your brain waves, do you wave back?

When you go for a visit to the doctor, the first thing they do is the simple check up: blood pressure, height, and weight. Well, here's your simple check up for the week....how many of you read Tuesday's blog? How many of you implemented it and wrote thank you cards?... If you did, I would love to hear feedback.

As humans, our attentions spans are short, easily diverted, and often focused on so many things at once we sometimes miss important details. Like blessings for instance. When was the last time you just had one of those blah days or were just plain down? When was the last time you made it through counting ALL of your blessings? I imagine the first one was more recent. So, knowing that we are humans and that our often ungrateful, easily diverted minds work this way, how can we correct/help this problem?

When we were little, my mom understood that we often learned best by song. So much so that a song took our attention off an order and made it into something fun, and more importantly, something memorable. Call it crazy (and some of you surely will), but when my brother and I used to go to day care, we had a song that helped us remember what we needed to get ready in the morning (keep in mind, we were daycare age). The song went "brush your hair, brush your teeth, and pee pee in the potty." We laugh about it now, but it worked wonders. Why? Because mom figured out how our brains worked and she catered to it. That's what you need to be doing in your life...mom's no longer in charge (assuming you're an adult), so figure out how your brain works and structure your lifestyle to help yourself. Here's a thought:

I have learned over the years that I work best when I journal. Although I constantly find it a challenge to keep up with a journal, I purchased a nice one over a year ago and was able to keep up with it almost daily, if not weekly for a year. The nice thing about this journal was that it had an inspirational quote and a verse for each day, along with a general writing section and a box specifically for writing the blessings of the day. Something I know I come up short on is counting my blessings, so having a journal where I had to think specifically what I was thankful for that day really helped keep my thoughts in perspective. So the great news on the first part of this story is that while I journaled it helped me...but, wait, there's more.

A few months ago, I took time to sit down and skim through my journal from the previous months-year, stopping on some pages to read the entire entry. As I reflected on this year in my life, I was amazed to see how much God had done for me, how silly my stresses from days past had seemed on the other side, and the HUGE number of answered prayers. This was extremely uplifting, and the great thing is that the writing is permanent and will be there to reflect on the next time that I am having a moment in need of inspiration and years to come.

We all have days where we could use a boost, so why not thank God in the process of your life, and help give yourself a boost later? While talking to others can be extremely helpful, especially mentors, I find that often I can learn the most when I talk to God and reflect on talks I've had with Him in the past.

So that's my suggestion--whether it's writing songs, journaling, creating a devotional blog, teaching a class, reading, etc. Figure out what it is that gets you most in touch with God and that will help make changes in your life by reinforcing the positives, the blessings, and God's providence we so often overlook.

And when you get to the point you think you have nothing to be thankful for...take a moment to read the book of Jonah (seriously, it's a short book). This guy ran from God, got in a bad storm at sea (not fun), and then got swallowed by a fish (yep, that happened). And in the midst of all this, dude gives thanks (Jonah 2:9). So, wipe the fish guts of today off, tackle the barriers of your brain, and get out there and enjoy your life.

Your check up is done. Step off the scale and into reality. Your future awaits, and I anticipate a very healthy report.