While referring to a movie, a celebrity on television said her mother had told her, "I feel like I haven't accomplished anything." That is sad! I was a stay at home mom and I am so grateful for that time that I will never get back with my girls. For about ten years I was blessed to have a "perfect" job that allowed me to work while my girls were in preschool three days a week. I owned a children's identification cards business and we went into schools so I did not work in the summer or holidays. I remember what it is like to want to work and I remember what it was like to want to stay home.
I am thankful for my faith because otherwise I would have felt like I had not accomplished anything. Because I found my worth in God I knew that I was raising my girls in the environment I chose. True, there were many years I did not make any money but that was not our top priority. I never liked to hear moms say, "I am JUST a stay at home mom." If we do not see our worth then how can we teach our children to see their worth?
The Stanford Research Institute study showed that a full 87.5 percent of people’s success can be traced to their positive attitudes, while just 12.5 percent of their success comes from their aptitude, knowledge, or skills. I have always heard that the mind is a powerful thing. Whatever our minds focus on is what will shape who we are. Thinking negative thoughts can cause us to feel offended, angry or hurt whether it is justified or not. Entertaining negative thoughts always remind us of our flaws and make us feel inferior. Negative thoughts bring us down and steal our peace and joy!
Proverbs 4: 23, "Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life." NCV King Solomon wrote this passage for his own sons. While King Solomon could have been writing about royal matters he chose to wrote about the value of controlling thoughts because they determine how you feel and how you live.
You and I both know people who have been negative their whole life. They see the glass half empty and everything is wrong. This is a bad habit! We have to learn to live with our focus on Jesus and not our circumstances. As one of my pastors says, look at the problem solver, not the problem. We can believe that God will fulfill His promises in our lives. He promises to bring good out of the bad for those who believe in Him. (Romans 8:28) It will take time but we have to be intentional about what we think about. When we flip it around to something positive that will eventually become habit. We may not be able to change the direction of the winds but we can adjust the sails to reach our destination.
Philippians 4: 8-9, "Brothers and sisters, think about the things that are good and worthy of praise. Think about the things that are true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected. Do what you learned and received from me, what I told you, and what you saw me do. And the God who gives peace will be with you." Let's turn our negative thinking around. When you have a negative thought, stop and ask yourself, "are these thoughts of God?" Then ask God to take those thoughts from you because you know they are not of Him.
Remember Ephesians 2: 10, "God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing." Know that you are God's masterpiece! He has plans for you to do good things! You are His beloved!
"A strong positive self image is the best possible preparation for success." Joyce Brothers
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