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Here is this week's Yearly Cycle Update.

Part of the way these Yearly Cycle emails have evolved over time is observation. Observing what God is doing in my own life during different seasons of the year, and also paying attention to what other people are experiencing at the same time. God has patterns that seem to repeat every year at the same time. Lately I have done a lot of observing of people around us and it seems like many people are feeling overwhelmed. They are trying to step into new levels and continue growing, but as we continue to grow and expand it can often be challenging, overwhelming, and feel impossible. This is a season for miracles and when I woke up this morning, I felt like God was saying to remember that he has 2 hands. 

Recently I was thinking about how in the prayer we use every day in our Daily Communion Meditations we have 2 different times when we ask God to do things with his hand. First, we ask him to keep his hand on us today and help...

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Here is today's communion meditation. 

Earlier this week I was talking with one of our partners in the Abundant Life Blueprint and she was telling me how she has been practicing slowing down and connecting with God during the day. She was sitting down, praying, and getting still for a few minutes and her husband asked her what she was doing. She responded with... Powering Up!

The thought of powering up sounds a whole lot better than slowing down and waiting. When we slow down and connect with God it is like recharging our batteries and charging us up. A similar thing also happens when we pray in the Holy Spirit.. it powers us up. Jude 1:20-21 says But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. And1 Corinthians 14:4 says, “He that speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself

The Greek word that is ...

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Here is today's communion meditation. 

In Numbers 33 at the Lord's command Moses recorded the stages in the journey to the promised land and almost all of the stages say something like.. the people camped at a certain place then they left and went to the next place. 

I believe there are two very important insights in this passage of scripture. The first is the importance of recording our journey. A few months ago on one of our partners zoom trainings we discussed how to know if we are on track and the theme that emerged was recording our journey. I think recording our journey is one of the most important things we can do. Lately, I have been thinking a lot about how to apply this into all of the areas of life, but here is a practical example. If you had a series of videos that documented your progress from 0 pushups to 20 over the course of several months how inspiring would it be to look back at all of your progress. We often get frustrated because we feel we ar...

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Here is today's communion meditation. 

Laughter is a great form of medicine. In my book Cracking Heaven's Code: God's System for Restoring Abundant Health I tell the story of Norman Cousins who was healed from a fatal illness by watching funny movies. He says that laughter is like a form of internal jogging that cleans out our cells. In Cracking Heaven's Code one of the main ideas is that lies we believe in our hearts are kind of like viruses that need to be cleaned out, and when God fills us with laughter and joy, it can cleanse both our physical bodies and also lies we are believing out of our hearts. 

In today's communion we are asking God to fill us with laughter and joy from all of the amazing things he has done for us. 

Here are some Bible verses on laughter to meditate on today...

Genesis 21:6: “And Sarah declared, ‘God has brought me laughter. All who hear about this will laugh with me.’”

Job 8:21: “He will once again fill your mouth with laughter and ...

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Isaiah 61 is the passage of scripture Jesus reads from the scroll when starting his ministry. The whole chapter is full of amazing promises. When I wrote my book the Miracle Year it was based on Isaiah 61, because it was a chapter that God truly began to bring to life for me. 

Today's communion is a time to meditate on Isaiah 61 and receive these amazing promises from God. 

Here is the full chapter of Isaiah 61...

The Year of the Lord’s Favor

61 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,

2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,

3  and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit ...

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Here is today's communion meditation. 

In Luke 4:17-19 Jesus reads from Isaiah 61...the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it was written: The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

These verses tell us what Jesus came to do...He wants to set us free and bring us out of darkness into the light. 

Today's communion is a time to meditate on these scriptures and to thank God for all he has done for us in Christ. In my own experience there is a progression to this passage of scripture. First, we must experience him setting us free. But then we must proclaim this to other people. If we are in Christ, then the same Spirit and anointing that was on Jesus is on us as well to bring good...

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Here is today's communion meditation.  

Recently, my daughter and I have been reading The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale. In the book he gives a short formula for happiness which includes this short little phrase... Expect Little, Give Much.

In my own life, I have found this to be true. Expecting very little and being grateful for everything instead is a much better way to think. 

Much of our unhappiness in life comes from our expectations not being met. When we turn the tables and focus on being a blessing, doing good, and giving it takes our eyes off of ourselves and wanting things from others. Which leads to a much more fulfilling life. 

Having our expectations get frustrated can make us focus on darkness and kick us out of the light. If it happens habitually it can spiral into bitterness and high levels of frustration. 

In today's communion meditation we are thanking God for all he has given to us out of his great love. And we are askin...

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Here is today's communion meditation. 

What if when you are working out you didn't use your energy but God's instead? God has given us the opportunity for a great exchange. We can give him the little we have and get back everything he has in return. 

Recently while working out I have been practicing using God's strength and energy rather than my own. And as I have practiced this, my ability to do significantly more in my workouts has greatly increased while feeling very easy. And when the workout is over, I have more energy and feel like I could do the whole workout again. 

God has given us everything he has in Christ and it is available to flow through us today. 

Today's communion is a time of gratitude for this great exchange and all God has made available in Christ. And we are asking for his help to grow in our knowledge of what's available and how to put it into practice and walk in all that he has made available. 

I am praying for you. 

Daniel

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We are in the middle of Hanukkah, which is also known as the Feast of Dedication and the Festival of Lights. Hanukkah is a reminder that when we dedicate ourselves to God's plan and purpose for our lives it will usually look like we don't have enough and aren't capable, but he can take the little we have and do the miraculous. During Hanukkah each night an additional candle is lit, which is a reminder that our light is supposed to grow brighter and brighter. God is great and we are supposed to become more like him. His desire is to make us great and the method he uses is his grace flowing through us. 

One of the biggest keys I have learned in all of life is giving ourselves grace. God's grace must be received from him, flow through us, and out into the world. But we often block the flow by not giving grace to ourselves. We tend to be our own worst critic, beat ourselves up, and condemn ourselves. We also put unrealistic timelines and deadlines on ourselves to see ...

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Here is today's communion meditation. 

As we get closer to the end of the year it's good for us to look at which direction we are moving in. In life we are either growing and improving or we are going in the wrong direction, there isn't much in between.

I was once making some hot chocolate for my kids in a pot. As I stirred the milk over and over, I felt like God was telling me to take my spoon out. When my spoon was removed the milk continued to spin in the same direction without me doing anything. Then I felt like God was telling me to put my spoon back in and stir in the opposite direction. When I first started the milk became very turbulent and disordered but as I kept stirring in the other direction it eventually got to the point where I could take my spoon out and it would keep spinning in the other direction. 

Today is a good time to examine our direction and growth. Think back over the last year and examine which direction you are heading in the followi...