How About Today?

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope & trust this post finds you having a great day as a glorious new day begins to dawn on the Texas Gulf Coast!

Before diving into this Happy Friday I want to respectfully ask that y'all please keep Nebraska in your thoughts & prayers. There is so much devastation and loss. We all need others we can lean on from time to time - be it storms of life or storms of nature. Let's be there for these precious souls. Thank you.

This week I came across a quote, a question really, that I shared on Twitter on Wednesday. It was profound to me. This morning I simply want to share the question with you and then talk about it a little bit.

"When was the last time you woke up and realized that today could be the best day of your life?" - Steve Maraboli

As I read that question, I feel a deep conviction in my spirit. If I am honest, I think back to events that where going to happen in a given day and those were the days that I woke up thinking that day could be the best day of my life - a day with my Beautiful Bride, doing something with my Tender Warriors or, perhaps, it was something big going on in my work life. The problem is, every one of those things is circumstantial. It is based on what I perceive will happen that day and then I let that determine whether or not I will realize, believe, that this could be the best day of my life. You and I are called to be so much more than that!

What we are talking about here Friends, is attitude. And, based on my thoughts and convictions when reading the question, I need an attitude adjustment! :) Perhaps you don't find yourself where I do...that's great! You can listen in on my conversation with myself this morning! :)

Dictionary.com defines attitude as, "Manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc., with regard to a person or thing; tendency or orientation, especially of the mind." That, I think, is really the key..."especially of the mind." What are the things we are allowing to flood our minds. What are our thoughts? Our feelings? Are we listening to our feelings or facts? They are different you know?! :) So, I am going to unpack this, in what I consider, the right way. First, I am going to go to the Book of Truth. I find some interesting things there...

Psalm 118: 24 tells me, "This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it."

It doesn't tell me to rejoice and be glad in this day if My Sweet Girl and I have a date planned, if my boys and I are planning some great adventure, if things are going great at work, if there are no storms in my life, etc. There is no "if" at all. It simply says "This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it." Period. Nothing more. This is the Lord's day so we should rejoice and be glad. Oh how I need the help of the Holy Spirit!!! :)

Psalm 55: 22 tells me, "Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall."

I don't know about you but for me I find the major reason why I don't wake up every morning realizing that this could be the best day of my life is because I have fears, worries, cares, and concerns about...well, I can pretty much make anything a big deal in my mind! :) And yet the Bible tells me to give my burdens - no matter how big or small and please remember Sweet Friends, we all think our burdens are the biggest...and to us they are! - to the Lord and are you catching those beautiful promises? "He will take care of you," and, "He will not permit the godly to slip or fall." How different would the lives we live be if every morning we knew, to the depths of our souls, that God will take care of you and He will never allow you to slip or fall? Remember when you were little and your Mom, Dad or someone really important in your life said, "It's o.k., everything is going to be fine."? Remember the fears falling away? Remember how all of the sudden you weren't afraid of the Boogie Man any more? Yeah, you know where I am going with this. Our Heavenly Father is telling us, "It's o.k. I got you. It is going to be o.k. I will take care of you." Let's let this sweet truth wash over us this morning Friends! :)

Matthew 6:34 tells me, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

How much time have I wasted, how much emotional energy have I spent, worrying about the things of tomorrow? Augh! And yet we are specifically told not to worry about tomorrow. And, did you catch the "therefore?" Ever wonder what then proceeded this statement about not worrying about tomorrow? Well, here it is; "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness." Seek God. Seek God and don't worry about tomorrow...again, God has us!

As I read this verse I fully recognize the war - be sure Friends, it is a war! - between choosing to believe our faith or our fears. Between choosing to live our faith or our fears. I am reminded of the saying, "Faith and fear are both a belief in something that has not yet happened." All of us get to choose what we will believe...I am going to choose to believe in the God who created everything and choose faith. And I will absolutely need God to live out what I have declared in this moment! :)

I was thinking about all of this yesterday. I was kinda beating myself up for falling into this trap of worry, regret, fear...the things that keep me from realizing that today could be the best day of my life. You ever get in this vicious spin cycle? Worry - Feel bad about it - Regret - Feel bad about it - Fear - Feel bad about it...the cycle speeds up. Somebody turn this off and let me out of here! The Deceiver filling my mind with untruths. And as I was thinking about all of this yesterday, and praying a whole lot, I was reminded that it is my pride that is getting in the way. If I could handle all of these things on my own - which is my prideful desire - I wouldn't need God. And in that moment, His love, mercy and grace washed over me! :)

There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of other scriptures that speak to all of this and I would encourage you to look them up and study them. What I have shared with you here this morning are the first three that came to my mind. Now, I would like to share a few other tools for your toolbox that I have come across.

Jon Gordon shared "2 Keys to Help You Be Your Best:"
1. Failure is not meant to define you, it's meant to refine you. Sometimes you have to lose a goal to find your destiny.

2. Ignore the critics. Show up and do the work. You are here for a reason. You have a purpose and you are meant to share it.

Bob Goff shared a beautiful reminder; "Don't let other people decide who you are."

And finally, Dr. Tim Drinkwine shared, "The power of our thoughts:"
"What we think determines who we are and who we are determines what we do. Therefore, our thoughts determine our destiny. So let's make our thoughts good ones."

I also feel convicted to share a beautiful reminder from Ken Whitten, Senior Pastor at Idlewild Baptist Church:
"What's in the well will always come up in the bucket."
Please Sweet Friends, very intentionally choose the things you will allow to feel your heart and mind. It is impossible to pull something out of the well that has not been poured into it. And maybe, just maybe, if we will fill ourselves with truth, faith, hope & love, we will wake up every day realizing this, in fact, could be the best day of our lives! :)

Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for your or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend and please cherish your precious families!

Kev