I Choose to Know That I AM BLESSED!!!

Life is a whole lot easier to live when you learn to be blessed by the small things.


What do I mean by that?


Well, what I mean is that our attitude makes a 100% difference in how we handle the things that come our way and in how our lives turn out!!!


Life is a whole lot easier to live when you learn to be blessed no matter what!!  When you learn to look for God’s blessings in the small things and in every day stuff, then life gets a lot easier.  You will feel that you are living a blessed life!!! 

Oftentimes, folks let little things ruin their day.   


Song of Solomon 2:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵ Catch us the foxes,
The little foxes that spoil the vines,
For our vines have tender grapes.


Do you see where it says that our vines have tender grapes on them?  Do you know that when fruit is young and tender, a bug, a bird or another animal can bite into it and ruin that fruit!!!


When we allow the little things in life to ruin our day, then we let them control how we feel.  We let them color our day and perhaps our world. 


You know, over the years I have heard many folks say that they have to have their morning coffee.  And so I can just see someone getting up and finding out that there is no coffee, because they ran out and forgot to pick it up.  And I can see them letting that ruin their day.   


Forgetting to buy coffee may NOT have been the devil’s fault, but by choosing to be in a foul mood, they are listening to the devil tell them they have a right to be sour and mad. 


And if you think about it, when does the devil try to ruin our day??? 


The truth is that he will ruin it any time he can-any time that we allow him to ruin it.  But if he can ruin our day from the very beginning, when it is young and tender and just starting out, then that is when he will do it!!!

It is like those tender grapes on the vine.  If the devil can ruin them from the very beginning, then he can spoil the whole vineyard!!! 

I have seen folks allow so many little things spoil their day or their mood and it is really sad. 


I know that what may seem to me to be a small deal can be something that matters a whole lot in another person's life. 


But when we allow these small foxes into our lives, we are allowing them to control us and we are allowing them to have control over our lives!!! 


I have walked in these same shoes, but I am learning to control my feelings. 

At one time or another, I have let little things bother me so much that they colored my whole day.  At one time or another I have had something happen in my life and I have allowed it to turn what at first seemed like such a beautiful, bright sunshiny day into a dark, overcast, cloudy day. 


No more!!!!!!!!  I refuse to allow someone or something else to control my life and how I see the world!!!  From now on, I refuse to allow the devil to ruin my day.  I want to see things as God sees them!!! 

 
I have decided that with God’s help, I am going to have good days and I want to make the devil so mad that he explodes and burns up!!! 


The LORD has dealt with me about this before, but it seems like a lifetime ago!!!  So, I now have to work to remember this simple Bible truth. 


Romans 8:28 (NKJV) And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

I am NOT saying that life doesn't get rough at times.  

We all have trials and tribulations and we all go through tough times. 


But it is how we handle these tough times and what comes our way in life that is important.  We have to know that even when life throws us a curve, it will pass.  Nothing in life stays the same. 


It is like the old song says, Trouble doesn’t last always!!!


There are good days ahead!!! 


Psalm 30:5 (AMP) …Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.


God will turn every evil situation to our advantage-to our good!!!  Those things that the devil means for bad will be used for our good!!!  (Rom. 18:28) 



You know, I wrote about this in my last blog, and so the devil decided that he would make me eat my words!!! 
 

Did I let him win???  NO WAY!!!  I am NOT perfect, and he may cause me to trip.  But if he does, I am NOT going to stay down!  I am going to pick myself up and dust myself off and go on.  I have to keep fighting to be victorious!  And so do you!  


So, here is what happened to me a couple of days ago.


The day was just magnificent!!!  It was beautiful and sunny and warm!!!  It was almost 70 degrees outside, so I put on sandals with my capris and T-shirt.


I had gotten ready to go to for a visit and was packing up the truck.  And I had a few errands to run before I could leave.


I was walking down the sidewalk to my truck in my sandals when felt this big squish under one of my feet.  I knew immediately that I had stepped in a big rotunda pile of kitty poo.


So, I stopped and scraped my sandal on the gravel in driveway, and sure enough, there it was!!!  YUCK!!!

Now, I could have been mad, but I had just been cheering up a friend and telling her that she couldn’t let things get her down.  And she had just thanked me for doing so.  


And even as I pondered the situation, I could hear the LORD say, “Well, you can think about how blessed you are or you can let this make you mad.” 


So, I decided to thank God that the cat poo was on the bottom of my shoe and didn’t get on my toes and inside my sandal.  That really would have been gross!!!  So I was VERY, VERY THANKFUL for that!!!    


And then I realized that I had lots to be thankful for.


I have legs to walk with and feet to hold me up.  So, being able to step in cat poo is a blessing. 


You know, some folks do NOT have feet and others cannot walk because their legs do NOT work.  I AM SO BLESSED!!!


I have complete feeling in my legs and feet.  I could feel the squish of that stuff.  So I am TRULY BLESSED!!!  


I have heard of folks that are diabetic and have stepped on things, but didn’t know it until much later, because they don’t have complete feeling in their feet. 


It is only because whatever that person stepped on worked itself up into the foot next to a bone or nerve, that he or she knew that it was there.  It was ONLY because they began to have pain in that leg or foot that they knew something was wrong.  Someone that I know, told me about a person who had to have surgery to remove pins from one of his or her feet. 
  

So, I know that I AM BLESSED!!!  I can feel when I step on something.  I can feel when something is under my foot or feet.  I can feel when the ground changes under my feet.     


You know, I am blessed to have more than one pair of sandals and to be able to find them.  I was blessed to be able to take off those pooey sandals and put on my clean flip flops.  I could have even put on tennis shoes, but it was so warm that I didn’t want to wear shoes.


I am blessed because the LORD reminded me to fix my truck before I cranked it up and left. 


Do you know how blessed I am to be able to work on my own truck?  I am blessed to able to get parts for it and to know how to fix it.  And I thank God that HE reminded me to buy the parts.


It is such a blessing to have the right tools to be able to fix my truck.  And yes, I had to dig them out, but what is a little effort?  I have breath in my body and strength in my limbs.  My hands and feet and eyes all work correctly.  I am blessed!!! 


So, I fixed my truck and headed down the road to run errands.  Running errands is always fun to me.  I have a truck that has been blessed from “the get go” and runs like a top.  And I am blessed to able to take care of what I need. 


When I stopped at the auto parts store to ask a question, I noticed that it was getting windy.  I wondered then if I should go home and change my clothes.  I already had everything I needed to make my trip, but it seemed to be getting colder.  I decided to finish my errands and then, if need be, go back and change my clothes.


I thank God that I was so blessed to have errands to run because when I got out at the dollar store, I found that it had gotten a lot colder.  The temperature had dropped almost 20 degrees in a matter of minutes.  What had been a beautiful, warm, sunny 70 degree day had turned into a sunny, cold and windy 50 degree day. 


And I was blessed to still be in town and be able to go back to my house and change my clothes.  So, I did just that.  I put on some warm clothes and some socks and shoes.  What a blessing to have clean warm clothes.  I put on a hoody.  I had already put a heavy coat in the truck, but I found a pair of sweat pants to take with me.    


While I was still at the house, THE LORD reminded me that the wind was very chilly and that my dogs would probably like some more hay in their houses.  I added the hay that had been given to me for FREE to their dog houses, so that they could stay warm even with the cold weather.  I was NOT only blessed to have the hay, I was blessed to know that my dogs would be warm and safe while I was gone!!


We need to always remember to see things as God sees them.  We need to look through HIS eyes to see what is actually going on.  We need to know when the devil is at work and we need to respond accordingly. 


You know, the devil NEVER stops attacking folks.  He will try to cause vehicle problems or problems with your pets.  He will attack your children and even cause your family to act up. 


That is why we have to have the mind of Christ!!!  That is why we need to see things like Jesus sees them.  That is why it is necessary to stay prayed up!!!  When we are prayed up, we are prepared to fight the devil.  


To help us do that, we need to remember these 2 scriptures!!!


Romans 8:28 (NKJV) And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV) For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

If we can just remember that devil is the evil one and that ALL bad things come from him, then our lives will be a lot easier. 


No matter what we have done, God is NOT mad at us and HE is NOT trying to hurt us or pay us back.  God loves us and HE wants good things for us. 

Jeremiah 29:11 (CEB) I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the Lord; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope.


When I am upset or am feeling out of sorts, I have to get by myself and get with GOD, so that I can get settled down and be right and act right toward others.  I have to get calm and get some PEACE, and I can ONLY do that by getting with GOD!!!


Psalm 42:11 (CEV) Why am I discouraged?  Why am I restless? I trust you! And I will praise you again because you help me, and you are my God.