Attitude part 1
Here on Thanksgiving I thought it was appropriate to do a Rant about the attitude of gratitude. That's what Thanksgiving is all about, right? I mean, we've kind of turned it into family, food, and football. Or the old Black Friday sale. But it's really about appreciating what you have. Taking a moment so stop worrying about what you don't have and just being thankful for what you do have. And here's kind of the thrust of my thoughts right now: Your attitude determines your altitude. My uncle has been known to say, "Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it." Because we can't control what happens to us. Life happens. Another good old saying, "I can't control what you do. I can only control what I do." Man, I wish the church world would pick up on that one. It's not our job to control people. It's not our job to change people. If the Holy Spirit can't change somebody, what chance do I have? And the Holy Spirit does it by showing people who they really are, not by demanding that they be someone they're not. We need to change our mindset from being on a sin hunt to being on righteousness hunt. From telling people what's wrong with them to telling people what's right with them. It's a mindset shift. It's our attitude determining our altitude. If you go to bed, for example, thinking, "Tomorrow's going to be horrible," then it probably will be. Because you've put that out there in the universe. But, in the exact same scenario, if you go with, "Tomorrow's going to be an opportunity for me to shine," well... now you're at least focusing on the right thing. Letting your light shine is always the right thing. It's the difference between being a thermometer and a thermostat. One of those simply takes the temperature. The other one SETS the temperature. We can set our own temperature because the fire in us is always hotter than the fire we're in. We can make sure our light is shining. We can make sure our love is flowing. "I can't control what you do. I can only control what I do. And I can love no matter what." Instead of always worrying about what we don't have... we need to experience and enjoy what we do have. By giving it away. By sharing it. "I'm thankful for the people in my life." Good. Spend time with them. Show them that you are. Don't just sing it. Bring it. Don't love in word only, but in deed. Charity is love in action. One last saying to close this Rant out: "You get out of it what you put into it." If you're thankful for what you've got... prove it. By giving what you've got. By sharing what you've got. By giving everything you have and everything you are. And by doing it cheerfully. Life is not supposed to be miserable. Life is not supposed to merely be survived. We were created to thrive. To enjoy this gift we've been given. And the only way to enjoy the gift we've been give (which is Jesus' abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life) is to receive it and release it. To show how thankful we are by living with an attitude of gratitude and letting our attitude determine our altitude!