Attitude is everything... or so I've been told.
I don't think it's everything but it does make a huge difference. Today I was having a bad afternoon, that steadily grew worse. At one point I snapped at one of our cats in frustration for sneaking past me into the house. My sister reminded me that the cat could come inside. At that moment the reality of my bad attitude hit me and I knew that if I wanted to have a better evening then I needed a better attitude. I made this discovery awhile back when I was preparing my coffee one morning. I was so tired that I set up my coffee maker (a Keurig) but forgot to put my cup under it and yes, I had a slight mess to clean up, thank goodness for spill-catchers! As if that wasn't crazy enough, the second time I unknowingly put my coffee cup up side down (my coffee cup has a unique shape so it's obvious which way is up... haha!). Yeah.... third time's the charm, right? I finally got my much needed coffee! I chose to laugh it off rather then allowing it to ruin my morning. The rest of that day went great, thankfully. For a lot of us, when we chose to focus on the negative rather than the positive, the day (or even our life) grows progressively worse. So, back to today... right after my sister spoke, I decided that I needed a serious shift in attitude, so I focused on some positive thoughts. It took a little time, but with God's help, I was successful. Even though a few things did go wrong, like someone accidentally blew a fuse while vacuuming so I had to cook by lamplight and the meal did take a little longer than planned. But dinner was good and the fuse was replaced. For me focusing on the negative is a weakness that I struggle with. It is something that also manifests itself into words and I unconsciously start complaining. The Bible strongly warns against this... "Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. then you will shine among them like stars in the sky." Philippians 2:14-15. Powerful message, I really don't want to have a negative complaining spirit so I do need to focus on my wonderful blessings, (i.e. I can make my own coffee, there are those who can't, I have food so that I can make dinner, there are people who are starving, I have a home, there are people living on the streets). My life may not be what I dream it to be, but I am most definitely blessed.
Most of all blessed with God's grace.
Attitude isn't everything but the right attitude can make an extraordinary difference in our lives. :)
