference between constantly saying yes and saying yes to God. When we say yes to God, we are actually saying yes to God’s will for our
lives, even if this means sometimes saying no.

Also, I have recently had a scripture come to mind that has really grapped a hold of my heart strings. Throughout my life, during different periods, there were certain Scriptures that "drove" me. Here is the one that is my driving force:

Proverbs 31:9 (The Message)

"Speak up for the people who have no voice, for the rights of all the down-and-outers. Speak out for justice! Stand up for the poor and destitute!"

I want to be the "voice" for those who do not have a voice or am not sure how to use their voice.