3 Choices: I Will, I Don't, I Won't

I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your Name, O Most High.

In Psalm 9:1-2, the psalmist writes for us 4 simple, yet profound, statements.

I Will

I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart;

I will tell of all your wonders.

I will be glad and rejoice in you;

I will sing praise to your Name, O Most High.

I Don’t

But, let us ask ourselves,

“What situation or circumstance provokes me to alter The Text to display: I Don’t?”

I don’t praise you, O Lord, with all my heart;

I don’t tell of all your wonders.

I don’t rejoice in you;

I don’t sing praise to your Name, O Most High.

I Won’t

Furthermore,

When do I—either by attitude or action—change The Words to reveal: I Won’t?

I won’t praise you, O Lord, with all my heart;

I won’t tell of all your wonders.

I won’t be glad and rejoice in you;

I won’t sing praise to your Name, O Most High.

You and I are made up of attitudes and actions, and our lives are filled with circumstances and situations. The choice between self-focus or God-focus lies within our response to I will, I don’t, or I won’t, and this one choice sets the trajectory of our very existence. May this day be a day when we shout, “I will. By God’s grace, I WILL!”

I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your Name, O Most High.

Living With Eternal Intentionality®

What situation are you in where you reveal “I don’t”?

When do you find yourself wanting to say, “I won’t”?

How can committing these 4 I will statements to memory make a difference in your entire life?

Please join the conversation and share your own idea. Your thoughts bring a rich contribution to the discussion.

A Dozen Ideas for Welcoming Fall

Standing on my screen porch leaves me no room for denial: Fall is here. The leaves are changing and the slant of the sun is altered. A sigh accompanies me as I reach for the afghan and sit down to snuggle up with my coffee.

But wait a minute! As I access my attitude, I remember that change invigorates me, so I have every reason to anticipate a fall season filled with joy and excitement. Six family birthdays dot my calendar, a reunion of like-minded friends awaits me, and the opportunity to reconvene with my growth group beckons.

Granted, not everyone shares my enthusiasm. Sometimes a mist of melancholy marks the move to autumn. If you find it hard to release summer (or even if you welcome the change) perhaps these ideas will encourage you as we, along with the calendar, make the transition:

1. Hang a multicolored fall wreath on your front door.

2. Go apple picking with a group of friends and invite internationals to join you on this all- American outing.

3. Do a word study from the Scriptures on the seasons of life.

4. Purchase Aspen Mulling Spices for your hot cider.

5. Take a day alone with the Lord and thank Him for His blessings this past summer.

6. Watch the football movie, Remember The Titans.

7. Consider, as the foliage changes, if there is one personal change you would like to make – in routine, in reading, or perhaps in reaching out to a neighbor.

8. Pull out tasty fall recipes. (i.e. apple pie, morning glory muffins, football chili, or my son-in-law’s yummy pumpkin pancakes from New Hope Mills)

9. Walk down nostalgia lane, and recall your first day of 1st grade. Then, jot a note to reconnect with a former classmate.

10. Visit a pumpkin farm with a group of children. Be bold and try the corn maze.

11. Look over the opportunities starting up at your church and ask yourself, “Has God carved out a space for me in a group, on a committee, or with a volunteer project?”

12. Treat yourself to a bouquet of fall flowers, and each time you look at them pray, “God, thank you for this season of fall.”

Bonus Idea: Remember! Starbucks serves their pumpkin cream cheese muffins only at this time of year. Meet a friend for coffee and celebrate friendship this fall day.

Living With Eternal Intentionality®

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

What do you look forward to with the coming of fall?

What do you find difficult?

Of the Dozen Ideas for Welcoming Fall, which would you like to consider for yourself?

Please join the conversation and share your own idea. Your thoughts bring a rich contribution to the discussion.

Get It Right When Your Thinking Is Wrong

A recent situation brought me face to face with the life-giving power of right thinking and the potential destruction of wrong thinking. An individual before me wrestled with a wrong thought pattern that threatened to derail her and her group. Thankfully, she managed to realign her thoughts and live a robust day.

However, this encounter provoked reflection. A simple illustration reveals the heart of my conviction developed over years and years of engaging with this topic.

Wrong thinking lurks menacingly to destroy personal and relational happiness.

If lost on a dark road on a stormy night, aware of my erroneous turn off the interstate, would I just keep driving down the wrong road in the mistaken direction? No! Rather, as soon as I located a safe spot, I would STOP, turn around, head back, and enter the on-ramp for the correct highway.

Wrong thinking lurks menacingly to destroy personal and relational happiness. Yet how often do you and I make a timely effort to STOP and turn around? Over time I have learned to recognize warning signs and make course corrections as soon as possible. So, here are three suggestions I use when awashed with wrong thinking.

1. Acknowledge my circumstances

For a few moments, I pause and calculate my circumstance. Facts, perceptions, and realities all go into my summation.

2. Acknowledge my feelings

Personally, I enjoy the ability to feel deeply, but not when my feelings are destructive. While the way I feel is valid (to me), I know that the way I feel may not be healthy or even accurate.

So, once I acknowledge my circumstances, I then acknowledge my feelings.

After thoroughly calculating circumstances and feelings, I know at this juncture, the time has come to acknowledge God.

3. Acknowledge God

He wants desperately to involve Himself in my life on every level, in every relationship, and through every situation. His resources are available, but as Ney Bailey says in Faith is Not a Feeling, “I must choose to believe God’s promises over my own personal feelings.”

Individuals who have learned to turn wrong thinking into right thinking experience a different and dynamic quality of life.

These suggestion I offer here are not a formula but a process; not a recipe but a recommendation. Why? Because I am thoroughly convinced that individuals who have learned to turn wrong thinking into right thinking experience a different and dynamic quality of life. I long for you and me to stand in their ranks.

One of my favorite passages of Scripture offers a great place to begin the journey of traveling on the right mental interstate:

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you (Philippians 4:8-9).

Living With Eternal Intentionality®

“What do you think?” is actually a loaded question, isn’t it?

How would you evaluate your spiritual journey regarding right thinking?

What helps you to transform your wrong thinking toward the right direction?

Who has been a spiritual guide for you in this developmental process?