"IN THE PINK"

One's feelings can go from one place to another in a New York second!

Anger to peace. My weakness to His strength. Through a black hole to "in the pink."
Fear and anger to confidence and acceptance. Self serving to self-denying. Entitlement  to '"of the heart." Spiritually, the heart God sees.

A just, pure and lovely lifestyle from one's thoughts and attitude of the heart,(Hebrews 4:12).....

...."living in the pink" emotionally, physically and spiritually,

providing a sense of peace, purpose, and forgiveness!

WORRYWART!

Worrywart is a moniker I wear all too well. Often is a better adverb choice than well, I think. 

As a youngster, in Hoptown I was aware that Mother was seen as a fuss-budget. It sounds like the worry malady is hereditary.

What worry really is---is sin! A besetting sin for some.

For a believer, this "distrust" can begin with our thoughts......which too often can be more emotion-based than truth-based. Distrust = not taking God at His word.

A mind game! Mine, can run from one extreme emotion to to the other. Hot to cold. Fluctuations that override and overule the truth from God's word. 

What's the antidote for worry? Take every thought captive. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Remember Jesus Christ. (2 Timothy 2:8)

Others need to see you as a testimony to His truth not as a slave to your emotions.

For me, it's not as easy as the picture might suggest. In my life, it's a real struggle that I have to submit daily to the Lord as I choose to disregard my own power and cling to His Presence, never discounting His omnipresence in my life.

Farewell worrywart......until the next time! In His time, no worries.

CHOOSE: UPWARD SPIRAL

Noticing this downward spiral stair case inside the new Church Health Center at the Crosstown Concourse started me thinking.

In my thinking, spiraling usually has a downward connotation.
In one's thought life, is it just as easy for something to spiral upward?

I assume bad choices and stressors in life can have tremendous negative impact---a downward spiral of sorts. But....can there be a positive spiral, one with an upward motion?

Recent marginalia sent me on this pursuit of understanding positive and negative emotions. Are there benefits to both?

Negative emotions can help us survive. Positive emotions help us thrive.

If a downward spiral is a metaphor for deterioration (negative) then upward spiral must be a metaphor for growth. (positive) Yet, both have momentum. 

For sure, too much of any spiral can be dizzying. Upward spiral is directed towards a higher place. But what happens if a downward spiral in one's  thought life has them bottoming out emotionally? Physically? Spiritually?

Can a successful turnaround occur just by choosing the "thought" direction of one's spiral? 

According to Rosabeth Moss Kanter’s book, Confidence, an upward spiral focuses with confidence. Certain resources that accompany this confidence could be trust, accountability, knowledge, or any asset that helps a business, community or individual thrive.

If so, I choose today to think on and "thrive" with an upward spiral focus.

Roller Coaster Emotions

6/28/10 You’d think I’d been riding the cyclone at Coney Island, if you could feel all the emotions that are flowing through my body. Gratitude. Joy, inexpressible. Sorrow---as I watched family depart. Happiness. Sadness---b/c of knowing times spent with loved ones, who live far away, is so rare. Fatigue---energy is spent from having so much fun (even in the midst of logistical nightmares) and so little sleep.

Because of “so much felt” and so little energy with which to express it, I almost didn’t “post” tonight. But God…..has reminded me, through today’s God Calling entry, that this past week it was He who “prepared a table of delights, a feast of all good things” for me and my family. It is because of Him that my life is flooded through with Joy and Gladness, even though I’m pooped.

Even in the midst of the fatigue, I can “feel” all these emotions from the “very depth of (my) heart” because of His continuing goodness and mercy. Rather than being turned upside down as I ride this rollercoaster of emotions, I am overflowing with gratitude because they are all a result of the family He has given me.
Therefore I’m posting this verse for consideration on this “Meditating Monday.”

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (Psalm 23:6)

…..even when I feel like I’ve just stepped off a rollercoaster.