Appreciate the Good Things...

"This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118-24)

One of the things that I love most is warm weather!  My favorite season is autumn because the temperature is perfectly in between cold and hot.  I love the breeze; the sound of the leaves brushing up against each other; and the vibrant colors of the leaves on the trees.  I also enjoy the spring and summer but these months tend to be more hot and humid, so I usually do more complaining about how hot is is during these seasons.

On my journey, there have been times when I have become fixated on all the things that are wrong instead of on all the things that are right.  It's sometimes very difficult to make a list of what's right but it's always worth the effort because turning your attention to positive things is healthier and always brings joy to your heart.  When I take the time to think about good things, I always find a smile come across my face.  Especially when I think of something funny a friend said or a joke a relative told, or something silly I saw a toddler do, I start to laugh so hard, I either cry or nearly pee on myself!  I like the feeling I get when I'm happy, when I'm laughing, and when I'm sincerely in that moment filled with nothing but joy.  God's word says "always be joyful" (1 Thessalonians 5:16).  Yes, it takes effort most times but again it's always worth it...isn't it?  There is no value in being sad, depressed, defeated or hopeless.  When you are feeling any of these emotions, you are not improving your health and you are surely not following God's word.  I am guilty of staying in those emotions too at times, and I will never ever deny that truth.  One of the reasons I started writing these blog entries was to hold myself accountable and to keep my emotions in check; it takes work!  Nothing worth having in life comes easy!  If you want better, you have to work at it!

In the past couple of weeks, I've noticed one way that God has been blessing me...the evenings have been so breezy, I almost forget that it's summer.  As small as this may seem to others, this has truly been a blessing to me.  I've spent the evenings sitting on my terrace, feet up on my ottoman, head tilted back on the cushion of my chair and just basking in the breeze.  I've been able to hear the leaves as they brush back and forth  and in these moments, I've found myself silently thanking God.  Not thanking him for a particular prayer being answered but simply thanking him for life, for the ability to feel the breeze, to see the leaves, and to experience his power.

Today, I'm choosing to be appreciative and grateful for the good things that God has placed before me. I believe that there's value in making time to appreciate things that seem small and insignificant, as you keep living to eventually see bigger things come to life.  As I'm focusing on the small blessings of today and this moment I'm feeling joy in my heart, I'm smiling and I truly believe that God is pleased!

Song to listen to "This Is the Day!" -Fred Hammond and James Fortune

Seasons Always Change...

“To everything there is a season…” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

Right now we are all pretty anxious and excited for the new summer season to arrive.  It was nice when the official start of spring came also but with that I believe that we all saw that as a short rest stop to the two months of warm, sunny weather we all look forward to during the long stretch of winter.

If we think about life as we do about the four seasons, I think we’d all be a lot more happy and hopeful.  We tend to get bogged down during those times of challenge that seem to linger on forever.  We lose hope that anything will ever change; that anything will ever truly get better.  We wonder if these moments of anguish are somewhat of a consequence for something we did wrong or even we sometimes ask God, “is this your plan for my life?”  I know for me, I rarely see hard times as moments in time, I often go to that extreme thought that “this just might be my lot in my life; my burden to bear; and maybe I was meant to suffer while everyone else enjoys the good life.  When you somehow adopt that way of thinking, it’s very hard to dispel it and reprogram your mind to move on with a more positive thought pattern. 

As I think about the scripture above it redirects my attention to what God truly wants us to focus on.  His word says that “there is a time for every purpose under heaven.” “ There is a time to weep and there is also a time to laugh.”  We have to use our energy to meditate on the fact that times change, just as seasons do.  This is God’s design, so no one bad day, bad month, bad year is meant to stay forever…that season will and MUST change.  God said it and He is still in control of all things!

When I was younger, I’d read stories and there was often a line that said “it came to pass that…”  I never knew what that statement meant until I became and adult and began to closely think about words and phrases, as I tried to find meaning in it all.  That statement is truly profound to me now though because every single thing that we face on this earth has “come to pass”, these things  did not come to stay!  If we can just hold on to that thought, I know we could be more joyful and expectant and we’d leave no room for hopelessness or despair. 

As we look forward to this year’s warmer season, lets also look forward to a new season in our personal lives and let’s go one step further and expect that the season we are entering will be filled with new answered prayers, new relationships,  and new opportunities to grow and prosper in everything we are on this earth to do! 

Song to listen to:  "Praise Him In Advance" - Marvin Sapp

When you've had ENOUGH...

"He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord, he said” (1 Kings 19:4)

Have you ever just had enough? Enough of your family, enough of your friends, enough of your job, enough of things not going as you planned, enough of trying to stay positive, enough of life itself?  Well I have and I'm, going through the motions of all of these today!  It actually started two days ago...truth be told, it's been a build up to this point but the bottom fell out two days ago.

Sometimes it seems like the harder you try to be better, and to do better, the more you get attacked or accused of the opposite.  The double-edged sword of family itself can take anyone over the cliff but I'm feeling the wrath of mine right now.  It's fortunate you have family but it's unfortunate when you can't stomach being around them.  We are all different, with our own viewpoints and issues but it's exhausting when you try so hard to put yourself aside and show love and gratitude only to be slapped across the face with their views about how bad and uncaring of a person you are...I ask God, how could I put in so much effort to show that I care and still be seen as this selfish, awful person?  It makes you feel like throwing in the towel...It makes you understand why so many people totally separate themselves from the families they are born into.  It gets to the point where ENOUGH is ENOUGH!  What about life as a whole?  When you stay in prayer; you stay battling negative thoughts with positive ones; you stay being hopeful for tomorrow, only to wake up today to the same old things, without change which makes you feel that you're traveling in circles and getting nowhere.  Maybe it's just me, maybe my life is the only one that is playing out as a losing boxing match, where I keep getting knocked down...sometimes I just wanna stay down on the mat, close my eyes and wake up in Heaven...

It helps me when I see that in the bible, over 2,000 years ago, others also felt what I am feeling today.  Others even asked God to take their life, to spare them from any more of the pain that this life brings.  The Prophet Elijah prayed that he might die; Moses told the Lord "Please go ahead and kill me!" (Numbers 11:14)  If these two holy men had such low points where they felt that death would be better than life, it helps me not to feel as guilty and it gives me strength to go on. Strength comes from knowing I'm not alone and knowing that even after such low moments, I can and will continue on.  My prayer today is that my tomorrows are better than my today...but for now I can only take it one step at a time...and believe that as God's word instructs: "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:34)

Song to listen to: "This Too Shall Pass" -Yolanda Adams