Six Words to Live By

Do you live in the land of 'if only'? Do you dream of a better life... if only? If only the scale tipped in my favor, if only my bank account bulged, if only love loomed on the horizon, if only popularity described my social life.... you get the idea. You may find yourself in this spot, dreaming of the day when life is perfect.

Often when calling up the phrase, "One day at a time," I find myself trapped in an earthly struggle. I recognize things don't change overnight, but if I tackle them knowing each day I work on my problems, I am one day closer to solving them.

Habits aren't changed because I want them changed. New habits aren't adopted by embracing them in the moment. But they are begun that day and will continue to improve, change, or disappear, over time, if I stay focused. One-day-at-a-time is an effective way to adopt new habits and exchange bad ones for good ones.

The truth is, power exists in the if only. These words can propel us to give a new idea a try. Dreaming of our wished-for state might prompt us to take the next right step in a new direction.

Years ago, my heart burned to read the Bible, to dig into God's Word and make sense of what I read, but this huge undertaking challenged this novice who never read God's Word before. Then I stumbled upon 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. These short and simple verses started me on the path to my love of Scripture, and my daily desire to read and journal what God is teaching me.

Now, when my weaknesses surface and I am at a loss for how to change them, I recall these 6 words: Rejoice Always, Pray Continually, Give Thanks. And one day at a time, I am made new.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Love One Another

For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. (Romans 14:7-8)

We all know where we are strong in our faith and we recognize also those areas where we can be easily swayed. Our weaknesses generally are unwelcome habits we have struggled to control for a long time. Then too, there are some hang-ups we have overcome; a few worldly issues we have given over to God and no longer deal with their power over us.

There are many habits we work on in our lives in an attempt to break their hold on us. We are all different and therefore struggle over many varied issues. When we are finally able to break the hold a particular sin has on us, we are wise to avoid all occasions of that sin.

We learn to steer clear of certain people who we relate this weak area of ours with. We surround ourselves with people who understand and support us in our new way of living. These two verses from the Book of Romans points out we are not to be stumbling blocks to our brothers and sisters. We are to support them, their new life, their recovery, every way we can.

We all understand that it is difficult to change; it is a struggle to create new ways of thinking and living. Once we establish different and healthier habits, we need the support of one another to maintain our new lifestyle. Let us take this seriously by encouraging our friends and neighbors and perhaps they will do the same for us.

Each day we face new challenges, some may be old habits waiting to win us back. We must remind ourselves daily..."we belong to the LORD."

Romans 14