Why It Matters (More Than You Realize)

And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. Ephesians 5:2 NKJV

Why what matters???? Well your attitude, or better yet, my attitude, of course. I've been out reading a bit the last couple days, and it seems that over and over again, I've been hit with the realization that my attitude has not been the best it could be, and I can change it. And more importantly, that I should.

There have been a myriad of things that have occurred that I have allowed to cloud my rosy outlook and to dim my light as it were. The Light that only God provides to us. You see, by showing crummy attitudes, even to only those that are closest to us, we are being crummy lights to the recipients of our demeanor.

"For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. Mark 9:49 NKJV

Ok, Shalene, what are you saying??? You ask? Well, basically, I'm saying that though we should not try to be fakes and phonies about things that do bring us down, we should also not allow attitudes that really don't help matters at all to become routine. The longer we allow our feelings of being overwhelmed, and our feelings of disappointment to cling, the more they become a habit, and the harder it becomes to break that habit.

Now, I'm not one to say that all attitudes and emotions can be controlled just by changing the way you think about them, per se. That would just be denial that a thing can upset you. No, what I'm saying is to have a consciousness about the way that you react to things. For example, earlier this week, I was feeling very unappreciated, and really all it boiled down to was being self-centered. All I was thinking about what was what I thought I deserved, and what I wasn't getting. I was not focusing on all that I already have, and whether or not I had truly gotten what I deserved. And in all actuality, I had gotten what I deserved, plus some that I didn't deserve, but that's neither here nor there.

We should all be cognizant of the fact that if we are believers, thank God, we will not get what we deserve, in the form of eternal separation from God. That our lives are to be about self-sacrifice. Not self-indulgence, and self pity. Whether that sacrifice comes in the form of doing for our families, strangers or the body of believers, matters not.

I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O LORD, for [it is] good. Psalm 54:6 NKJV

I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, And will call upon the name of the LORD. Psalm 116:17 NKJV

I pray that if, like me, you have found your attitude wanting, that you will meditate on this today as well. And also, that it will permeate your every day, and every encounter. Blessings to you all!
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Photo courtesy of willposh

My Tongue Tastes Like a Foot by Shalene

My dear brothers and sisters, be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. James 1:19 NLT

This verse is burned into my psyche, I think. The only problem is it's apparently not burned in deep enough. Too often I engage my mouth before I engage my brain. When I do this, I almost always end up saying something hurtful, or at the very least, something I have do to double time to explain. I don't do this on purpose, but it makes no difference to the person on the receiving end.

I have gotten much better at being tactful, from years of growing up in a family that didn't know the meaning of the word, but there are still moments when I let down my guard and say the first thing that comes to my mind. It takes a lot of effort to remember that:

He who answers a matter before he hears it,
It is folly and shame to him. Proverbs 18:13 NKJV

Last night, even, I was honored with an award through the Worship and Arts team in my church, but when introducing the award and the reason for the award the drama director described me as someone that had a lot of good suggestions and advice- not all of it solicited. I know he did not mean it as a negative thing, but I just have to be mindful that my advice and my words are tempered by clear thinking before I let them loose. Having said that, I want to apologize to someone very dear to me, for saying something that was unnecessary and ended up being hurtful, because I didn't think before I "spoke." I am so very sorry, and I love you. Please forgive me. It doesn't matter that I didn't mean what I said the way it was taken. What matters is that it was taken that way.

Do you too, have moments when you get to taste the nastiness of your foot? If so, then you know what it is that I'm talking about. Pray for guidance and wisdom in your words and even your actions. This is what I will continue to do.

--Lord, I pray today that I can learn to temper my speech and my actions with careful thought and prayer. I thank you for the wonderful people around me that know me well enough to know that I don't mean them harm, even when I do harm them. I pray for forgiveness from the ones that I hurt with my forked tongue. I pray that You will help me see those moments with clarity, before I engage my mouth. I pray this for all the others like me as well. I pray this in Jesus' Holy Name. Amen.

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