AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

A week ago, I visited my sister and a friend after going to town to sort out a couple of things. The previous day, I had been reading a book on starting a new business. One of the topics in the book talked about facing one's fears and so the book requested that we list the things that we are afraid of and what we thought would happen if we attempted them. I listed quite a few and put up the positive things that could happen if I decided to take a chance on them. The following morning, I realised that for some reason I was getting a bit unhappy with my circumstance. I was getting worried about the things I was looking forward to and didn't seem to be happening. I felt a tad bit sad and I think I shed a few tears when some results I was waiting for returned and they weren't the ones I was hoping for. Mind you, they were the wrong results which I was given ( I found out the following day) but because worry had overshadowed me, it added salt to injury.

So I decided to go and see my friend and sister and when I got there, we were having random conversations and the topic of "worrying" popped up. My sister stated that she had noticed that I had lost weight and my friend commented on the fact that I looked worried and asked if I was worrying too much. She spoke about the things that she had gone through at certain points in her life and how she had tried to keep her head held high and have the right attitude in those circumstances

Today, I watched one of Creflo dollars' messages entitiled "The attitude of affection" and he placed an emphasis on the fact that as Christians we need to have the right attitude towards God in every circumstance. That our attitude in life determines our altitude (i.e. how high we go).One phrase that stuck out to me was "You will arrive at the place of your attitude". This was evident in my case when I began to worry because, I forgot about all the brilliant things occurring in my life for a second and decided to direct my focus on those that had not happened as well as worry about the "potential wrongs" that could happen essentially causing me to be overwhelmed and depressed.

The other few things I learnt were that 

1. My attitude determines whether things will work out

2. With an attitude of Gratitude, I should serve God

3. My position of affection towards God will determine my success in everything I do in line with God's word

To emphasise on no. 2, I'm gradually learning that my service to God does not only include me working for God in church but also the way I react in various circumstances.

So e.g. If I find that I have no money and I continuously murmur and complain about it, that is indirectly a "disservice" to God. In exodus 15 and 16, the Israelites had been set free from captivity in Egypt and God had provided so much for them yet when they wanted something else and had not received it, they murmured against Moses and essentially against God and God heard these murmurings.

Numbers 11:1

"And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord: and the Lord heard it and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the Lord burnt among them and consumed them that were in uttermost parts of the camp"

From this verse, it is clear that God is not cool with murmurings and complains. Therefore it is important that we have the right attitude towards Him in all circumstances and that our position in those circumstances include being APPRECIATIVE, GRATEFUL, THANKFUL and HONOURABLE as in the end these will create a FRUITFUL disposition. But a contrary attitude will cause us to serve LACK as written in Deuteronomy 28:47

"Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee"

So I guess all I'm saying is that I should learn to be more thankful in my circumstances as this is God's will for my Life [1 Thessalonians 5:18 "In everything, give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you"]

Gracias a Dios por esta palabras- Thank you God for this word

LOOKING TO GOD IN QUIETNESS AND TRUST

Isaiah 30:15
"For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy one of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength and ye would not"

So as you all know, I'm fond of posting videos that inspire me so today, here's a song by Jenn Johnson from Bethel Church entitled "God I look to you".

Sometimes in life, we become so overwhelmed with troubles that we ordinarily do not know how to deal with . I have come to realise of late  that most at times, these troubles come in batches and never one at a time. But when faced with them, God reminds us to trust in Him through the storm. The main verse above says that "in quietness and confidence shall be your strength" In other versions of the bible, confidence is replaced with trust, thus, Trust which is not based on our capabilities in those circumstances but Trust which is in the one who is ALL MIGHTY and reigns over every situation in our lives.

Lamentations 3:37 says "who  is he that saith and it cometh to pass unless the Lord commandeth it"
This is a complete assurance which God has given to His Children making us aware that though our situations may seem overwhelming and completely unsolvable, God is still in control and will never allow anything to take place without His permission. Therefore when faced with troubles and situations where we wonder how things are going to be, let's not forget to trust in God and sing the song "Halleluyah Jesus reigns" and continue to tell God that we look to Him because He is where our help comes from. HALLELUYAH! HALLELUYAH! HALLELUYAH! God is here with us and is always listening! He is our very present help in time of need. Thank you Jesus!

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION UPDATE

So today is Sunday the 4th of November, a few more weeks to the end of the year, then 2013 begins. At the start of this year, I decided to make resolutions like everyone else because I felt like a new beginning had just arrived like I do at the start of every year lol. Anyway, I made a few resolutions and I thought I'd update you guys on my progress even though I would have been better off updating you monthly just so we could check each other's progress. Either way, I'm here now, so I'll get on with it.

Here are the original resolutions I made and the progress I made with them. 

1. Save money- £500- Saved £800 and spent it all so I'm back to square 1 lol

2. Learn Spanish- Purchased a Spanish book and have been studying nearly everyday

3. Work harder- Graduated from university so I guess I tried

4. Get a Job- Got one in June, starting a new one on December 3rd

5. Get a phone- Have a Sony ericsson xperia arc now so not bad

6. Sleep early= 12:00pm- I was ok for the first few weeks, then everything fell apart lol

7. Manage my time properly- Got a Diary which has been very useful so far


Commentary
It seems that so far, my money saving skills have been good but keeping what I've saved isn't my forte yet.
My job attainment skill is gradually falling into place but a little more work would do me some good.
As for sleeping early, only God knows lol... I need to sort myself out- a bit of strong will might do me some good at this point
Time management skill still  needs a bit more work but so far so good.

It appears these might not be the most inspiring new year's resolutions ever. Either way it was something to put on my to-do list and tick off and so far, it's been alright.

What is ONE of your new years resolutions and how have you been coping with it?