God is good. Dwell on that.

God is good. All the time. I know we have heard this said over and over again. My question for you today is are you actually living this out?

God has been convicting me of my attitude lately. To others I might appear happy go lucky with a smile always ready. The inside, I am ashamed to say, is not always that way. I see in my kids the same thing (little holy spirit's that they are) yet it tends to be more visible. They don't have the filter that an adult has and tend to just say/do what they feel in the moment. (work in progress) :) For example, they complain. I mean....a lot. Most of the time it is over silly non consequential things which really frustrates me. And when I am frustrated with them I tend to lecture. However, my "I feel justified in giving you a piece of my mind" lecture turns into....yep, you guessed it complaining. Oh how the tables turn.

Why is this the case? Why is my heart so full of pride that I truly feel it is ok to get frustrated over the littlest inconvenience in my day? What makes me special to where I should get my way all the time? If I am honest, I battle that desire to have my way on a daily basis. It is the root of most of my "lectures" with the kids. They have done something other than what I wanted them to do. Sometimes it might be an actual sin, but more times than not, it is a preference/opinion thing. I want them to prefer my way. My heart's attitude is steeped in pride. Lord have mercy.

If I were to live out the phrase God is good like I really meant it, those little things would be just that....little. Instead they explode into anger, hurt feelings, bitterness, grudges, etc. (and not just with the kids by the way). Like I mentioned at the beginning, God is convicting me. I am a SLOOOOOWWW work in progress it feels at times, but He is lovingly whispering to me in those moments that it's not about me. It is about Him and my ability to bring Him glory in the midst of frustration and/or disappointment. I have so much to be thankful for and I need to keep my eyes on that. We talked about this in Faith 101 last night. We need to literally "count our blessings" as the old hymn goes and retrain our hearts and minds to dwell on all the Lord has done. I am so blessed. I have no reason or right to complain. Even if my life was like Job, I would have no reason for complaint.

This brings to mind Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." As brothers and sisters in Christ, let's live this out. Let's decide today to dwell on the goodness of our Lord and Savior and not dwell on where we feel we have been slighted for whatever reason. Let's remember we are here for His glory and not our own and ultimately, it is NOT about us. It is about Him. Always has been and always will be. What joy and peace comes from surrendering our frustrations/disappointments to Him and living not for ourselves but for Him and those He puts in our path. This feels kind of random and a crazy mess but it is what God is working on in my life right now. Love you all. Till next time...