Attitude...it's your choice! :)

Last week was a pretty crazy week and if you follow Tim's FB updates, you'll recall for some unexplicable reason our Mac decided not to boot up one morning. That was a real bummer! To top the week off and make things even sweeter, to our surprise we discovered a pipe had broken in the attic in the girls bathroom, and oh yes there was sheet rock damage!

As we worked to get things squared away with the insurance company, overall things seemed to be looking good and best of all their was minimal damage done to our pocket book. Definitely a blessing! Hopeful to start a new week with this behind us, we came home from church yesterday afternoon and discovered yet ANOTHER pipe had broken in the attic; this time over our hallway near the garage. Ugghh.

In Phillipians 4:6 Paul exhorts us, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God which trancends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

So, despite the circumstances, I'm choosing to have a positive attitude and thankful heart. Thankful that a friend happened to come over that evening (the night the first pipe busted) and was able to help us, thankful for another friend that works with insurance companies was able to advice us on what to do, thankful we were able to minimize the damage, thankful that Opa was here to help when the second pipe busted, thankful for insurance, etc....

Amazingly, as I began to write these out I discovered there really was so much to be thankful for. It's a shift in attitude, a matter of perspective! Oh and did I mention that before we walked through the door and discovered the 2nd broken pipe, we had just gotten off the phone with Apple. They had called to let us know that our laptop would be ready later this week and the best part...it was FREE!!

Paul says, I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation....phillipians 4:12 This is something God has been definitely been working in us this past year in so many different ways. As I reflect on how God has been at work in our hearts and his provision over our family, I am so thankful for the ways He is choosing to work the spirit of contentment in our hearts. I am thankful for his mercy over our family as I realize many others like Paul, face hunger,sickness, death, and etc....As I reflect on other families who have lost a loved one and have watched God be their peace and strength through their pain it simply amazes me. I cannot fathom the cross they have had to bear. It is humbling to witness the way God has worked in and through you. If you have experienced such tragedy know that I am praying for you now.

As Paul focused on God rather than His circumstances, he developed an attitude of thankfulness and as a result experienced the peace of God.

So, In the midst of life's unexpectant surprises our attitude is everything. I found the poem below especially fitting this Monday morning! It's a great reminder that perspective is everything and as my husband so gently reminds me, "Your attitude is your choice!" So, despite this less than desirable gaping hole I am staring at in my ceiling, I choose to remain JOYFUL and THANKFUL before the Lord today!

A little old lady went to the mirror one morning and noticed that she had only three hairs on her head.

As she looked into the mirror, she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today."

That's exactly what she did. And, she had a great day.

The next morning, at the mirror once again, the little old lady noticed that she only had two hairs on her head.

Looking herself right in the eye, she said, "Today, I think I'll part my hair down the middle." That's exactly what she did. And, she had a great day.

The next day, as the little old lady looked into the mirror, there was only one hair on her head.

She looked at that one lonely hair and said, "Today I think I'll wear my hair in a pony tail."

That's exactly what she did. And she had a great day.

The following morning the little old lady looked into the mirror and there wasn't a single hair on her head.

Her eyes lit up, and she said, "Yeah! I don't have to fix my hair today!"

~Dennis and Wendy Mannering

"Your attitude is your choice!"