I Choose…

I CHOOSE LOVE…

No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness, I choose love.  Today I will love God and what God loves.

I CHOOSE JOY…

I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance.  I will refuse the temptation to be cynical…the tool of the lazy thinker.  I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God.  I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.

I CHOOSE PEACE…

I will live forgiven.  I will forgive so that I may live.

I CHOOSE PATIENCE…

I will overlook the inconveniences of the world.  Instead of cursing the one who takes my place.  I’ll invite him to do so.  Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray.  Instead of clinching my fist at a new assignment, I will face them with joy and courage.

I CHOOSE KINDNESS…

I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone.  Kind to the rich, for they are afraid.  And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.

I CHOOSE GOODNESS…

I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one.  I will be overlooked before I will boast.  I will confess before I will accuse.  I choose goodness.

I CHOOSE FAITHFULNESS…

Today I will keep my promises.  My debtors will not regret their trust.  My associates will not question my word.  My husband will not question my love.  And my children will never fear that their mother will not come come.

I CHOOSE GENTLENESS…

Nothing is won by force.  I choose to be gentle.  If I raise my voice may it only be in praise.  If I clench my fist, may it only be in prayer.  If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.

I CHOOSE 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 choose self-control.  I will be drunk only by joy.  I will be impassioned only by my faith.  I will be influenced only by God.  I will be taught only by Christ.  I choose self-control.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  To these I commit my day.  If I succeed, I will give thanks.  If I fail, I will seek His grace.  And then, when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest.

Today I picked up an inspirational devotions for each day of the year, it is called Grace For The Moment, by Max Lucado.

As I was flipping through the pages, I came across this towards the beginning of the book, and It has been with me all day.  The words were so powerful, so thought provoking, that I choose to live the Fruits of the Spirit.  I choose to start today.

No matter what, no matter who, I will live to please God.  I can not change the hearts of others, I can not make those that have bitterness and hatred towards me, love me, I can not change the past or the hurt that lies within, but I can change how I deal with it.  Though I may hurt and feel disillusioned by those who choose to live in the past, for those who choose to let their bitterness, their hatred control them, I choose to pray for them.  I choose to not live by my hatred, my bitterness that I have allowed to grow for them.  I choose to forgive them, even though they can not forgive.  I choose to forget the past, even though they can not.

I have struggled lately, struggled to maintain self control, when my flesh screams to confront those who I feel have wronged me, wronged my family.  Struggled to maintain my self-control when all I want to do is accuse and point fingers, and say look at what you have done.

God laid this book in my path today, because I will not let those thoughts in my head, to prevail.  I choose to look forward, not back.  I choose to be me, the imperfect, forgiven, all special, one of a kind, me! I choose to trust God, to have faith that though I may not understand why, He is fully in control.   I choose to be free, free from bondage of what I can not control.