Be This, Not That

Hello, Friends!

I hope your January has been a great beginning to a new year and you are encouraged, joyful and reveling in the goodness of the Lord. My One Little Word for this year is DELIGHT  and I have been looking for ways to intentionally live with delight.

My 2019 started off with fun and inspiration. Brad and I traveled to the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee where I attended “Your Best Beautiful Life,” a goal setting workshop by Dr. Edie Wadsworth. She and the other speakers were just “delightful” and challenged us as we set goals, line danced, reflected, and learned new things. I LOVED IT!!!

Edie is a firecracker and encourager and introduced me to Young Living Essential Oils. My decision to purchase a Premium Starter Kit with her as my sponsor has brought wellness and an abundance of new friends and experiences. I love my oils and other products and am thankful for plant based options that contain the touch of the Father. You can read about that here: https://avintagefarmwife.com/try-new-things-ten-reasons-love-young-living-essential-oils/

We are never too old to learn new things, set new goals and achieve them! Right, friends?

With all this goal setting, I have been thinking more about my mindset. And you know what we focus on, increases. Therefore, mindset things are popping up for me everywhere. Popular culture is flooded with the idea that we determine our life by our thoughts.

Sounds kind of “woowoo” and goofy and you may be pushing back as you read those words.

I have heard a BUNCH of sermons in my lifetime and remember details of very few of them. One that I DO REMEMBER I heard at a Church of Christ in Alabama when we stopped at a random church on a Sunday morning on our way to Florida. What that pastor said really impacted me because it was a new thought for me. My notes are in a journal somewhere, but it went something like this.

Your thoughts become your actions.

Your actions become your habits.

Your habits become your character.

And your character becomes your life.

Everything starts with our thoughts, so we had better be believing the TRUTH, friends. God gets to say who you are, not someone else, so if we are still operating from the labels someone in our past gave us, let’s RELEASE THEM!

You are loved by your Heavenly Father and he wants an abundant life for you. That is a whole other blogpost. Sidebar: If you are still resisting this personal relationship, why oh why? Reach out to me and we can talk about it.

Here is what the scriptures say in Philippians 4:8…….

“Whatever is true, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -think about such things.”

Not That……

So what are you thinking about? Earlier this month, Brad and I challenged one another to go 7 days without complaining, in word or thought. Whoa, Nelly! If you want to do an inventory of your thought life, that is a good place to begin. Negativity can become our default if we aren’t careful.

And who in the world wants to live like that? Not me! Negativity breeds negativity and it can get ugly in a hot second. Have you noticed? I don’t want to be the one who gets every group riled up and complaining. In the past, I have been that person. But now, I CHOOSE to think about the true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy.

At least most of the time.

Or some of the time. I’m a work in progress.

But it starts with a decision, right? And if we are told in the scriptures to live this way, we must be able to accomplish it with the help of Holy Spirit, right?

That’s encouraging!!!!

What would you do if you thought about possibilities instead of stumbling blocks, the truth of what God says about you rather than the lies of the enemy? How would your present be different? How might your future look?

Do you ever wonder what negative mindset has been ground into the brain of your loved ones by flip remarks, eye rolls, folded arms or “tsks tsks” ? I do worry ( work in progress, remember? Grace please. Why doesn’t wordpress have emojis? I need a smiley face to put here!) that I might have splashed water on the dreams of my former students or others who shared with me through the years. Or heaven forbid, my own kids or grandkids.

Who am I to have an opinion on ANYONE’S DREAMS? Forgive me Lord.

Have you ever heard of Isaac Watts? He lived during the 1600’s and his dad was a pastor. One day on their walk home from church, he complained to his father that he was BORED by the songs they sang in worship service. Rather than scold his boy, Isaac’s daddy told him to do something about it.

(I wonder if he said, “Thou shouldest do something about it.” )

So he did. Isaac Watts began writing his own worship music and is responsible for over 750 hymns, including some we still sing today! Isn’t that tingle-inducing?

What if his dad had shamed him? Scolded him? Spanked him? Grounded him? Banished him to the woodpile?

Oh, the blessings generations of people would have missed! Friend, I don’t want to miss out on the blessings of YOUR GIFTS either. Please don’t be afraid to use them!

BE This…..

Let’s be like Isaac’s father and follow the words of Hebrews 10: 24….

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another-and all the more as you see the DAY approaching.”

Let’s cheer one another on, build one another up, pick one another up when we fail! Let’s celebrate when someone bravely moves forward, sharing her gifts.