Wow, what an awesome help!

One of my sweet little old lady friends back home knew I was having a hard time with some things lately and sent me this list to encourage me and to help me "keep counsel with myself". Her advice was to simply look myself in the mirror each day and ask myself the same 22 questions that John Wesley's Holy club used in their devotions. This same sweet lady was such a blessing to me years ago when it seemed like life was running away with me and I just couldn't keep up with it all, it was then that she taught me the principal of keeping counsel with yourself as a means of setting apart time every day even if only just a minute or two to really focus on what you need to do to be the best you can for the Lord and for your family. Friends like her are definitely precious blessings from the Lord! Anyway, here is the list for anyone who may be interested.

1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?

2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?

3. Do I confidentially pass on to another what was told to me in confidence?

4. Can I be trusted?

5. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work, or habits?

6. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?

7. Did the Bible live in me today?

8. Do I give it time to speak to me everyday?

9. Am I enjoying prayer?

10. When did I last speak to someone else about my faith?

11. Do I pray about the money I spend?

12. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?

13. Do I disobey God in anything?

14. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?

15. Am I defeated in any part of my life?

16. Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy, or distrustful?

17. How do I spend my spare time?

18. Am I proud?

19. Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisees who despised the publican?

20. Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold a resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I doing about it?

21. Do I grumble or complain constantly?

22. Is Christ real to me?


I imagine that most people are already familiar with this list and all but I put it here as both another reminder to myself and also just because I thought it was one of those things that was just too helpful not to be shared.