Appreciating The Blessings In Our Lives

We are a blessed people!  We have been given more than we need or deserve, but many times we lose perspective of how much we have and instead we focus on the little that we lack.  Instead of giving thanks and praise to God for blessing us, for favoring us and for giving us the abundance that is in our lives, we choose to murmur and complain about the temporary trial, the discouraging situation or the challenging obstacle that is in our path.  What we must always remember and keep in mind is that murmurers don't please God.  Constantly complaining about all that is wrong in our lives brings a curse with it which will keep us from having the true joy, peace and contentment that God wishes for us to have. (1 Corinthians 10:10) (Philippians 2:14-15)

Deuteronomy 30:19 declares “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.” We have a choice on how we see our life.  We can look at all of the positives and give thanks and praise to God or we can look at the few negatives and choose to murmur and complain about how tough our life is.  I have found that a grateful heart will be a contented heart and will overcome an obstacle much quicker and easier than choosing to murmur, complain and worry about that problem.  When we act out our faith and show our confidence is in God's ability, He will show up on our behalf and meet our needs in ways that we never thought of or imagined before. (Psalm 34:1-10) (Daniel 3:25)

We are to boast in God's abundance and we should proclaim with our words that we are a blessed people, we are highly favored and meant to overcome, to triumph, to succeed and rise above every challenge, every obstacle and every mountain that we come across.  See your glass as half-full.  See the blessings that abound in your life.  If you are able to read this message, count yourself blessed because there are almost 1 Billion people who can't read.  Think on all that you possess and be grateful for what you have.  Give thanks to the Lord for your family, your friends, your job, your home, your health and anything else that you can think of and with your whole heart give God praise for the abundance that is in your life. (Psalm 111:1-5) (Joel 2:12-13)

I encourage you to see with refreshed eyes how fortunate you really are.  Count your blessings and not your problems because the good in your life greatly outweighs the bad.  Keep an attitude of gratitude and you will see your life change in the most positive of ways.

–Dwayne

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The Shortness Of Time

We should always keep in the back of our minds the brevity of life.  Life itself is so very fragile.  We never know when our time on Earth will come to an end.  We never know when our loved ones will be taken away from us or when we will be taken away from them and that is all the more reason that we should appreciate, relish and make positive and effective use of the time that we do have with one another.  We should never take our loved ones for granted and forget the blessing of having their presence in our life.  Simply imagining not having them around us should cause us to be thankful that we do have them in our life.  Sometimes we get angry, upset or irritated with those that we love the most and instead of quickly mending fences and becoming one again, we allow that strife to bring division, discord and disconnection.  We shouldn't allow our humanly squabbles to make us forget the love that we share.  We should be quick to appreciate the fragility of time and become one again with those who mean so much to us.

Be encouraged to see that time on Earth is very limited when compared to the forever of Eternity.  We only have a short time to love, laugh and be merry with one another so let us use that time to our benefit and recognize how much we have to be thankful for.  Without our family and friends life would be meaningless.  The love that we hold with one another is greater than the greatest of riches.  Our relationships are priceless gifts that need to be nurtured, cherished and upheld.  We must invest wisely in the lives of those who mean the most to us and recognize that just as we would like for them to be there for us, we must be there for them just the same.  We can't be selfish in our relationships.  We can't dictate how or when we'll spend time together.  It has to be on equal ground and we must be there for them just as they are there for us.

I encourage you again to think on the shortness of time.  Think on your loved ones and if there is anything lacking do all that you can to fill that need.  I firmly believe that love implied is not the same as love shown.  Speak your love, show your love and make sure that the recipient knows exactly how you feel about them.  Recognize how much you would miss them if they were gone from your life and do all that you can to show your appreciation that they are still here for you.  I believe that recognizing our blessings is just as important as having our blessings.

–Dwayne