positive.

“Formulate and stamp indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously. Never permit it to fade. Your mind will seek to develop the picture... Do not build up obstacles in your imagination.”
Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993), clergyman and author

The past couple of weeks have been extremely busy. Full of fun and worthwhile events and activities, yes, but tiring nonetheless. As a result of this and other factors, I'm sorry to say, my normally positive outlook has slipped a little. In recent days, however, God has been bringing my attention back to the fact that a positive attitude is not only a nice thing to have, it is also Biblical. The devil has been fighting me, bringing back battles I thought I had won long ago. And while it's easy for me to wonder why these struggles are necessary, I am brought back to the fact again and again that God is faithful. He is faithful to teach me and to help me grow. He is faithful to bring beauty from the ashes, and to breathe life into what was once lifeless. And one of my responsibilities as a child of God is to have a positive mindset. I've been reading a devotional book that's based on Joyce Meyer's Battlefield of the Mind and here is what she has to say about Matthew 8:13 ("Jesus said, Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.")

"Here's a simple fact I've learned: Positive minds produce positive lives, but negative minds produce negative lives. The New Testament tells the story of a Roman soldier whose servant was sick, and the soldier wanted Jesus to heal him. That wasn't uncommon -- many wanted Jesus to heal them or their loved ones in those days. But this soldier, instead of asking Jesus to come to his servant, expressed his belief that if Jesus would just speak the word, his servant would be healed. Jesus marveled at his faith and sent out His word to heal the servant. The soldier's positive mindset -- his faith -- brought positive results. He expected healing, and that's exactly what happened."

While I don't believe that "positive thoughts" heal people or make life better, I do believe that if we expected God to do what we ask Him to do, we might be surprised at the results! How often do we pray for something, and then God "surprises" us by answering? I think if I expected more -- had more faith -- I might receive more!

I am going to be challenging myself in the coming days and weeks to think more positively as a believer. To be more expectant of the grace and mercies of God. To be more filled with confidence in His abilities and power to work in my life. Those are things I believe He expects of me.

The glass is definitely half-full!

promise.

Promise of a Lifetime
Kutless

I have fallen to my knees
As I sing a lullaby of pain
I’m feeling broken in my melody
As I sing to help the tears go away
Then I remember the pledge you made to me

Chorus
I know you’re always there
To hear my every prayer inside
I’m clinging to the promise of a lifetime
I hear the words you say
To never walk away from me and leave behind
The promise of a lifetime

Looking back at me
I know that you can see my heart is open to
The Promise of a lifetime

Will you help me fall apart
Pick me up, take me in your arms
Find my way back from the storm
And you show me how to grow
Through the change
I still remember the pledge you made to me
I am holding on to the hope I have inside
With you I will stay through every day
Putting my understanding aside
And I am comforted

Chorus
I know you’re always there
To hear my every prayer inside
I’m clinging to the promise of a lifetime
I hear the words you say
To never walk away from me and leave behind
The promise of a lifetime

Looking back at me
I know that you can see my heart is open to
The Promise of a lifetime

through HIS eyes.

Tonight my pastor preached a sermon that was completely convicting and powerful. I will not attempt to re-preach his sermon, and I am probably much too tired to do the topic justice, but I had to at least try.

In the aftermath of 9/11, we heard a lot of songs and poems and stories which were written by people needing an outlet for the grief and pain and outrage we were feeling at the time. Most of the time we were asked to focus our attention on the feelings and desperation of the victims, and certainly nobody would fault a hurting nation for drawing inward and "licking our wounds," so to speak.

However, what if we were to ask ourselves this question and answer it honestly:

"What Did God See On September 11, 2001?"

Obviously we know that He saw planes hurtling into skyscrapers and slamming into the ground and devastating the symbols of our military strength. He felt the fear and the tears and the destruction. He saw the families and the heroes. He felt and He knew the pain of our loss and helplessness.

But, knowing our loving Heavenly Father the way that we do, what do you really think He saw?
He saw the souls. The never-dying souls of men and women and children. He saw them entering eternity without Him. He saw the souls of the hijackers, the souls of those who threw themselves from windows many stories above the ground, the souls of those who died in the fires and in the crashes. How many of them went into eternity without God? God knows. He saw them that day. And Jesus, who sits at the Father's right hand, and whose very life was given to redeem the souls of those who died, saw them too. Perhaps He stood and reached out His hand to those who were dying, only to realize it was too late for them. If there is crying in Heaven, perhaps He viewed the awful sight through tears of compassion and mercy.

Many times it seems that we are able to accept and acknowledge what we know to be true about the power and greatness of God. We comprehend, at least to what extent we can, the ultimate control He exerts upon the world. Why is it then, that we fail to even attempt to understand His love. The unconditional love that loves so perfectly. The mercy that reaches out with such compassion. Do we fail to realize that Christ's love extends to everyone...the disillusioned, the confused, the rebellious, the ignorant...everyone?

While none of us may be able to make much of an individual difference in the world-wide "war on terror," I do believe we can each make a difference in the role the chief terrorist of the world is currently playing in the lives of our friends and family members. We may not be able to go halfway around the world and hunt down those terrorists (remembering, of course, that Jesus died for them too) but can we walk across the street? Can we pick up the phone and call? What can we do in the lives of those whom we love to bring them closer to Christ? How can we influence our friends and our neighbors and our family members to walk away from their sinfulness and selfishness?

According to statistics, every 5 seconds, over 10 people in the world die. Of those 10 people, 7 are dying without Christ.

I have been challenged to take a look at my own life and see what I am doing to make a difference in the lives of the people in my circle of influence. God, help me to be faithful! Help me to see the world as you see it. Help me to see the souls of my loved ones through your eyes.
I would challenge us, as the 6th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on our country approaches, to not only remind ourselves of that day and of the changes it has brought into our lives and nations. But I would also ask us to be reminded of the tragedy, each and every day, of souls going into eternity without God. Shouldn't our primary goal as Christians be reaching people and leading them into a relationship with Christ?

I know I haven't shared this as eloquently or smoothly as I would have liked, but I know that I have been shaken as I have contemplated these truths. And my prayer is that I would always be faithful to the souls of those around me...my friends, my students, my co-workers, my family. Let's hold each other up in prayer and let's determine to make a difference in the battle against the terrible enemy of our souls!

May God bless you this week and make you a blessing to all whose lives you touch!

hey

Hey everybody!

We just finished our third week of school, which is just unbelievable. Things are going well in that regard. I'm enjoying my classes, even though it took me a couple of weeks to get back in the swing of things! The routine was really hard for me to get back into for some reason this year!

Anyway, not much else has been going on. My computer crashed and I lost everything. EVERYthing. Yeah. That was not cool. Fortunately, I had posted most of my pictures on sites like Ringo so I didn't lose too many of them permanently. I think the only ones that are unaccounted for are the ones of drama and junior-senior banquet in May. So those are probably gone forever. Then of course I also lost tons of documents...things that I probably won't even remember until I need them! Lots of stuff for Youth Camp which will be really fun to recreate next summer. Guess I better plan on carving out a couple of weeks for that huh! ARGH. Oh well...life goes on...

Have a great weekend and hope to hear from you soon!

And as always, much love to all!