The Beginning

The beginning of a new week....the possibilities are endless.....

So here I sit at o'dark thirty(very early to you nonmilitary types) with the dawning of a new week before me. The outcome of this week while not in my hands...but God's....requires something from me as well.

This week I will be faced with choices, comments, frustrations, disappointments, and the like. I will also be faced with opportunities to laugh, sing, rejoice, and nurture. Both sets of opportunities require action from me...

The negative ones leave me with three options...

1. Embrace the negative and make it my friend....thus allowing myself to be distracted by what God has for me.

2. Ignoring the problem and stuffing it deep down...refusing to deal with it. (Military wives excel at this.....we stuff and stuff and stuff until there is no more room to stuff....and then it gets messy......imagine overstuffing a trash bag in July....bad very bad)

3. Face the problem with the dignity and courage of a woman led by the Spirit.

While number three seems like the most likely that anyone one of us would chose....it is a choice that requires dedication and commitment. It also requires:

1. A humble heart...when things come against you your pride and flesh seem to want to take charge and right the wrong done to them. A humble heart does not take offense, it does not ask for vengeance and here's a hard one for me...it does not rant and rave!

2. A commitment to hiding the Word of God in your heart....so you may not sin against Him. When the uglies surface in your life...the Word needs to be present in order to defeat them...beauty for ashes.

3. That you look at each situation as a opportunity to grow and learn. Make lemonade from lemons.....lemonade is a thirst quencher.....maybe if we take the uglies and make them a learning experience it will quench a thirst for something we have inside.....something we don't even know is there.

I have a very bad habit of reacting quickly to those things I am passionate about.....that's bad when the Bible tells us to be quick to hear and slow to speak. This fleshly desire to be quick to speak is a definite thorn in my side...one that I am asking God to help me with.

The positive things in my life require action from me as well....

1. I need to embrace and revel in the opportunities to laugh, sing, rejoice and nurture.

2. I need to take the time out from the uglies and be watchful...watch and pray...for the opportunities to embrace the good things.

The Bible tells us to rejoice always.....so that is what I will choose this week.......as the sun rises on a new beginning.