The Trap...

It all started innocent enough..... Our sweet cavalier, Homer, is currently enjoying (read with lots of sarcasm inserted) a lovely yeast infection through out most of his body.  So for all you non-animal, non-veterinary people this equates to one thing: he is one huge walking ITCH.

Lo and behold 4 a.m. rolls around this morning and what should wake me?  Scratch, scratch, scratch.  Itch, itch, itch.  Nails on the tile, little whimpers, rolling on his back in order get to those out of reach places. 

I whisper for him to stop.  I snap my fingers.  I even shush him, because of course my dog knows exactly what that means.  🙄  In the end, I get up, stumble through the bathroom, brush my teeth and out the door we go for his morning constitution while our other dog, Amante, gives us dirty looks for disturbing her rest on my chaise.

I go into the kitchen to start the coffee because if nothing else, that is a good starting point.  Grumbling all the while.  Doesn't he know I need to sleep?  Doesn't he know I have a very important 8 a.m. meeting?  Isn't he aware that I have a long day ahead of me? 

Together we walk into my home office, I pick up my bible and study, and plop on the couch.  And then my mind clears and I realize.  This is exactly what I had just asked/prayed for yesterday!! Duhhhhh.....

Yesterday during day 1 of our Road to Diamond training, our fearless leader Carrie had just reminded us all of the importance of attitude and how that shapes our thoughts, our actions, our days, our life.  

God had already started a new work in me in June and each day He is bringing more and more about so that I grow and strengthen in Him.  So the reminder Carrie gave was not only encouraging but timely.  It is time to renew my mind!!  

The trap...the word itself even sounds ominous doesn't it?  

I know you must be wondering what it could possibly be; it is something so simple, so innocuous so as to never be given a moments thought until its too late.  

Ready for it?  Negativity.....
Whew.... now that wasn't so bad was it?  

Or is it??  For I can assure you it IS a trap that will sneak up and ensnare you before you even realize it has happened!

Do you know what the problem with negativity is?  That it creeps in at the beginning of truly difficult situations and begins to poison our thinking until it is a mainstay of our thoughts rather than the exception.

So this morning I started out grumbling but decided to end it with thankfulness and gratitude instead.  I was awake, alert, had plenty of time for my study, coffee, and still had plenty of time left over for meeting prep.  So as I sit here typing the lesson that was driven home to me so early this morning, sweet little Homer lies here at my feet snoring away.  You just have to smile at the irony of that!!

The succinct version is this:  we all have a choice in every situation.  We can choose to focus on the bad, or how hard it is, or how unfair, OR OR OR....  

OR we can choose to find one thing in all the mess in which to be thankful for.  When we so choose, we can begin to turn our thoughts around, turn our mind around, turn our day around, and before you know it, you will discover that joy and peace has crept in to take the place of despair.

So grab a cup of coffee, sit down a minute, and before your day takes off like a horse at the races, find that thing that you can be thankful for....let that be the start of your day.

Hugs to you all.....
Grab those boots and let's get to it!