Choosing Gratitude

December 30, 2020

Choosing Gratitude

Ever feel just overwhelmingly grateful? That often happens to me as I’m contemplating life. It usually starts when I feel discouraged. Everything bad coming at me all at once or someone mentioning some past mistake that helped lead to some poor circumstance I’m in now that waterfalls into my brain assaulting me with every tumbler that went wrong or a misstep that I see instantly and try to recover from… in whatever fashion it starts, it is always a silent attack on my joy coming from my own accusing brain. No one knows I’m fighting this horrid battle inside. No one else can see the pain my heart feels. My own logical brain is my worst accuser. The devil uses the logic from my own brain to try to attack the joy God gives me as His daughter. I have to renew my own mind. I have one plan of attack that always beats the accusing voices down and tramples them into silence:

I start with thanking God for life…

my family members by name…

the time I had with those now gone

friends He’s placed in my life… time I get to spend with them…

the awesome job He’s provided me…

my coworkers… my boss… my students…

the opportunities my children have… achievements I’ve seen each of them reach… dreams I watch them work so hard to make happen…

There is just so much to be grateful for!

I like to shift my thoughts when I’m feeling discouraged because I always know it is not real. The reality is not in my circumstances, but in the attitude I have during those circumstances. Life is not about what happens to you; it is about how you react to the circumstances presented to you.

Sometimes you own thoughts can focus on troubling things and make you feel discouraged, kick those thoughts out! Start with thanking God for something… the sky, sunrise, oxygen, a rainbow, your sweet doggie, a memory that makes you smile… start there and just see how having an attitude of gratitude will help you see life in a positive light!

Hope this helps!

Type at you next time!

~Nancy Tart

Happy Easter!

April 1, 2018

Happy Easter!

Easter is a celebration of new life:

Once upon a time a man was charged with many crimes.  It appeared he’d lived a lifetime of crime.  The incriminating evidence was there.  Even the accused knew the judge would convict him – he was guilty.  He’d tried to do good things, really, but always ended up doing things he was quite ashamed of.  Cumulatively, his charges totaled the death penalty in his land.  It was no surprise, after about 10 seconds of thought, the judge’s result was guilty as charged; death.

Just as the bailiff started to move him away, another man entered the courtroom.  He said, “your honor, I choose to take this man’s place.”

The accused stood there, protesting.  The new entrant had never done anything wrong – ever.  The entrant was perfect while the accused knew he was guilty and deserved his sentence.

But no one was listening to the accused.

The bailiff released the accused and bound the newcomer instead.

The newcomer died in the accused’s place.

What if you were the accused and someone did that for you?

Jesus has. 

All of us have sinned (yes, even a “little white lie” is a sin) so we are all guilty.  In the final judgment, if you aren’t perfect, your sentence is death (eternal separation from God).   When Jesus chose to give his life for yours, He covered your sins with his blood so now there are no charges against you.  Now you can face the eternal judge with confidence.  You will not have to fear death.  You see, Jesus also broke the power of death when He rose from the grave.

All of this (and much more deep stuff, it’s really cool to learn about!) happened when Jesus was crucified, died, and rose!   What we now call the “first Easter” – though some people call Easter “Resurrection Day,” I like to think of it as “Redemption Day.” (Because Jesus redeemed us from death before he even knew us, isn’t that cool!)  All we have to do is trust Him and believe.  Wow!  Isn’t that easy?

If you ask, you’ll hear a soft voice saying “come to me.” Listen.  That’s Jesus.  He loves you.  He wants to have a relationship with you.

Start your celebration of new life with a new life!

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

 

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