My "Heart Inventory" Questions

This past weekend at Next Level Church, I shared how Christmas is the perfect time of year to do a bit of a “Heart Inventory” on ourselves.

Here are several questions that I have used over the past couple of years that have been amazingly helpful to unlock the present state of my heart.

So, let me recommend curling up with a cup of coffee, a legal pad and these questions for about 90 minutes this Christmas and ask God to search your heart.

Watch what happens. You just might be surprised what God reveals to you.

Lead Question: – What’s your #1 Frustration right now?

I like starting off with this question because it allows me to clear my head and heart of the “immediate” stuff that’s bugging me. I’ve found that once the pipeline is clear, deeper things can emerge.

4 Self-Evaluation Questions:

Question #1: What are you bottling?

This question will help you see what deeper frustrations you might be holding inside that are affecting the way you lead, parent, and relate to everyone in your world. Here are a few sub-questions too:

• What are you afraid of?
• What are you angry about?
• Where am I botting up Guilt, anger, greed or jealousy?

Here’s the point. What we refuse to deal with and bring into the light can eventually turn into anger, rage, insecurity, dictatorial leadership, negativity and even a victim mentality. We can’t afford for those things to emerge in our life.

Question #2: What are you hiding?

Here’s what I’ve learned through the years: “That which lives in the dark grows in its power over us, but that which is brought into the light lessens in its power over us.” Taking time to bring that which is in the dark into the light will bring healing to our lives big time. Trust me, it changes everything.

Question #3: What are the Untouchables in your Life?

Each of us deal with our own insecurities, but when left undealt with they begin to affect everyone around us. Where are the areas that we don’t want friends, a spouse, co-workers or even our boss to touch? When we know what they are, we can be aware of how our defensiveness can effect others.

Question #4: ? How close are you to your Limit?

We all have limits, but most of us live as if we are pretending we don’t. How close are we to the “Burnout Line” really? Getting honest about our energy, enthusiasm for what we’re doing, and our margin is essential to living in truth and walking in health.

A couple of Sub-questions include:

• Are you resting?
• Is there margin in my schedule?
• Am I taking care of my own personal health?
• Why don’t I?

When it comes to our lives, we are only as good on the outside as we are healthy on the inside. I hope these questions help you to be more healthy in the new year.