Living Blessed

 A complaining tongue reveals an ungrateful heart. 

William Arthur Ward

I don't know where you're at in the world, but in my little corner, it's not supposed to be this hot. That's why I live here. Every day, I check the weather app on my phone, expecting it to tell me what it's going to do outside, and it's been wrong nearly every day for months. Now, there's a job I'm going to apply for–update the weather app incorrectly and get paid, without even leaving home.  I know, I know, weather patterns, wind, fronts, clippers, and all that stuff. I do want to give a shout out to a great weather analyst and storm chaser I follow on YouTube, Ryan Hall, Y'all.  www.youtube.com/@RyanHallYall He not only accurately covers storms, but also runs a nonprofit that provides aid to those affected by them. 

Our pool (a lovely shade of green at the moment)has sat unused for most of the summer, as it has been frequently raining or storming, which is also why the furniture never gets uncovered, and mushrooms are growing under the deck table on the rug! This humidity is something else. On the positive side, the garden is producing the best it has ever produced, the hydrangeas are doing well, and it looks lush and green here. The grass, trees, ferns, and surrounding plants have all been thriving in the humidity and rain, and abundant sun and heat. We are grateful that we haven't been in the line of flooding, tornadoes, wildfires, oppressive heat, and other catastrophic events that others have faced around us in this world. And need I say, I am grateful to have a pool, a deck, and furniture, a home, etc... and the ability to speak, even though I don't always like what comes out of my mouth.

A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22

I catch myself complaining a lot these days, and it bugs me when I get in that kind of a cycle. I was thinking to myself, boy, you better stay away from your blog when you're like that. You don't want to infect others with your negative thinking. That is true, but the other side of it, is that I needed to be aware of how my thinking was affecting myself too. My spirit was "drying up my bones." Self-awareness is a gift you give others and yourself.  I needed to get after myself, and that's something I need to do sometimes. I have to take a look in the mirror and say, "Hey, knock it off, you big baby." That's a start. From there, I tell myself how much I have to be grateful for, and to get myself back on track. Now you can tell yourself whatever works for you. We're all going through different things and some are way more difficult than others. I know when I'm just being a baby and when things really are too much to bear on my own. I was just being a baby this time. I didn't need grace. I needed a kick in the pants. 

...on the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness." 1 Tim. 4:7

It doesn't take much to get our spirits all out of whack, thinking about ourselves in a "poor me" state of mind. The truth is, there might be some things wrong with us. There might be some bad things going on in our lives. I can only speak for myself here, but I have to watch not letting those things creep in and overtake my whole being. My thoughts can easily convince me to make a mountain out of three small hills. One complaint can easily become a rant. Two complaints and it's the worst day ever. Three? Oh, forget it! I'm packing a bag. What on earth gets into me sometimes? Yeah, I get the world into me. That's the problem. I get too focused on the world or myself and not focused on God, and forget anyone else, and that's enough to get anyone all out of whack. Look around us and it's easy to see why there's so much discontentment in the world. 

I'm sharing this problem, because it creeps in very sneakily and takes me by surprise sometimes. I injured my back last weekend, and I've been struggling with it ever since. I can't get comfortable sitting, sleeping, walking– it's a whole monstrous thing. I don't even know how it happened, and I'm so frustrated about it, because it's stopping me from doing what I want and need to do. Don't I already have enough stopping me? Sheesh! How much is one person supposed to take? And that's just one thorn in my side. There have been other little thorns piling up on the branch until I just couldn't take it anymore. My mind just went to all kinds of self-focused things. Why me? (cry me a river, right?) Oh, I know. You can't stand that! Trust me, neither can I! I couldn't stand me either! I couldn't find a far enough place to run from my own little pity party. How do you get away from yourself? God knows, because when I finally asked Him for a way out, He took me out behind the wood shed, so to speak. 

I started by going outside. I spent an afternoon reading in the back yard, and another going for a long ride in the golf cart and just taking in my surroundings. I observed the woods around me. I appreciated where I live, I valued the abilities I have. I drove past my garden, flourishing and providing. I looked way up into the trees and I felt the comfort of the shade. I listened to the birds, stopped and listened to silence. I thanked God for where I was at that moment in time, and for everything He has provided for my pleasure, and for how He has sustained me for everything I have been through, everything I was going through and would go through. I began to reset myself. Blessed. Blessed. Blessed. Not cursed by what is happening. Not cursed because it's piling up. Not cursed just because it's hard and you're struggling and you're tired and you can't see the end. Blessed because I've been given strength to get through it all. Blessed. Come on, now. Get with it. Blessed. I heard a voice in my head over and over as well. "Stop it, Miss Jami." I smiled, because I knew who that was. Just say thank you. Yes, thank you. 

Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Philippians 4:11-13 

I know we all have tendencies to get down and out and negative sometimes, and as the world gets tougher around us, and people get more demanding or our bodies give out on us, it will get harder to stand strong on our own. We need God's strength, guidance, wisdom, and help to guide us through it all. I see what happens when I rely on my own strength, or get selfish in my own needs and wants. I'm just not it, friends! God's Spirit puts the passion in me, and the will to keep moving. Operating with God reminds me that I'm not the only one going through life, and to be mindful that being grateful is one way to really be at peace. It reminds me that if we are all walking around full of ourselves, we have no room for anyone else! I am living blessed every day, no matter what comes my way. If you catch me living any other way, just tell me to "Stop it!" 

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18