I Choose JOY and GRATITUDE!

Source: Little Light Prints

The older I get the more mature I feel like I get and the better handle I have on how the world works… One thing that I have been learning very first hand is how there comes a time each person’s life when mission proverbial sh*t hits the fan, so to speak… (I’m allowed to curse on my own blog, right?)

I know that this point comes at different times and through different circumstances within different people’s lives. Maybe it was that you had a difficult childhood or that middle school was especially traumatic (but in all honesty, wasn’t middle school traumatic for everyone?). One thing I know is that life is really hard sometimes… I mean REALLY, REALLY hard. And there comes a point when you have to choose: either you’re going to become “the victim” or you’re going to make the choice not to identify with that description at all.

Choosing GRATITUDE and JOY in the midst of hard circumstances it’s not easy by any stretch of the imagination, but I know that it’s exactly where God meets us. When we are able to PRAISE HIM in the midst of the tornado of circumstances or crisis swirling around us –  THAT is when we come to understand his true character. When we are weak in our own strength, THAT is when we can humble ourselves and realize that GOD is our strength and by HIS power we are able to make it through anything. I have been reciting in my head everyday: “I can do whatever I need to do in Christ who strengthens me” (thanks to Joyce Meyer’s book Power Thoughts which I highly recommend!).

No, that doesn’t make dealing with all the circumstances go away, but I have learned when I put my life in perspective that GOD is the one in control and while I may not know why things are happening, I do know THE ONE who knows all. There is such an incredible comfort in knowing that whatever I am going through, that GOD has promised to never leave me or forsake me. Joyce Meyer said, “Know that you are not alone. The Lord understands what you’re going through and has promised to be with you in every trial of life,” and I love that.

[Side note: speaking of Joyce Meyer, I feel like I'm a Joyce Meyer ambassador because I LOVE that God ministers to me each and every single day through her teachings. I listen to her Enjoying Everyday Life podcast daily on my way to work and it's the best way possible for me to start my day! Plus, her iPhone app is awesome too! OK, we can return to regularly scheduled programming...]

Let’s just say there are some circumstances I wish I weren’t going through right now, things I never thought would be a part of my story, but instead of living in fear, shame, and worry I am choosing JOY and GRATITUDE!!

Power Verses:
I really love the amplified version of the Bible, I feel like it helps really explore the meanings behind these verses!

I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency]. - Philippians 4:13 [AMP]

For no temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), [no matter how it comes or where it leads] has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man [that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and  adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear]. But God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong andpowerful to bear up under it patiently. – 1 Corinthians 10:13 [AMP]

We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose. – Romans 8:28 [AMP]

 I love hearing from you!
How can YOU choose JOY and GRATITUDE in your life today??
Is this easy or hard for you to do? Comment below!