The In-Between

What do you do when you think something is going to happen and it seems to be taking longer than you think? I’m in that position right now. I’m almost stumped about what to do next. I don’t want to give up, and I won’t, but I guess I will have to wait awhile to see my answer. I may have to wait but I won’t lose heart because I know the one who has the play book. When the timing is right it will happen or God will show me something else he wants me to do. It is easy to become frustrated or impatient but it will not help the situation. It is easy to worry or fret but I will not do that anymore. I am done with that kind of thinking. I have already wasted too much of my life doing that. It is not productive. It will not help the situation. It won’t even make time go any faster. I am going to do what is right in front of me right now. I will not procrastinate I will just do the next right thing.

What do you do in the between?

Pressing on with excellence!

Keith 

Change

I like to stop the beginning of year and look back over my life and see how far I’ve come. Have there been any significant changes? My twenty year anniversary in sobriety was January 21st. As I looked back, it got me to thinking about how people that use drugs and alcohol, when they first get sober, have a distinct, negative outlook. This is not unexpected, especially when you think of what most alcoholics and addicts have been through. It can’t be helped. Think about it. We have been in the crap for so long that bad things have become normal. I would not have gotten sober if things hadn’t gotten so bad, right? So, that gives me a negative outlook. Now I have to change this kind of thinking because it is what got me here in the first place. If I don’t, I will drink again. It's no wonder so many people have such a tough time staying sober. If our thinking does not change then we will continue to do the same things over and over; that’s what we call insanity. Thank God he helps us stay sober long enough to get past some of that thinking.

For too long in sobriety I hung on to a lot of those old mindsets, those old thinking patterns. The good news is that I can change the way I think. How? Well, to start with, how about prayer? Ask God to help you recognize negative thinking patterns. We cannot change the things that we are not aware of. Ask God to help you change your focus to something positive. I use a gratitude list for this. This works well regardless of whether or not we're alcoholic. Too many people have negative outlooks. You can change your thinking if you want to. It is one of the only things that you really have any control over.

Pressing on with excellence!!

Keith

New and Better Life

With the events over the past few weeks, I don't know, but it looks like I need to change my focus. I'm in a transition where I think one part of my life has to end before a new one can begin. I've been looking forward to this but, none the less, it's still kind of scary and I'm tempted to worry. I wished my boat would have been a little closer to the dock before I had to jump, but it is what it is and I'm trusting that God has a plan.
It's kind of exciting not knowing what God has next. I've been out of work before, but never like this. Really, I've been praying about this new and better life for at least a year now. Yet, sometimes my thinking can go negative. I've been in the process of trying to change the way I think for a couple of years, so I know what to do when my thinking is negative. I've been envisioning a new and better life for the last couple of years. I don't know exactly what that is going to look like but I do know that for sure I was never going to be able to see it from where I was at. Sometimes we need a little push out of the nest to take the next step.

Pressing on with Excellence,
Keith

God LOVES us!

Since worry is a habitual coping mechanism, I believe now that it can be changed. Here I was a Christian and believed in God, but I didn't, way down deep in my heart, believe that he could or would or does love me. I don't know why, but for some reason, I really had a hard time with that. This is the real cure for worry; just really believing that God loves me. It gives me peace and joy and eliminates worry.

So, what kept me from believing that God loves me and how did I change this habit? The way I have been able to do this is by changing the way I think and therefore changing my belief. About the only thing that I really have any true control over is my thoughts. One of the questions I ask myself is: does this thought bring glory to God? Or; how does this thought bring glory to God? If it doesn't then I have to jump off that train. I believe that every thought I have either moves me closer to God or farther away.

Pray. Ask God to help you to recognize these thought patterns and pray also for Him to show you just how much he loves you. I think that these are key to mustering the willingness needed to change the way you think.

Pressing on with Excellence,

Keith

The Change Challenge

No wonder it's so hard to change. If you truly reap what you sow, and you keep sowing the same thoughts over & over, different results are impossible and how then can there be any change at all? You reap what you sow. Thank God he is patient with me because for years and years I was never intentional about my thought life. If you want to change, if you want to quit worrying, if you want to get rid of anxiety, you have to change the things you think about.

To begin with, I would like to challenge anyone who wants to change, starting right now, go 30 days with no news. If you listen to the radio or watch TV, when the news comes on, shut it off. If you listen to political talk radio, shut it off. Trust me, the world won't end if you don't know what is going on in it for thirty days. If you absolutely can't go thirty days without listening to something, try some good audio books or listen to a good podcast. You could listen to Dave Ramsey or Dr. Laura, but put something good into your head and pay attention to what is going on inside it.

Pray that you would be hypersensitive and aware about the thoughts you think, subconscious thoughts especially. Be aware of some of the negative comments that come out of your brain, that spew out of your mouth. You can't hide what's going on inside your head. It will ultimately come out. Do you hear yourself say things that are negative or condescending; either out loud or, worse yet, inside your head? Planning revenge or condemning someone else? Even simple things like "you idiot" whether focused on you or someone else? Watch for self talk or verbal talk that doesn't edify you or others.

Ask yourself: does what I'm thinking about bring glory to God?

Pressing on with Excellence,

Keith

New Life

This Christian life seems hard sometimes. I fail constantly. I don't always treat people right. I judge, condemn, and ridicule them. I know that God wants me to treat them the way I want to be treated, but old habits are easy to fall back into. I must forgive them for what they do to me and I also must forgive myself for how I treat them. I need to change the way I treat them. To begin with, I used to think that just not hurting anyone today was good enough. From where I've come from that was a monumental feat.

Now I'm trying to be different and I'm sowing seeds for a new life that I want tomorrow, so it's not good enough to just not hurt someone today. Now I want to see how I can help someone today; to listen to them, to really care about them.

This is a big change for me to actually care about someone else and their concerns. I used to just worry about myself and my concerns all the time and not care about others. I'm glad for this new life and, even though it seems hard sometimes, it's a lot easier than the life I used to live. So, I will plant seeds of peace and sow a harvest of righteousness. (See James 3:18.)

Pressing on with Excellence,

Keith