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On behalf of the entire Spiritual Life Team, I invite you to spend a few moments in intentional positive thinking.

We have completed one quarter (10 days) of our commitment to 40 Days of Positive Actions!

Thank you for striving with us in this journey. I am grateful for each one of you.

How are you doing with daily acts of gratitude, kindness and positive thinking? I hope that you are noticing some changes in yourself. Perhaps you are like me and have experienced some challenges to focusing on being positive.

At times, I am sure that we all have lost focus. When this happens, gently direct your attention back to the positive. Remember that the more time you spend in positive thinking, the more positive your thinking will be. In addition, your individual positivity makes a difference for our community.

Our theme for this coming week is based on BCC’s second core value:

Act with Integrity.

We also suggest the action theme of Be Honest.

Integrity is compromised of honesty but also truth, congruity, sincerity, and consistency. It requires ethics, thoughtfulness, intentionality, principles, coherence and moral rightness.

How would you define or describe integrity?

Consider some of these quotes.

Integrity is doing the right thing even when it is difficult. Anonymous

Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not. Oprah Winfrey

Integrity, the choice between what’s convenient and what’s right. Tony Dungy

Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity. W. Clement Stone

I believe that we live with integrity when our beliefs, words and actions are congruent with who we say we are and who we are in actuality.

Integrity is the difference between just “talking the talk” and “walking the walk.”

I asked a group of our youth to define integrity. Here was one answer: “Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching and holding yourself accountable when you don’t do the right thing.”

Let’s hold each other accountable with our commitment to positive actions today and this week.

I am grateful for these moments of centering and for your participation.

If you would like some scriptures to consider, please continue reading.

The integrity of the honest keeps them on track. Proverbs 11:3a (The Message)

May integrity and honesty protect me for I put my hope in you. Psalm 25:21 (New Living Translation)

Observe those who have integrity and watch those whose heart is right because the future belongs to persons of peace. Psalm 37:37 (Common English Bible)

And now, dear brothers and sisters, let me say one more thing as I close this letter. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned from me and heard from me and saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:8-9

When we live and act with integrity, we will have peace.

Blessings on our week ahead –

Stacey

Rev. Stacey Nickerson
Director of Church and Community Engagement
Board Of Child Care of The United Methodist Church, Inc.
3300 Gaither Road
Baltimore, MD 21244
(443) 845-4388
snickerson@everstand.org

Enriching communities, one family at a time.

Welcome to the first week of 40 Days of Positive Actions and Thoughts!

On Wednesday, everyone in our BCC community was invited to take this pledge:

I make a commitment to strive for positivity in my life for the next 40 days.
I will practice being kind to others as well as to myself.

We begin our positive actions with taking care of ourselves and making sure that we are safe. I once heard that people training to become Buddhist monks spend the first year of their training learning how to be compassionate with themselves. In order to care for others effectively, we must first care for ourselves.

Where are you in making yourself a priority? How do you care for yourself as a whole person – physically, emotionally, socially, spiritually, intellectually?

How can you practice being kind to yourself?

In terms of our BCC core values, safety is first. Safety is our mindset at all times and in all situations. We work in a trauma-informed way to prepare our environment, ourselves and others. What can you do this day to help yourself and others be safe?

You can act on increasing your safety and the safety of others wherever you are. Each one of us impacts the overall environment and we can contribute positively to the safety of our BCC community.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

check around for items that might be a threat to someone’s safety such as a sharp item discarded on the sidewalk
deepen trust in your therapeutic relationships
introduce yourself to a visitor or a staff/youth you do not know
plan for an emergency
help a child or young person to talk about how they can contract for safety for themselves

“At the end of the day, the goals are simple: safety and security.” -Jodi Rell

Thank you for taking a moment to reflect with me on positivity, particularly in terms of self-care and safety.

For those of you who would like some religious resources, read on for selected scripture verses in the Judeo-Christian traditions.

The most ancient God is a place of safety; the eternal arms are a support. Deuteronomy 33:27

My God is my rock, in whom I find protection. God is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. God is my refuge, my savior, the one who saves me from violence. 2 Samuel 22:3

I will lie down and fall asleep in peace because you alone, God, let me live in safety. Psalm 4:8

The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. God is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. Psalm 18:2

No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. Psalm 16:9

God’s name is a place of protection – good people can run there and be safe. Proverbs 18:10

You can go to God Most High to hide. You can go to God All-Powerful for protection. I say to God, “You are my place of safety, my fortress. My God, I trust in you.” Psalm 91:1-2

As appropriate, I encourage to discuss images of God that help us feel safe and secure in our relationship with God. The scriptures give us many starting points for discussion.

May we work together with God’s blessing to increase our sense of safety as individuals and as a community. May we be kind to ourselves and then extend that kindness to others.

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