We Will Choose

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope & trust this post finds you all having a great day as a glorious new day begins to dawn in my Sweet Home Alabama. Additionally, I sincerely hope you have had a great week, personally & professionally! :)

This weeks Happy Friday is just a simple reminder of how very, very powerful you are! I don't think I will share anything profound or anything you haven't heard before. I do hope to remind - as well as encourage and equip! - you to fully live this day!

Right now we are all in different stages of our life journeys. Some of us are on peaks and some of us are in deep valley's. Some of us are on an ascent and some of us are on a descent. Fun, crazy, wonderful, scary, hard this wonderful thing called life is! Regardless of who we are, where we are, the situation or circumstance we find ourselves in, every single one of us WILL choose the attitude we bring to this day! Positive or negative...the choice is mine & yours! And what is at stake with our choice? Absolutely everything! Our attitude shapes and informs our thoughts; our thoughts shape and inform our words and actions; and our words and actions shape and inform the lives we live! Yes Sweet Friends, we are so very powerful! :)

There are two thoughts/ideas that have been very helpful to me as I have walked my life journey...perhaps they will be helpful to you too!

1. Several years ago, my Beautiful Bride and I were in one of those very deep valley's, perhaps the deepest valley we had walked through together up until that point in time. We, just like a lot of people, were filled with worry & fear. And, just like a lot of people, we didn't always choose the best attitude. We didn't always choose the best thoughts. Our words weren't always the best and neither were our actions. And guess what? Largely because of the choices we were making, our days weren't so good either! And then through a lot of Bible study and prayer, I felt as though God laid something on my heart. I told Kath, from that point on, any time we wanted to believe or say something, we would measure it against what the Bible said. If it lined up with the Bible, if it was true, we would discuss it. However, if it was not, we would immediately recognize where that thought/idea came from and we would dismiss it. It was transformational for both of us.

Is it true that you are worthless? Is it true that you are alone? Is it true that your life has no value, meaning or purpose? Is it true that your struggles will last forever? I challenge you, Google these things and search what scripture says. Find out what the Bible says about your worth, about whether God will ever leave you or forsake you, about your value, about whether your life has meaning and purpose. You will find that these life stealing thoughts are not Biblical, they do not line up with truth. We would be wise to dismiss them every time they pop into our head!

2. Whether we are on the mountain top or in the valley, whether we are on the ascent or the descent, we are - God willing! - going to go through this day. The time will pass. It is 100% up to you and I how we go through it. While we can't necessarily change our current situation or circumstance, we do get to choose how we go through and experience those situations or circumstances. Oh, I understand completely Sweet Friends, it is not easy. I have smiled through deep pain. I have put a bounce in my step though completely terrified. I have chosen to live fully though I felt I was dying a slow, painful death. I fully understand it is not easy...I can also testify that it can be done. And I can also testify that the days I have chosen to smile in spite of the pain, to run into the day in spite of the fear and to live though I felt like I couldn't breathe have been some of the best days of my life! Yes Sweet Friend, you & I, with God's great help, are that powerful!

I also want to share a few scriptures with you as tools to help you as I hope you choose to live this day with a positive attitude.

"This is the day that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." - Psalm 118:24
"Because of the Lord's loving devotion we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." - Lamentations 3:22-23
*This IS a glorious new day! You and I have never seen this one before! It is a blank canvass! New love, mercy and grace are in this new day! Let's not look back with regret or forward with worry but rather let's fully live this day with hopeful expectation! It is a choice!

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." - Galatians 6:9
*Some of the absolute best days of my life have been the days when I was too tired to go on, when I did not have the strength to make it through that day. It was on those days, knowing I had nothing to give, that I completely surrendered my life to God and He carried me through those days. I had to choose to not give up, to surrender it all to God and to walk completely by faith...and those have been amazing days! Please Sweet Friend, choose not to give up!

"Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary." - Isaiah 40:31
*This comes back to in whom or what are we putting our faith, where are we gaining our hope. This broken world is full of people who are chasing the world, putting their faith & hope in a person, in a title, in stuff...all to come up empty! There is a different way Sweet Friend, but we have to choose it! We will choose where we place our faith & hope. If we don't like how things are going, the life we are living, we would be wise to reconsider in whom or what we place our faith and hope.

Finally, I want to share a few quotes I came across this morning.

""Our attitude and actions say a lot about our hearts." - Ian Rock

"The problem isn't with the fruit, but with the root." - Unknown

"Don't worry. You will find your message in your mess." - Unknown

"Falling down is a part of life, getting back up is living." - Unknown

In honor of my sweet, precious Mom, who is walking the golden streets of Heaven as I type these words, I will end with what she always told me when I was having a tough day;
"Now put a smile on your face, a bounce in your step and you make this a great day!"
I love you so much and I miss you every day Mom! God blessed me so richly with you! :)

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

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

Kev