You Choose What You See

Do you choose to see the storm clouds or the rainbow?
Do you choose to see what is missing from your cup or how much is left?
Do you choose the faults or the good in others?
Do you choose to look at what you want or see all that you have?
Do you choose to wish the day was over or live for that moment?

As we approach Thanksgiving, I challenge you to choose to see the positive and blessings in your life? Look for the rainbow, the good, the blessings that are all around you. What you choose to see is your choice? I pray you choose to see the good.

So post on facebook, on here or write it down. I want to know about the rainbows and blessings in your life.

Write this verse on your mirror:
Psalm 107:1
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

My life, I choose to offer prayers of thanks this week.

Count Your Blessing Not Your Worries

Drama, parents not understanding, difficult teachers, homework: these are all focuses that steal our joy. Our focus so easily switches to the negative instead of taking a few moments to focus on the positive. But as we approach Thanksgiving, why not stop and focus on the good.

We are going to make a 100 things to Thank God for this next week. I want you to post as a comment on here or on your facebook status or the My Life facebook page 10-15 things a day you are thankful for yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Here are 10 ideas:

1. Who made you smile today?
2. Who was there for you when you were sad?
3. What is a gift God has given you?
4. Name one person who loves you and would do anything for you.
5. What is the last present you received?
6. Did you wake up alive this morning?
7. What food will you have to eat today?
8. Are you able to have a Bible?
9. Do you have the freedom of communication?
10. Who is someone who has been teaching you (life or school)?

Let's start making our list of thanks.

Write this verse on your mirror:
Psalm 107:1
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

My life, I choose to offer prayers of thanks this week.

You Are Beautiful

This week a word or words may have hurt you. Or, maybe you felt as if you had failed. Maybe you just do not feel like you are good enough. I disagree. My friend, you are beautiful.

Listen to this song: "Beautiful" by Mercy Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq29Owv_8yU&feature=related

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Psalm 139:14

Which means you were created by God and are beautiful!! When you look in the mirror, do not see what others say about you, but see what God says about you.

I love each one of you and hope you have a blessed weekend.

Your Words

Whether you face insults today or not, someone around you will. A fellow classmate may be insulted for their looks, family, intelligence or beliefs. You and I know how much it hurts to be the one insulted. So today, let's be the one to make a difference and make someone's day a little better.

My challenge for you today is no matter what type of day you are having, for you to choose to encourage a peer. In the first thirty seconds you see him/her, give a sincere compliment. Be a light in their day. So, let us not worry about what others say about us, but choose to focus on encouraging one another. And you never know, it might just make your day better.

Please share your stories with me.

"If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you ." 1 Peter 4:14

My life, I choose…

*to write the verse above on my mirror
*as I brush out my tangles, ask God to forgive me for being mean to others.
*as I brush my teeth, ask God to use my mouth to encourage others and respond in love.
*as I put on eye make up/contacts, help me see the hurt even my enemies carry.
*as I get dressed, put on the armor of God.

Rejoice When Isulted

Have you been ridiculed because you choose not to be like the world and honor God with your choices? If you have, then give me a woohoo!!!

No, I am not going crazy. Just read our verse for the week. If those in the world insult you because you have chosen to be a follower of Christ and obey Him, do not get upset. Be happy because others notice that you are different and love God.

And let me know when you are insulted because you stood for Christ and I will do a woohoo dance with you.

"If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you ." 1 Peter 4:14

My life, I choose…

*to write the verse above on my mirror
*as I brush out my tangles, ask God to forgive me for being mean to others.
*as I brush my teeth, ask God to use my mouth to encourage others and respond in love.
*as I put on eye make up/contacts, help me see the hurt even my enemies carry.
*as I get dressed, put on the armor of God.

Choose The Lies or The Truth

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.

Lie. The statement above is a lie. Words hurt. Sometimes words can stab your heart and your very soul and spirit. Other times they are just annoying and make you wonder if they are true. And some words become super glued to your mind. But there is one way to overcome these words, by knowing the truth.

Girls, I am going to be blunt. You must spend time with God and His Word so you know who you are in Christ. His Word, the Bible, is the truth that will set you free from the lies. And because the hurtful words never stop, you cannot no stop or randomly choose when you are going to listen to God. Just like you practice to get better at something, you must spend time daily with God to know the truth.

Once you begin to cover your mind and heart in truth, the hurtful words will bounce off a lot easier. But only you can choose what you want to believe and to know the truth. No one else can do it for you.

I remember growing up and my friends like to mess with me. Most of them were very skinny and while I was not fat at all, I was bigger than them (size 7). So they would always sing the song, "GaLynn's got a big old butt." Those playful words begin to hurt and I started struggling with my body image. Every time I looked in the mirror, I saw something that was not really there.

Now fast forward 10-12 years to me as an adult. After all those years of feeling fat, I am skinny. I am not the big one anymore. But this time, I am told because I am in shape and the way I look, I cannot serve in a certain way in the church. It was a stab to the heart. And I am going to be honest, it was as if I had been pushed down into a pit and rocks were being thrown at me. At it was not just once but several times this person would tell me these things.

But, and this is a good but, once I remembered who I am in Christ, and I went to Him, I read His Word; the truth set me free. And today, I will have to remind myself again of the truth and tomorrow I will remind myself again.

So my dear friend, will you choose to know who you are in Christ? Will you choose to read His Word and listen to Him so you know the truth and it can set you free form the lies? I wish I could make the choice for you, but you are a big girl and this choice is up to you. You can listen to the lies or you can know the Truth.

And know this, I love you and think you are wonderful!!!

"You are a daughter of God."

"If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you ." 1 Peter 4:14

My life, I choose…

*to write the verse above on my mirror
*as I brush out my tangles, ask God to forgive me for being mean to others.
*as I brush my teeth, ask God to use my mouth to encourage others and respond in love.
*as I put on eye make up/contacts, help me see the hurt even my enemies carry.
*as I get dressed, put on the armor of God.

So Mean...

My family and I are Taylor Swift fans so I bought her new CD this weekend. As I was listening to it, one song made me laugh. It is called "Mean." It describes a person who will never out grow being mean to people. And I imagine you can probably think of someone who fits that description.

Whether the person is mean and insulting to you or someone else, you know the pain it causes. But Taylor goes on to say in the song that she is still going to make something of herself no matter what mean things they say to her. So I have to ask you, can you choose to overcome the insults and ugliness of others? Will their words determine who you will be today and tomorrow or will what God says about you determine who you are?

My opinion is that you choose to believe God over others, especially the opinions of your peers. As we go through the week we will talk more about dealing with others, but for now know:

"You are a daughter of God."

"If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you ." 1 Peter 4:14

My life, I choose…

*to write the verse above on my mirror
*as I brush out my tangles, ask God to forgive me for being mean to others.
*as I brush my teeth, ask God to use my mouth to encourage others and respond in love.
*as I put on eye make up/contacts, help me see the hurt even my enemies carry.
*as I get dressed, put on the armor of God.