1. The beautiful spring weather today.
2. The sweet email from my husband expressing his love for me.
3. A pleasant and fulfilling sleep last night.
4. A nice clean car that was freshly washed.
5. Making it just in time for an appointment this morning.
6. Chic-fil-a for breakfast (my favorite).
7. Having a job.
8. A friendly smile and hug.
9. An email from my brother (who is currently serving in the U.S. Army and is deployed to Iraq).
10. Planning our summer vacation to the beach.
11. Having a good hair day.

I am making a list of my victories today. I am counting my blessings. Today started off miserable again and I starting getting down. I was focusing on all the bad things when I realized I should be focusing on all the good things that have happened today. What better way to change your own mood than by focusing in on your victories rather than your defeats. I admit that I am not usually a sunny and cheerful person, and one of my greatest faults is how I love to feel sorry for myself. I have sometimes spent months wallowing in my own self-pity. This time, I decided to take matters in my own hands and prevent what would normally be a week of misery and sadness. I didn't really feel much like "celebrating" when I was feeling so blue, but I figured it was worth a shot. And it is so weird how much that helps!

My father is a very wise man. Now, although he is very intelligent, I do not say this because of the knowledge he has gained in his life. I say this because he trusts in the Lord and listens to the Holy Spirit to guide him througout each day. Once, when I was sixteen, my dad told me something that has stuck with me ever since. I was having an especially bad day and was very down in spirits for one reason or another. This was the wonderful day that he shared with me the concept of thanking God for his many blessings when you are feeling like you have nothing to be thankful for. "Count your victories," he said to me. As silly as it sounds, those three words changed my life. Believe me, it is not an easy thing to do, and more often than not, I feel like sulking and feeling sorry for myself, not like praising God for his blessings in my life. But I have to remind myself that the woe-is-me feelings that I get are not from God, but from the Enemy and we must do whatever we can to thwart his attempts at controlling our thoughts and our lives.

Today didn't start well. Another "bad day". But I have already forgotten the bad things that have happened. They must not have been important. But the sweet email that my husband sent to me, I will cherish. The beautiful spring day that the Lord has made will be enjoyed by many. The good outweigh the bad so much that it really makes it difficult to feel down.

Thank you, Lord for all the blessings in my life. Thank you even for the ways that you work FOR me that I don't even see or know about. Thank you for your constant grace and mercy for this sinner.

Do you ever just wake up in the morning and everything goes wrong? Like it is a sign from the very start of the day that this one will not be a good one. I've had bad days that get worse. I've had great days that go bad. I've had bad mornings that turn out well in the end. I'm hoping today is the 3rd option. I hope it gets better.

One thing about bad days is that no matter how alone or out-of-control or wronged I feel, I always have someone I can cry to and talk it out with.

This morning as soon as I woke up I was a victim. This person here takes advantage of me at work. Another person there is mad at me for nothing. Even my own spouse doesn't appreciate all the hard work and things I do for him and our relationship. (Boo hoo, right?) I spent a solid 2 hours feeling sorry for myself and crying out my pains to Jesus and he listened patiently to me and let me get it out. Then he very subtly showed me the ways that I was using all of those things as an excuse to feel sorry for myself. By the end of the 3rd hour I basically had to go apologize to everyone I had seen so far and admit that I had taken things too far. They may in fact be guilty of wrong-doing, but I am the one who consciously decided to let it affect me so completely and then let things spin out of control and only make matters worse in my relationships.

The thing I appreciate most is the fact that my Lord never throws my horrible behavior in my face and mocks me for it. Like I did with someone this morning, he never finds my faults and displays them for all the world to see and then mercilessly taunts me about it. He first listens to my griping and lets me get it off my chest, and then quietly whispers to me. After all, does anyone actually respond favorably to being told they're wrong in such a humiliating way? No matter how many times we treat people like that, it never works.

I apologize if this blog doesn't make sense to anyone but me. You know how when things are so fresh you are still not able to put your thoughts together in a way that anyone else might be able to comprehend it? I am still a bit shaken having seen how horribly I have been acting. But I am thankful for being shown. I am just sorry to have found out the hard way.

Today, my prayer for all you nice people reading my blog is that God takes your bad days and uses them to show you his kindness and his mercy. That he gives you a glimpse of how much he truly loves you by listening to your ranting and raving and comforts your anger and sadness. I pray that his peace will fill you and he will give you the strength to see the truth about yourself and your relationships.

May God bless you today.

Ever felt like you were all alone in your company? Ever felt so outnumbered by your adversaries that you wanted to crawl under your desk and hide? We've all been there, and it's not an easy place to be.

But isn't it comforting to know that we don't have to go it alone? God says He will never leave us or forsake us.

Need some more convincing? Read about Elisha in 2 Kings, chapter 6. The king of Aram was angry with Elisha and came after him. When Elisha and his servant awoke the next morning, the servant saw the enemy's army with horses and chariots surrounding the city. The servant was scared and asked, "What shall we do?" Elisha assured him, "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Then Elisha prayed for the servant's eyes to be opened so he could see the real situation -- the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around them. God had the situation under control.

Even though you may feel alone today, just know God has an army working for you. Ask God to help you see your situation through his eyes. And rejoice in your impending victory.

(Taken from "Daily Wisdom for Working Women" by Michelle Medlock Adams and Gena Maselli.)

May the Lord grant you peace today and open your eyes to the victory that he has laid out before you. *DA

Thank you, Lord for your continued grace and mercy in my life. Thank you for blessing me and watching over me and for the small victories that I have daily in your name, Father. Please grant me patience and wisdom as I continue to struggle daily with the sins of this world. That you for your still strong voice that I hear and your love that I feel that gives me strength each and every day. In Jesus Christ's Holy Name, Amen.

He's never really, actually GONE, you know.

I have recently been through what I would think of as a pretty dark time in my life. Anytime you let Satan get a hold of your thoughts and you believe his lies, you are heading into the darkness. But even then I knew God was there. He was with me. He was shaking his head and I could feel his tears and anger at my betrayal, but I could still feel him beside me. He never left. I thank him every day for that now.

I didn't really try to hide myself from him -- not proactively anyway. But everyday, and every moment that I knew I was still living in the "lie" I turned my back. I couldn't bear to face Him because in my heart I still knew the TRUTH. I thank the Lord every day for the TRUTH that he has placed in my heart.

One day I woke up with supernatural strength. I knew it was from Him. I had the strength to fight the demon whose voice had become so familiar to me. It was God's victory!!

You see -- he never really leaves. And he never will. He may allow His presence to be felt more strongly one day and not at all on another day. I am just so glad that he stayed with me and that I could FEEL him there.

Please pray for me. It is a daily struggle. In fact, it is something that most of us struggle with each and every moment. We don't live day-to-day, we live moment-by-moment.

I pray today that you have peace and feel God's presence. I pray that you have the strength to rebuke the enemy's lies.

God be with you.