Pink Azaleas

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2017 twosnydergirls

Our Thoughts Predict Our Future

How many of us spend those quiet moments of down time reworking the past, reflecting on failures, embarrassments or attempting to recapture past glories?

Too many of us!

Contrary to popular thinking the past is not a predictor of the future, what you choose to do in this moment is!

Just as a shoreline is in a constant state of change, being affected by the tides, seasons, storms, animals, pollution and humans our future is affected by what we think.

This is not meant to diminish the reality that our past choices, actions and those random acts of life have consequences that extend into our future, our now.  Here is where our thoughts either support continued failure or support opportunity and positive change.

If we are mindful of our thoughts, if we take responsibility for our present we can influence our future for the better.  If we seek out, hope, joy, positive opportunities we redefine, begin to remake, influence our past in a life affirming way.

While our minds are not muscles we can train our thoughts and this is what needs to happens if you want to influence your future for the positive.

Right now too many of us are focused on the negative, our thoughts are the product of self loathing, regret, anger, jealousy … and we are defining and clarifying the past events of our life negatively and crippling our future opportunities through negative thoughts in this moment.

The past is not a predictor of the future, it is what we think and do right now!

Be curious about what you are thinking.  Stop negative thoughts and deliberately change practice being positive. 

Effect your future by training your mind and thoughts to focus on the positive, to see opportunities rather than barriers. 

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2017 twosnydergirls

It depends on faith

The Son of God came into the world not to condemn, yet we condemn ourselves and each other at every turn. 

We have built religious institutions where following rules is the measure of your faith.  Rules that ensure we find ourselves wanting and so we live in fear and guilt of God’s condemnation.  

We secretively believe we will be found out, found wanting and banished from God’s presence because we could not/ did not keep all of the rules.  

We lack faith in God’s promise, in Christ’s love to save us.

Like Nicodemus we have faith in the laws of nature, the laws of man, the laws of our religious institutions and we have failed to understand the promise of God’s love and Christ’s gift of eternal life for us.

Romans 4:14 “if God's promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless”

We cannot earn, our place in heaven.

There is nothing that we can do to deserve God’s love or Christ’s sacrifice.

We need only have faith in God’s unconditional love for us, as we are, sin and all.

If depends only on faith.

Faith in God’s promise.

Faith in our redemption.

Faith in God's ability to keep our going out and our coming for eternity Psalm 121:8

Then like Abraham, we will be a blessing to our families, our communities, to the world around us and to our God.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2017 twosnydergirls

Lectionary readings Genesis 12:1-4a; Psalm 121; Romans 4:1-5, 13-17; John 3:1-17