Focusing on God

My boyfriend recently posted a tweet that was so great, I had to retweet it AND favorite it. It said, "Today I choose to focus on the love of God rather than the works of the enemy."

That is FANTASTIC advice and also a great mindset to have when starting out our days! I'll be the first to admit, though, that I don't always have that kind of mindset, especially when something is really bothering me that day.

Sometimes I buy into the myth that it is so much easier to focus on the negatives than the positives. I feel sorry for myself, I'm upset, frustrated, sad, or angry, and sometimes I even just mope around (and complain...gross). But is it really easier to focus on the negatives?

Focusing on the negatives doesn't bring anything positive into your life. It attracts all kinds of other negatives. Suddenly it's not just the one thing that is bothering you, but all sorts of little things (and sometimes big things) bother you. I find that when I focus on the negatives in my life, I feel like I'm in a pit and can't climb my way out of it. (And believe me, pits are not fun to be in.) I feel a little, well...suffocated.

The Bible says to think about good things, which, if I'm correct, doesn't mean focusing on negatives. Philippians 4:8 says, "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." The last time I checked, none of the negative stuff in my life was ever excellent or worthy of praise.

Focusing on positives sometimes is easier said than done. Like I said, that whole pit thing...it can really feel like your whole day has turned to mush because of a few negatives. I've been dealing with that a lot recently, but my boyfriend has helped remind me that one negative does not equal an entire ruined day (sometimes I'm quite the drama queen). But he's right! One bad thing does not mean that the rest of your day can't be great.

I've been trying to remember that even if my day doesn't go how I want it to, it still goes how God has it planned. I have to take a deep breath and remember that I am exactly where God wants me to be, and there's a reason He has me where I am, doing what I'm doing. Instead of having a bad attitude about unpleasant things throughout my day, I am trying to have an open mind. I've been asking myself, "Why did I get upset over [insert whatever it was I got upset over]?" and "What can I learn from this?" I believe God can teach us great things through unpleasant times, if we allow our minds to be open to His teachings and hear what He has to say about it all.

If anyone else has been feeling discouraged recently, or just overwhelmed, stressed, or upset about things, remember that you are not alone, and that God is waiting for you to reach out to Him so He can comfort you and guide you.

I'm going to end with one of my favorite Bible verses: "I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33


Xoxo,
n.

Walking Away Isn't Always a Bad Thing

So, in honor of my last post, here is a blog post from Donald Miller that talks about walking away from people who aren’t good for you: What Jesus Taught Me About Walking Away From People.

I thought this might help anyone who may be now or in the future having some issues with walking away from people who don't benefit your life.

Enjoy :)

-n.

If It's Stopping You From Getting Closer to God, Part Two

It it’s stopping you from getting closer to God, it needs to go

Part 2

So it’s been a while since my last blog post, and I apologize greatly for this one taking so long to arrive. Here’s the deal: just when I decide I want to do something that takes time, my life gets busy. It’s unavoidable. But I’m still here, and so is this post. So let’s get to it!

Here’s a refresher of the main points of Part 1:

·      We wander off the path of our faith and think it’s acceptable to do so.

·      We toy with sin and think we’re having a great time.

·      There’s a lie floating around that you can sin and live for Jesus at the same time.

·      There’s a lie floating around that college is the one time period when it is acceptable to sin.

·      The enemy doesn’t care about you, but instead, uses guilt, shame, and doubt against you to try to weaken your relationship with Christ.

·      God shows us grace and mercy, regardless of whether we deserve it or not (we don’t, by the way).

I’ll let you in on a little secret: the reason why I know the things I do about wandering from God is because I wandered from God for 2 years, and believe me, they were horrible. Sure, I experienced great things during those 2 years, but when I look back on those years, I don’t remember very many great things. Instead, I remember how far I truly fell from God and my faith, and how much it not only hurt me (and believe me, IT HURT), but how much I hurt God in the process (which made me hurt even more).

Now that I am living out my relationship with Christ in my everyday life, I try to look back on my “wild days” and remember why I did the things I did. But the truth is, I don’t have any good excuses. I can’t remember what a valid reason was for a single thing I did that went against God or my beliefs. When I really get down to the nitty gritty of remembering those days, all I can remember is that I wasn’t where I should have been in my relationship with Jesus Christ, and I was using a lot of different sins as a way to try to make myself feel better.

We all want to be our own person. We all want to make a difference in the world. We all want to experience things we have never experienced before. And we’re also human, which makes us stubborn, which means that we won’t take anyone else’s opinion for truth until we ourselves have tried whatever it is we shouldn’t be trying.

Give yourself a break and skip all the heartache. If there is anything, and I mean ANYTHING, that is standing between you and God, step back and ask yourself: “Why?” Why is it between God and me? Why is it so important to me? Can I live without it? Is it benefitting my life? Is it benefitting my walk with Christ? Would my parents approve? Would my grandparents approve? And then ask yourself one serious, deep question: “Do I approve of the way I’m living?”

I personally know that it can be really hard to get rid of something or someone who is hindering your relationship with Christ. I had to get rid of a LOT of things (and people) when I came back to Jesus. Let me be the first one to tell you that the people you have to leave behind will not understand why you have to leave them behind. But if God truly is the only One you need, then you will be okay. I promise :)

Why don’t you take this time right now to write out a list of positive things in your life? Write down positive actions that you do, positive words that you say, things that you like and love about yourself. Now after you’ve done that, write out a list of negative things in your life. These can be emotions, material things, people, etc. It can be hard to come up with positive and negative things about yourself and about your life. If you need help, ask some family or friends, or whomever you trust to give you a loving, honest opinion about yourself. Now compare your lists. Which list is bigger?

If your negatives outweigh your positives, it’s time to decide what needs to go and what deserves to stay in your life. You can use some of the questions you asked yourself earlier: Why is it on my list? Why is it so important to me? Can I live without it? Is it benefitting my life? Is it benefitting my walk with Christ? Would my parents or grandparents approve? Do I approve of this negative thing being in my life?

Here’s the deal, though: If you ask yourself “Is it benefitting my walk with Christ?” and you answer no, then it needs to go. I don’t care what it is, why you have it, or how long you’ve had it, it’s time to say goodbye and send it on its way. Believe me, this is NOT always easy. But I can guarantee that it will be worth it. Jesus wants to be in your life whether you’re sinning or not, but He also wants to help you rid yourself of sin. Don’t be afraid to seek His advice and ask Him for help when it’s time to get rid of negatives in your life. He doesn’t disappoint :)

I hope this has helped. Remember 1 Corinthians 15:57: “But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Xoxo,

n.