Am I being persistent, pushing through my struggles, moving ahead to where I know i need to go, or am I giving up? Am I taking the easy way out? For me, pushing through tough times is a challenge! I don’t always do what I know what is right. I give up! But, continuing to look up, not out, and reaching out to the men in my life for help, helps me to push through the tough times. To be persistent! I am grateful for the people God has blessed me with in my life!

“A beautiful reputation is more to be desired than great riches, and to be esteemed by others is more honorable than to own immense investments.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭22:1‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Am I exhausting myself in investing in things of this world that I will leave behind, or am I investing in things that really matter?
In the end, all that matters is God and people

What am I seeking today? Am I looking for things that are negative, or am I seeing all the blessings that are around me? I often struggle with seeing the good in my life. For me, it is sometimes easier to focus on the negative, than to experience the goodness of God! I have to create good habits of focusing on the positive. One way I can do that is by naming 3-4 things I’m grateful for each day. Writing them down in a journal is a great way to do that! I need to ”stop and smell the roses” throughout each day! Seek the goodness of God each day, and I will always find it!

For me, I truly believe that my relationships are the most challenging, yet most rewarding experiences that I will ever have and go through in my life! For me, in my marriage, am I fighting about it, or am I fighting for it? Am I trying to win the battles, or am I trying to win the relationship? I struggle with wanting to always be right. Thinking my ways are the best ways! Being prideful! Those are times when I find myself fighting about the relationship. If I can swallow my pride, and realize that we want the same things in our marriage, but that we just have different ways of achieving them, neither way being right or wrong, just different, than I can continue to fight for our relationship! I have to have that mindset in all my relationships. In the end, all that matters is God and people!

Am I praying enough? Am I praying ”the right way”? Am I praying for what I want, or for what I actually need? For me, I used to pray ”scripted” prayers. I didn’t really pray from my heart. Today, I try to have an ongoing conversation with God all day long. For me, I feel more connected to the presence of the Holy Spirit when I just ”talk” to God. For me, it feels more relational. That relationship than helps me to have more meaningful relationships with the people in my life, and with those I come across each day!

One of the battles I struggle with quite often is taking the blessings that God has given me, and turning them into burdens! I tend to look at things in my life, and instead of being grateful, I am sometimes hateful! For me, it seems always easier to focus on the bad in something, instead of being grateful that I am blessed to have it. One area of that is in my marriage! I need to change my focus! It is a blessing, and not a burden! I have to change my perspective! I need to look at my wife through God’s eyes, and not mine!