Choosing the Right

The fall time has officially arrived! The leaves are changing, the days are getting shorter, and the temperatures are a bit chilllier. The changing of the seasons always reminds me of changing my life. When the leaves fall, I often think about things that have “fallen” in my own life. Am I doing the essentials? Am I being kind? Do I choose the right?

Stop and Reflect

This is the perfect time of year to stop and reflect on your life. The first thing I like to do when it comes time to reflect and refresh is to make a list. I divide a piece of paper into two columns: What am I doing well ? What could I improve? Of course, that list of improving is always longer! I take some time to ponder my list and then make goals to be better.

Goal to Choose the Right

Almost any goal I have on my “improvement” list can go back to choosing the right. If one of the things I need to improve on is patience, then choosing the right helps. I choose to be more patient with my boss or my friend who needs so much attention. If my goal is to be kinder to my neighbor, choosing the right is the answer. I choose to say “hi” or smile. Basically, any goal that will help us to be better people should begin and end with choosing the right.

A Daily Reminder

Like many people, I actually need a daily reminder of the goals I’m working on. I put my list on my fridge and look at it every morning, but I also like to take a little reminder with me throughout the day. That’s where my CTR ring comes into play. When I’m in the middle of something that is aggravating me or I need to make a decision, I simply look at my hand and I’m reminded to choose the right. As simple as it sounds, it actually works.

Here’s a challenge for you: Go home and make your own list of improvements. Then, set those goals and remember to choose the right. By the time the seasons change again, you’ll be a much nicer person.

Have you ever wanted to have a life-changing experience? We hear about it all the time. Those people who come back from an exotic vacation, those who have just graduated, or maybe someone who’s gone through a tramatic experience…they almost always say the same thing, “this experience changed my life.” Have you ever wondered how you can also have a life-changing experience?

Choose the Right to Change Your Life

Anytime you choose good over evil, you are having a life changing experience. Sound insane? Think about it. When you have the courage to turn from a bad decision, you are changing the course of your life. If you decided to make the bad decision, let’s say take your first sip of alcohol, you could change your life’s direction. That one decision to drink alcohol will make it easier to take the next sip and the next. Soon, you’re drinking on a regular basis. Then, the social drinking turns into more serious issues, like alcoholism and ruining your family. While it sounds pretty out there, it’s certainly a possibility.

Now, let’s say you made the other choice. You decided to not take that first sip of alcohol. You walk away and you don’t drink. You stay true to your values and you stay on the correct course. Soon, you’re excelling in life and feeling happy because you are in the right with your Heavenly Father.

See? Choosing the right can be a life-changing experience.

Decide Today

Now is the time to decide if you are going to choose the right. Today is the day you begin your own “life-changing” experience. Decide to choose good over evil and you will be changing your life – forever.

The next time you hear someone say their life was changed by a job, vacation, or family experience, you too can join in the chorus and say that your life has changed for the better.

The other day, I noticed my windshield needed cleaning. I got my supplies out and then spent the next several minutes cleaning bugs, getting rid of water spots, and making sure my windshield was nice and clean. When I was done, I looked at it and thought I’d done a great job. I then got in the car and went to run some errands.

I headed down the road going west. It was later afternoon so the sun was lower in the sky. It was then, with the sun shining on my windshield, that I realized my windshield wasn’t clean at all! Suddenly, I could see every streak, every spot I missed, every imperfection. After all the time I had taken to clean my windshield, I was disappointed there was still this much grim staring at me.

I think this windshield is a lot like our lives. We go to church every week, we try to choose the right on a daily basis, and we generally think we are “clean.” Then, we head west and the bright daylight shines down on us and we see the things we need to clean up. Maybe it’s the little white lie we told to our boss, or not quite finishing the assignment that we promised we would. Maybe it’s looking at a friend’s paper during a text. It could even be as simple as just being complacent. Anytime we think we are on the right path, we can always find ways to improve.

So this week, I’ve issued myself a challenge. I’m going to look at my “windshield.” Am I really choosing the right? As best as I could? What areas can I improve on? Maybe you can answers these questions for yourself as well.

Change. It’s all around us. In fact, you can’t go though any single day without change. For many people, myself included, change is a difficult thing. When things are comfortable and good, change can sometimes be painful. But in fact, when things are the most comfortable is when we do need to make a change.

When we sit back and are comfortable and complacent with life, that’s often when we forget to choose the right. It’s during the “good” times that we forget the values and the virtues that we stand for. We become comfortable in our daily routine and no longer have to fight for what we know is right. It’s becomes easy to just sit back and let someone else make the hard choices.

It’s at times like this when change is essential. We need change in our lives to throw us a little off-kilter, to help us to remember what it is we really stand for in this life. It’s often said, “If you don’t stand for something, you fall.” Nobody wants to fall. That’s why when we are in our comfort zone, basically living on easy street, it’s time to shake things up a bit. It’s time for a change.

Change can come in many different forms. Change can come from simply doing something a little differently. Maybe we change up our morning routine a bit or decide to start a new exercise program. Maybe the change you need is a return to the basics or maybe it’s a really big change, like a career move. Take a look at your own life and decide what kind of a change is on your horizon. You might be surprised at how much you grow when you make a needed change. You may just be surprised at how much choosing the right really means to you when you shake up your life a bit.

Psalms 46:10 gives us a very simple, yet very powerful, command. “Be still and know that I am God.” Have you ever stopped to think what that means? “Be still and know…” But what is it that we need to know? And how do we find it? This scripture verse gives us the answer. To find what we need, to know how to choose the right, we need to be still and listen.

Be Still To Choose the Right

When it comes to choosing the right, you need to be familiar with the promptings of the Holy Spirit. It is often in those times of crisis when we need to make the right decision that the Spirit will whisper quietly to our hearts and to our minds the right course to take. But, if we are never still, we will never know what the Holy Spirit feels like. If we don’t know what to listen for, we will never recognize it when the voice comes to us in our time of need.

Often in our lives, we are bombarded with noise. How many times do you walk in your front door, only to turn on the TV? Or when we are driving in our cars the radio is always on. Sitting in the office, we keep ear buds in with music or podcasts blaring. Very seldom are our minds “still” enough to truly recognize the gift of hearing the still small voice. Be still, even when it comes to outside noise.

Be Still and Let Go

The Hebrew meaning of “be still” actually translates to mean “let go.” Letting go is also an important part of choosing the right and making good decisions in our lives. We need to let go of the world. Let go of all the  temptations and the wordly things around us. Let go and come unto God. When we do let go, we are more in tune and more willing to submit ourselves to God’s will. That includes His will to choose the right and return to His teachings.

The next time you hear or read this familiar verse of scripture, think about the ways you can be still and let go of the things troubling you. Think of ways to come closer to God and discover how you can be more in tune with His Holy Spirit. You might be surprised with the answers you come up with when you take the time to “be still.”