On Earth as it is in Heaven...

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky. Philippians 2:14-15

I start my day with, "God, please help me to have a good day. Lord I just pray that everything is calm and easy, that it goes by smoothly and I don't have any trouble. God please just do this for me today." I would like to think I'm not alone, and that a lot of other Christians pray the same thing.

I was thinking about it though, as a young Christian in high school I get a lot of negative input on my beliefs, actions, or convictions. Whatever word you prefer. My peers don't understand me, and sometimes I feel so disliked. I feel so lonely that it hurts. A very wise lady told me that it wasn't necessarily a bad thing though. Christ Himself was hated. Of course I was going to be hated, because Christ is IN me! That helped me to understand.. Sometimes having an "easy, good or smooth" day isn't exactly what I want. I'm in a raging battle, one I can't even see, and I need to fight instead of pretending like everything is just fine and dandy.

So back to my thought, instead of praying for an easy day, I need to pray for a good attitude. Most of us Christians don't pray for God's will to be done in our lives, because that would make us uncomfortable and we wouldn't have control. I like to have control, and I like to have my days planned out. When it doesn't happen MY way, I tend to freak.

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude." Maya Angelou. In class the other day, we had to do a 25 minute SAT Essay as practice. This was the quote, and the topic was to write why we thought it was good or bad to not complain. Basically, when I read this quote all my thoughts and prayers had been placed on that sheet of paper in concrete words.

My goal would be to start every morning with a heart felt prayer of, "Lord thank you for another day. God I pray that no matter who I come into contact with, or what happens to me today, good or bad, that I can be thankful and have a joyful heart. God help me to seek Your will for the day, and to not be mindful of my plans." That would be my desire. To change my attitude, and be joyful about sufferings, persecution and trials. Because in the end, it's all a blessing.