Category: positive attitude

Being Bold in a Time of Fear

There have been many blog posts, memes, and more going around recently about fear, having faith over fear, trusting God, etc. I’ve written about this previously on my blog as well.

We’re living in fearful times, no doubt. We’ll need to have strength, courage, and a lot of patience to get through this time.

Don’t you feel like you’re in some kind of limbo just waiting to get through to the other side?

For me, I’m pretty good at trying to project ahead. For example, I’m one of those people who is nervous about seeing the dentist, even though I like my dentist  and go every six months, like a good little girl. On the day of the dentist appointment, I’m projecting ahead. I tell myself “Okay, by 4pm, I’ll be home and all finished with this visit.” I know if I get through a certain amount of time, then the appointment will be behind me. I’ll be past the tough stuff.

But right now, in this crazy year of 2020, we’re not sure when the tough stuff will end. Many of us thought that surely by the start of summer, this would be behind us. Unfortunately, we’re halfway through the summer and we’re still in the thick of a pandemic.

So, do we look to the holidays? To the end of the year? Will 2021 be better?

It’s so difficult when we’re knee-deep in muck and darkness. The light at the end of the tunnel isn’t really visible yet. How do we push through?

The words from Psalm 138:3 (NIV) struck me. “When I called you, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted.”

Other Bible versions talk about increasing our strength, but I really like the words “bold” and “stouthearted.”

God will definitely increase our strength. He can make us bold. But the word “stouthearted” fills me with such hope and confidence.

It makes me believe I can do this for the long haul. The definition for stouthearted says, “brave and resolute; dauntless.”

Whatever trial you’re facing, whatever darkness or hardship, pray with confidence. Pray and KNOW that God will heal you, and he will increase your strength, and make you bold and stouthearted.

You can do this. We can all get through this time with a little faith, a lot of prayer and the unwavering belief that God is still here, and that through Him, we are bold and stouthearted.

What about you? How have prayers or Scripture increased your faith and confidence?

Attitude: It’s Your Choice (Video and Text)

Positive Attitude TalkingAmongFriends.com by Rebecca Yauger

Choosing a Positive Attitude

 

Video Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/qwez3ye7cvtffau/20200618_150631.mp4?dl=0

 

 

Text from Video:

Hi everyone. The last few weeks on TalkingAmongFriends.com, I’ve wrestled with the choices we make. Whether we choose to have hope or despair, and whether we’re choosing to listen, or we’re choosing to lash out in anger. And these choices are hard when the mood of the country is just so volcanic right now. Things are in such flux between the pandemic, and the riots, and the protests. It’s a difficult time. It’s a difficult time to have a positive attitude and I’m a big believer in attitude.

To me, attitude has always been half the battle. It helped me overcome a motorcycle accident in my younger, wilder days. It helped me overcome from cancer twice. I’m not saying it’s just my attitude alone. It’s prayer, and it’s God’s grace and bringing the right people into my life at the right time.

But attitude helps finding that resolve, finding that strength, finding a way to stay positive, even in the midst of all this chaos. I think it’s so important. If you’re lacking that positive attitude then pray about it, really think about it. Think about how you’re reacting to things and try to make the conscious choice to be positive, and to choose hope.

Stay well, my friends. We’ll talk to you soon. Thanks.

Find Your Footing – While Living in Limbo

Here I go again…changing my mind. I had written a blog post already, but something was holding me back from publishing it. There’s nothing wrong with the post. It just doesn’t feel like the right time.

There are so many questions in this world of uncertainty, and too many unknown answers. Are we getting out too soon? Will there be another serious outbreak of Coronavirus? Will we have to live this way the rest of our lives?

While there’s a bit more hope, with things opening up again,  there’s still an aura of trepidation. So, the cloud continues to loom over us, even when there are occasional peeks of sunshine.

As someone who likes to focus on the sunshine, there are times when the clouds overwhelm, and I just can’t muster that positive spirit.

It’s like we’re all caught in limbo and can’t seem to find solid footing again.

I hate being in limbo! I like to make a decision and move forward. Even if I make a wrong decision, you can still deal with the consequences or aftermath of that. But being in limbo feels like you’re in a wind tunnel, being batted about like a rag doll, with nothing to grasp on to so you can find solid ground.

So, what to do with these uncertain days?

Well, I don’t mean to sound cliché, but I think we try to control what we can control and leave the rest up to God. Yeah, much easier said than done. And believe me, I’m not much of an expert at the moment.

I definitely have my down days. I have my drift days, as I like to call them. Days that drift by and I haven’t accomplished anything.

But right now, I don’t want to drift. It’s important to stay focused. Whether you’re working from home or not. If you’re out of work, or have time on your hands, isn’t it a good time to learn something new? Do the project you’ve been putting off? Learn a new skill? Go back to school? (On-line universities are great!). Or get back to your old hobbies that you haven’t made time to do. I like crocheting, and am still doing that. Currently, I’m learning new crochet stitches, and am making scarves using what I’ve learned. (Yep, as we head into summer, it’s a perfect time to make winter scarves! Hee hee).

I also love painting resin figurines. My granddaughter is inspiring me to paint again, as she likes to paint side-by-side with me. Besides creating special moments together, she’s helped rekindle my love for painting.

And like a lot of people, my weight has been fluctuating while we’ve been sheltering-at-home. So, I’m exercising more, and that helps a lot! I’m still snacking a bit too much, as I start to pay attention again to what I eat, that will settle down sooner rather than later.

Now, if you think I’ve just made these decisions and it’s all a breeze, well, you’d be wrong. I have to be intentional. And right now, being intentional can seem like too much of an effort. It’s not.

The other day, I had the blues for sure. Didn’t feel like doing anything. But I had a healthy to-do list, so I prayed, then made myself sit down and tackle that list. It wasn’t easy. But as I crossed more things off, I got into a groove, and that felt good. To accomplish something felt good. I didn’t feel like exercising either, but I did, and it turned out to be a good exercise day. I was glad I put in the effort, and now I have more motivation to keep going.

Our days are going to be uncertain for a while yet. And for me personally, I can’t keep living in limbo. So, I’m going to do what I can do, within the boundaries of my own little world. By doing that, maybe I’ll find my footing, and it will feel less and less like I’m living in limbo.

What about you? Do you have ideas on how to get through this time of uncertainty? I’d love to hear from you.

How Are You Talking To Yourself? (Video plus text)

The link below is to a video about how we talk to ourselves, whether we’re negative or positive.  If you don’t have a few minutes to watch the video, the text of it is also below.

Video Link: How Are You Talking To Yourself?

Video Text:

There’s a subject that keeps coming up in different ways and I think it’s time to talk about it. We’re a culture these days of  “It’s all about the outside”. Women are striving to have a youthful appearance, have the perfect hair and the perfect body. Men don’t want to be balding or have the beer belly paunch. There’s nothing wrong with looking the best we can. But when we start obsessing over it, I think that’s where it can lead to trouble.

Let me ask you a question: How do you talk to yourself? When you look in the mirror in the morning, are you making a face? Are you beating up on yourself for not having perfect hair or, being the perfect weight? Are you chiding yourself because those pants don’t fit any more? Look at these lines on my forehead!

Listen to your words. Are you in a cycle of negativity about how you speak to yourself, and about how you see yourself? Are you picking on yourself?

When I started thinking about this for me, I realized I made a lot of jokes at my own expense. You know, I’ll make a joke about my bad hair day or my chubby thighs. And the more I paid attention, the more I realized how often I did that, how often I belittle myself, even through a joke. And I shouldn’t be doing that. I am God’s child. He created me.

I wish we could see ourselves the way God sees us. It doesn’t matter that we’re not the perfect weight, whatever that is. Or the most beautiful person in the world, whatever the definition of beauty is. Or the perfect size, whatever that is.

Are you looking at culture’s definition of beauty? Or are you looking at God’s definition of beauty? There’s a big difference there.

I am not perfect. But I am a unique creature. I am God’s daughter. And it’s okay for me to have my gray hair, and to have laugh lines, and yeah, even to have chubby thighs. But it’s not okay for me to belittle myself or to shoot myself down. You wouldn’t do that to your best friend, so why would you do to yourself? Why would you do that to God’s creation?

We’re going to talk more about this in down the road, but for the next week or so, do me a favor. Listen to yourself as you talk to about yourself. Are you belittling yourself? Are you in a cycle of negativity? If you wouldn’t say it to your best friend, don’t say it to yourself.

Watch your words. Try to get into a cycle of being positive. Take care of yourself. And we’ll see you next time.