Word for the day “Self-Care life and leadership insights.”
Matthew 22:37 (NIV) Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[c] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
Good morning, Leaders,
I trust today with all my heart, that you are growing in your health spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically. Let’s take a look at a few leadership insights I’ve developed on self-care for your life and leadership journey.
SELF-CARE ENABLES YOU TO BE EFFECTIVE IN YOUR LEADERSHIP SERVICE.
It takes great courage and strength to practice self-care. A part of you will want to continue to trade your well-being for the acceptance and approval of people. However, it's just not healthy as an outcome for your life. Leadership can be effective or ineffective. When you are engaged in self-care as a leader you are in the best possible position to be an effective leader.
All leadership vision assumes a commitment far beyond today. It is my personal experience that self-care practice puts you in the best position to fulfill the leadership assignment. When we read today’s passage in (Matthew 22:39) we see a compelling commandment. As people and leaders, we must learn how to love ourselves as the Lord intended.
EXCERPT FROM MY BOOK “THE JOURNEY OF SELF-CARE FROM THE INSIDE OUT”.
“My life has been an ongoing struggle to learn how to apply effective self-care practices. I realize more than ever that it will be either my ability or inability to deploy self-care from the inside out to fulfill my purpose in life. If I don’t have my emotional health as a priority in my life, I am a casualty waiting to happen. Please hear my heart. It’s not my gifts, talents, and abilities that are the priority, but my emotional health is more important than anything else. My gifts, talents, and skills are what I give out to others. My emotional health is who I am inside the person of James Baker Jr.”
My mission with my book “The Journey of Self-Care from the Inside Out” is to empower your life, emotional intelligence, and self-awareness capabilities to the fullest extent. It is to equip you with knowledge and tools as you serve your children as parent leaders, serve in your careers as professional leaders, serve in your churches as ministry leaders, serve in our world as community leaders, and serve each other as our sisters’ and brothers’ keeper.
We must have a mindset that understands there is a time to give out, and there is a time to go inside to be restored, replenished, and reignited to complete the journey of living your greatest life now. I am overwhelmingly grateful for this being my first book, to have tapped into my potential, my purpose, and what God’s plan is for my life.
TODAY’S PERICOPE IN (MATHEW 22:37-39), IS LOCKED AND LOADED WITH SELF-CARE LEADERSHIP EMPHASIS.
The passage is very compelling because the Lord is sharing two primary Love commandments. The first is to love the Lord God with the entirety of your mind, body, and soul. The second is also power-packed and says to love your neighbor as you love yourself. Please again notice implied in verse 39, is that you already have the basic foundation of loving yourself before you can love and serve your neighbor.
The Lord in scripture doesn’t tell us directly to love ourselves because it is expected that self-love would come inherently, as you are in a wholesome relationship with God. Self-love is freedom from negative thoughts about yourself, guilt, and insecurities that are obstacles to your forward progress in life. The more you purposefully look inwardly to love and care for yourself, the better you can love others, as an expression of your love for God. If you have not already purchased my book you can do so by clicking HERE, I promise it will be a blessing to your life!
Special thanks!
Chief Encouragement Officer (CEO) James Baker, Jr. and our leadership team are especially thankful for those of you who provided financial donations and support in November 2023, by partnering with us in efforts to advance the kingdom of God in this 21st century season: Special thanks to Ms. Annette Straker, Mr. Kenneth Washington, Ms. Itholear Abbott, Mrs. Barbara Mason, Ms. Rita McGuffin, Ms. Jeanette Grant, Ms. Cynthia Artis-Waiters, Ms. Michelle Winder Branch, Ms. Angie Scraders-Murphy, Mr. Calvin Jackson, Mr. William Jones, Ms. Judith Battle, Mr. William Wilson, Mrs. Lola Moore, Mrs. Angela Harrison, Ms. Gertrude Scott.
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Kingdom Blessings,