'finding good in everyday life'
Who are you anyway?
Why ride the stormy waves of the status quo?
Why succumb to what the loud voices try to ‘yell’ us who we are?
Those are turbulent, stormy waves.
Can we allow ourselves to become who we really are and want to be, not fearing the voices trying to overpower us to our detriment?
Change the beach where you are surfing. Head over to ride the waves of a beach where the sun is shining, the water is clear and blue, and the sand is clean.
Who will you let win?
We really can control the outcome!
We don’t have to allow another’s bad choice to to cause us to make bad choices.
We are only responsible for ours. Let them be responsible for theirs.
They hate, we maintain love.
They control, we keep our peace.
They yell, we keep a calm voice.
They destroy, we build up.
They pull back, we lean in.
They accuse, we bless.
They speak lies, we speak truth.
They divide, we multiply.
… and really, these voices are not just those of others; we hear them shouting in our own heads. Are we going to let them in….let them win?
Steer yourself the direction you want to go.
Stay on the path.
When we were little, before central air conditioning, mother left the doors open on good days to let the fresh air blow through the screen door. For some reason my brother called it the scream door. Maybe it was because mom would go to the door and yell for us kids to come in or stop fighting or whatever else we were doing outside that she didn’t want us doing.
I don’t want to be a screamer.
There were times when my kids were small that I used to find myself raising my voice and yelling at them — a lot! I hated to see the look on their little faces when I yelled at them, but I was desperate to gain control. We have 6 kids, all grown now, and sometimes I didn’t know the best way to handle things so I’d end up yelling.
One day after I’d gotten them all to bed, at that time we had 4, I began to think about my yelling at them and realized I didn’t want my kids growing up and all they could remember was their mother yelling at them. How horrible would that be?!!!
I made a quality decision right then that I’d not raise my voice and yell at them anymore and asked God to hold me to it and help me.
Everytime I was tempted to yell at them I’d remember what I didn’t want to be remembered for and I’d be able to control my voice. I also found myself apologizing to all my kids for yelling at them and told them how much I really loved them and wanted them. I’ve had to apologize to them a lot since then about other things, but I believe I have my kids’ hearts and they have mine.
Now that the grandkids are coming along, I don’t want them being yelled at and I am so glad God helped me change my example. I’m sure they will go through trying times as I did, but they will work it through and hopefully make the better choice each time.
Is there someone you need to talk to about your voice?
A soft answer turns away anger.
You will end up doing good things.
Mrs. Goodfinder 