Why a Happy Attitude is a Godly Attitude

It's no secret that our attitudes are contagious. Our emotions are one of the only things we constantly have control over - we can choose, will we have a good day, or a bad day? It's all about our attitude. Lately, it seems like an overall happy mood is decreasing in popularity, and it's being replaced with negative thinking - a bad attitude. What exactly does that mean? Well, according to good ol' Webster, bad is described as - poor in quality, defective, unpleasant, or unwelcome. Attitude is described as - a settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically one that is reflected in a person's behavior. If we put this together, a bad attitude is an unpleasant way of thinking, reflected by one's behavior. When we have a bad attitude, our thoughts are of a poor quality. When we have a bad attitude, usually our presence is unwanted and unwelcomed. When we have a bad attitude, we're advertising to the world that we have a defective heart. When we're walking around with a heart and mind full of awful thoughts, we are infecting those around us in a negative way. As Christians, it is Biblical to have glad hearts - in the book of Psalm alone we read so many times that we should have happy, joyful and cheerful hearts.
We all know that a bad attitude is definitely NOT a godly one, so it's important to know what God wants of us concerning our thoughts and our actions.

1. Be quick to hear and slow to speak.

James 1:19 - Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 

Often times, people listen with the intent to reply rather than the intent to hear. This verse means that we need to be quick to hear, open our ears and listen to what a person is saying to us. We shouldn't be quick to spout of words, or in today's age, a text. We should be slow to our replies, and think about the impact of our words. Lastly, we should be slow to wrath. We really need to give it thought before we become angry for petty or childish reasons. 

2. Don't fight fire with fire.

Romans 12:21 - Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

There are some rude and cruel people in this world, that's not new to anyone. No matter who you are, at some point in your life you've either encountered or will encounter an unpleasant or unkind person. When a person is trying to pass off the bad attitude off to you, the best thing to do is give them the cure - kindness. It may not work, but at least you've offered it. When someone is being rude or unkind or just flat out wicked to you, the best response is kindness. Show them the love of Jesus - good attitudes are just as contagious as bad ones. 

3. Honor God with your thinking.

James 1:20 - For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

Having angry hearts and bad attitudes don't bring God any glory - in fact, they do quite the opposite. If you're a Christian who's walking around with negative thinking and you reflect in your actions and words, you're harming the name of God. Our words and actions and attitudes should all bring God the righteousness and honor that He deserves. When you start to feel that bad attitude sickness creeping in, remember that the goal as a Christian is to be a representative of God. 

4. Every day is a blessing - cherish it.

Psalms 118:24 - This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Perhaps this is one of the simplest commandments. Rejoice and be glad in each day that we have. Is this really so hard? When we walk around with a bad attitude, how is that rejoicing in the day that God gave us? I'll give ya a hint - it's not! David, the author of the book of Psalm where this verse came from, went through a lot of turmoil on earth. He was hunted down to be killed for years by his best friend's father, he was constantly running from place to place to hide, before he became king, he was a lowly and ignored shepherd who had little to no respect, he fought in countless wars, he lost is best friend Jonathon, and amongst all this he also endured much emotional turmoil. There are probably very few people who will ever have to go through a day worse than David had to, and if he can rejoice in the day the Lord hath made, I think we can too.

So there we are - 4 simple verses that show us what God wants from us regarding our thoughts, actions and emotions. In the end, it all boils down to the fact that we are to be reflecting the light of Jesus in everything we say and do. It should be our goal to have an attitude that properly represents our Creator. People are watching us each and every day, seeing if we really are a peculiar people. Attitudes are contagious - is yours worth catching?

Stay excellent!

Summer Bucket List

Can you believe I've lived 19 years of my life and never made a bucket list? Well, my lovely best friend Grace and I decided that this was the year we were going to make one. It isn't long because I'm only home for a month, but we want to achieve everything on this list before I head back to Chicago! So here's the list!
1. Tie Dye Shirts

 



2. Go to the farmer's market
3. Go on a road trip
This Thursday-Saturday Grace and I are hanging out in Kansas City, MO! It's been such a blast.

 




4. Talk in British accents all night
5. Try a new food
6. Go back yard tent camping
7. Star gaze
8. Light sparklers
9. Go midnight swimming
10. Buy best friend necklaces/bracelets
11. Have a bonfire
12. Go to a museum

Today we went to Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in KC! It was really cool. I especially loved this exhibit about the American Soldier. SUPER AWESOME.

13. Buy matching phone cases
14. Make homemade facials
15. Find a four leaf clover
16. Visit a college

17. Make s'mores

So here we go! I'm so excited for all these adventures that are sure to be a blast. We will post photos after we accomplish each thing. Happy summer to everyone. :)

Stay excellent!

What I Learned From Deleting My Social Media

     Sorry that I haven't written a post in awhile! It's been a hectic week. I realized that it's been almost a year since I deleted my social media. I'll admit, at first it was so hard because I found myself going to look at my Twitter only to find that the apps weren't there. I would take pictures for my Instagram only to remember that I wasn't using it anymore. Here are 4 lessons that I learned in deleting social media from my life.

1. I wasted so much time on my phone

When I was using social media, I constantly had my phone out. I would waste countless hours organizing my Pinterest boards or stalking people's Twitter feed. According to a survey on Adweek.com, people between the ages of 18-29 spend 51 minutes a day on Facebook, 30 minutes on Instagram, 25 minutes on Pinterest, and 23 minutes on Twitter. Although that might very from person to person, overall that adds up to 129 minutes a day. That's a long time to be looking at the Internet. I now try to use my time a lot more wisely. I read my Bible in the morning instead of checking out my Instagram feed, and I might read a book instead of spending countless hours on Pinterest. Overall I have found that without social media, I use my time a lot more wisely.

2. I'm not as concerned about people's opinions

When I was using Instagram, I would take selfie after selfie with proper filtering to make sure that my picture was as good as it could be. I wanted people to like my pictures. On Twitter, it was important to get a lot of followers, retweets and favourites. Overall, we want to represent ourselves well with our social media accounts, and that's something that took me a little overboard. I can't tell you the last time I've taken a selfie. I find that I am a lot less concerned about what people are thinking about me. I want people to know me for the person I am, not who I portray over social media.

3. My life has a lot less negativity

It's no secret that social media is an outlet for drama, bullying and petty fights. When I was in high school, it was a rarity to have a week where there was no drama via Twitter. A lot of young people use social media as an outlet to create problems where they really don't have any place to be. People insert their opinions where their not needed, which makes other people want to retaliate their opinions too. Even if I wasn't participating, by reading that, I was allowing all that negativity into my mind.

4. I can enjoy "real life" a lot better

As a person who loved to use social media in my past, deleting it from my life was hard. I wanted to post things on Twitter all the time, and I saw so many sunsets that I would've loved to upload to Instagram. But not everything revolves around the Internet! I find that I can enjoy things in a new way because I'm not thinking, "Oh, how can I fit this into 140 characters?" or imagining how I word my Facebook status about it. I don't have to worry about letting the Internet world in on my personal life, and it's kind of a freeing feeling.

Overall, I have really enjoyed my time without social media. My friends ask me if I will ever use it again, and honestly I don't think I will. I know that lots of great things come out of social media, and I wouldn't think badly about anyone who uses it because I think that it's awesome how many amazing things can come out of public attention. But for me personally, the lack of social media in my life has really been a positive change. My challenge for social media users is to just be careful - don't spend hours a day on the Internet and enjoy the life God has given you. Remember that each day is a gift, so don't waste it. :)

Stay excellent!