Often, I fall into the trap of looking at someone life that smacks of greatness and wonder how did he or she get to live that incredible and impactful life?!
Are you ever guilty of the same comparison conundrum?
"Why are her books best-sellers and mine are not?"
"Why does she get to speak at large conferences and I have never been asked?"
"How does she support a magnificent TV ministry and I am unable to do so?"
Whenever I am tempted to imprison myself in the chains of comparison, I always remind myself, "It's the little things that build a big life!"
Perhaps it is not best-selling books, large conferences or building a vital TV and radio ministry that are the cornerstones of living a large and noble life for the kingdom of God. But, instead, what if it is the little choices in life that are truly the building blocks that an incomparable and uncommon life requires?
What if it is simply choosing to read my Bible every day that creates a splendid life in the unseen kingdom?
What if it is choosing to forgive someone who has criticized me that fans the flames of an excellent life?
What if it is tithing weekly, serving consistently and encouraging daily that compose the authentic and substantive matters that a towering life requires?
Perhaps in our Western minds, which have been brainwashed to define the word "success," we are missing the key components of what living a great life is all about.
Maybe living a distinguished life requires visiting widows, feeding orphans and praying for your pastor.
What if creating a mighty life depends upon humility, generosity and hidden prayer?
Some of the greatest people that I know have never been featured on the cover of a Christian magazine, have never appeared on TV and certainly have never been listed on The New York Times best-sellers list! Their greatness has been accomplished by the willful choosing, day after day, of integrity, veracity and exquisite discipline.
If it is your desire to live a large life of heavenly proportions, start by living a life of small, but vital, choices.
Smile at strangers. Engage with your neighbors. Pray for your family, send a teenager on a mission trip.
Buy a widow a cup of coffee. Babysit for a young mom. Volunteer at church. Slip your pastor a financial blessing.
Have a family over for a game night. Take a single girl a bouquet of flowers. Listen to the lonely man in line at the Post Office.
Read your Bible. Pray for a missionary. Forgive your critics. Give more than you can afford to give.
It is, indeed, the little things in life that build a big life! The small, unacknowledged disciplines of an ordinary life are the stuff of which true greatness is made. 
Carol McLeod is an author and popular speaker at women's conferences and retreats where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. She has written five books, including No More Ordinary, Holy Estrogen!, The Rooms of a Woman's Heart and Defiant Joy! Her most recent book, Refined: Finding Joy in the Midst of the Fire, was released last August. Her teaching DVD, The Rooms of a Woman's Heart, won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award for excellence in religious programming. You can also listen to Carol's "Jolt of Joy" program daily on the Charisma Podcast Network. Connect with Carol or inquire about her speaking to your group at justjoyministries.com.
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