True Positive – Day One

True Positive - day one

FOCUS

Solomon said, “As a man thinks, so is he.” What consumes your thinking? If we dwell on fears and worries, we will most certainly become an anxious person. If we focus on hurts or frustrations, we soon become bitter and angry. Perhaps this is why the Bible encourages us to direct our minds and hearts toward what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable. The apostle Paul encouraged believers to set their hearts and minds on things above. When we turn our focus toward the God who loves us, we begin to see life from a different angle and discover hope and peace in the process. Isaiah wrote:

“You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
Trust in the Lord forever,
for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.  Isaiah 26:3,4

Today, consider what you are allowing your mind to dwell on and turn your heart and mind toward the God who is bigger than your worries.

Click the “Follow” button and join me every day for the next 21 days as talk about what it means to be sincerely positive.

True Positive

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Positivity sometimes gets a bad rap. There are those who simply find positive people annoying or bothersome, while others view them as forced or insincere. I recently ran across a book entitled, The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking. Despite the distrust or disinterest of a few naysayers, positive people generally experience better health  and stronger relationships  than their negative counterparts.

There is true merit in being a positive person and enriching the lives of others. Science now confirms that our brains can form new neuro-pathways and create new patterns of thought. The good news is that it is possible to change our negative focus and thinking habits. For this reason, I have decided to offer a opportunity to move toward the positive. Each day for the next 21 days (because it takes 21 days to start a new habit), I want to offer you a short, realistic and practical way to help you think in new and fresh directions.

Are you with me? If you want to receive my brief and colorful positive push every day for the next 21 days in your inbox, simply press the “Follow” button at the bottom of your screen. I’m calling this journey, “True Positive,” because a truly positive person is not unrealistic or fake, rather she is a person who is open, honest and real about life and yet maintains a hope-filled perspective.

I look forward to walking this journey together!

Have a Spectacular 4th!

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Hope you are having a Happy Fourth with family and friends. This is a spectacular time of the year! I love the parades, the fireworks, the hot dogs and simply the good ole fun we experience each year! I’m proud to be an American, and Independence Day celebrations are a glorious way to show it. More than that, I’m thankful to be a Christian, and experience freedom in my soul as a result of the sacrifice Christ made for us.

Just as the fireworks light up the night sky, so should our love for the Lord and gratitude to Him shine brightly in this dark world.  As Christians, may we sparkle and shine every day of the year with a contagious enthusiasm from within our hearts. My hope is that a dark and dying world will see the sparkle and shine of believers and be drawn to Him.

Let your light so shine among men that they may see your good works and glorify the Father.

Matthew 5:16

Are You Flexible?

 

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A friend once told me, “A flexible woman rarely gets bent out of shape.” I like that! Plans change, challenges arise and mistakes happen. We must remain flexible in the process. A flexible woman looks for alternative plans and wise options. A flexible woman doesn’t sit back and say, “This is the way we have always done it.” She recognizes the opportunity to jump into action instead of stewing in anger or fear. An old Japanese proverbs states, “The bamboo which bends is stronger than the oak that resists.”

How do we grow to be flexible in God’s hands? It begins in our belief system. If we believe that God is sovereign and that He loves us, we can look to Him as the winds of change or challenge blow through our lives. Our faith changes the way we respond to circumstances. Knowing He is the God who sees all, keeps us from despair.  We can respond to situations with the calm assurance that God will never leave us and that His hand will guide us. We can say to ourselves, “Although this is not what I planned, I can trust God will bring something good out of this situation.”

We can learn to be flexible and respond with grace when our eyes are on the Lord and our trust is in His plan. There are no guarantees about what tomorrow will bring, but we do know we are not alone in the battles we face. We can put our faith into action and move forward to make a difference in a seemingly impossible situation.  The following poem reminds us of the difference our faith makes in how we view our circumstances.

My Father’s way may twist and turn,

My heart my throb and ache.

But in my soul I’m glad I know,

He maketh no mistake.

My cherished plans may go astraiy,

My hopes may fade away,

But still I’ll trust my Lord to lead,

For He doth know the way,

Tho’night be dark and it may seem

That day will never break,

I’ll pin my faith, my all in Him,

He maketh no mistake.

There’s so much I cannot see,

My eyesight far too dim,

But come what may, I’ll simply trust

And leave it all to Him.

For bye and bye the mist will lift,

And plain it all He’ll make.

Through all the way, tho’ dark to me,

He maketh not one mistake!

Author Unknown

 

We can trust God’s sovereign grace in whatever comes our way, and live with assurance that He will walk with us. We don’t need to fret or complain, just advance with a humble trust in the God who loves us and has a big and beautiful plan. Step forward, my friend, with your eyes on Him and your faith in the work He has yet to do in your life.

 

This is an excerpt from Positive Life Principles for Women.  On sale now for $5. Click here for more info:

In the Pit

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Ever felt like you were in a pit? When life or emotions seem to bring us down, it is difficult to see anything but the pit in which we dwell. Interestingly, did you ever notice that there are several instances in the Bible where people were in literal pits? Think about it. Joseph was thrown in a pit by his brothers and then eventually sold into slavery. Not the Plan A Joseph had for his life. And then there’s a little known story about Benaiah who ended up in a pit with a lion. Seriously! The Bible tells us that Benaiah was a valiant warrior and performed many great exploits. The prophet Samuel recorded, “Benaiah struck down Moab’s two mightiest warriors. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion (2 Samuel 23:20).” Now that probably wasn’t on his schedule of things to do that day either.

David described God as the one who “redeems our life from the pit. Now perhaps you have felt as though your life or your day was in the pits and you could see no hope, no redemption and no way out.  I suppose that’s how pit-dweller Jeremiah felt. Jeremiah was one of God’s prophets who was thrown in a pit as a result of simply proclaiming what God told him to say. That doesn’t seem right! There he was obeying God, and he was thrown in the pit. Take a look at how low this Old Testament prophet must have felt as he wrote, “The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words. I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss.”

But Jeremiah didn’t call it quits. He was able to keep his eyes on the Lord despite his circumstances. Here’s what he said after describing his situation, “Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this:  The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.  I say to myself, ‘The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!’ The LORD is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him (Lamentations 3:19-25).”

Now there’s a person who has their eyes in a positive direction!  He’s not dwelling on his dismal circumstances in the pit, instead He is dwelling on the Lords faithfulness. His sight is going beyond what he can see, and looking to the hope of what a faithful God can do.  How’s your eyesight? In one of his most fearful moments David declared, “Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame (Psalm 34:5).” Oh for the faith to look past the dark clouds of despair and see the sunlight of God’s faithfulness peeking through to bring us comfort and hope! May He be your strength today.

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This is an excerpt from Positive Life Principles for Women on sale this month for $5. Click here for more info.