Enlightenment

The gift of life!  What a treasure life is.  To wake up each morning and be thankful for a new day of life.  Do we, any of us, really treasure life the way we should?  Do we let our problems overwhelm us and be angry and have nothing positive to say or even think about?  There is a way to overcome this mode of thinking.  It is called "mindfulness".  To be aware every moment of what we are thinking about or doing.  If you are making yourself breakfast, are you enjoying each moment of preparing your food and being thankful for the food you have and the hot tea you are preparing for your body?  Do you appreciate your body and the life you have?  A gift it is.  A gift from God.  Here is something to get you off on the right foot tomorrow.  When you first wake up, remember these words and say them silently to yourself:

     Waking up this morning, I smile.
     Twenty-four brand new hours are before me.
     I vow to live each moment fully,
     and to look at all beings with eyes of
     compassion.

This verse is from a book by TICH NHAT HANH, called Peace is Every Breath. 

Before you turn away from this blog and say that it is not what you thought it was, think how much Jesus loved life.  On His knees before God He begged to be saved from the cross.  He didn't want to die, and He knew the value of life.  Live life with awareness.  Each moment be present and attend to the things of that moment rather than let yourself get into a funk and be miserable all day and make everyone around just as miserable as you are.

But if you give thanks to God for your life each day and really mean it, here is what the Bible says will be your reward:

    "Then shall thy light break forth as the morning

     and thine

     health shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall

     go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward."

     Isaiah 58:8

If Jesus were here today, He may say to you, "If you but ask, My tender mercies and My compassion will flood your soul.  Let Me turn your discouragement to joy, your doubts to faith, your anxieties to trust, and your hopelessness to hope, and your darkness to light."  From a small book called Letters from God for Women, by Diane Noble.

It's easy to give up.  You think you're doing the best you can and nothing is going right.  So you give up.  But God never gives up on you!  He is ready, willing, and able to help us, if we just ask and believe!  He can open doors we don't even see.  God want's you to be happy and have a wonderful life.  He doesn't promise us roses every day, but he does promise to be there every day of our lives, to help us through the rough times, and to share in our joys and happiness when that is our lot.  But if you ask Him to help you, and you Believe in Him completely, He will do the unimaginable!  

I've been in some pretty dark places and all I could do was do my best each hour of the day.  He not only brought me out of my darkness, he gave me tangible proof that He is real, a family.  He knows the desires of your heart.  Why not trust Him today, and give Him your problems so you can live joyfully and with purpose?  He wants to help you.....believe and set yourself free!