It never ceases to amaze me how a bad day can quickly turn into a horrible day in just seconds! Have you been there? I'm pretty sure we've all been there before. The way I see it, I can either have a pity party, you know, whine about my day, complain, feel sorry for myself or I can do something else. I can refuse to get down and stay focused on God. When I stay focused onGod then my day is smooth. Instead of focusing on how wonderful or awful my day seems I'll focus on His joy. Joy. Yes. Let me focus on God's joy.
Joy is different from happiness. Happiness is a feeling. Joy is from the Holy Spirit. It's more awesome than happiness! Joy is sustained no matter what's going on around you. It doesn't mean you'll walk around with a constant smile and an upbeat mood because you have joy. Joy means that you can withstand whatever life throws at you with a positive attitude. "But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely." Galatians 5:22-23 (MSG)
I’ll choose joy. How about you?
Thanks for reading this post! Praying for you! God bless you.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
I can't see!
The type of garage door that we have has a remote. When you open the door with the remote a light in the garage automatically turns on. After some time I have become accustomed to this light. You see, the garage is very dark at night and without a light you can barely even see your hand even if you place it right in front of your face. Well, this light that I have grown so accustomed to automatically being there for me has gone out. It needs to be replaced. It's not anything difficult to do but, it just hasn't been done yet.
I have stumbled several times or have banged into something during my short walk from the car to the door that leads into the house. I know this is not a serious problem, its just a nuisance. I miss the light because I can't see well without it. I miss the light because I like to see what's around me. I want to know what's ahead of me before I step into that direction. This way I know I'm not going to trip or hurt myself or knock something out of place and break something. It's the same with everything else in life.
I like to know ahead of time what's in front of me so that I can plan accordingly. I like to know what I'm about to face before I face it so that I can be ready. I like to be prepared. Except, life isn't always so neat. Life is full of twists and turns that we can't always be ready for. We all have a journey that we're on in our lives. As believers in Christ this journey will ultimately end up in the same place, eternally dwelling with the Lord. Until we get there though what do we do when we know we are on the "right road" in life but yet we can't exactly see what's beyond the bend. Be it an illness, loss of work, problems with relationships, a death of a loved one.
Until one of us actually remembers to go to the hardware store to buy the little light bulb to replace the light that has gone out I have come up with ways to find other sources of light. Sometimes I leave the headlights of the car on while I walk over to the main light switch. Other times I leave the garage door open and use the dim light that filters in from the outside to guide me to the door. Other times I remember to tell the family to leave the light on for me.
When we encounter the unknown bends in the path on our journey of life there are different things the Lord does to help us see more clearly how to handle the circumstances we are in. He knows what's going on in our lives and His ways of getting through the "bend" is the best way. "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV) "Now glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes." Ephesians 3:20 (TLB) Oh, precious God, thank you for being a light that will never go out!
I have stumbled several times or have banged into something during my short walk from the car to the door that leads into the house. I know this is not a serious problem, its just a nuisance. I miss the light because I can't see well without it. I miss the light because I like to see what's around me. I want to know what's ahead of me before I step into that direction. This way I know I'm not going to trip or hurt myself or knock something out of place and break something. It's the same with everything else in life.
I like to know ahead of time what's in front of me so that I can plan accordingly. I like to know what I'm about to face before I face it so that I can be ready. I like to be prepared. Except, life isn't always so neat. Life is full of twists and turns that we can't always be ready for. We all have a journey that we're on in our lives. As believers in Christ this journey will ultimately end up in the same place, eternally dwelling with the Lord. Until we get there though what do we do when we know we are on the "right road" in life but yet we can't exactly see what's beyond the bend. Be it an illness, loss of work, problems with relationships, a death of a loved one.
Until one of us actually remembers to go to the hardware store to buy the little light bulb to replace the light that has gone out I have come up with ways to find other sources of light. Sometimes I leave the headlights of the car on while I walk over to the main light switch. Other times I leave the garage door open and use the dim light that filters in from the outside to guide me to the door. Other times I remember to tell the family to leave the light on for me.
When we encounter the unknown bends in the path on our journey of life there are different things the Lord does to help us see more clearly how to handle the circumstances we are in. He knows what's going on in our lives and His ways of getting through the "bend" is the best way. "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV) "Now glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes." Ephesians 3:20 (TLB) Oh, precious God, thank you for being a light that will never go out!
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
"Okay, where did I put...?"
Sometimes I wonder if I could literary forget where I put my head if it could actually be detached. The days I seem to be most forgetful are the days that I am super-stressed! Do you know what I mean? On those days that it seems as though there are a million things to do, and the list just keeps getting longer and longer, are when my mind becomes most absent. I'm not the only one that gets stressed, right?
It's when I'm looking for my keys or my purse or my eyeglasses for the umpteenth time that I feel exasperated. Now there's a great word, exasperated. According to the on-line Miriam Webster dictionary the definition for exasperated is, "to make (someone) very angry or annoyed." Sometimes we can exasperate ourselves. It sounds a bit funny but its true.
What to do when we're feeling exasperated? Take it out on our loved ones? Take it out on our co-workers? Take it out on the guy that keeps honking the horn at you even though you can't move because you're on the school pick up car line and he doesn't seem to get that...! Okay, yes, that last one just happened to me the other day. The best thing to do is to literary stop and pray.
Prayer is the best way to handle any kind of stress. It helps to refocus. When we refocus we remember that it's not about us. Life for that day is going to be okay because God is with us. No matter how sad, angry, grieved or excited we are our, day is going to end when the twenty-fourth hour hits and a new day will start at hour one. The "bad day" will end and another day will begin. "God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done." 2 Corinthians 9:8
It's when I'm looking for my keys or my purse or my eyeglasses for the umpteenth time that I feel exasperated. Now there's a great word, exasperated. According to the on-line Miriam Webster dictionary the definition for exasperated is, "to make (someone) very angry or annoyed." Sometimes we can exasperate ourselves. It sounds a bit funny but its true.
What to do when we're feeling exasperated? Take it out on our loved ones? Take it out on our co-workers? Take it out on the guy that keeps honking the horn at you even though you can't move because you're on the school pick up car line and he doesn't seem to get that...! Okay, yes, that last one just happened to me the other day. The best thing to do is to literary stop and pray.
Prayer is the best way to handle any kind of stress. It helps to refocus. When we refocus we remember that it's not about us. Life for that day is going to be okay because God is with us. No matter how sad, angry, grieved or excited we are our, day is going to end when the twenty-fourth hour hits and a new day will start at hour one. The "bad day" will end and another day will begin. "God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done." 2 Corinthians 9:8
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