Hello Sweet Friend,
This week, without a doubt, you will be faced with challenges. With difficult people. With trials that seem insurmountable. Jesus said that! You “will” have tribulation. Not, you “might” have problems. So how can we be of good cheer? And then, Jesus went on to say, I have told you this that you might have peace! Obviously, if Jesus said it, it is achievable, but we need guidance as to how to make this happen. I pray this week that my words might be filled with wisdom and insight. This easy formula will bring you peace—even joy. It will take practice, but it will, I promise you, help you produce the fruit of the Spirit that will make your life delicious.
In any given situation, you get to choose your reaction. You can choose between addictively demanding your way OR preferring that the scenario be different and thinking through your options and actions. Let’s use Big Jim and the clicker as our example. Without any mean intention, Jim has a habit of flipping the channels when a commercial comes on. I could DEMAND that he stop doing it. And if he doesn’t, I could react with anger, become passive aggressive, or swallow my feelings. Not really healthy options! OR, I could PREFER that he not change channels. I get to choose whether to wage war over this issue or take a deep breath and consider my options: I could watch my program on another TV. I could read a book. I could record my program and watch it later by myself. I will write more on this next week. For now, be aware of when you are addictively demanding that people, events, situations be different. Linda