This has long been the background on my phone. This is my little personal reminder to live a happy, joyous day and show love through my actions and words. Well- I am at fault for letting this fade into my routine of "sliding to unlock" my phone. So- this morning I made a detailed list of ways that I live this out and how I can strive to do a better job.
1.) Count my blessings-
Oh my goodness gracious, this is one thing I can give myself a gold star for lately. I have had so much to be thankful for through all of the ups and downs of my life, but recently, Jesus has given me little reminders of how important it is to do this. The grace and forgiveness I have seen Jesus give me in the past several months is the ultimate blessing. Oh course, I wouldn't be where I am (in any aspect of my life) without the relationships I have: My awe-inspiring family and my friends. I consider it nothing but pure joy that I am lucky enough to have an army of equally goofy, heart felt family members that stand behind me. Through the recent test of faith, not once did I feel judged or condemned by any of them. If anything, I felt more love from them than ever before. Family is so, so, very precious- cherish whoever you consider your family! Next is my friends- I've learned that "quality over quantity" could not be more true. I giggle with a smile thinking of the beautiful friendships God has blessed me with. God designed us for meaningful, heartfelt connections with Him and with one another- how special it is to experience these blessings!
2.) Practice Kindness-
I don't know about you, but I struggle with this daily. When my patience is tested, I have to remind myself to take a deep breath and just kill 'em with kindness. I mean, it seems so simple- to be kind. This action and attitude really can present as a challenge when someone has done us wrong. While forgiveness can be a whole other topic, I am reminding myself that there is only one thing I can control: myself. I only have the power to control my actions and words. So, why not make them kind ones? After all, if we are striving to be Christ-like, then we must remember the kindness He showed humanity. "The Lord is righteous in everything He does, he is filled with kindness." Psalms 145:17
3.) Let go of what I can't control-
This goes hand in hand with practicing kindness! Not only can we control OUR actions, OUR thoughts, and OUR behaviors; and not those of others- but we have the power to control what we let our mind linger and obsess on. I've realized its pish posh to sit and let bitterness grow into evil over something ridiculously silly. Those of us that can have mini fist fights with anger know how much it can dwell. This week, my car was acting up and it ended up being about $300 to fix. While I was angry, yes, I reminded myself, "this is out of my control, I need my car, I need to pay the money." I can't control life's little bumps like this, I can't control my boss who tests my patience, I can't control the rush hour traffic, and I most certainly can not control the way that others behave... but think of how much of a weight is lifted when we are conscience of this lack of control and just let it be. Even so, it is well with my soul...
4.) Listen to my heart-
Aka: Listen to Christ. God communicates in a variety of ways- identifying how and when God is speaking has made a huge difference in my life. Listening to Him has caused me to make justified decisions, learn self control, be obedient and follow the will He has for my life. In Job 33 God is communicating with him through dreams, visions, suffering (this shall be point in a future entry), and even through the mediating angel he sends. Often, but sadly, scripture such as this is approached as a fairy tale, but faith comes into play and we have to be on our guard about listening to Jesus speaking to us. By making myself more aware of circumstances I am making a point to listen to God speak to my heart.
5.) Be productive yet calm-
Ahhhh what an interesting statement. Productive yet calm? Many of moments I say, "YEAH RIGHT!" at this. In the hustle and bustle that graduate school has been for me, I have had a freak out too many times and it is because I wasn't practicing either of these behaviors. I wanted to be productive, but the absence of a calm spirit caused moments of weakness. Procrastination causes me to be less calm when I finally do try and be productive. Color coding and an increased organization method have aided me in being productive, which has caused me to be so much more calm. Not only calm in regards to school work, but in general- I am not as stressed out when I feel productive.
6.) Just breathe-
Aaaaaand ready, set, close your eyes- take a deep breath... Now how does that feel...? Exactly. Taking moments for myself to breath keeps me in check with the rest of my list. Sometimes, we just need those little moments to regroup and go about our day with a new perspective.
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