Monday's Blessing
Proverbs 23:7

"As he thinks within himself, so he is."

​I love positive social media posts—heart warming stories, pictures of kids as they grow, announcements of milestones, thoughtful reflections on life. One of the great strengths of social media is keeping in contact with old friends, meeting new people, and expanding the number of people with whom we share life.

But social media has its downside.  Many people are not reaching their full potential because their thinking patterns are defective.  You can not think negative thoughts and expect to live a positive life. Few things are more irritating than the negative political rant, the passive aggressive cry for help, or the pitiful post about how bad someone or some group has treated another. Life is hard enough, we do not need to make it harder by being negative in a public forum.

Unfortunately, these individuals get exactly as they expect.  Sadly, their life is not going to change until they first change the way they are thinking.  Don't make that mistake of dwelling in a negative state and proclaiming your wares to the world.  Instead, set your mind in a new direction.  The Scripture says, "Set your minds and keep them set on.... the higher things." (Colossians 3:3) That simply means when life deals you a defective deck, change your way of thinking.  Set your mind on the positive things of the day.  

If  you have a few "wet blankets" in your social media fold, try these four exercises to boost moral:

1. Post an inspiring quote or Bible verse

Vision boards are tools that keep you focused on a goal and give you a bit of daily inspiration. Some people write quotes on their bathroom mirror or hang beautiful photos at their desk at work to keep them inspired. Social media may just be the perfect place to share your vision with others. Like to start your day off with a motivating quote? Share it on Instagram! Find a powerful Bible verse in your morning devotion? Post in on Twitter. Dreaming of an exotic vacation next summer? Create a board on Pinterest to share with friends and followers. Whatever’s motivating and inspiring you every day will probably do the same for someone else. Why not share the love?

2. Stay in touch with friends and family

Facebook was created with the goal that the website would make it easier for people to become friends, stay in touch and be active (online) participants in each other’s lives, even if they weren’t able to see each other face-to-face. But Facebook isn’t just about connecting with friends and family anymore. Now, we can follow pages of celebrities we like, magazines we read – we can even get caught up on what’s trending in the news. What’s slowly happened as a result is us forgetting to use Facebook for what it was created for – connecting. So the next time you see a friend post a status asking for help, announcing a new job promotion or maybe even complaining about their day, comment on it. Let them know you care by showing them they haven’t been lost in your news feed.

3. Share charities and causes you follow with others

One of the great things about sites like Twitter and Instagram is the ability to plug into organizations and programs you wouldn’t have ever known about otherwise. Being able to share real-time updates on marches and fundraisers, photos of mission trips to other countries and posts announcing the launch of new campaigns are just a few reasons why the whole social media boom has been beneficial to companies and charities doing great work. If giving back is something you’re passionate about, or if you just happen to stumble upon an article detailing a new ministry doing amazing projects you think people should know about, share it on your own feeds. Not only do you get the opportunity to promote goodness and change in the world, but you also might be able to connect a friend or follower to a cause and charity that may end up changing their life.

4. Follow inspiring people doing good work

One of the added benefits of social media is being able to track what some of the most important people in the world are doing and even converse with them. While celebrity Twitter rants and feuds usually make the news, there are plenty of great people quietly doing amazing things that you wouldn’t know about if you didn’t follow them on Instagram or visit their Facebook page every now and then. Identify the people and the causes that mean something to you and be sure to give them a follow. Having your news feed flooded with meaningful postings by people you admire can only bring inspiration in your own life and as a result, may propel you to do some inspiring deeds of your own.

This Week's Meditation:

God is in everything I see.  God is in this __________.

Work on this meditation throughout the week.  You can say things like, "God is in everything I see. God is in this blanket, God is in this person, God is in this flower."

Monday's Blessing
Joshua 1:9

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

Keeping up with the status quo can be a full time job.  It seems that since the day were were born we've been conditioned to think in certain ways.  You may think you are free to choose your own attitudes and ideas, but for most people, this isn't really the case.

That's because the status quo - a current standard of the most popular ways of doing, thinking, and living is ingrained at an early age.  This mindset begins by training your eye to see the world a certain way.  This leads to the vast majority of people walking around with similar mentalities. Often times, these mentalities are antiquated, limiting, and downright ridiculous.

God doesn't have this plan for us in his agenda.  When Moses died, God selected Joshua to take over as leader of His people.  God said to Joshua, "Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you." (Joshua 1:5) Notice he didn't say, "Joshua, you need to try to be just lie Moses, then you'll be okay." No, God said to Joshua, "Be who I made you to be, and then you'll be successful." God never planned for us to be of one mindset.

And that's all he expects of you, as well.  You may have some faults, some areas you and God are refining.  But remember, God is in the process of changing  you.  He wants you to shine!

Try the following steps this week to branch out and shine:
 
1. Be willing

The first step to transformation is the willingness to do and be so. Period. When you make up your mind that things are going to start going differently in your life, that in and of itself will catapult you to start taking actions aligned with your true nature. Be willing. Be open. Surrender to what’s possible.
 
2. Tell all your family and friends

Let everyone know. Here’s the thing: It’s easy to outsmart ourselves. By telling friends and family that you are committed to transforming yourself into the person that you know you really are, you are saying to the Universe this shall be. You are putting it out there. You are holding yourself accountable. And most importantly, you are creating the space for you to be seen and heard.
 
3. Create new habits

Up until this point, you have created habits that may or may not serve you. Keep the habits that do serve you. Start shifting day by day by changing up your routine and sticking with it. Remember, true transformation is consistent practice coupled with authentic action.
 
4. Connect to your inner guidance

Have you ever had a thought or feeling to do something or go somewhere but it didn’t make sense so you just brushed it off and ignored it? Well, this is your inner GPS, inner guidance or Holy Spirit guiding you to the answers you seek. God wants to answer your questions and give you guidance but we have to be open and aware to hear, see, feel or think the answers.
 
5. Acknowledge yourself and others

Acknowledging yourself is key throughout your transformational journey. In a world where perfectionism is valued and humanity is overlooked, it’s so important to take a step back and focus on what is working and what we have accomplished. It may feel uncomfortable at first, but acknowledging yourself and others is one way to instantly fill up your soul’s cup.​ 

This week's mediation

For all your concerns this week complete this meditation daily:

Dear Lord, help me to see _______________ differently.

Opening your eyes to new horizons is the key to internal change.

Monday's Blessing
Hebrew 12:1-2

"Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith."

It's human nature to pursue our own race with perfection.  We face enormous pressure to do what everyone else is doing by trying to please everyone and meet all their expectations.  Yet, if we're not careful, our lives can become a blur with a series of blinding curves filled with anxiety, depression, and stress.  

In our hearts we know that God has an individual plan for each of us.  Just because something works for someone else doesn't necessarily mean it will work for us.  If you make the mistake of trying to compare yourself to other people, you'll become frustrated wasting a lot of time on negative energy.  Worse yet, we may miss the good things God has in store for us.  

But here's the good news: You can run your own race and God will be pleased.  God has given you the grace to do what he's called you to do.  He has not given you the grace to do what everybody else is doing.  The Scripture teaches, "Let each one examine his own work." (Galatians 6:4) Which means you take care of you; quit looking at what everyone else is doing and run your own race.  If you are the best that you can be then you can feel good about yourself, regardless of whether you come in first or last.  

Did you know

1. We most often compare the wrong things. Because we can most easily compare the things that we can objectively measure, we live in a world that is great at measuring and comparing externals. Somewhere along the way, we decided that we could determine who is living a more valuable life by comparing clothes, cars, homes, paychecks, beauty, or Twitter followers. But externals are rarely a good measure. 
2. We always compare our worst with their best. Comparing your life with others is always a losing proposition because there will always be people who “appear” to be better off than you and seemingly live the perfect life. After all, we always compare the worst of what we know about ourselves to the best assumptions that we make about others. Be advised, their life is never as perfect as your mind makes it out to be.
3. There is no end to the comparison game. There is an infinite number of categories upon which you can compare yourself… and an almost infinite number of people to compare yourself to. Once you start down that road, you will never, ever find an end.
4. Life isn’t graded on a curve. How you measure up against others holds absolutely no importance in your life anyway. It simply makes no difference. The goal of life is not to be better than 50% of the other people on the planet. The goal of life is to be the best you that you can possibly be.
5. Comparison puts your focus on the wrong person. You can control one life – yours. When we consistently compare ourselves to others, we waste precious energy focusing on other peoples’ lives rather than our own.
6. Comparison robs you of joy. Comparing yourself to others will always cause you to regret what you aren’t, rather than allow you to enjoy who you are. It will always steal the joy and happiness that is within your reach… and place it just outside of your reach instead.

So when ever your mind begins the comparison race, stop those thoughts and go inwards.  Look at yourself from yesterday and see what improvements have been made since. Don't let those attack thoughts ruin your day!

Meditation of the week:

Lord, I am concerned about ___________.  What frustrates me most about that is ___________ will happen.  I know these thoughts are an attack from my own ego.  I pray for your peace of mind instead.

Do this with every comparison thought that comes this week. Make sure you add at least 4-6 things that you are afraid may happen with each thought.  

Monday's Blessing
Romans 12:2

"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Then you will know what god wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is."

Did you know that social, physical, and emotional problems stem from the fact that people don't like themselves?  The fact is they are uncomfortable with how they look, talk, or act?  They simply don't like their personality!  In fact, they are always comparing themselves with other people, wishing they were something different or had something different.  

Actually you can be happy with who God made you to be by quit wishing that you were something different.  If God had wanted you to look like or act like someone else then he would have made you look like them and act like them already.  Don't compare yourself to other people.  Learn to be happy with who God made you to be.

God likes variety.  That's why he made us all unique.  We are like small pieces of the puzzle trapped together to connect to the final picture.  He wants us to be original.  He never planned on each piece to be an exact replica to life's canvas. Try the following five ways to become more self like.

1. Be honest with yourself.

Integrity is really just being truthful about who you are. With other or in prayer, we have time to rediscover and reconnect to our Christian self.

2. Admit that you don’t know who you really are.

“I wonder if I’ve been changed in the night. Let me think. Was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different.” “But if I’m not the same, the next question is ‘Who in the world am I?’ Ah, that’s the great puzzle!”– Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll

Regain your confidence by allowing yourself to grow beyond the not knowing. Understand first that you do not know who you really are to begin with.

3. Take responsibility:

Take charge. Empower yourself to take back authorship of your own life. You are doing yourself and others a disservice by catering your actions towards how you think others will react. Instead, just be yourself, exactly as you are. God has given us all different gifts, talents, and personalities on purpose.  You don't really need anybody else's approval to do what you know God wants you to do.

4. Stop projecting your self-doubt, insecurities, second-guessing, and fears on others.

You have to work harder than your fear to make the truest discovery of who am I. The answer only comes from within; no one else can tell you who you are, and blaming others only robs you of your energy. Eventually you must find the courage to accept yourself, or as Derek Walcott puts it, “The time will come when, with elation you will greet yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror and each will smile at the others welcome, and say, sit here.

You will love again the stranger who was yourself. Give back your heart to itself, to the stranger who has loved you all your life.”

5. Stop pretending.

Actually it is better to be yourself imperfectly, than it is to pretend to be something you are not perfectly. When what you feel, think, and do are all in alignment, you will be rewarded for your courage with a life that reflects your true essence—instead of an invented identity created to please others. By being yourself, you will attract everything that is in alignment with who you truly are. Remember, you are not what others believe you to be; you are what you know you are and nothing else. Love yourself, love your day, love your life!

You do not have to fit into somebody else's mold, and you shouldn't be upset when other people don't fit into your mold.  Live with the attitude, "I am enjoying the person God made me to be."

This weeks meditation:

With our Lord's love I am determined to see things differently.

Say this meditation anytime you feel stressed over a situation.