Howtoencourage

Saturday, March 21, 2009

ENCOURAGEMENT for DIFFICULT DAYS

I heard that it’s a recession when your neighbor loses his job and a depression when you lose yours. Do you worry how you will survive if that would happen to you? It could happen to any of us during these difficult days in this season of life. We could be tempted to give in to pessimism, negativity and discouragement.

But we are not the only generation of women to know difficult days. It is comforting to realize that others before us have persevered and even prospered. Hard times can bring out the worst or bring out the best as we learn new ways of thinking and doing things--like a pioneering spirit that women who have gone before us have displayed.

During the dark days of the depression an editorial in the October 32 issue of the Ladies Home Journal encouraged readers to remember that the “return of good times is not wholly a matter of money. There is a prosperity of living which is quite as important as prosperity of the pocketbook.” But the magazine stressed that “It is not enough to be willing to make the best of things as they are. Resignation will get us nowhere. We must build what amounts to a new country, revive the ideals of the founders, learn new values of money. It is a time for pioneering—to create a new security for the home and family…where we were specialists in spending, we must become specialists in living.”

Jesus said, I have come that you might have an abundant life. What did He mean?
Although it will mean different things to each of us, I'd like to suggest that this means we are joyfully and fully engaged in our own life right now. That we look at life as a glass half full instead of half empty...that we realize that everyday is a gift and consciously give thanks for it.

You have heard of the phrase from the beginning of Rick Warren’s book forty day book, it’s not about you? It might not be all about you, but it all begins with you. Your attitude sets the tone for your entire family in your home. I love this essay by Chuck Swindoll which says:

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.


And so it is with you...you are in charge of your attitude. You can make it through a difficult day.

You can do it!

3 comments:

Jan said...

Please contact me asap. Your website is not working and sending me too many emails.

Kay the Encourager said...

I am so sorry and trying to fix this situation!

Jan said...

352 this morning. Patience, Lord.
Jan