~ It's Monday...and It's Going To Be Great! ~

Good morning! It was a wonderful weekend with my family soaking in every last second of our Christmas break. I love those precious souls God has blessed me with. Now it's time to get back to it....work, school, sports, etc. 

Today, we get the opportunity to set the tone for the week. By that, what I mean is, we get to wake up and decide how this week will be started off. Will we wake up grumbling that, "It is Monday and it is a full work/school week." Or will we wake up and declare that "It is Monday and I look forward to new opportunities ahead to serve my God!"?

It really is up to us how we start this first full week of the year. I love to be around happy people! Their spirit of joy is contagious and makes for a pleasant encounter. Then there are the people that grumble and complain about everything. You know who you are ;) Lol! It not only hurts my ears but makes me want to run away as fast as I can. Haha! Now, there is a difference between someone who is burdened and needs encouragement and someone who is just downright grumpy and needs a good dose of "lighten up". Life is too short to focus on the negative. God has given us the greatest gift we could ever receive and it is the gift of eternal life through his son, Jesus. That should well up in us a joy that can't be contained. That should trump any bad mood over trivial things and cause us to shout for joy!

"I will shout for joy and sing your praises, for you have ransomed me."

Psalms 71:23 (NLT)

"Satisfy us in the morning with your loyal love! Then we will shout for joy and be happy all our days!"

Psalms 90:14 (NET)

Make today a wonderful day by focusing on our great God! Choose this day to throw off the negative talk and speak of the goodness of God. Begin this week on a positive note of thanksgiving for all that He has done for you. Be a light around others! Choose to lift others up instead of turning them away with your negative attitude. Choose to BELIEVE God today! BELIEVE his Word and walk in his ways! What a wonderful day it will be!

"Do everything readily and cheerfully—no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I'll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. You'll be living proof that I didn't go to all this work for nothing."

Philippians 2:14-16 (MSG)