Going Well

I have managed to read at least one chapter in my Bible each morning since my Stinkin' Thinkin' post. I have also been eating breakfast, a good breakfast, daily. The exercise on the other hand has been a little more challenging. However, I did just workout a bit upstairs. My left shoulder always gives me trouble, and the pain motivated me to the workout machine. Maybe there really is something to that old expression, "No pain, no gain!"

I do have to say that the decision to refocus has made a tremendous difference in the quality of my day to day life. I have a better attitude and am kinder and more pleasant to those around me; a big plus for all of us! It's not that I was nasty or anything, but I knew my attitude needed a check. I knew that I was not focusing on what I should be, and my quality of life was suffering.

It is amazing to me how simple God's instructions are. I have found time and again that consequences are almost immediate when we do not follow God's will. I find the object lessons most obvious in starting my day with prayer and Bible reading and in tithing. Have you ever noticed this in your daily lives?

Whenever I slip away from my daily devotionals my quality of life suffers. Also, when I manage to mess up with my tithing my finances instantly become stressful. It doesn't matter how much of a sacrifice it may seem to be to get back on track it is always worth it. The presumed sacrifices give way to peace and prosperity almost immediately after making things right. What does God use to teach you how to live? I'd love to hear your experiences.

Stinkin' Thinkin'

I was watching Joyce Meyer this morning while I ate my breakfast, and she was talking about how important it is to have an attitude of hope. In my experience this makes such a difference in our day to day living and our overall health. The power of thought is just amazing, and we can be unaware of the impact of our thought process on our daily lives.

Joyce calls negative thought stinkin' thinkin', and I think she's right on. One point that was made in the airing I viewed this morning is that it is better to live a miserable life with the benefit of hope than it is to just live a miserable life while being miserable in it. What would be better: being broke and happy, or being broke and sad? Happy trumps misery all the time.

Unfortunately, we can get caught up in our stinkin' thinkin' very easily. Does your perspective need some tweaking? This is when we really need each other. It is important to surround ourselves with positive, hopeful people. Again, I find myself back to the idea of a support system. We all need a circle of friends that are uplifting and real. We need people to remind us of the good things in our lives when all we can see are the bad.

Today, if your focus is a little out, spend some time re-framing your thoughts. It may help to make a list of all the positive things in your life. If it is difficult at first, list a negative. Then, counter with related positive. There is ALWAYS a positive side to everything. Sometimes we just need to look a little more closely.

As suggested previously, don't forget to start your day with conversation with God. It pays great dividends to start out in the right direction. With God on our side, who can be against us?