A Household WELL is what we want to be, to bring the living water to a thirsty world. Jesus is shared and experienced not only at church but in our neighborhoods.

Welcomes in Jesus

Engages with Neighbors

Listens for Insight

Loves to Try

I posted this video on my Facebook feed. It captures the essence of what we mean by the metaphor household WELL.

https://www.facebook.com/100001583586062/videos/3743471235715626/

What do you notice about this video? What feelings does it evoke in you? What application to our 2021 Milestone (Household WELLs) do you see?

Imagine if every household connected to our ministry was actively drinking from the living water,  Jesus, and sharing Him with the spiritually parched!

In order to provide that water for others, we Welcome In Jesus, Engage With Neighbors, Listen For Insight, and we Love To Try.

What does it mean to Love To Try?

To define what something is, sometimes we need to clearly outline the opposite.

Opposite of loving to: Obligation, drudgery, duty, the pressure to perform, need to, weightiness, seriousness, burden, commitment, requirement, responsibility.

Unlike Welcoming In Jesus, Engaging With Neighbors, and Listening For Insight, Loving To Try is an attitude. Welcoming in Jesus, Engaging With Neighbors, and Listening For Insight are all specific behaviors. Loving To Try is a contagious attitude that brings the three behaviors to life.

We would like to see the call to obey Jesus or follow Jesus more of an exciting invitation to adventure than a heavy duty.

So whether we are talking about attempting to establish a more consistent time in the Word and prayer with Jesus, or being more intentional in engaging with or listening to our friends, loved ones, and neighbors for insight into their journey, their passions, needs, celebrations, we can learn to have more fun. Yes, it is possible to enjoy being a household WELL.

Being a Household WELL is way more fun than we tend to make it out to be!

The number one perspective shift that must be made if we are to Love To Try:

Move from being an Expert to Experimenter. 

Here’s how.

Obey Don’t Delay

When you get an idea you would like to try, do it! Don’t intend to do it. Do it. Don’t wait for a better time. Don’t put it off until all the obstacles are removed. Don’t give in to the inevitable second voices in your head that are trying to talk you out of it.

Stay Curious

Unhook yourself from outcomes. Enjoy the journey.

“Sometimes the inability to decide and move forward is not because we didn’t know what to do. We do know what we want to do. We are hesitant, though, because we’re obsessing about the outcome. We want insurance. We want to know how everything will turn out. Keep in mind, that’s what we want.  Here’s the truth: there is no way for any one of us to know with absolute certainty how a decision will turn out.” pg. 228 Fear Not, Dream Big, & Execute: Tools To Spark Your Dream And Ignite Your Follow-Through by Jeff Meyer (2018)

If indecision is largely the result of obsessing over the certainty of outcomes, decisiveness of action is the result of being curious.

I wonder how this will turn out. I wonder what I will learn, how I will grow, what deeper connection might be made. I’m curious what blessing will be magnified/multiplied in this interaction. 

Here are a couple of other love-to-try key principles.

Celebrate action, not perfection.

Rejoice in progress. Share the joy of taking a step. Don’t wait until the result is seen. You miss the beauty of the journey if you only memorialize the destination.

People learn when they try.

Lessons don’t stick until they are put into practice. Choose action over intention.

We are free in Jesus!

Trying, experimenting underscores the freedom we have in Jesus. We cannot fail. Jesus is with us. He loves us. And He loves to see us try. Just like a parent rejoices when their child tries something.

We grow as teachers when we try.

You can’t adjust, tweak, or learn the best approach until we see other attempts not work. Once in a while we can get lucky and hit the nail on the head. Frequently, however, we try, learn, adjust, and try again. As we do, we learn what is worth replicating and what is not.  We also model the freedom and the thrill of trying. A culture of trying emerges.

Happy trying!