Is attitude really everything?

I have quite a few friends with very fun personalities, but kind of over do it sometimes with sassy attitudes and sarcasm.

Have you ever thought that the words that you say, the tone that you use, or the hidden intentions that you have truly make an impact? This impact is not only made upon the current situation but also to those around you, your life, and even your relationship with God.

Sometimes the moments that we think have little impact make the greatest. This could be either through the words we say, the words that we don’t say, the things that we do, or the things that we don’t do at all.

There are countless amounts of reasons why we think, say, and do the things we do. One reason could be influence: the people that we are around, the environment which we have been raised, or maybe even our own personal desires to think and act a certain way. Some people rely on personality tests, horoscopes, and even professionals to get answers and search for the meaning of why we are who we are.

From the Christian perspective, the only one that can ultimately answer these questions for you are God. God knew you and knit you together in your mother’s womb. He knew your personality, your talents, your weaknesses, and your destiny before you even have entered this world. He knew who you were before a personality test was even invented.

I personally find it very interesting when I take a personality test and find out so many new discoveries about myself that are actually true! I just never looked at it in that light. This is one of many routes that we go down to try to seek who we are. However, are we trying to understand and find the person that God had initially created us to be?

Or are we creating ourselves into our own selfish desires into a product approved, longed for, or even envied by society and the world we live in?

This isn’t what God meant for us.

God said that we were created for greatness. God didn’t intend for us to create our own greatness through entitlement or worldly pleasures. The greatness that God created us for was intended to bring His name known.

We can’t be selfish when we are trying to live like Jesus. We have to be all in.

The book of Malachi talks about the bad attitudes and unfaithfulness of people of Judah. They were hurt because they were not experiencing the things that God has promised them.  However, they were doubtful, selfish, and unfaithful. In chapter 1 God asks them why they gave ultimately disrespected Him with such mediocre (probably less than that) sacrifices as offerings.

• ⁶ The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says to the priests: “A son honors his father, and a servant respects his master. If I am your father and master, where are the honor and respect I deserve? You have shown contempt for my name!

  “But you ask, ‘How have we ever shown contempt for your name?’

  ⁷ “You have shown contempt by offering defiled sacrifices on my altar.

  “Then you ask, ‘How have we defiled the sacrifices?^[c]’

  “You defile them by saying the altar of the Lord deserves no respect.⁸ When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

  ⁹ “Go ahead, beg God to be merciful to you! But when you bring that kind of offering, why should he show you any favor at all?” asks the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

The God we serve wants our personal best.

He wants us to be all in.

He wants us to show Him that we love Him, trust Him, and want to serve Him and His will. How can we do that if we only have one foot in? He wants 100%.

• ¹³ You say, ‘It’s too hard to serve the Lord,’ and you turn up your noses at my commands,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Think of it! Animals that are stolen and crippled and sick are being presented as offerings! Should I accept from you such offerings as these?” asks the Lord.¹⁴ “Cursed is the cheat who promises to give a fine ram from his flock but then sacrifices a defective one to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and my name is feared among the nations!

The God we serve is a good God. All that He does is good. He is good. How can we expect Him to care, bless, and love us if we can’t try to reciprocate His love towards Him? He deserves all the honor and glory. God wants all of our actions, thoughts, and intentions to be completely faithful towards Him and His will.

This starts with a faithful heart. 

• A Call to Faithfulness

  ¹⁰ Are we not all children of the same Father? Are we not all created by the same God? Then why do we betray each other, violating the covenant of our ancestors?

We are called to be faithful. 

Therefore, if we give God our all and hold nothing back He will do immeasurably more than we can ever dream of.

• “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! ¹¹ Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease.^[a] Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. ¹² “Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies”. 

He will restore and protect us and He will make it known that our lives shine bright for Him because of the goodness that He has done for us.

We are God’s treasure.

We were created for more than we can ever create for ourselves.

It’s okay to be silly and have fun but just remember-

Live your life for Him.

• Speak words for HIM
• Choose your actions for HIM
• Guard your thoughts for HIM.

Luke 6:45

⁴⁵ A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.

Philippians 4:8

⁸ And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Matthew 5:16

¹⁶ In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

1 Corinthians 11:1

11 ¹ And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.

 

Here I am, send me.

It’s been a good while since I have posted a blog- sorry about that!

The last time that you all heard from me was when I posted about my mission trip that I had recently arrived from, Hawaii.

It has finally start to hit me that I am not a “traditional undergraduate” college student anymore. However, I am getting my master’s degree this fall but it won’t be as eventful as my undergraduate experience- so I think.

Recently I have felt like God has been leading me down a different path for my        “life after college”. I received my bachelor of science degree in public relations and strategic communications. I learned that I am very creative and a visual learner. I also learned that I am very interpersonal and enthusiastic. I love people and getting to connect with others any way possible.

During these past couple of months I have been really contemplating what it truly is that God has planned for my life.

I noticed that I had a tendency to find specific puzzle pieces and try to do whatever I can to piece them together to work.

This was when I recognized another part of me. According to the Enneagram, I am an achiever (Number 3). I do my best to succeed, I’m a motivator, and authentic. I try my hardest to be the best me that I can be, I hardly take no for an answer, and when I set my mind for something I go for it.

While I was trying to seek who this person is that God created me to be, I also learned that I have a tendency to be a workaholic and even success conscious. I try so hard to piece these puzzles together that I neglect to see that God already gave me every single piece that I need to see the bigger picture. I just needed to look down and accept it.

Two months ago I thought that I wanted to work for a big entertainment firm or company and work up to a position that eventually led to seeing my name in big lights and bigger paychecks. I started letting titles and labels to consume me again and lost sight of the bigger picture.

I started to make myself anxious and really stressed again because I tried to start making piece fit that either weren’t ready to be put in the puzzle yet, or one’s that didn’t belong in the first place.

Thankfully, I have quite a few amazing mentors in my life that have done nothing but encourage me and remind me about the incredible God that we serve and how I have nothing to fear because HE is our refuge and strength.

And instead of being focused on job titles, awards and achievements, and the size of my paycheck God reminded me about a deep passion that He had laid on my heart long ago. To this day I am striving to not get blind sighted by any distractions that may lead me off course. I am going to invest in others through the gifts that God has given me through communications and my heart. There are a couple different doors that have been placed in my path since graduation and until God opens one of them I will be patient and trust in the Lord.

“God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at the break of day.

The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes the wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.

He says, “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress,” Psalms 46:5-11.

There is nothing that my God cannot do.

Be on the lookout to see where God leads me next and I will be in touch soon about the journey as well!

xoxo.