Today: I choose...

Love.

No occasion justifies hatred. 

No injustice warrants bitterness.

Joy.

I will refuse the temptation to be cynical or bitter.

I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings created by Him.

I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see Him.

Peace.

I choose to live forgiven.

I will forgive that I may live.

Patience.

I will overlook the inconvenience of the world.

Instead of cursing the one who took my place, I will encourage them to do so. 

Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will take moment to talk with Him.

Instead of clinching my fists at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

Kindness.

I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone.

Kind to the rich, for they are afraid.

Kind to the unkind, for such is now He has treated me.

Goodness.

I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one.

I will be overlooked before I boast.

I will confess before I accuse.

Faithfulness.

Today I will keep my promises.

My debtors will not regret their trust.

My associates will not question my word.

No one I love will question my love.

Gentleness.

Nothing is won by force.

I choose to be gentle.

If I raise my voice may it only be in praise.

If I clinch my fist may it only be in prayer.

If I make a demand, may it only be of myself. 

Self control. 

I am a spiritual being-- after this body is dead, my spirit will soar.

I refuse to let what will rot rule the eternal.

I will only be drunk with joy.

I will only be impassioned by my faith.

I will be influenced only by Him.

I will be taught only by Him.

I took this from my sister Ruth's blog because it resonates with me today. 

I live in a place where it's easy to get overwhelmed & to function in survival mode, but I'm not called to just survive. I'm called to follow Him hard and to let these characteristics flow out of my life. Oh, that people here might see Him in me. 

Today: I choose Him. 

Merry Christmas and a special thanks to Skype.

Me, a guest speaker?

One day I was just chillin and the lady I’m living with said, “Come.” I was like, “Alright,” so we went. I had only been here a few days, so I didn’t know how to ask a lot of questions.

We drove about an hour, and then stopped. Again, she said, “Come,” so I went.

Where are we? Is this someone’s house? Maybe we’re visiting one of her friends…

 When I walked in the front gate, they wrapped some traditional garb around me, presented a bouquet of fresh flowers, and introduced me to the crowd as the “guest speaker.”

What? Me, a guest speaker? What is this? What am I supposed to talk about? Do they even understand English… that’s the only language I’ve got at this point.

Turns out, it was a tribe’s annual holiday. They had all gathered to celebrate, and I was supposed to speak. Good thing someone was there to help translate. When I was walking up to the stage, I noticed the banner above my head said the theme was, “know thy roots to know thy self,” so I talked about culture, the importance of knowing were we come from, who went before us, and Who created us.

It was a hilarious experience.

And… oddly enough, I was in the newspaper the next day.

Welcome to my life.