Every choice...is a choice

A few scattered thoughts before I dig into our verses from Proverbs 15...first thing...

"You know it is fall in Texas when...for the first time in 7 months, having the air conditioner on makes you cold, and you have to get a blanket to put around your shoulders."

This little truism has nothing to do with tonight's blog, except that I just had to turn off the air conditioner and put a blanket around my shoulders!

I went to the Texas State Fair today, and had a wonderfully spectacular time! I have many "favorite things" about the State Fair, but in recent years, the absolute highlight for me has become the "Wild Birds of the World" show...I could never do it justice here, so I'll just say that watching the trainers with those hawks and condors and eagles is a magical wonder to me, and it reminds me again of truly incredible God's creation really is!

Depending on what time zone you're in, my submission of the blog for Proverbs 15 might be considered a bit late, but I'll simply pretend that I'm visiting the west coast, and that it's only 10:30 in the evening...in truth, I began writing this last night, on the 14th...but it took quite awhile for me to put the pieces together, and even now, I'm not sure that what I'm trying to say will translate very well to anyone but me.

The first verse is this:

"Death and destruction lie open before the Lord - how much more the hearts of men?"

Of all the verses from Proverbs 15 that I could select (there are a total of 33), you might wonder why I'd select this cheerful thought...? Truth is, when I sat down to do my initial reading of the chapter last night, I was in an exceptionally irritable and cranky mood. No need to delve into the reasons for my bad mood, except to say that the verse caused me to realize that God knows all about my heart, and what goes on in there.

Another scripture (I apologize for not knowing the book/chapter/verse) came to mind as I read this one:

"Our lives are laid bare before Him with whom we have to do."

At least when it comes to our relationship with God, it is pointless to try and whitewash our cranky moods, our character flaws, our darker side...because He sees it all. Where God is concerned, there's no hiding, no excusing and no explaining it away...it just is.

In the process of pondering this and other verses from the chapter, I was reminded of a little axiom I had written down recently, because in recognition of my cranky and irritable mood, I understood that I needed to take some immediate steps toward changing my mood for the better. Reminding myself of this list was immensely helpful to me last night, and I hope it will be an encouragement to you as well:

My beliefs are a choice.

My values are a choice.

My thoughts are a choice.

My words are a choice.

My behavior is a choice.

My habits are a choice.

My life is a choice.

I must remember to make good choices -- every choice counts -- every choice adds to or subtracts from the life I want to lead -- every choice helps or hurts -- and every choice...is a choice.