Be True
In the fallen world that we’re living in, it seems so easy to betray someone. Without giving it a second thought, people lie, betray, deceive, and cheat on an unsuspecting soul. Ah, but don’t think that you’ve “gotten one over” on someone because although this trusting and loving soul believed in you and didn’t see this coming, God knows and sees all.
You may think that you were slick and have gotten by this time, or you may even have the “What they don’t know won’t hurt them” type of mentality. What I’d like you to realize is that you’re only hurting yourself for when the truth finally comes out (and believe me, it will … truth always prevails) you will have lost all of the faith and trust that this person once put into you. Not only that, but you will lose the respect they had for you as well.
Will you be able to hold your head up high then? Will you be able to look yourself in the mirror every morning with the knowledge that you betrayed the one person that had such faith and trust in you? Will you be able to live with yourself knowing that you betrayed someone that believed in you?
This person that has been so faithful and loyal to you did not deserve to be deceived, and even the act of omission is being deceitful. When you purposefully withhold information and are not up front with that person, you are betraying and being deceitful.
How would you feel if you were on the receiving end of this?
I’ve been mocked throughout life for being “too gullible.” Let’s pause for a moment and realize what this very word means:
Gullible – Merriam-Webster Online, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/
Gullible – easily fooled or cheated; especially : quick to believe something that is not true. Full Definition of GULLIBLE. : easily duped or cheated
So I’m the gullible one. I’m the one you mock and laugh at when you have purposely set out to fool me or cheat me? Why is this viewed as a character flaw of mine, yet you’re the one smiling because you’ve easily deceived me? You’ve lied to me and you’re boasting of the fact that you’ve betrayed my trust in you? Honestly tell me, is this something to be proud of? In my book, it’s not. Something that I highly respect is when a person is honest with me. When you show that you’re trustworthy, loyal, honest, and true – that is when you can brag and smile proudly – when you show me that you’re a man or woman of integrity and of good character.
Don’t laugh at me for being “gullible” or pity me for being so naive. I don’t deserve being laughed at, mocked, or pitied for being an honest person expecting to interact with other honest people in this world.
Let’s look at the word naive for a moment, shall we:
Naive – Merriam-Webster Online, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/
naive – having or showing a lack of experience or knowledge : innocent or simple
I don’t lack experience or knowledge. I’ve been around the block quite a few times and endured a lot of heartache and pain in my lifetime. I’ve been betrayed more times than I care to remember, yet I still choose to see the good in people. I am not lacking anything … I’m simply choosing to love and believe that there is good in every one that I meet. Some will abuse it. Some will try to use it to their advantage. The innocent or simple girl that is so easily deceived. Oh yes, that’s something to be proud of – that I am an honest person and expect honesty in return. It’s not a flaw in my character that I’m so trusting.
The next time you think of betraying someone, stop and ask yourself how you would feel if someone did this to you. Consider the hurt you’d feel if you heard someone talking about you behind your back when you trusted with all of your heart to find that the person simply wasn’t trustworthy after all.
Think before you speak, before you act, and before you betray another innocent and unsuspecting soul. Even if they don’t ever realize what you’ve done, God sees all.
Take action on this Tuesday and right a wrong! If you have wronged someone in ANY of the above ways mentioned above, make it right today. Fall on your knees and beg forgiveness from God for betraying a friend, family member or loved one, and then go to that person and beg forgiveness as well. Confess what you’ve done and vow never to knowingly and willingly lie, deceive, betray or cheat them or another person again. Be a person of good character. Be a respectable person of integrity. Have good morals and values about you. Be loyal. Be true!
A Grateful Spirit
Things are tough in the world today. People are dealing with far more stress and anxiety than ever before. When once we would occasionally feel overwhelmed, that feeling has become the norm in a lot of lives. There never seems to be enough hours in the day to get it all done. There’s work, there’s family responsibilities, children that are growing up way too fast that need our love, time, and attention, and then there are chores around the house that need to be done as well. You may feel stretched to the limit at times. When could you possibly fit in any time to just … be? When would it be possible to just take a day off from life and be still?
When you throw in the fact that a lot of families are struggling financially these days, with gas prices soaring through the roof and the increase cost of groceries, the stress level shoots through the roof. There are some families that have just faced lay offs at their jobs, while others have been unemployed for months.
With all of this whirling around you, is it even possible to have a grateful spirit? In my opinion, yes, it is. You see, I’ve been a struggling single mother before with very little money to pay the bills and feed my daughter. I was going through a really bad divorce, and all of the responsibilities of work and home fell solely on my shoulders along with the care of my one year old daughter. It was a difficult season in my life, but I did not allow myself to dwell on my situation. Instead, I prayed to God to help me and had faith that He would. And you know what? He did! It was not always easy, but with God, all things are possible. Even when I was struggling financially, I had joy in my heart. Why is that? Because I had my daughter, and she was my entire world! When everyone expected me to be sad and depressed, I was all smiles and cheerful for my baby girl. Was I always this way in the mist of all that I was going through? No. I tried really hard, but I had my moments. I tried to keep them to a minimum, though, because if I continued to dwell on those hard times, I would remain a ball of fear wrapped in anxiety and worry. My daughter needed me to be strong and be there … and present … for her. There is a difference in being in the same room with someone and actually being present with them. She needed my full attention, care, and love … and I gave my all to her. If I had spent one more second dwelling on my situation or the circumstances, it would have pulled me under. The depression would have surely taken over, and there would have been no way that I could carry on. Instead, I had to keep on going and remain strong for her. I prayed and just knew that God would provide, and He did.
In the mist of all of that, I had to be intentional and purposeful with my attitude. Sure, I could whine and complain about the situation, but would it do any good? Would it “fix” the situation or solve any problems that would crop up? No. The only thing a complaining attitude would do is allow me to remain in misery. I didn’t want that, not for myself and certainly not for my daughter, so I had to be aware of my thoughts and the words coming out of my mouth to ensure that I had a grateful spirit about me when around my daughter and others. Some times you have to fake it til you make it, and that is okay. However, when troubles threatened to steal my joy, all I had to do was look into the beautiful blue eyes of my baby girl … and my grateful spirit returned.
The next time you want to allow your complaining spirit to take over, stop yourself for a moment and begin to focus on all of the things that you have to be thankful for. Allow yourself to shift your focus from the negatives to all of the positives in your life. You have a roof over your head, food on the table, and clothes on your back. You had a family that surrounds you with love, and that is all you truly need right there … love. You have your health, even if there are some health issues that you’ve struggled with in the past. You’re still here on this earth, and that means you have a purpose, your life has meaning, and you have a lot more living to do.
Will you work this week toward being more thankful and maintaining a grateful spirit? It may not be easy in all of the circumstances that you will have to face this week, but I’m simply asking if you’ll join me in putting your best foot forward in this regard. Any time that you find yourself wanting to focus on the bad things that are happening or wanting to wallow in self pity regarding things of the past, will you, instead, begin to turn your attention to all of the good things that you have in this life? Will you turn your eyes upon Jesus and thank Him for the gift of another day? Will you honor Him by using your words to praise and lift up others, instead of fault finding and tearing yourself and others down? Will you forgive yourself of the mistakes you’ve made in the past that may be holding you back or pulling your spirit down? Will you use your words – whether it’s your internal dialogue that you speak to yourself or words spoken out loud around others – to build up and to focus on the good and the positive? It will take being intentional and purposeful, but you CAN do this!
For every negative that you wish to speak this week, will you, instead, replace it with a positive? For any thing that you’d like to complain about, will you find something in your life that you are thankful for and focus on that instead? Your words have power – and it is up to you as to if you will allow a spirit of complaining to take over or whether you’ll maintain a grateful spirit.
Choose wisely, my friend. Your joy and happiness in life depends on it.
Be Purposeful When Giving Thanks To God
I have witnessed God’s hand in quite a few things recently. One situation had one of my best friends in a panic, and rightfully so! The news threatened to bring her world crumbling down around her feet. Would she receive a phone call that would leave her devastated, or would she be able to sigh a big sigh of relief? No one knew … except for God above! We waited, and we prayed … although words failed. What exactly CAN you say at a time like this? I tried on several occasions to find something to offer in her time of need, and although I have been told that I’m quite long winded when I talk and write … this time, I had nothing that I felt of value that would ease her pain. No words would be powerful enough to lift her out of this pit of despair. Instead, I sent all of my love her way and flooded the throne room of God with prayers on her behalf. In my inability to produce the “right” words, I simply kept reassuring her of my love and prayers so she would know that she was not alone in this. She confided in me, and I had no words other than:
“I love you, I’m here for you, and I’m praying for you!”
Maybe that was all that truly needed to be said after all.
We waited … together, yet states away. Oh the agony of waiting for results. It adds more wrinkles onto our faces that we try with all of our might to keep as young as possible with all of the anti-wrinkle cream we smear on, and yet … there’s another one brought on by stress! We hold our heads in our hands as we wait, some times taking both of our hands straight back, stroking our hair as we go, then holding our hands clasped together tightly behind our heads. When we turn to face the mirror, we see yet another gray hair popping through. Yes, anxiety at its finest!
Oh I know … you’re not supposed to take on someone else’s problems as your own. They aren’t supposed to affect you. BUT … when you love someone, you hurt when they hurt! When they are struggling, you ARE affected because of how close you two are … it’s bound to affect even the toughest person on the face of this earth when someone they love is going through a hard time with their future unknown and unsure of what is to come, especially when it involves their health!
Then, the moment we had been waiting for. The phone call was finally placed and my friend picked up on the other end as her words caught in her throat as she forced herself to remain brave no matter what the caller had to say concerning her results.
In that tiny moment, a fraction of a second, everything changed for her. Completely! Her outlook … her uncertainty … as she received the best results ever! No cancer was found. NO CANCER WAS FOUND! NONE in that area, in the area of great concern … NOTHING WAS FOUND!!!!
When I received the news, I wanted to get out of my chair and dance around the room! I can only imagine how SHE felt!
Oh happy days!! Happy days, indeed!
And then came the moment where I stopped everything I was doing and went to God in prayer. This time, my prayer was full of praise and thanksgiving. With a grateful heart, I thanked Him for sparing my friend, for the good news she had received, and for having His hand firmly upon her life.
Not too long after that, I sat silently wondering if she had done the same thing. Had she taken the time to thank God? Had she offered words of praise and appreciation for all He had done? I’d like to believe that she did. Only God knows for sure.
That thought needed to be explored as I firmly believe that more thanksgiving needs to be offered up to our Creator! Thus, this blog post was born! 🙂
Have you ever taken the time to think about this, though? Honestly? We have no problem bombarding heaven with our requests, our wants, wishes, and desires. We hold nothing back when we’re begging God and pleading with Him. Yet, when He reaches down His great and mighty hand and heals the person or fixes the situation, do we take time to adequately thank him? OR, do we sigh and say, “Well, that was close!” as we go about the rest of our day without giving this answered prayer another thought?
This is where we need to be purposeful, people. This is where we need to take the time to thank God for how good He has been to us, because He is so very good to us all. If we can take our prayers to God when we’re asking for this, that, or the other … why, then, can’t we take our grateful hearts to Him as we extend the biggest praise and appreciation for all that He has just done in our lives and in the lives of our family and friends?
God deserves more than just a “Whew that was close” or a “Well, thank God for that!” He deserves sooooo much more!
Let’s be intentional with our praises … Let’s be purposeful with our thanks that we offer up to God.
Think of a situation right this minute that you’ve prayed over. Something that may have been troubling you that you took to God in prayer. Even if it was just a silent prayer from your heart to God’s ears … He heard it.
If God answered your prayer the way you wanted it answered, did you take the time to thank him appropriately? God didn’t halfway do something, so don’t halfway praise him or thank him for it!
God has answered a prayer in my own life just recently, and I thank Him from the bottom of my heart. Trouble seemed to come from every angle, even when I tried to just “Be still and know that He was God.” The waves of hurt and pain crashed over me like the high tide rolling in at the beach lapping at the dunes threatening to spill over them, too! I struggled … I prayed … I begged … I pleaded … and I felt like I was standing in the eye of the storm. Then it felt just like God stepped right in the center with me and raised His powerful hand, and in an instant, the storms stopped raging around me.
My simple whisper of a prayer reached God’s ears and spoke to His heart:
Please God, please … put us back together!
And He did. It was slowly at first, then everything started falling into place … only better this time around. Yes, God answered prayer in His time, in His way, and with HIs divine touch on our lives.
He is worthy of our praises. Fall down on your knees and thank Him. Praise Him! Lift your head up and look toward the heavens, then allow your praises and prayers of thanksgiving to now freely flow as you pour it all out and show your appreciation and gratitude for God above.
Take the time! Be purposeful when giving thanks to God!
