“Almighty and everlasting God,

increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity;

and, that we may obtain what you promise,
make us love what you command;

through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God,

for ever and ever.
Amen.”

Instead of TGIF, which as everybody knows stands for Thank God It’s Friday, we should have a new acronym TGFED. Thank God for every day.

Monday can be just as good as Friday if you come into it with the right attitude. If you’ve already decided that real living doesn’t start until the weekend, you’ve already missed out on what God might be saying to you on Monday.

Also, so many times so many of us tend to ask God to bless the plans we’ve already made instead of seeking His will. We want what we want, regardless of whether God wants it or not. At this point in my life, I don’t want anything that’s not from God because I know to gain the whole world and lose my soul in the process is worthless.

Life’s too short to waste it by saying things like “Once I get to the dream job, I can be happy” or “Once I meet my soulmate, I can be at peace.”

I believe that the secret to joy is learning to be content with where you are and blooming where you’re planted instead of wasting so much time and energy wishing you were someplace else or with someone else.

Another key is to live gratefully. Include thanksgiving in all your prayers. Sometimes, you can even sit at the feet of Jesus and adore Him without rehashing the laundry list of your needs and wants. Sometimes, all you need to do is be still before the Lord.

I’m still learning that it takes way less effort to point the finger and pass the blame to someone else for all the world’s problems. It takes courage to look in the mirror and see part of the problem staring back. We all can look at anyone’s life any say, “But for the grace of God go I.” No matter how messed up they look, I could have been worse.

As my pastor said, repentance is not about beating yourself up. It’s not about dwelling on what’s wrong with you. It’s realizing that sometimes you need to do a 180 and go the opposite direction from where you’re headed. It’s being honest with yourself that you’re a work in progress and will be until Jesus returns or God calls you home.