Author: shbcadmin

I just read about an old woman who was legally blind who was being take to her new room in the nursing home. When the director described the room, the old woman was as excited as an 8 year old with a new puppy. The director reminded her that she hadn’t even seen the room yet. Her answer was wonderful! “Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged, it’s how I arrange my mind.” I’ve already decided to love it! Have you arranged your mind today to think good thoughts? You can stay in bed and think about all the things that are wrong with your body and with your life or you can get out of bed and be thankful for what IS right with your body and life…Time for a change of “mind”.

Always waiting for the other shoe to drop instead of waiting on the Lord leads to a miserable life. Fear robs you of a positive attitude. What are you expecting? Bad news, a bad report, loss of a job, losing a spouse, being lonely, not having enough money to make it through this life? Expecting the worst is going to bring the worst! What would your life look like if you turned things around and starting expecting “better”, started looking for “answers”? Fear causes us to live in negativity and that’s like being mired down in clay! You’re stuck in your fear. Tomorrow is a new day. Instead of expecting the worst, expect God’s favor. He is always working in our lives and when we look for His hand, we will find Him.

How do you respond when someone speaks rudely or inconsiderately…they may even make gestures letting you know exactly what they think! Keep in mind, hurting people often hurt other people as a result of their own pain. If somebody is rude and inconsiderate, you can be certain that they have some unresolved issues in their heart. They may have some major problems, anger, resentment, or some heartache they are trying to cope with or overcome. The last thing they need is for us to make matters worse by responding angrily.”

  Most people don’t have a problem blessing someone else! It’s fun to bless someone and see the joy on their faces! Unfortunately, not all of us know how to RECEIVE a blessing. Do you realize that God blesses the giver? And when we refuse to accept someone’s gift of help (in whatever form it appears), we cheat THEM out of a blessing. Pride is sneaky…but refusing another person’s blessing is rooted in pride. So before you say NO to someone’s offer, ask yourself why you’re having trouble with your “receiver”!      

When life seems to continually beat you down and you go from one problem to another, it’s easy to BEGIN to think negatively. When you go through further disappointments and heartaches, it’s easy to STAY in that negative frame of mind. Attitude is going to determine how you’re going to live the rest of your life. Choosing to be negative hinders our walk with Christ and with others. Choosing to be positive requires us to live in a place of gratitude. It causes us to see the GOOD even in the middle of hard times.

  Kindness is one of the fruits of the Spirit. That means that the more you let God change your heart, the more you become like Him. Kindness is not about how you treat those that are kind to you. Anybody can do that! Kindness is when you give it to people who don’t deserve it. Another word for kindness is actually mercy. That means when someone hates you, talks about you and really doesn’t care about your feelings, God asks us to reach out in kindness. We can’t do that unless we love like He loves.