All about the attitude...

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes.” ~ Charles R. Swindoll

So true!!

I have been having a remarkably wonderful day, and I attribute a great deal of the day's awesomeness to ideology such as the one ingeniously explained above. Mr. Swindoll makes some very good points there. Can you imagine where the world would be if everyone acted only based on their past, education, money, circumstances, failures, or successes? What about what other people thought or said or did? Or how about their appearance, giftedness or skill?

I imagine that the world would be a sad, limited, dreary place. Thank the Lord we are not limited by those things, though. We are given the choice to rise above those supposed limitations and accomplish great things ... It is our attitude that is the crucial determining factor in what becomes of our life, however. We should not lose our motivation for greater things because of a shortage of time, a lack of money, a heavy workload, or a discouraging comment. Instead, those things should make us work that much harder.

Remember Matthew 19:26 - "Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'"

Days like today are blessings. They allow me the opportunity to look back on where I've been and what I've been through... and to look forward to where I'm headed... and Praise the Lord for the strength and opportunities He alone has provided. I would not be here today - enthusiastically pursuing the career that I am, enjoying the friendships with which I have been blessed, or eagerly awaiting to marry the wonderful and Godly man of my dreams (in only five and a half more months! :D ) - if God had not called me out and equipped me to do so.

I pray that everything I do is for the glory of the Lord and that I always keep the right and faithful attitude toward life. :)

What shakes you?

Just a few quick thoughts this morning... I've been thinking a great deal about some of the things Pastor Mark shared yesterday morning. There were several items that he spoke on that struck so close to home. Using the story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22:1-19, Mark discussed idols. Idols are not just the obvious things - things that evoke a negative connotation and bring to mind "idolatry" when you mention them - things like money, fame, and power. Idols can be anything that comes between you and God. For instance, in this passage, God tells Abraham to "take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love" to sacrifice as a burnt offering. In today's society, how heinous does that sound? But in Abraham's time, can you imagine it? Abraham, who waited nearly a hundred years for the blessing of his son Isaac, was now being asked to sacrifice him. Why, one might ask, would God ask that of Abraham?

Abraham had allowed Isaac to become an idol in his heart. God's particular wording indicates this. Mark explained that God didn't just say "Abraham. Go and sacrific your son." He clarified and qualified the command. He told Abraham to sacrific his only son, the son whom Abraham loves. Abraham needed this experience to recognize that he had allowed Isaac to become an idol. He was faithful, though. In Gen. 22:5, Abraham told his servants that he and Isaac were going to worship and that "we" (both he and Isaac) would be back. How did he know that? He couldn't have known that God would spare Isaac, or that God would then provide a ram in the thicket to sacrifice. Can you imagine the faithfulness to follow through the way Abraham did in this passage? He must have had faith that the God who had the power to bring Abraham the desire of his heart - a son, an heir - even at his and his wife's advanced age also had the power to bring his son back.

God spared Isaac. To me, this was a heart check, a conviction that God provided to Abraham. Through it, Abraham was able to see that he had allowed Isaac to become more important than God.

This illustration astounds me. How easy is it for that to happen? You would never even think about the sin of idolatry being commited in this sense, at least I wouldn't. Your children? More important than God? What if it's a situation like Abraham's? How easy would it be to put up on a pedestal and all but worship a child that has been so long awaited and so long desired? This is true of other things that we would not necessarily associate with idolatry, as well. Relationships, spouses, romance, order, control, academic success, career, you name it. Who would think that these "positive, wholesome" things could be idols? Do they come between you and God? Do they get more of your time and attention than your Holy Father? Well, then... it's time for a heart check.

Pastor Mark quoted a man that said "Idols are the things that cause you to shake when they are shaken." What shakes you?





Another thought he shared that shook me was the idea that God provides the things that we desire most in life (as in more than a desire to draw close to Him) as a punishment so that we are then enslaved in bondage to our own idols. What an eye-opener. I praise the Lord for equipping Pastor Mark to share His word in such a profound and convicting manner. I am so thankful for a much needed heart check, and I think we would all be so lucky to have one... on a regular basis.

Dear Lord,

Thank you for your Word and for your faithfulness. Please protect my heart and my mind from the things of this world. Remind me daily of your awesomeness and your power. Draw me close to you, and transform me - in every way - to be like you. Convict me when I allow other things to creep in and come between us - order, relationships, success, family members - and please forgive me when I let this happen. Please allow me to always trust in you, always look to you, always strive to be with you, to know you, and to glorify you. In your precious Son's name, I pray.

Amen.

So what do I know of holy?

You know, most people loathe the morning drive - spilled coffee, too many commercials and talk radio and not enough music, horns, tailgaters, and bumper-to-bumper traffic... all that jazz... I used to be one of those people. In recent months, however, I've actually come to quite enjoy the daily commute. Yes, the traffic (and any resulting tardiness) can be bothersome, but there really is something I've begun to appreciate about my time alone in the car. It is amazing how rejuvenating a 15 minute drive can be... if you allow it to be...

It was on my drive to school this morning that I heard a song that just absolutely rocked my world. We're talking about the kind of song that comes out of nowhere, catches you off-guard, brings you to your knees, and gives you a whole new perspective... along with necessitating a mascara touch-up. The song was Addison Road's "What Do I Know of Holy?"

I've never been so convicted by a song. The lyrics speak about God's holiness and awesomeness, but they also speak to Christians who have made their relationship with God so routine in their day-to-day lives that there is no longer any life left in the relationship. I cried as the guilt of a thousand failed promises to God washed over me; I was shamed as I recognized myself in "I've tried to hear from Heaven, but I talked the whole time." I read my Bible. I pray. I go to church. I remember the Bible tales and parables that they teach you in Sunday school. I have my handful of readily accessible memorized verses. I even enjoy small group and fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ. But have I ever wholeheartedly feared God? Do I, on a daily basis, recognize, appreciate, understand, and bow to God's power and awesomeness and the grace that I am shown every moment of every day?

My heart breaks as I type this. How easy is it to let God's glory simply become "words on a page," or to just casually talk about Him who is "mighty to save?" I am guilty, and I am so ashamed. But I am so grateful to God for speaking to me through uplifting and enriching music. I am proof to the God-breathed and God-inspired influence of the music ministry.

I am scared to think how long I might have gone on in my routine, dry relationship had I not been tuned into that station this morning. How awful is it that I often change to secular stations because I become bored with the Christian stations I listen to playing the same old songs over and over again, or that I would rather sing along with some catchy song about fireflies than SING UNTIL THE WHOLE WORLD HEARS about God's amazing love and power? Shame on me.

This song is just so mind-boggling for me. Today was the first day of classes for spring semester. All day, when I've found my thoughts drifting to things of this world, to worries and stresses and micromanaging and syllabi, I just start to sing this song to myself, even if only to run through the lyrics in my head. It brings me right back to where I need to be. I know how to make an A, but why haven't I learned to pick apart and study God's living word the way I might do so with a science textbook or a piece of literature I'm studying? My whole life, I've been gifted in school and in my more scholastic, analytical, and left-brained endeavors. But this song was a HEART check.

I can honestly say that if you put a Bible in my right hand and a biology textbook in my left hand that I would feel more comfortable and knowledgeable about the content in my left hand. I can tell you all about photosynthesis and sodium-potassium pumps and protozoans, but what do I know of holy??

This is the challenge that I have set for myself and that I present to you, as well: Do not let God become a routine part of your life. What good is your testimony to someone lost if you're simply spouting off memorized lines of scripture or inviting them to sit with you for an hour to hear your pastor speak? Where is God in that? Instead of going through your walk as if fulfilling obligations or crossing things off a list, strive to recognize God's holiness and awesomeness in everything that you do. Don't let your week become: church - check, tithe - check, daily devotion - check, chapter of scripture read - check, prayer at breakfast, lunch, dinner, test time, and bedtime - check, check, check, check, and check. Ugh. I see that now, and I am in disbelief as to how I could have let that happen, as to how I let the God of the Universe become a pattern, a routine, an item on my daily to-do list. He is my breath, my rock, my Savior, my life. I want to know Him and strive to be holy. I want to dive into the ocean and not just tip-toe along the shore. No more going through the motions. No more broken promises. No more empty words.

I found and pasted the lyrics to Addison Road's song below, and I strongly encourage you to read through them. Find the song and listen to it on iTunes (or wherever you might buy your music). It's life-changing.

I've made you promises a thousand times.
I've tried to hear from Heaven,
But I talked the whole time.
I think I made you too small.
I never feared you at all.
No .

If you touched my face,
Would I know you?
Looked into my eyes,
Could I behold you?

What do I know of you,
Who spoke me into motion?
Where have I even stood,
But the shore along your ocean?
Are you fire, are you fury?
Are you sacred, are you beautiful?
So what do I know,
What do I know of holy?

I guess I thought that I had figured you out.
I knew all the stories, and I learned to talk about
How you are mighty to save,
But those were only empty words on a page.

Then I caught a glimpse
Of who you might be.
The slightest hint of you
Brought me down to my knees.

What do I know of holy?
What do I know of wounds that will heal my shame
And a god who gave life its name?
What do I know of holy,
Of the one who the angels praise?
All creation knows your name
On earth and Heaven above.
What do I know of this love?

What do I know of holy?
Oooh
Oooh
What do I know of holy?