{"id":2937,"date":"2015-07-12T09:00:15","date_gmt":"2015-07-12T14:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=2937"},"modified":"2015-08-10T17:11:51","modified_gmt":"2015-08-10T22:11:51","slug":"choose-to-keep-good-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=2937","title":{"rendered":"Choose to Keep Good Perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Year of Choices…<\/em><\/p>\n

By Barbara Dahlgren from Barbara\u2019s Banter at www.barbdahlgren.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Woman<\/a>Perspective or how we see things determines how we live our lives or react in any given circumstance.<\/p>\n

Without proper perspective even everyday living can become a burden.\u00a0 Every day we have deadlines to meet, bills to pay, and appointments to keep.\u00a0 We have houses and cars to maintain.\u00a0 We have relationships with spouses, kids, parents, siblings, and friends to nourish.\u00a0 Our lives are full of stress, stress, and more stress.\u00a0 Plus we have those unexpected inconveniences which can be time consuming and throw us \u201coff our game.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s overwhelming.\u00a0 When we get overwhelmed it\u2019s hard to discern the difference between an inconvenience and a tragedy.\u00a0 This is why perspective is so important.<\/p>\n

Do we muddle through life or look for God in all our circumstances?\u00a0 Do we view others as an inconvenience or as children of God?\u00a0 Do we see problems or possibilities?\u00a0 Do we focus on conflicts or do we focus on Jesus?\u00a0 Do we make mountains out of molehills or molehills out of mountains?\u00a0 Do we discern what is really important or stay in a perpetual state of crisis management?\u00a0 We must focus on Christ and ask God for his peace if we are to experience the joy God would like us to have.<\/p>\n

Keeping a good perspective is important if we are to evaluate our circumstances.\u00a0 A flat tire, a snoring spouse, a missed appointment, a late airplane, a lost game, the guy who cuts us off in traffic, the gossipy co-worker, a criticism, a put-down, the slow Internet connection, the stock market being down, our weight being up or a computer crashing is not as big a deal as a loved one dying or finding out we have cancer.<\/p>\n

Of course God can take care of even the direst of situations but we could save ourselves a lot of turmoil and grief if we didn\u2019t act like an in-grown toenail was the end of the world.<\/p>\n

Consider this\u2026 a bad day is not a bad life.\u00a0 Before we over react we might want to ask ourselves if it what we are experiencing will really even matter to us five years from now, much less to anyone else.<\/p>\n

\"It's<\/a><\/p>\n

One time USC had been defeated and humiliated in a 51-0 victory by Notre Dame.\u00a0 Coach John McKay came into the locker room and saw a group of down trodden football players.\u00a0 They were not used to losing games, but now they were beaten, worn out, and depressed.\u00a0 McKay said, \u201cMen, let\u2019s keep this in perspective.\u00a0 There are 800 million Chinese who don\u2019t even know this game was played.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keep good perspective.\u00a0 Don\u2019t look down at the ground; look up to Christ.\u00a0 With Christ in our lives all is not lost!\u00a0 Most times it\u2019s not as bad as we think!\u00a0 As Scarlet O\u2019Hara would say, \u201cTomorrow is another day!\u201d\u00a0 Let\u2019s get a good night\u2019s sleep and wake up with the knowledge that God loves us!\u00a0 Always keep this perspective in mind \u2013 with God in our lives, each day and every tomorrow can be filled with peace and joy.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Suggestions for practicing this choice\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n