Your Movie. You Made It 9/24/2019

Good Morning,

I just started sipping some Door County Maple Coffee accompanied by a cup of yogurt for breakfast. I can say that the combination is different than what I am used to , but overall it's pretty good.

Psalm 139:23-24 Search me and know my heart dear God; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24. Show me if there be any wicked ways within me. 

Let me take you to the movies today. A couple of documentaries linked together. Make some popcorn and sit back, close your eyes and imagine these two in 3D. The first one is a tragic comedy and the other is a drama that should have been over long before the intermission.

"Happiness Without Peace. Hang Me With A New Rope, But Don't Wrinkle My Shirt"
There comes a time when instead of trying to fake happiness or striving to find it. One must turn deep within and decide. Do I really want to be happy and what does happiness look like. I have found some people that if they don't have something to whine about, life just isn't normal for them. Then there are the others who selfishly are demanding, insisting on their own ways, and consciously or unconsciously work at making others miserable. Alone they are miserable and joined together they become toxic in nature. The bad days out number the good days. And at best the good days are manufactured and are ready to fall apart in the blink of an eye.

I am sure we all have encountered people like this. I use this expression, "They would complain even if you were hanging them with a new rope." And the other type of person would want the hanging to stop just to adjust the rope and start over making the person being hung more miserable.

In both instances the solution to happiness is the same. It is for people with these chronic character illnesses to embrace their blessings. It makes for an interesting movie if it is only 20 seconds long. Like a bad movie, we try to wait it out hoping for a good ending. But until the Master Writer becomes involved intimately with each character you have nothing but a disaster movie with no ending.

"If Only, I Wish, The Grass Is Greener, Why Can't I?"
I once had a young man tell me he had "nothing to show for his life". I asked him, do you have a job? He replied "Yes". I then asked him if he was stilled married to his beautiful, loving and friendly wife. He acknowledged "Yes". I asked him if he still had his healthy 6 month old son with them. He replied "Yes". I then asked him what it would take for him to be content and happy? He replied "about $150,000." I told him that I didn't have $150,000 on me at the time but within three days I would have it and I would give him the money. He wanted to know what the catch was. I told him that I already had a lovely wife and didn't need his, but we would like a son. And since his son was a
" nothing to show for his life" we would purchase his child and give him a good home.

Now friends I am not endorsing purchasing children without adoption proceedings. I basically was shaming him into counting his blessings. The sad part is that he hesitated with his answer. He eventually said " I see what you mean". According to his eyes he had nothing. To someone who wanted another child he had everything.  He just wasn't happy with his blessings and in turn made a lot of people miserable. He could not see beyond his own selfishness. Nothing was ever right or good enough to satisfy this young man.

If we sat back and recorded the words that come out of our mouths or video taped our days, how long would it be when you reviewed them, before you shut them off out of embarrassment for your behavior? Or would you sit there in this Oscar Award Winning production and add subtitles explaining your behavior and speech, justifying your actions and blaming others.

So at the end of today, sit back and ask God to give you a replay of your days speech and actions. You do not get to edit anything. Let God show you what He witnessed through His eyes. See if the tape of today ends up cut up and tossed away. Or is it one you want to watch over again? Look only at yourself not the supporting actors in your production and grade yourself. God is your biggest critic and yet your biggest fan. In His critique He only wished to make you a better person in the play  of life.

Marty