Word of the Day (1-4-12)

Good Morning Everyone & Happy New Year!

Today is Wednesday January 4, 2012

The word of the day comes from

James 1:2-4

New International Version (NIV)

Trials and Temptations

 ² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

My Interpretation

We are in a New Year, thank you Lord! Hopefully all the foolishness, trials, tribulations, failures, etc were left in 2011 but even if they came over, our attitude and how we handle what comes our way does not have to be the same as it was in 2011. I thought about that this morning as I sent out my normal morning inspiration via Facebook and Twitter.

“GM everyone, have a wonderful blessed productive stress free day. Traffic is BACK in 2012 don’t let your attitude be back too #2012patience.”

I try to send a message after my trademark have a stress free day message to help encourage, inspire, strengthen, confirm in someone’s spirit that they can make it, overcome, etc. As I sat in traffic this morning I realized in full fledge that traffic was back but it was up to me to decide how I chose to react to it. When my friend called me I answered “Good morning man how are you today?” He responded by saying “you must not have left your house yet to be sounding like that.” I told him that I was in traffic too but that I refused to allow it to dictate my day like it did at times last year. I hate traffic I mean with a passion. I don’t understand it, can’t comprehend it, irritates me to be in it but I realized traffic was here before I got here and it will be here long after I leave so if traffic is a constant, I need to be the variable. I need to be the one who says yes I can still have the issue but I don’t need to allow it to dictate how I respond. And I tell you I had such a peaceful drive and ended up getting to work just a few minutes late but more importantly, stress free and peaceful.

This is a New Year but I don’t want you to get naïve to the fact that this year like other years will have trials, tribulations, situations, that try to get under your skin, get you out of character, but we have choice (yes we have choice) to not let it. We have choice to realize that every time we overcome we are allowing the faith we have in God to be activated then demonstrated in our lives. When activated and demonstrated, the finished work that God is trying to accomplish in us is less hindered because we realize (Romans 8:28 all things work together for good for those who love God to those who are the called according to His purpose).

Make up in your mind today to not allow today to stop you from remaining in the will of God: wonderful, blessed, productive, and stress free!

Have a wonderful, blessed, productive, stress free day!