It's all About Me....Right?

       As I get older one thing that I'm beginning to notice is the pattern of life: the cycle it creates. It might go a little something like this:


 Your born, you attend Elementary school, you join a few teams/clubs, you go to middle school, go to high school, maybe get a few awards here and there, then you generally will find a college to attend, you then go to college, graduate with a major you hopefully enjoy, find a job, get married, and then have kids. Then you watch your kids repeat
that same cycle.

     Lately I feel as though I want something more. I don't mean to diminish the significance of any of the above life events, they are all milestones and are important. But, instead of focusing on only myself I've begun to ask the questions:

 How can my life positively effect the lives of those around me? How can I make a difference in the world I live?


      As a human being  (which you are since your reading this) it's nearly impossible to not notice what is going on in the world in which we live. All it takes is watching one minute of the local news station to know that we live in a world full of brokenness. Maybe it's just me, but the more and more I hear about people suffering the more I want to do something about it.

      To be honest; their have been many times that I have felt as though I'm wasting time (no, I am not only talking about all the time that I waste aimlessly on Facebook). I want to be out changing the world. I want to show love to those who never receive it and I want to listen to them as they share their stories. I want to live a life more like Jesus.

Can I be more like Jesus?

      I don't know about you but sometimes I get tired of all the meaningless things we allow ourselves to be consumed with. One of the many things that I admire about Jesus's time on earth is the self-less life He lived and the self-less life He desired for His disciples (the 12 men that followed Jesus and told others about Him). Jesus went from town to town showing love to all of the people; it wasn't about Him.He offered the greatest sacrifice by dying on the cross for our sins; that is the ultimate self-less love.

My prayer
         I desire greatly to travel the world and share the love of God with others but in the meantime I want to know what it means to live a self-less life.

   "He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked." 1 John 2:6


Ask yourself the following questions:  How can my life positively effect the lives of those around me? How can I make a difference in the world I live?  


 Gabrielle 

The Beauty of it All.

       
      Have you ever had one of those days where you just wake up with a smile? Well, today was one of those days for me. It might have been the fact that I had no classes to attend or a true feeling of thankfulness.

How many times do we spend our whole day complaining? 

      Admittedly, I'm guilty of this very thing. Just the other day I was complaining about the food choices that are available at school, wanting more clothes, and of course the usual, "I really don't want to wake up for class this morning." You might recognize a few of these complaints or may have a few of your own. But doesn't it always seem like we always have more negatives compared to positives.

In all honesty what do I have to complain about?

        Instead of looking at the negatives I've decided to change them to positive thoughts. For example instead of complaining about the food choices that are available to me why don't I thank God that I have food to eat everyday. I probably even eat more than I need at times! Shhhhh. Or instead of complaining about not having enough clothes to wear why don't I thank God that I have clothes to wear that are appropriate for each season. And I even have the means to purchase more clothing. Instead of not wanting to wake up in the morning I can thank God for waking me up because He has a purpose for me each and every day that I wake.

      I can't help but think that this thankfulness might also have something to do with the Fall season that is upon us. The benefit of living in the Midwest for my whole life is the chance I get to experience every season. The leaves are beautiful this time of the year. As I walked around my campus today I watched as the leaves swirled around me, the way the colors on the trees went from green to yellow to a gorgeous bright orange. I wanted to draw a picture of what I saw but as anyone who knows me knows that I could never give any picture justice (my artistic abilities go as far as a simple doodling).

Now it's your turn.

       Before complaining about everything around you, change that complaint to a positive (I know it's hard sometimes but YOU can do it!) Don't forget to also see the BEAUTIFUL creation that God has placed in front of us that we quickly disregard in order to view a simple text on our phone. But most of all we should be thankful that we have a loving God that sent His son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins. If you aren't thankful for anything else that should be a constant. Thank you Jesus.

"And each morning and evening they stood before the LORD to sing songs of thanks and praise to Him." 1 Chronicles 23:30.

I would love to know how you changed your negative thinking to positive thankfulness.


Gabrielle