Gratitude

For about one week I have been trying to think about what to write for the church blog.  I have a couple that I am working on, but I am waiting to get them on the website on a different day.  But I didn’t know what I want to write for this week.  Should I write something that is really personal or something work related or something theological or current events?  Well, nothing striking really came up to be honest.  So I decided to make this entry simple.
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Last couple of weeks have been a bit rough for me.  A stressful week followed with a concussion and currently the kids are having a harder time going to sleep because the neighborhood just seems like it is getting louder from everyone drag racing their supercars and motorcycles, mix that in with the random fireworks going off as we near 4th of July. When the kids cant sleep well, neither can mom and dad!  So, I really have been working on little energy. 

When you lack energy, you often times makes mistakes, feel sluggish, and are quite forgetful, which in turn produced more stress on top of the stress that was already there.  So, instead of worrying about my lack of sleep, the rough last two weeks, the kids having a rough go at staying asleep, I decided to think positive.

Thinking has power.  If we recall the message of the sermon from last Sunday.  God is not a God who is trying to be in control of everything.  Sometimes when we are hit with tough situations or unfortunate circumstances it is easy to throw our hands in the air and demand God to fix this mess, or put God on trial and simple ask, if you are so loving God, why do bad things happen?  It can be easy to pick on God when bad things happen.  But remember God does not yearn to control us and our world, God wants to give us control.

Control starts with thinking.  Regardless of the mess you might find yourself in, positive thinking is important.  And what helps me think positive is thinking about all the things present in my life that I am grateful for.  So even if I feel like my life is off the rails or that I feel that what is going on in my life is not what I had planned, I must step back and find positive re-enforcements in my life that are just straight up blessings.

I have a beautiful, talented, intelligent wife, two adorable rambunctious children, a great church to work at, great things happening in the church, a roof over my head, two operational cars, food on the table, my health, fishing, awesome iPhone that I can share memories on and be more efficient for work, internet for movies, staying in touch with mom and dad and my in laws, clean water, sense of humor, and honestly the list can probably go on if I think about it more extensively.  But I just thought about these things in less than 2 minutes.  Imagine what I can think about if I spend 30 minutes about how thankful I am with all the things in my life instead of wasting 30 minutes of complaining all the things not going well in my life. 

Even in that short time of writing this article, I already feel renewed.  I feel happier and grateful.  Remember, thinking has power and we worship a God who wants to give us power.  Everything starts up in your head.  Think positive and your world will look more positive.  Do not focus on the things you don’t have or lack but think about the things you do have that give you joy and gratitude.  You can change your day only if you decide that the power if given to you to do so.  God bless you all!