Shileen's Blog

Yes, I know I just posted about how I was reading, and I was, but I got distracted with my thoughts, and my laptop was nearby, so here I am again.
There was a quote in my book that got me thinking. He says he thinks there are basically 2 types of people in the world. Complainers and worshipers. And with not much circumstantial differences between the 2. He gives an example of a poor, broken, injured man who hobbles to church with pain and great effort in every step, who shows up wearing a cap that says God is Good, and he believes it. He is a worshiper. I said recently in my blog how I am longing to be around these types of people. Worship and the resulting gratitude refocuses our lives and helps us to take a step back and realize what God has done in our lives. Not one of my friends reading this is sleeping on the street, abandoned. No one has fallen so far that the love of God has not rescued them. Not even me. He saved me even from myself. His mercy and love for us is so extravagant, how can we do anything but praise? Even in the depths of our hell, he is showing us something. It is a learning experience. It is a future area of testimony.
Viktor Frankl, a holocaust survivor, says "Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances." He of anyone, had reason to complain and express bitterness.
How we feel isn't determined by our circumstances. It's how we choose to react to them.
Think of Paul and Silas in prison. Were they complaining?  No, they were praising, and God moved. I can only imagine Him looking down on these men and thinking that these men really get it.
I know it's not my natural tendency to praise instead of complain, but it is my desire, and I have made progress. One thing I must steer away from though, is people who are complainers. They bring me back to that unhealthy thought process, and I just can't do that right now. I want to be around people like Paul. I am trying to retrain my brain.
I am in a few uncomfortable and scary situations right now, and I am trying to figure out what God wants me to learn from them, instead of fretting and worrying and complaining. I just want to know where He is in these places,  as opposed to accusing Him of not showing up.
Of course some of our troubles we get ourselves into. Like my recent big one. We hardly have a right to whine about those considering we put ourselves there, but I still believe that even though it was not part of Gods plan for our life, He uses it to teach us, and uses the outcome for His glory.  As long as our attitude is in check. There is so much more to praise Him for than to complain about, in our mess.
And really that is true in general.  And also is the point of this whole blog entry I suppose.

So, if you hear me complaining, feel free to call me on it. I want to be known as a worshiper above all else that I am called to be. A woman after Gods heart.