A Life Lived Intentionally

“It isn’t what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about.” Dale Carnegie

A Childhood Lesson On Perspective

I recently re-read a journal entry from over 20 years ago where I recapped a New Year’s Day conversation with my then 9 year old daughter. I thought I would share with you today.

“Mom, I hope the rest of the year isn’t like today,” Katie said sadly.

“What was so bad about today,” I asked.

“I had to leave Grandaddy’s house to come here, my balloon busted, and now my friend Nathan has to go home,” she said.

“Honey, it really has been a lovely day in many ways. Let’s take a look at it another way,” I suggested. “You got to go visit Grandaddy instead of staying at home, then you got to go skating where someone was nice enough to give you a balloon that you didn’t have before and didn’t have to pay for. Because your balloon busted your friend Nathan came over and invited you to play with him and his balloon. He played with you until it was time to go home. Was it really a bad day?”

She smiled and shook her head no. She wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me. “It has been a good day.”

Charlie Brown’s Predicament

When we went home I picked out a special New Year’s movie that I thought would be just right. Happy New Year, Charlie Brown seemed the proper parable to share to really help her understand just how much our success or failure, our happiness or frustration, depends on our perception. So we sat down together with good ol’ Chuck.

Well those of you who are familiar with the Peanuts cartoons, no doubt know that Charlie Brown is a nice guy, with very bad luck. He is an eternal pessimist with a knack for finding the gray cloud inside every silver lining, always expecting the worst and usually getting it. New Year’s is no exception.

When the class is given the assignment to read War and Peace, Charlie views this as a great injustice and near impossibility. In an effort to help put it into perspective, Charlie’s friend Linus, reminds him that it’s all in how you look at it. He tells Charlie Brown how the author’s wife hand copied the book not once, not twice, but seven times…with a dip pen…by candlelight. He points out that if she could do that surely he should be able to read it once.

This effort to get Charlie Brown to focus on the positive fails. It is obvious that this has gone in one ear and out the other as we watch his dread and procrastination cause him to waste his entire holiday break. First he tries to find ways around having to read and then half heartedly makes attempts to begin. He complains and avoids his way into the new year with the book still unread.

When Christmas break is over and he turns in his book report, he receives a barely passing grade. His teacher tells him that it looks like the kind of work that is done at 2 a.m. the morning of the deadline. He can hardly argue, having in fact, thrown it together at the last minute.

Charlie was doomed before he even started. Why? Was the deck stacked against him? No. He was destined for failure because he continually reinforced negative thoughts. “What you believe you can achieve.” The inverse is also true. If you don’t believe it you won’t achieve it. You won’t even get out of the gate.

When asked about his New Year’s resolution Charlie Brown replied, “You know how I always dread the whole year, this year I am only going to dread one day at a time.” Abraham Lincoln said, “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” Well Charlie has obviously made up his mind. Have you made up your mind yet?

The Power of Positive Thinking

In Proverbs it says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he,” (Proverbs 23:7, NKJV), so let this be your new years resolution – “With God’s grace, I will cultivate a heart of joy by planting positive thoughts and actions. I will trust in God’s blessings and strive to bear the fruit of a life lived in accordance with His will, working diligently and faithfully in Jesus Christ.”

Pastor Craig Groeschel is quoted as saying, “a negative mindset never leads to a positive life” and “the decisions you make today will determine the stories you tell tomorrow.” Consider starting each day this year with time spent with the Lord and adding some affirmations that will help you set the day’s mindset. According to clergyman and author Norman Vincent Peale, starting your day by affirming peaceful, contented, and happy attitudes will tend to make your day more pleasant and successful. Scripture leads us the same direction as Paul encourages in his note to the Philippians, “…brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you (Philippians 4:8-9, NIV). You may have heard the verse before but did you note that it was in the middle of a discord directing to peace and ending a letter designed to help live a full and rewarding Christian life? This is powerful and important stuff.

Cultivating a Heart of Gratitude

Have you considered the abundance of blessings surrounding you? Really stopped to see? Perhaps the delight of indulging in your favorite ice cream, time with a good friend, the awe-inspiring beauty of a sunrise, or the tranquility of spending time with God. There is so much to be thankful for.

Almost 30 years ago when recovering from cancer surgery, I began the practice of gratitude journaling, counting blessings so to speak. Each day I made it my goal to write down at least 5 unique blessings that the day held. At first it was hard to come up with 5. After a while though, I found it hard to stop at 25. What had changed? Not my circumstances, but rather my focus. I had begun to be on the lookout for the good things that each day held and when I looked, I found them – the gift of a bright yellow dandelion brought to the back door in the middle of my child’s play time, an encouraging message from a friend far away, coffee waiting on me when I woke up because my husband was thinking of me, the list went on and on. Suddenly, I saw that my life was overflowing with plump sweet blessings that I had been missing. I felt rich! I found pleasure and joy in identifying each precious gift.

Make a point to end each day focusing on the blessings and successes that God has sent your way. Give him praise and thanks for them. Don’t underestimate the value of the simple things good weather, good food, time with those you love, a sense of closeness to the creator. “I adore the simple pleasures. They are the last refuge of the complex.” Oscar Wilde said it and I couldn’t agree more.

Recommended Activities

Consider keeping a “gratitude journal” and faithfully listing at least five blessings. Or start a “Blessings Jar” for your family. Use colorful slips of paper to note your gratitude and watch the jar fill up reminding you how rich you really are. This year at the end of each day my husband and I are setting down together to write at least three tiny thank you notes to God and are sharing them with each other. It’s a wonderful way to bring a peaceful and intimate end to the day. How will you end your days in 2025?

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Conclusion

So much of how we feel about the world around us and the God we serve comes from the perspective from which we are viewing our circumstances. Intentional living includes making choices about our personal mindset. As Christ followers we should always be centered on truth but not all things that are true should hold the same weight in our hearts. I could start the day with news from around the world, but these truths are not eternal and only God can make them better. The truths of God’s word and God’s nature are eternal and give us hope and a future that is bright. They remind us of His power and His love.

I could end each night with complaints about the things that were hard but this would lead to restlessness and discontent. Counting my blessings refocuses my mind on the richness I have in Christ. Our lives will be as joy filled as we make room for. Let’s make room!

Enjoy the freshness of beginning again as we ease into this new year. Decide today that it will be a fabulous and God filled twelve month journey. I am excited to see these 365 days stretched out before me. How will you ensure you don’t miss the blessings?