April Letter

Good afternoon my dear Journey of Hope friends. Happy April ! Are you with me on this? Here’s hoping that our spring warmth is just a few days away. It has been a long drawn out winter for sure. So how are all of you coming along in your S and D journey these days? Today I want to touch upon a great subject that at times in our lives, we all need reminding. “Take Responsibility”. This may be a little heavy but again, it’s a good reminder. Parts of this post are my own viewpoints, and some of this is from Joel Osteen. Are you still feeling angry these days? Do you have a chip upon your shoulder? Disappointments are inevitable. But misery is optional. Let’s dig deep inward and get honest and truthful about ourselves. We know that the truth will always set us free about ourselves. We must continue to examine our own hearts, our own thoughts and our lives. A good exercise is to make a list of all the things that are robbing you of your joy or are making you frustrated or negative in life. First, look on the inside, stop blaming others. We are in control of our own destiny. If we can own up to what’s ours and be honest enough to admit it, that’s the moment we can begin to be transformed. We must not be in denial about the problems in our lives. Osteen says that sour attitudes cause us to stay in mediocrity. Have you ever met people who justify their negativity? A bunch of unforgiveness, which can poison your soul, blame here, anger there, it’s important to bring closure to these issues. Are you the kind of person that let’s little things snowball into big things? “I may be difficult to get along with, but it’s because of all the abuse and neglect I’ve received throughout my marriage”. This may be the way you are, but don’t let that be the way you move forward. Stop making excuses. We can’t continue to have unresolved issues in our lives and have God’s full blessings. We must get beyond what we feel and do what we know is right. Be honest with yourself. Stop making those excuses. You can be the one to set a new standard on how to live by. So in prayer, say “God I know that I have a problem letting go of ex, anger, blame, unforgiveness, dealing with self discipline, etc, please help me to deal with it”. “Give me clarity on what my negative attitudes are dear Lord. Please help me to face each negative attitude head on, and help to remove these attitudes one by one within me dear Lord”. That’s humility ! Drop the pride ! Discard the ego ! Get yourself out of the way ! So often we sweep our negativity under the rug. So this month, get out that broom and do a spring clean before that summer sunshine comes upon you. Take a good long hard look inside and sweep up the dirt, search your heart, don’t make excuses, stop blaming others. When we face the truth about ourselves, when we are honest about ourselves and our negative attitudes, that is when God and the Holy Spirit can begin to change us. The Lord will say to us “You took responsibility, therefore I will move you to a new level”. In life, the world compares me to my neighbour. But God compares me to my former self. Remember, it always starts with us and the good news is that we don’t have to do it alone. Through regular devoted prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to give you clarity on this, motivation on that, patience with him or her or with yourself, etc, etc, etc, He will step in and lead you in the right direction and ultimately towards the peace and happiness we all desire in this life. So continue to take responsibility for your life’s negative attitudes with God’s help, then the Lord will continue to move you forward. Have a great rest of the month everyone. See you in May ! Warm blessings, MJ ! xo