Just Dance

-
The other day was my husband’s birthday.

This picture is a snapshot of a video our oldest daughter took of me and my husband when we were dancing together (and subsequently shared with friends on Snapchat). It was a wonderful feeling, even though the night wasn’t what I had originally planned in my mind.

I was extremely disappointed that we couldn’t have the type of 80s Hip-Hop (my hubby is from the Bronx. Birthplace of Hip-Hop) party we had hoped to have with lots of friends and family around, but we adjusted and celebrated in a different way. Friends and family got together for a Zoom Birthday Party. It was a time of dancing, laughter, and reminiscing through the music of the 80s.

Leading up to the party, I had many moments that were just upsetting. Nothing seemed to go right, and then it didn’t go right again. Have you had days like that? Days where you are sure Satan put your picture on a bullseye and proceeded to throw darts at it? Yep. That was my day. But you know what? Throughout the whole hour and fifteen minutes of the party, I didn’t think of everything that had gone wrong that day. I didn’t think about COVID, politics, or racial unrest. I, along with everyone else, just enjoyed the music and dancing.

It was a reminder to me that there are many things we can decide to focus on, changing our whole view on life. Obviously we shouldn’t pretend there are no real problems in our lives and in our world, but we can shift our focus. One perfect place to look, is to Jesus, our Savior. It doesn’t matter what is happening. If we could stay in the Word and focused on Him, we may be surprised by the peace and even joy we can find.

Today I simply want to encourage you to first keep your eyes on the Savior . . . and to dance. . . or whatever will help you hit that “reset” button or shift your focus. Remember, it’s okay to celebrate. It’s okay not to focus on what’s wrong. Take a minute (or more) to focus on what’s right. Make the choice to have a good day.

“You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!” Psalm 30:11-12

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Should Someone Call an Exorcist?

-
Image
Last Friday I went bowling with some of my family. I am aware of my low skill level, so I remained humble throughout the first game, and surprisingly finished in 1st place!  The second game began and I just knew I would dominate even more. I may not have been quite as humble. I was last on the list to go. I stood up and approached my ball with confidence. I picked it up, set my eye on the center arrow painted on the lane, then took a few quick steps forward just as I had before.  As I took my last step, I swung my arm backward, then forward, and fell flat on my face. Actually, flat is not entirely accurate. I’m pretty sure every one of my limbs flew in a different direction, and the position of my head may have had folks wondering if they should call an exorcist. I also seemed to be temporarily blinded from the fall but could hear my ball bouncing its way down the lane. Let’s pause for a moment of prayer. The problem was that I had stepped over the foul line into the lane— 1. Not reali
Read more

The Complexity of Prayer

-
Image
Have you ever considered the complexity of prayer? Have you ever had something you needed to pray about, but you just couldn’t bring yourself to talk to God about whatever the issue was? I have experienced that many times. I will call it “Prayer paralysis.” Prayer paralysis happens when you are afraid of any answer God might give you. If He says no, then you might feel bad, or sad, or even angry. If He says yes, then your fear factor increases because you just don’t think you can handle what a “Yes” entails (which essentially means that you don’t trust Him). So instead of revealing your lack of trust (Like seriously, you don’t think He knows? ), you just don’t pray. It’s kind of like when you were a little kid, and you would sit still and close your eyes, thinking that it would make you invisible. God already knows our fears of failure, self-pride, and even our trust issues, so we might as well just go ahead and lay it all at His feet. There’s another kind of prayer paralysis that I ha
Read more

Go Deeper

-
Image
  Anyone struggling with anxiety? I have struggled with it quite a bit. Then, I realize that forgetting to bring all of my anxiety-inducing problems to God, is a big part of the problem. Yesterday I talked about living in endurance mode. Part of that is taking all of the difficult things, and trying to wait them out.  If I really think about it, I may have subconsciously believed that struggling is just part of the journey and that I need to suck it up, because Jesus went through way more than I ever will.    But, “ Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28)  He never intended for us to hold onto them. Sometimes we don’t bother saying anything to God because, well, He knows what’s happening. He can change it if He wants to. So we sit paralyzed—enduring! Is that familiar to anyone? Though He could whisk our struggles away at any time, part of the journey, part of our relationship with the Creator is rooted in commu
Read more