Thought for the day: Attitude

Attitude
By:  Charles Swindoll

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.  Attitude, to me, is more important than facts.  It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think, say, or do.  It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill.  It will make or break a company...a church...a home.  The remarkable thing is, we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.  We can not change our past, we can not change the fact that people will act in a certain way.  We can not change the inevitable.  The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.  I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it.  And so it is with you.  We are in charge of our attitudes."

Thought for the Day: Keep Plodding Away

  

One of our most famous fairy tales....or fables....is the tale of the "Tortoise and the Hare"  An over confident bunny is caught napping while a plodding turtle finishes the race.  No matter how daunting your day may be, keep plodding away.  Though others may make fun of you and your path or your goal, pursue the race set before you with unswerving purpose.  Remember when you see a turtle that the going may be slow, but your Heavenly Father has equipped you to reach the finish line.  Your victory will be a great surprise to those who tried to discourage you  ----  you may even surprise yourself!!! 

The Learner's Permit

In the state of Tennessee, you can get your learners permit at the age of 15.  Well, Abby did not push getting hers, so I did not mention it to her.  She is now 16, and all of a sudden felt the urgent need to get that permit......she even said to us that she was behind everybody.  Everyone else had their drivers license, she needed to get that permit so she could start driving. I have the awesome pleasure of teaching our girls to drive.  It just seemed to be the natural thing to do since I was with them a whole lot more in the car than they were with their daddy.  I remembered the nervousness I felt not only for Olivia but for myself as we were learning to drive.......and now here we were at round two......., its Abby's turn.  

We took her to get her learner's permit and she failed the first test.  I remember seeing her face when they told her she missed  just one question too many.  And the question was about drunk driving.  She was crushed........I felt horrible.  Not that she didn't pass the test, but that I still had a couple of days before the driving began and my hair turned just a little bit grayer.  We waited the allotted  7 days, and this time her Daddy took her back to the testing center where she passed with flying colors.  Did he let her drive to school when they left the DMV and let her get some much needed practice in?   Why of course not........that job was for me.  I told him he was a chicken.  :)  LOL!

 Abby has been driving now for a couple of months, and I have to say that she is doing fairly well.  But, yesterday was a BIG day.  We were going to go driving on the Interstate.  Abby's sister, Leanna, had to be in Nashville and Abby asked if she could drive home.  I reluctantly said yes...........with major fear and trepidation I got into the passenger seat.........buckled in and said a quite prayer for safety.  Abigail got in the drivers seat.....buckled in.........adjusted her mirrors and off we went.  I am not going to lie............I was a nervous wreck!!!  I was putting my life in my 16 year olds hands while letting her drive down a 6 lane interstate with speeding semi trucks and cars!!!  WHAT WAS I THINKING??????  And, just where was her daddy during this very important moment of her life.........and mine?  

Off we go.....with me working hard to keep my voice at normal tones and levels and letting her concentrate on driving down the very busy I-24 Interstate back towards Murfreesboro.  With every semi that screamed past us, I was holding on to the seat praying.  I looked over at Abby and you could tell she was really paying close attention to what she was doing.....which was a relief in some ways.  She drove the speed limit, and we pretty much stayed in the far right lane.....where the slow cars drive.  All the way home from Nashville, she really did a good job but I had never been so happy to see our exit looming in the distance.  

We made it to our exit, and Abby pulls up to the merge sign and instead of looking at the traffic coming.......she just pulled straight out and merged without giving any right of way to the car that just about hit us and was slamming on their breaks.  I could see my life pass before me!  I screamed at Abby........STOP!!!!    NOOOO........GAS IT!  GAS IT!!  Poor Abby got all flustered and did exactly the opposite of what I was telling her and let off the gas.  It all felt as if we were in slow motion..............as slow as she possible could.......she pulled in front of this on coming car and very slowly got into her lane and very slowly kept going!  The car that we almost had a major car wreck with, honked their horn, got in the next lane and flew past us while still honking the whole time!!!  

"Abby.....merge means you stop and see if you can go....not pulling out in front of a speeding car!!!"   -----------    "I KNOW MOM!!!"   ----------------  "Then why were you driving soooooooo slow?  Why did you not gas it!!???!!!"  ------------------  "I don't know mom.....I kind of froze when I realize what I had done."  

My heart was beating soooo hard......I just could not hardly say anything else.  Abby drove the rest of the way home without incident and we arrived safe and sound.   Over all, she did very well.  But, I sure was glad that we were home and that our interstate driving lesson with on ramps and exit ramps was over!!

After our eventful day, I had to remind myself that Abby did not have a drivers permit.......she had a LEARNERS permit.  Thus, she was learning.  She had permission to learn.....and learn she would.  

Last night as I was laying in bed, I was thinking about our big adventure for the day and I prayed and thanked God for keeping us safe and sound.  But, I believe he reminded me of a few things.....I wonder if perhaps I got a taste of how our Heavenly Father feels as his children embark on their Christian journey.  Like Abby passing the written test, she felt like she knew all the rules.  We as Christians think that tooo.....we think we can keep our life under control, know when to stop, go,  slow down, and speed up.  Then we see a yellow light and we wonder......does that mean to slow down, or speed up and go through quickly without giving thought to merging.  

I have been caught in the intersection of life more times than I care to admit.  I've had times when I couldn't decide whether to go forward or stop or back up.  As a result, I found myself idling in the middle of my journey, holding up traffic.  I think on some of those days, God is saying to me,"Back up.  That's right, back up and wait until I give you a green light."  I've decided that when it comes to driving down the road of life, I only have my learner's permit.  He has never given me permission to take hold of the wheel and apply my foot to the accelerator without Him in the car.

SOOO......to my sweet Abigail Rae.  You really did do a good job on the interstate.....and I am proud of you for keeping your cool when I in my opera voice yelled at you about not merging correctly.  You have the right to learn....that's what a learners permit is all about and momma's going to work harder at not being soo nervous!   

Knowing God's Will For My HEART

 

Knowing God's Will For My Heart

I have been praying and praying for a long time now about knowing God's will for my life....for our family.  It gets hard sometimes because you want God to give you an immediate answer, and that is not how our God works.  God does not run on our time.....He runs only on HIS timing.  But prayer is the greatest tool we have to talk to God about the desires of our hearts along with the frustrations of having to wait and wait for that answer.  Make sure your waiting for God's answer....not the answer you asked for.  God always knows best and His answer may not always line up with what we were thinking, but He knows our future and what is best for us. 

But, there is one thing I can do.  I can know God's will for my heart.  When Olivia was a little girl, she was such a happy little one.  Her eyes sparkled every time something new would come along.  With all the wonder of a three year old, she found excitement and wealth in little things.  It really did not take much.....a brand new crayon, a ladybug on the windowsill, a squirrel on the bird feeder, a bracelet made from yarn, funny shapes of pasta and flowers blooming fresh from the ground.  Olivia found them all exciting and was soo very happy and grateful for them.  She would always scream for me to come see her surprising new discovery and I would rush over to see her delight.  One night at meal time, we asked Olivia to say the blessing over the food and she thanked God for all the wonderful new discoveries she had made that day.....forgot about the food.  I loved it, and am pretty sure God knew her heart while she was giving thanks for everything else.  Now that I look back on it, Olivia's life at the time was a reminder of the verse in Bible, " Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all He has done!"  Col. 2:7  There is nothing sweeter than for a child to open your eyes and remind you of all that we have to be grateful for.

I've always been amazed at the children of Israel.  Have you ever seen such an ungrateful lot?  God frees them from their chains, drowns their pursuers, shades them with a cloud by day, provides them with a nightlight at night, brings forth water in the midst of the desert, gives them bread from heaven, talks one on one with their leader and promises them beautiful new homes in a land that will be all theirs.  What slave would have dreamed to have soo much?  But they are not thankful.  Worse....they complain!  I wonder what would have happened to their story if they had not complained.....if they had grateful hearts full of thankfulness.  Falling into the trap of murmuring is easy to do.  God's will for our lives does not include griping and grumbling.  We are called to an attitude of gratitude. 

Its and old saying that every cloud has its silver lining.  Days may seem bleak, and gloominess may settle over our hearts, but there is always something to be thankful for.  No matter what happens in a day, look for that glittering glimpse of heaven around the edges of gray.  May God bring us up short in the middle of a murmur and cause us to remember HIS will for our hearts......which is thankfulness. 

Knowing God's will for our life sometimes causes us to learn many lessons......one of which is patience and waiting upon the Lord.  But knowing God's will for my heart...is easy.  Gratefulness, being thankful and giving thanks even in the mundane.  Thank you Lord for reminding me.  

WATCH OUT FOR WORMS!

"Dear friends, you are like visitors and strangers in this world...

People who do not believe are living all around you. 

They might say that you are doing wrong. 

So live good lives.  Then they will see the good things you do,

and they will give glory to God on the day when Christ comes again."
I Peter 2:11 - 12 

I've always had a desire to be fruitful for God.  Being fruitful for God isn't something you do all by yourself, free of outside interference.  Being fruitful for God is your every day walk that is full of ups and downs.  In one way, your fruitfulness is every one's business.

Think about where orchards and vineyards grow.....they grow outside!  Fruit needs access to the sun, the rain, and plenty of fresh air.  As a christian, your growing your fruit out in the open, too  ----  where people can see.  Your fruit is your life....the way you live your life.  God's kind of fruit always has to do with people because He cares more about them than anything else.  He loves His children, and He wants us to love them by serving them.  As you work on figuring out how He wants you to bear fruit, this will be your first clue:  It will probably have something to do with helping others.  -----  Helping others.....serving others.....befriending the unfriendly......loving the difficult.....serving others. 

But what if a worm gets loose in your orchard?  You have done something wrong...no one is perfect.  God did not make us to be perfect.....just willing.  But, people are watching all the time.  If you call yourself a Christian, people will expect you to act and behave in a way they can admire. 

Peter wrote that we should watch how we behave because there are people around us all the time who don't know much about God.  They do know that God's people supposedly do the right thing.  But if they see us behave poorly, they receive the wrong message.  It may look like our faith doesn't make any difference in the way we live  ----   that our standards of conduct are no better than anyone elses.

But Peter also says that the good things we do make a big difference.  When people see our good works, they will begin giving the credit to God.

I hope you don't get the wrong idea.  I hope you don't think that as soon as you make a mistake or a poor decision, you cant ever bear fruit for God again.  We are all sinners....saved by grace.....so we couldn't be more wrong.  The Bible is filled with stories of people who messed up then went on to do great things for God.  God never gives up on us, and He always offer us a fresh start.

The most important thing to remember is that your fruit tree is planted right out there in public.  Anyone can walk up and inspect the baskets of fruit your are producing for God.  Much of that fruit will be about loving and serving those people.  But watch out for worms!!  They say one bad apple can spoil the whole barrel. 

Can I Really Count It All As Joy?

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials"

James 1:2

Can you imagine what it would be like if no one was willing to endure a little hardship?  What if Noah Had decided that the whole ark business was just too much work for a man nearing his retirement?

What if Moses had quit and gone home after the 3 plagues?

What if Joshua decided to tip toe past Jericho?

What if Esther was unwilling to reschedule a manicure?

What if David had declared that he did not like confrontations - especially with foreign giants?

What if Solomon had asked for cash up front?

What if Daniel had decided it was easier to try to fit in?

But, they didn't.  They had a job to do.....and they looked to God for their guidance with each step they took.  They counted it all joy.  It can be a monumental shift in perspective, but we too can count it all joy.... meaning we would need to change the way we think and instead of always seeing the glass half empty, we instead see the good in it and see the glass half full.  All our perseverance and endurance will result in both present joy and future joy.  It all counts.  

What does it mean to count your trials as joy?  I know its just not that easy for me to count any of my trials as joy.....especially in the mornings when we are getting ready for work and school and everyone has the morning  grouchies.  We each have different struggles, so personalize this concept.  What is on your list?  Do you have a list?  Write down what kind of struggles or trials you might have.  Its good to see those things on paper sometimes.  But when your looking at your list, ask God to give you eyes to see the bigger picture....the bigger perspective in order to find joy in our trials.  Pray that God will help you see things His way.

In God's way of thinking, everything that comes our way has a purpose.  The things we'd rather forget or do over again might be the very things He is using to make us stronger, wiser, and more trusting.  We are to count it all joy, even when life throws us a curve ball. 

Nobody's Perfect.....But Being a Good Example Sure Can Help!

I'd rather see a sermon, than hear one any day.
I'd rather one would walk with me - than merely show the way.
The eye's a better pupil - more willing than the ear.
Fine counsel is confusing, but example's always clear.
And the best of all the people are the ones who live their creed,
For to see the good in action is what everybody needs.
I can soon learn how to do it if you'll let me see it done.
I can watch your hands in action, but your tongue too fast may run.
The lectures you deliver may be very wise and true -
But I'd rather get my lesson by observing what you do.
For I may misunderstand you, and the high advice you give.
But there's no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.
                                     By: Edgar Guest

Nobody's perfect.  I know some people think they are close to it...(hahaha) but, thank the Lord that nobody has it ALL together and is perfect in all that they do.  I used to think that some people (women/moms) had it all together.  But, as I get older I do realize that they dont.  Surely their house is not clean ALL the time......right?  ")

In my own home, I',m beginning to see more and more of my reflection as I look at my teenage daughters.  Thankfully I do see some good traits; but I also see some of my negative traits popping up from time to time.  It was a highly convicting moment when I heard my own daughter using the exact same whining words of complaint that I used in a griping session I had with my husband.

We have all done things that we regret.  I think of Peter who denied that he even knew Jesus  -  no once, not twice, but three times.  No doubt Peter felt like a failure.  Peter had to feel as if he could not build a church when he displayed some weaknesses.  But, he learned that God is a forgiving God.  He forgives us, renews us, and still uses us, despite our mistakes. 

After Jesus was resurrected, he came to Peter and asked 3 times, "Peter, do you love me?"  Peter answered, "Lord, you know all things; you ,know that I love you." And Jesus told him, "Feed my sheep"  John 21:17.  Peter had messed up, but God still had a great plan for Peter's life!  Peter would become the leader of the first century church, feeding the many followers who would soon come to know Christ as their Savior.

We are also bound to mess up from time to time.....at least I know I am.  And, some days its more than once!  Boy oh boy, I know that I mess up a LOT!  But I am so very thankful that the Lord has said, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  1John 1:9.  God can still use us, because God forgives us!  In fact, when we make a mistake, God can use us to teach our children by example how to come before him, repent, and accept his wonderful mercy and love. 

I just recently had to go to one of my daughters and tell her I was sorry for the way I acted and the things I said out of haste.  She accepted my apology and gratefully it is behind us now.  I want my life to be the best sermon and sermon example all three of my daughters will ever see or hear.  I do want my girls to be godly teenagers who grow up to be godly women.  Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:16, "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."  As my light shines for Christ, my girls will see my good deeds and praise the Lord - with their words and with their lives. 

It's sooo true......, Actions speak louder than words!!!  "The foundations of character are built not by lecture, but by bricks of good example, laid day by day."  -Leo B. Blessing

Lord, help my each step, my every breath and my fast moving mouth be a good example for my girls.  And, may that example always come from a heart that is willing to keep looking to you for guidance and strength.  Amen!