May 20, 2025 • 10 mins
In this reflective episode of the Infinitely Precious Podcast, James Henry explores the quiet yet profound ways our lives proclaim good news to the world. Through stories of remembrance and gentle encouragement, James invites listeners to consider the unique gifts they bring into the world—not just through words, but through actions, presence, and the simple way we live. Whether it’s kindness to a stranger, care for the earth, or resilience in hardship, each of us carries a message of hope and grace. You are invited to take stock of your gifts and recognize that even in your imperfections, your life is already a living testimony to something beautiful.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Intro (00:00):
Welcome to the Infinitely Precious Podcast produced by
(00:03):
Infinitely Precious LLC. Yourhost is James Henry. Remember,
you are infinitely precious andunconditionally loved for the
gift you already are.
James (00:12):
And so, beloved, it's me James and I want to talk to you
about your life and about whatyour life says in this vast
universe, in this world in whichwe find ourselves. You might
say, what does he mean by that?Well, as you might guess I
(00:33):
intend to say something aboutthat. That something is this,
every one of us has theopportunity and I believe not
only the opportunity, but thereality of proclaiming good news
by the way we live our lives.Some people do it in the words
that they say.
(00:53):
Some people that we know willproclaim good news, the gospel
if you will, if you're afollower of Christ, will
proclaim the gospel from aposition as preacher or teacher
or someone will share a biblicalstory with someone that they
(01:15):
know and that's one waycertainly that we share good
news. But sometimes just lookingat a person's life, we see the
good news that their life bringsto light. I often sit with
families when they come to theend of someone's life and talk a
(01:38):
little bit about that person andhear stories about that person.
And surprisingly, or perhapsunsurprisingly to me anymore,
almost always, even amongstories about people who are not
always remembered fondly, thereis a tidbit of good news in the
(01:58):
midst mixed into some of thosestories. Their creative energy
that reminds us of God'screative energy or perhaps their
kindness, generosity, their evenkeeled approach to life.
All of those things speak to usa bit of good news about who God
(02:20):
is. And so oftentimes atmemorial services, funerals,
celebrations of life, whateveryou choose to call them, I get
the opportunity to proclaim thegood news as witnessed in the
life of the person. I'm veryclose to doing just that thing
(02:42):
when I am going to be talkingabout my father at his memorial
service. And as I have thoughtabout all the pieces of his life
and what the way he lived andwho he was reflected out into
the world, I see you know theincomplete but the mirroring of
(03:10):
God's goodness in him. And I seeit in a lot of other people.
In fact, the further along onthis journey of faith that I am
and perhaps on this journey oflife that I am, I see good news
in a lot more places than Ithought I might see them. As I
(03:30):
see people who quietly live intotheir giftedness in a variety of
ways, who are always present inways, quiet ways or sometimes
boisterous ways where they are.Your life proclaims good news.
(03:52):
Your life is a witness to goodnews. No matter what walk of
life or where you come from, itmay be in the way that you speak
to others.
Maybe people who really matterin your life but also people
that you might never see again.People that you pass on the
street, that you greet with asmile, don't even have to use
(04:14):
words. And suddenly that smilechanges the way the world is.
Perhaps it's the way you walkgently on this world. You're
careful about the way you usethe resources that have been
entrusted to your care.
Perhaps you find satisfaction inthe simplest things. You don't
(04:40):
require a big hullabaloo, so tospeak, in order to really
appreciate life. And that is awitness to good news. For some
people it seems like there'salways a need for more or bigger
or better or to be recognizedfor the things that they do and
(05:00):
some of those people proclaimgood news even in the way
they're recognized, But also thepeople who do so in quiet behind
the scenes ways, those folks,those folks proclaim good news
too. So I want to invite you totake a moment to ponder
(05:22):
yourself, to think to yourself,what is it that is my gift?
What is it that I bring to thisworld that is unique about me?
It's not just your name. Itmight be the way you speak. It
might be who you share your lifewith. It might be your
(05:43):
acceptance of other people.
It might be your willingness tochange in the face of
uncertainty. The stalwart way inwhich you stand up to the storms
of life. It could be any ofthose pieces or all of those
pieces. You know yourself best,Perhaps only slightly less than
(06:09):
God who knows you completely,who sees you through and
through. But you have a gift tobring.
You have an opportunity toproclaim good news. Sometimes
it's with your words, but mostoften it's with your actions.
It's the way you live. Too manyof us know people who are good
(06:32):
at saying happy words and thenbehaving in a way counter to the
happy encouraging words theysay. So, look at yourself.
Be honest with yourself. Take aninventory of who you are. Get
out a piece of paper. Get outyour journal. Write down the
things that make you you, theaspects of you that are unique
(06:53):
to you, not just the color ofyour hair or your eyes or the
way you speak.
Although I'm told that one ofthe gifts that I bring into this
world is the way I speak. Justthis even keeled voice that
comes out of my throat, out ofme, brings peace to some people
(07:17):
just the way I speak. That's agift. That's perhaps my gift.
The question is what is yours?
What do you bring into thismoment and every moment? Your
best moments and even sometimesyour worst moments that is good
news for someone who knows youor someone who doesn't? For
(07:42):
something that can't know you inthe way you're used to it like
the way you treat the way youtreat nature, the way that you
reduce the amount of garbage andtrash you produce, the way that
you care for the animals in yourlife, The dog, the cat, the
(08:06):
bird, the lizard, the snake,whatever other kind of animal
you have. What ways do you carefor others? After you've made
that inventory of who you are,the gifts you bring and
sometimes you'll discover thatsome of the gifts are some of
(08:27):
your greatest weaknesses, Howwill you bring those gifts to
life in the coming week?
How will you bring them to liferight now? It's hard to plan and
know exactly what's going tohappen tomorrow. Heck, it's hard
to know what's going to happenin thirty minutes. But you being
(08:51):
you, you bringing your gift tothe moment you're in makes all
the difference, all thedifference in the world. So be
mindful of that truth.
Be mindful that your lifeproclaims good news even when
you don't realize it. Who areyou when nobody's looking? And
(09:14):
when you don't realize who islooking, how are people learning
from you? Is it you I started toask the questions of a number of
other characteristics justbecause they started to come to
my mind. You know what yourgifts are.
Look at the way people acttowards you in certain
situations. How they look toyou. Could be your children or
(09:39):
your grandchildren, it could beyour friends, it could be your
coworkers. How do they look toyou? How do they see you?
And how can you bring out thebest of you, even your failings,
the pieces that you consider tobe the weakest part of you, how
can you incorporate them intothe full picture, the full
(10:02):
mirror of who you are so thatyou might reflect good news to
people who meet you? Those arequestions worth asking. Remember
even if you choose not toreflect on these and don't
wonder about what your good newsis that you are still infinitely
precious and unconditionallyloved for the gift you already
(10:25):
are. You're already a gift. Iencourage you to be that gift
now and always.
Until the next time we see oneanother, I wish you all the
best.
Welcome to the Infinitely Precious Podcast produced by
(00:03):
Infinitely Precious LLC. Yourhost is James Henry. Remember,
you are infinitely precious andunconditionally loved for the
gift you already are.
James (00:12):
And so, beloved, it's me James and I want to talk to you
about your life and about whatyour life says in this vast
universe, in this world in whichwe find ourselves. You might
say, what does he mean by that?Well, as you might guess I
(00:33):
intend to say something aboutthat. That something is this,
every one of us has theopportunity and I believe not
only the opportunity, but thereality of proclaiming good news
by the way we live our lives.Some people do it in the words
that they say.
(00:53):
Some people that we know willproclaim good news, the gospel
if you will, if you're afollower of Christ, will
proclaim the gospel from aposition as preacher or teacher
or someone will share a biblicalstory with someone that they
(01:15):
know and that's one waycertainly that we share good
news. But sometimes just lookingat a person's life, we see the
good news that their life bringsto light. I often sit with
families when they come to theend of someone's life and talk a
(01:38):
little bit about that person andhear stories about that person.
And surprisingly, or perhapsunsurprisingly to me anymore,
almost always, even amongstories about people who are not
always remembered fondly, thereis a tidbit of good news in the
(01:58):
midst mixed into some of thosestories. Their creative energy
that reminds us of God'screative energy or perhaps their
kindness, generosity, their evenkeeled approach to life.
All of those things speak to usa bit of good news about who God
(02:20):
is. And so oftentimes atmemorial services, funerals,
celebrations of life, whateveryou choose to call them, I get
the opportunity to proclaim thegood news as witnessed in the
life of the person. I'm veryclose to doing just that thing
(02:42):
when I am going to be talkingabout my father at his memorial
service. And as I have thoughtabout all the pieces of his life
and what the way he lived andwho he was reflected out into
the world, I see you know theincomplete but the mirroring of
(03:10):
God's goodness in him. And I seeit in a lot of other people.
In fact, the further along onthis journey of faith that I am
and perhaps on this journey oflife that I am, I see good news
in a lot more places than Ithought I might see them. As I
(03:30):
see people who quietly live intotheir giftedness in a variety of
ways, who are always present inways, quiet ways or sometimes
boisterous ways where they are.Your life proclaims good news.
(03:52):
Your life is a witness to goodnews. No matter what walk of
life or where you come from, itmay be in the way that you speak
to others.
Maybe people who really matterin your life but also people
that you might never see again.People that you pass on the
street, that you greet with asmile, don't even have to use
(04:14):
words. And suddenly that smilechanges the way the world is.
Perhaps it's the way you walkgently on this world. You're
careful about the way you usethe resources that have been
entrusted to your care.
Perhaps you find satisfaction inthe simplest things. You don't
(04:40):
require a big hullabaloo, so tospeak, in order to really
appreciate life. And that is awitness to good news. For some
people it seems like there'salways a need for more or bigger
or better or to be recognizedfor the things that they do and
(05:00):
some of those people proclaimgood news even in the way
they're recognized, But also thepeople who do so in quiet behind
the scenes ways, those folks,those folks proclaim good news
too. So I want to invite you totake a moment to ponder
(05:22):
yourself, to think to yourself,what is it that is my gift?
What is it that I bring to thisworld that is unique about me?
It's not just your name. Itmight be the way you speak. It
might be who you share your lifewith. It might be your
(05:43):
acceptance of other people.
It might be your willingness tochange in the face of
uncertainty. The stalwart way inwhich you stand up to the storms
of life. It could be any ofthose pieces or all of those
pieces. You know yourself best,Perhaps only slightly less than
(06:09):
God who knows you completely,who sees you through and
through. But you have a gift tobring.
You have an opportunity toproclaim good news. Sometimes
it's with your words, but mostoften it's with your actions.
It's the way you live. Too manyof us know people who are good
(06:32):
at saying happy words and thenbehaving in a way counter to the
happy encouraging words theysay. So, look at yourself.
Be honest with yourself. Take aninventory of who you are. Get
out a piece of paper. Get outyour journal. Write down the
things that make you you, theaspects of you that are unique
(06:53):
to you, not just the color ofyour hair or your eyes or the
way you speak.
Although I'm told that one ofthe gifts that I bring into this
world is the way I speak. Justthis even keeled voice that
comes out of my throat, out ofme, brings peace to some people
(07:17):
just the way I speak. That's agift. That's perhaps my gift.
The question is what is yours?
What do you bring into thismoment and every moment? Your
best moments and even sometimesyour worst moments that is good
news for someone who knows youor someone who doesn't? For
(07:42):
something that can't know you inthe way you're used to it like
the way you treat the way youtreat nature, the way that you
reduce the amount of garbage andtrash you produce, the way that
you care for the animals in yourlife, The dog, the cat, the
(08:06):
bird, the lizard, the snake,whatever other kind of animal
you have. What ways do you carefor others? After you've made
that inventory of who you are,the gifts you bring and
sometimes you'll discover thatsome of the gifts are some of
(08:27):
your greatest weaknesses, Howwill you bring those gifts to
life in the coming week?
How will you bring them to liferight now? It's hard to plan and
know exactly what's going tohappen tomorrow. Heck, it's hard
to know what's going to happenin thirty minutes. But you being
(08:51):
you, you bringing your gift tothe moment you're in makes all
the difference, all thedifference in the world. So be
mindful of that truth.
Be mindful that your lifeproclaims good news even when
you don't realize it. Who areyou when nobody's looking? And
(09:14):
when you don't realize who islooking, how are people learning
from you? Is it you I started toask the questions of a number of
other characteristics justbecause they started to come to
my mind. You know what yourgifts are.
Look at the way people acttowards you in certain
situations. How they look toyou. Could be your children or
(09:39):
your grandchildren, it could beyour friends, it could be your
coworkers. How do they look toyou? How do they see you?
And how can you bring out thebest of you, even your failings,
the pieces that you consider tobe the weakest part of you, how
can you incorporate them intothe full picture, the full
(10:02):
mirror of who you are so thatyou might reflect good news to
people who meet you? Those arequestions worth asking. Remember
even if you choose not toreflect on these and don't
wonder about what your good newsis that you are still infinitely
precious and unconditionallyloved for the gift you already
(10:25):
are. You're already a gift. Iencourage you to be that gift
now and always.
Until the next time we see oneanother, I wish you all the
best.
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