I'm so thankful. I think we forget just how blessed we are sometimes and it gets so easy to complain about little things. But to put things in perspective, there are so many people with life-threatening illnesses, so many people without a family, so many people in poverty, without a roof over their head, clothes on their body, and food in their tummy. So if you have a family, your health, a home, and even a little money, you are way better off than a LOT of people in this world. I know how easy it is to forget this, but it's been heavy on my heart as I've heard about several serious accidents this week that have turned people's lives around. Life can change so quickly. I'm not saying that to make you worry, because G-d is always in control, but rather to encourage thankfulness for life and all its blessings.
This semester has honestly been one of the hardest stages of life for me. I've been busy all day every day with hardly any breaks ever. I also experienced some challenges with my health, which has been a growing experience and something I've never had to deal with before. Because of it I haven't been able to exercise for the past few months and won't be able to for a few months longer. If you know me, you know that exercise is extremely important to me and I love to be active. So it hasn't been easy. But you know what? I have a body that is healthy and functioning well and that allows me to do so much. I have an amazing school and I am blessed by the opportunity to get my bachelor's degree. I have a nice house to come home to, a car to take me where I need to go, and the best job ever. I have an outstanding family, some pretty great friends, and I get to babysit for the most incredible families I get to live in a beautiful state with beautiful weather. To say the least, I am BLESSED.
For the majority of the semester I was pretty stressed and kind of just living day to day trying to get through this stage of life. But you know what I realized? I am so so thankful for it. I love everything about my life right now! My health challenges have taught me SO much about trusting G-d and letting Him be in control. Being busy has taught me that it is actually so fulfilling to always be doing. Now I love doing. I would so much rather be busy fulfilling G-d's purpose for my life than sitting around getting nowhere.
All this to say, friends, I know life can be tough. This is the first time I've really experienced that. But life is also wonderful! There is so much good in everything. He is good, and He really TRULY always knows what He's doing. No matter what the situation is. Life is not perfect, but I'm thankful to be living it. Every day that G-d gives us is beautiful. What an awesome mindset to have. Every day is the best day ever. So lets give thanks in all things each day.
1 Timothy 6:6-8
Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these will we be content.
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Hello friends!
So I've been planning on starting a blog for a long time but for some reason it just didn't happen. Today I was inspired and wanted to post something, but it was too long for Instagram, so I decided I might as well make that blog I've been thinking about for forever! So here I am. I'm so excited to share my thoughts and learnings with you on here!
Ok onto the post! So I've noticed a few things lately. First of all, there is a lot more negativity in this world than I would like there to be. As I sit in the coffee shop at school or walk around campus, negativity is the main thing I hear. "My professor gave me a bad grade," "my roommate is always out late," "my boss won't give me this day off," "I have so much going I just can't handle it all." Another thing I've noticed is that so many people are just trying to "get through." "I just have to get through this class," "just a few more hours of work to get through," "once I get through this semester I will enjoy school more," "it's just a stage of life I have to get through." These things make me SO sad. That's not how G-d wants us to live. He gave us this beautiful life that we get the privilege of living on earth for only a short amount of time and He wants us to enjoy this time as much as possible. Not to say that life is meant to be easy, because it's absolutely not. We're supposed to learn through challenges and trials. But attitude and outlook are EVERYTHING. Our circumstances, on the other hand, mean nothing.
As I write this, I'm thinking about my friends in Honduras and the circumstances they're in. If you didn't know, I spent 22 days in Honduras this past May and had one of the most life changing experiences ever. Boy if my friends in Honduras were to complain, I would not care one bit, because they have so many legitimate things to complain about. They don't know if they're going to get enough food to eat each day, they sleep on the hard, rocky floor, they have all kinds of sicknesses and don't even own toothbrushes, but they do not complain one bit. I don't think they know how to. Rather they are FILLED with joy over the most simple things!!!!! They were ecstatic when my team and I arrived, the kids screamed of excitement when they found bugs on the trees, and the amount of enthusiasm they had for being in church and worshipping G-d was incredible. My point here is that positivity and enjoyment are not based on circumstances, they come from a soft heart that sees good. I encourage you to see good, do good, and most of all CHOOSE good every single day. Our thoughts, words, and actions influence our attitudes more than anything, so those are the main contributors to positivity if we allow them to be.
Every day on my way to school, I have been speaking out loud everything that has happened in the last few days, everything that I have planned that day, and the things that are coming up in the next few days, and the reasons they are good. Even the things that don't seem good. I talk to G-d and tell Him what I am thankful for in each of those things. Even the smallest things, like the fact that I am thankful for the people that worked hard to build the road that I get to drive to school on every day. Now, of course I am not perfectly positive. That's exactly why I do this little activity every day, so that I can see the good in the day ahead of me. Usually by the end I am gleaming because I'm so excited about life! What if instead of "getting through" life, we stopped and thought about how we can enjoy what we are doing and how blessed we are to be doing it. Because if our mindset is to "get through," then we will never actually get through. There is really no such thing as the future, because when it's the future, it will be now. Now's all we got. So we have to enjoy it. Friends, life is so AMAZING and a life lived positively, a life enjoyed, is a life worth living!
Proverbs 17:22 A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Deuteronomy 30:15 Behold, I have set before you today life and good, and death and evil.
Philippians 4:8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
So I've been planning on starting a blog for a long time but for some reason it just didn't happen. Today I was inspired and wanted to post something, but it was too long for Instagram, so I decided I might as well make that blog I've been thinking about for forever! So here I am. I'm so excited to share my thoughts and learnings with you on here!
Ok onto the post! So I've noticed a few things lately. First of all, there is a lot more negativity in this world than I would like there to be. As I sit in the coffee shop at school or walk around campus, negativity is the main thing I hear. "My professor gave me a bad grade," "my roommate is always out late," "my boss won't give me this day off," "I have so much going I just can't handle it all." Another thing I've noticed is that so many people are just trying to "get through." "I just have to get through this class," "just a few more hours of work to get through," "once I get through this semester I will enjoy school more," "it's just a stage of life I have to get through." These things make me SO sad. That's not how G-d wants us to live. He gave us this beautiful life that we get the privilege of living on earth for only a short amount of time and He wants us to enjoy this time as much as possible. Not to say that life is meant to be easy, because it's absolutely not. We're supposed to learn through challenges and trials. But attitude and outlook are EVERYTHING. Our circumstances, on the other hand, mean nothing.
As I write this, I'm thinking about my friends in Honduras and the circumstances they're in. If you didn't know, I spent 22 days in Honduras this past May and had one of the most life changing experiences ever. Boy if my friends in Honduras were to complain, I would not care one bit, because they have so many legitimate things to complain about. They don't know if they're going to get enough food to eat each day, they sleep on the hard, rocky floor, they have all kinds of sicknesses and don't even own toothbrushes, but they do not complain one bit. I don't think they know how to. Rather they are FILLED with joy over the most simple things!!!!! They were ecstatic when my team and I arrived, the kids screamed of excitement when they found bugs on the trees, and the amount of enthusiasm they had for being in church and worshipping G-d was incredible. My point here is that positivity and enjoyment are not based on circumstances, they come from a soft heart that sees good. I encourage you to see good, do good, and most of all CHOOSE good every single day. Our thoughts, words, and actions influence our attitudes more than anything, so those are the main contributors to positivity if we allow them to be.
Every day on my way to school, I have been speaking out loud everything that has happened in the last few days, everything that I have planned that day, and the things that are coming up in the next few days, and the reasons they are good. Even the things that don't seem good. I talk to G-d and tell Him what I am thankful for in each of those things. Even the smallest things, like the fact that I am thankful for the people that worked hard to build the road that I get to drive to school on every day. Now, of course I am not perfectly positive. That's exactly why I do this little activity every day, so that I can see the good in the day ahead of me. Usually by the end I am gleaming because I'm so excited about life! What if instead of "getting through" life, we stopped and thought about how we can enjoy what we are doing and how blessed we are to be doing it. Because if our mindset is to "get through," then we will never actually get through. There is really no such thing as the future, because when it's the future, it will be now. Now's all we got. So we have to enjoy it. Friends, life is so AMAZING and a life lived positively, a life enjoyed, is a life worth living!
Proverbs 17:22 A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Deuteronomy 30:15 Behold, I have set before you today life and good, and death and evil.
Philippians 4:8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
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