"I wanna thrive; not just survive"

"I will greet this day with love in my heart.
And how will I do this?
Henceforth will I look on all things
With love and be born again.
I will love the sun for it warms my bones;
Yet I will love the rain for it cleanses my spirit.
I will love the light for it shows me the way;
Yet I will love the darkness for it shows me the stars.
I will welcome happiness as it enlarges my heart;
Yet I will endure sadness for it opens my soul
I will acknowledge rewards for they are my due;
Yet I will welcome obstacles for they are my challenge."
~Og Mandino

this summer has been hard for me. I had hoped to have a really awesome job where i traveled somewhere and worked with a big group of other believers, but that plan fell through. so instead, i have been here in Fort Mill working at the Chick-Fil-A inside Carowinds. i really enjoy working with the people i do, but i don't like the job itself. and just to let you know, if you don't like a job, it gets pretty torturous some days.

so all i've done this summer is go to work, come home, babysit, come home. for those of you who don't know me too well, if i stay home too long, i get the worst case of stir-craziness. but when my other option is work, i would rather stay home.

also, my biggest regret right now is not getting a job in high school. if i had, i would have a car right now. i'm beating myself up for it because i am paying for that mistake this summer. fyi... it's pretty hard to get places if you don't have a car!

SO...
i feel like i have wasted my summer feeling sorry for myself and trying to understand WHY IN THE WORLD would this be God's plan for me this summer. in my quiet times recently, i have been learning how to have poverty of the spirit [Matthew 5:3]

           poverty of spirit: humbleness; realizing that I AM NOTHING and GOD IS EVERYTHING; put      myself aside

this morning focused on how personal possessions can prevent poverty of the spirit. my first thought was, "this doesn't apply to me. i'm not gonna get anything out of this." oh how i was wrong! that was only the beginning of it!

God convicted me that i have been over obsessing about getting a car and all of this STUFF i want. after i get a car, there will be something else i want. maybe more clothes, more dorm decorations, more of this, more of that, and the list could go on and on. but it has to STOP. i have more than enough IN CHRIST. all of this STUFF doesn't matter because in 100 years it will all be in a junk yard or in a stranger's house.

"The objects of this present life fill the human eye with a false magnification because of their immediacy"

after i learned about poverty of the spirit, i read a day out of "Jesus Calling." it said to be THANKFUL in whatever circumstance. not to take things for granted. my favorite sentence from it: "You take for granted life, salvation, sunshine, flowers, and countless other gifts from Me. You look for what is wrong and refuse to enjoy life until that is 'fixed'"

not only that, but then tonight, i opened a package from a dear friend with the quote above in it and an encouraging letter that was just what i needed right now. she encouraged me not to wait until the end of summer to live.

each day is an opportunity to live life to the fullest. 
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT. isn't that why Jesus came? (John 10:10)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3YfJX8QbDQ