Schizophrenic Spring

Just when I thought that winter was over, a late snow falls and takes me by surprise. Yesterday, I opened the front door early in the morning, with running shoes on and stopped dead in my tracks. The porch, the sidewalk, my car were all covered in an inch of fluffy, white snow. In that moment, I had a choice.

I could choose to complain, to grumble about the weather and focus on the inconvenience, the cold and my disappointment, or I could focus on the beauty of this moment, the crisp refreshing air and the fact that winter is about to give way to spring, then summer, then fall. Every season is created for a purpose, and winter was still taking its job seriously.

With this in mind, I opened I Declare, by Joel Osteen, and read day Twenty-Six.

I Declare I will choose faith over fear! I will meditate on what is positive and what is good about my situation. I will use my energy not to worry but to believe. Fear has no part in my life. I will not dwell on negative, discouraging thoughts...

Joel continues to explain that both faith and fear ask us to believe in something that has not happened or cannot be seen. They both involve a choice for viewing the future. Faith believes in the positive, blessings that will come, while fear believes that something awful is about to overtake us. Faith does not ignore or deny the existence of evil, selfishness and sickness, but trusts in a love and care in the midst of difficult circumstances. It is all a matter of focus.

• Fear that cancer will win, or faith that God will bring about greater good whatever the outcome might look like. 
• Fear that others will reject me because of my ____________, or faith that I am God's masterpiece and precious in His eyes.
• Fear that I will never be able to be healthier, or faith that I am totally capable of choosing better options for myself and I will be healthier each day.
• Fear that I won't have enough money, or faith that God will provide all that I legitimately need.
  

It takes the same amount of energy to worry and dwell on the negative as it does to believe and focus on the positive. When we dwell on the negative, we set a direction and usually reap what we expect.

We actually bring about that which we fear. That is just how our minds work. We begin to look for and focus on the negative, grabbing hold of it as if to say, "See, here it is, just what I feared." We then miss opportunities to make better choices. We also create stress in our bodies that negatively affects our health.

When we set a positive course, we sail our ship toward a sunny destination. As we think about the good and look for the glimmers of light, we actually change our body chemistry and raise our frequency. We begin to "focus" our attention, like the lens of a camera, on the blessings all around us. We appreciate the smile of a coworker. We enjoy the spring flowers poking through the snow. We recognize the provision of income in order to pay our bills.

Deuteronomy 30:19 states, "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him"

God lets us choose. He has shown us the power of love, speaking truth and having faith. He has also shown us what happens when we let fear or negativity take charge of our day.

My encouragement to each of us, myself included, is to pay closer attention to what we say. "Today will be a great day." "Isn't the snow beautiful." "This snow just reminds me of how much I am going to enjoy spring and summer." "I will see God's blessings today." "God will send angels to help me in this difficulty."

Then watch to see how your day is transformed. Come back here to share what happens with all of us!