Focus Friday: Let's Focus on Giving Thanks

Last week I told you I might tell you my final clothing number this week. Unfortunately, I don't have that number for you yet. Here is a visual, though:

That's pretty much my entire wardrobe in one place. I didn't think this through very well. The end of November may not have been the best time for a procrastinator to undertake this clothes counting/sorting project. It's NaNoWriMo, Thanksgiving was this week, and we're getting ready for our hike at the Grand Canyon. Yep, good intentions but poor timing.

The piles are still there, except for the stack of jeans on the corner of the bed (it's in Blake's room and he's at college so they can stay there at least until Christmas break). I'll keep picking away at the piles and try to give you a final tally sometime soon.

For this week, I think it's fitting to focus on thanks. Thanks for our clothing, thanks for the people in our lives, thanks for our family members and friends, thanks for our jobs, our hobbies, and our homes. But it also may be a good day to give thanks for the "bad" things in our lives. 

Thanks for the people that drive us crazy (whether it's a coworker, a child, a spouse, or a stranger we have to interact with at a store or on the phone). Thanks for the job that frustrates us. Thanks for the little things that irritate us about our homes, our vehicles, or our wardrobes. Thanks for the world situations that break our hearts and tempt us to worry.

We can be thankful for all of those things because each of them can push us closer to God and help us to develop the discipline of choosing a good attitude in the midst of difficult times. Life will be better if we can develop the habit of giving thanks in all circumstances.

Thankful for all of you today... ~Robyn

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV)

Do you find it difficult to give thanks for the difficult things in your life? How can focusing on God help you to develop that important habit?

Focus Friday: Let's Focus on Enough

A while back I read a book called More or Less: Choosing a Lifestyle of Excessive Generosity by Jeff Shinabarger (DavidCCook, 2013). It was a great book that helped me to look at different areas of my life and see how I could live with less and give more to others. 

One section stuck with me: Enough Clothing. In that chapter, he told about a girl named Ashley who did a social experiment so she could relate to the people in her neighborhood who didn't have as much choice about the clothes they wore as she did. She decided to wear everything she owned one time. She figured she could maybe go for 70 days...but she ended up going for 156 days. It was interesting to see what she learned from her social experiment.

She owned 190 articles of clothing. In the months since then, I've been wondering how many articles of clothing I own. I'm a little scared to find out. You see, my clothes are all over the place...

In the four-drawer dresser in our bedroom:

Piled up on the floor next to our bed:

In half of our bedroom closet (and piled in front of it sometimes): 

 Two drawers in the hallway right outside our bedroom:

Two drawers in Blake's room:

I forgot I even owned the jeans I found here!

And in an upstairs closet:

The prom dresses aren't mine, but the rest of these clothes are...plus a box full underneath!

Do you see why I'm a little scared to start counting? 

As Thanksgiving approaches, I think I just might take some time and do a little inventory. I know there are many items of clothing that I never wear. I seem to have favorites that I grab most of the time for all sorts of reasons. I'm thankful for the clothes I have, but this may be a good time of year to take stock and give some away to those who need them and will wear them.

Just how much is enough? If I'm brave, I'll tell you next week what my final count was. Until then, I'm going to make sure I'm thanking God for all of His blessings. I take them for granted way too often.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving next week, everyone!

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever."                                                                             (Psalm 107:1 NIV)

Do you have too much of something? How can focusing on God help you to be grateful for what you have and decide to be content with enough?

Focus Friday: Let's Focus on Good Conduct

This has been a tough week for all of us. I don't feel like I can focus on anything but the current political situation in our country, but I don't feel smart enough or brave enough to attempt a detailed analysis of what has been going on.

My heart hurts over the division we are seeing in our country. No matter who you voted for on Tuesday, you're probably experiencing some uncertainty about what the future holds. I just want to remind you: If you're a Christian then you have many reasons to have hope for the future. God is sovereign and He has everything under control.

So for this week, I'd like to focus on good conduct. So many people are expressing their feelings with hurtful, hateful words toward those who don't agree with them. "My brothers and sisters, this should not be!" (James 3:9-10)

At Fresh Hope this week we talked about a topic called "The 4 Conducts" from Fresh Hope's topic cards (#302). Even if you don't deal with a mental health diagnosis, I think it might help all of us to take a look at them today.

1. Speak carefully. Words can hurt or heal. Use words for good. Say what you mean, mean what you say. 

"May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD." (Psalm 19:14 NIV)

2. Be humble. It really isn't all about you. Look at others as the Lord sees them.

"All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another..." (1 Peter 5:5 NIV)

3. Live in truth. Believe in the power of truth. Speak truth in love. Seek truth.

"Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth." (Psalm 86:11a NIV)

4. Always do your best. Do your best for whatever state you are in - good days or bad days. Live for an audience of one (for God).

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." (Colossians 3:23-24 NIV)

Let's all try to put these 4 conducts into practice. They will help us in all of our relationships.

Do you have problems with communication? How can focusing on God and practicing these 4 conducts help you improve relationships and experience more peace?  

Focus Friday: Let's Focus on What's Really Going On

I was distressed for most of today. I felt sluggish and tired when I exercised this morning. After I showered and ate breakfast I took a nap for about an hour. I couldn't seem to get enough energy to get much of anything done around the house. I felt kind of foggy and couldn't concentrate. When Gary and I went to Waverly I dozed off in the car.

While all of this was going on, I started getting in a really down mood. You see, I decided to go back on my old medication for depression because the new one had me bouncing up and down emotionally a little too much. I talked to my doctor and asked about going back on the old med. I've been on it for a couple of weeks now, and today upset me because I thought I was going to have to try something different again. I didn't remember being so tired when I was on it before, but I figured it was just the medicine.

Shoot! Here we go again. I don't want to try something new! I was having all kinds of negative conversations in my head.

Then Gary asked me how I slept last night. "I didn't hear you snore at all," he commented. A light went on as I remembered that I had taken a Zyrtec before bed last night in hopes that it would keep me from snoring and bothering my poor hubby.

"I bet that's why I've been tired all day!" I exclaimed. What a relief. Hopefully I'll get my bearings back after it gets out of my system.

Don't we do that sometimes in other areas of life? 

Someone makes a careless comment or seems to ignore us and we jump to all sorts of conclusions. They don't like me. They're so stuck up. I must have done something to offend them. Our minds can tell us all kinds of things about why someone does the things they do.

Many times, what's really going on has nothing to do with us at all. Maybe the other person is having a terrible day and doesn't think about what they're saying. Maybe they don't see us when we think they're ignoring us.

We can look at the political scene or hear news of tragedies in our country and around the world and we get depressed because it seems so hopeless and scary.

What's really going on is that God is in control. We will never understand why He allows unthinkable things to happen in this world, but we can still trust Him.

We have to look past our circumstances to figure out what's really going on. God will help us discern where we might need to change our thoughts or actions and where we may need to show grace to someone else even if they have hurt us. 

Forgive me if none of this makes sense this week. My brain is still a bit foggy. I'm going to bed soon. Without Zyrtec. Hopefully poor Gary doesn't have to endure too much snoring tonight.

"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." (1 Peter 4:8 NIV)

Do you get upset by circumstances? How can focusing on God help you to see what's really going on and change your actions or attitude about certain situations?