by Ms. Sasha
Having a Good Day Starts With Expectation
“Today is a new beginning for you, so get ready.”
Your journey today will be like no other, and it’s all because of your approach. God is going to meet your expectations.
Don’t expect today to be like yesterday. Don’t expect today to match any news report or horoscope. You came here so that you could have a good day. That is what you should expect because God wants it for you.
How can we be so sure it’s going to be a good day? Well, the Bible tells us that we can think ourselves happy, so today, we’re going to learn how to do that and couple it with a few other mood boosters.
Let’s get started.
STEP #1
Make Everyday Good With God's Love
Before you do anything else, stimulate your soul by pondering God’s love.
Have you ever seen a person in love? They are happy. When we ponder how much God loves us in the morning, we set our mental health up for soaring potential.
Romans 8:38-39 NLT says…
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Even when you get up on the wrong side of the bed, know that God’s love for you hasn’t changed.
His sacrifice for you was to show you that he will love you forever.
“God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” (1 John 4:9-10 NLT)
This is the real love we should reflect on throughout the day.
It’s the one thing in life that we don’t have to earn and can never be taken from us.
STEP #2
Start the Day With Gratitude
Get a piece of paper (it can be scratch paper), and number it one through five going down the page.
Next to each number, write something that you believe God has done for you or given you. This list can include the simple things in life, such as being able to wake up this morning or anything you’ve prayed for that God has answered for you.
Once you are done with your list, ponder these things for a minute or two, and thank God for each one. Then, move to Step 3.
STEP #3
Practice Christian Self-Care
While we need to keep our spirits connected to God, our mental health is important too.
To begin your day, let’s do a little self-care.
For this step, you have to know yourself pretty well.
Pick something that you love and can do in 15 minutes. Then couple it with a spiritual activity that helps you spend time with God.
In the morning, I like to stretch while listening to my favorite gospel playlist, or have coffee while praying as I look out of the window. This is called habit-stacking; a great way to blend Self-Care with Spirit-Care if you live a busy life.
You can even be flexible with this step, incorporating a variety of activities you love for each day of the week.
STEP #4
Start Your Day With Prayer and Reflection
Good things happen after good thoughts happen.
What should we think about? Good thoughts. I asked my daughter, who always seems to be happy in the morning, what the secret sauce is to get her day started. She said she enjoys thinking about something good that is going to happen later in the day.
When I asked her what she does on the days that she doesn’t have anything exciting planned, she advised me to think about something good that will happen in the future.
I think this is an excellent strategy because having a successful day starts with some manner of hope and expectation. When we make this strategy a habit, our positive days will turn into positive lives.
God things happen after we pray.
One excellent way to get in touch with God is through prayer.
The most powerful morning prayers are authentic ones. This means we should pray about the things that are fresh in our brains. God wants to help us prepare us for the day and provide guidance about the “good thing” coming up.
If you have nothing exciting to look forward to today, ask God to bless you and give you wisdom about your regular activities.
For example, if the only thing you’re doing today is going to work, ask God to bless your work day and increase your joy more and more as the day goes by.
Insert your day into Romans 8:28 and say, “Everything that I’ll experience today is working together for my good.” Then, step with wisdom as you listen for the Holy Spirit to direct you throughout the day.
Follow the link if you’d like to read more about how prayer helps us in daily life.
STEP #5
Fuel Your Body In The Morning
To get fuel for the day, we have to eat. Don’t skip breakfast today, because you are busy or in a rush. You will not get more done by skipping breakfast.
Take this time to break your fast, aka ‘breakfast’ with something healthy. This will boost your energy and help you increase productivity.
A FINAL WORD
If you completed the 5 steps above, you have prepared yourself for an amazing day! You have gotten in touch with the Heavenly Father by reading about his love for you. Then, you opened your heart to new possibilities by becoming thankful for what you already have. That’s called living on purpose.
Next, you chose something good to think about and prayed about it. (If you didn’t know you could choose your thoughts – wink. You just did.)
And finally, you gave yourself some fuel.
Now, it’s time to turn the ignition and start your day with confidence, because it’s going to be a good one.
If you know someone else who can use a boost for a good day, feel free to share this article with them.
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