Gratefulness

Day 19

Day 19

Gratefulness Paid Forward

Good morning!! Sorry for the delay today. Early this morning I received a message, the theme of being grateful continued to weigh heavy in my spirit. In reading someone's expression of gratitude, it allowed me to reflect upon my gratitude for the people and things in my life. I then realized the impact it makes in one's life to know and be told that they are appreciated. It was then that the Lord had me realize that although we touched upon not wanting what others have, we truly did not dive into the importance of being grateful. 

Each of us has one thing in common to be grateful for today, which is, if you are reading this, you woke up to see another day! In our prayers let’s not ever forget to tell God the things we are grateful for and not just always asking. He too wants us to acknowledge that we see what He is doing in our lives. The most positive thing we could do is find less reasons to complain and more reasons to express gratitude. Though it may look tough on your end, there are others battling the same situations or worse, and you have been given another day to fight in this life that someone else wasn’t. But remember, you're not fighting alone. God is always with you, His word states in Hebrews 13:5 "... I will never leave you nor forsake you."

Today I challenge you to reflect upon these past 19 days or even this past year if you must and acknowledge all the things and people to be grateful for. In addition to paying positivity forward give someone a call, send an email or a text message, write a note or even make a visit to someone. Make it a point to express to 3 people that you are grateful for something they have done or that they currently do for you (big or small). Even something like “thank you for getting me coffee that day I was really tired”, “thanks you for always smiling in the morning”, “thank you for being there when I needed you most” or even thanking you leaders for the work that they do, the list goes on. These purposeful actions not only work on your heart, but theirs as well. This of all things I challenged I truly encourage EVERY single one of you to do. Simply send me a message saying “Done”. 

I look forward to manyyyyy messages over the week saying “Done”. I am grateful that over 120 of you have given me an opportunity to be used by God in your life these past 19 days. Thank you!!! Have a Happy Monday! - Monica B.

Choose Joy

Day 11

Good morning!! Sometimes being positive is that more difficult because you are in a storm and you are just striving to be happy. Happiness, just as the storm, is temporary. If we are seeking to be happy for these 21 days, then on day 23 we may just fall right back off the positivity wagon. 

Happiness is an emotional state that so much focus is put on but can easily be taken away once a trial occurs or your day is set off. 

Joy is being able to rejoice in knowing that there is not a storm that the Lord cannot calm or remove. I know even in this time some of you are going through some things that make it feel so impossible to be positive. However CHOOSE JOY! Don’t fake it but Faith it. Have faith that you will be able to do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Phil 4:13) and remember there is not a battle that has defeated you because you are still alive to push for another day. I challenge you to start choosing joy daily even in the midst of what you are going through instead of defeat, complaining, or temporary emotions. 

“Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess 5:16-18). 

Have a blessed positive day!! - Monica

Speak Life

Day 8

Good morning!! We are starting our second week of positivity, I hope you are getting in the swing of things, and I encourage those who haven’t done the forgiveness challenge to give it a try. We are focusing on positive thoughts, WORDS and actions so let’s look at the tongue. The tongue is such a tricky thing that can easily take us out of our positive mindset or can cause negative actions.(Read James 3:1-12)

Take a pause and tame your tongue

The same small tongue that we use to say how great God is, can be the same little thing we use to curse those around us. Reflect. What kind of words come out of your mouth? Are you uplifting or are you tearing down? Are you speaking things that you would be embarrassed if the person you are speaking about found out? Are you speaking things that you would be embarrassed if children repeated? Are you keeping a positive mind but a negative mouth? Is profanity a regular thing for you? “Don’t use foul or abusive language” Eph. 4:29. A lot to reflect and all of this can be difficult to control. However a great question to ask is, do you pause before you speak? I know personally this has been one of the difficult things to change over the years however over prayer and time, it is possible to improve. 

Today I encourage you to start being more aware of the words you are speak. Take a pause and tame your tongue. Have a blessed positive day! -Monica

Forgiveness is for YOU

Day 7

Good morning! Yesterday we reflected on why we need to forgive. Forgiveness is an action. It is consistent and becomes a lifestyle just as positivity is. There are countless reasons you should forgive but many don't know how. How can you forgive the person who may have caused you so much pain or just offended you? How can you forgive the parent, ex, violator, etc., who brought negative things your way? Faith and Love. We have faith that God will work things out for our good and His glory so we have faith that at the end of the situation we will be good and there is a reason to grow from. There is ALWAYS a positive. We learned about loving those who are difficult to love and this is an ideal opportunity to love when someone has hurt you. Does it mean they are right? No. It simply means that you will allow God to be the one to convict them in His time. So I challenge you this today, write a list of people that you harbor unforgiveness with whether it be recent or for years. Write near their names how long you have held onto this hurt. Then I want you to pray for them and allow God to lead you to genuinely forgive them in the most appropriate way. If you take time to do this, simply send a message via the comment section stating “Done”. I will start by saying “Done”. I wish you a blessed day!! --Monica

Confidence

Day 4

Good morning!! Confidence can at times be something that blocks us from being positive. Insecurities and doubt can breed much negativity. Many of us have a hard time seeing how our insecurities affect those around us but some of us already know it does. An example may be how you respond in offense to something that is said due to your own insecurities with a certain matter. 

As we reflected yesterday on wanting what others have, we can also lose confidence in ourselves through comparisons to others. Maybe you have someone in your life who you feel is smarter, more attractive, more well off and in turn it causes you to feel that you are not as significant. This can hold you back from your calling or cause you to not walk confidently in your purpose. This may also cause you to be overly critical of yourself and not truly love who you are. We have to have confidence in who we are created to be and even further in our Creator. The bible says you are “I will praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made….” (Psalm 139:14). It encourages you to praise God for the way that He created you. With NO MISTAKES. How much more positive could we be if we praised God for who he made us to be? When those struggles arise, which is common, we have to be able to trust in our confidant who we can lay all these insecurities to. Are you confident in your confidant? (Read Jeremiah 17:7) 

         You're a blessing 

Let’s begin to thank God for who we are and the positive changes we are making. I know that each and every one of you is special and am eager to hear you Confidently being more positive by loving who you are! Have a wonderful day! -Monica