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Contentment1

Contentment1

Last updated on: April 13, 2015 at 12:18 pm by Chelsea Patterson

Contentment1 2015-04-13T12:18:50-05:00 Chelsea Patterson

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In the past, when people talked about contentment, I used to get annoyed and aggravated. Usually I would roll my eyes, paste on a smile and show insincere interest! Horrible I know, but hey, at least I’m being honest!

As bad as this is to admit, I’ve always equated contentment as something that is dull, uninteresting and undesirable. I want to be the girl who’s adventurous, full of life, charismatic, and joyful! Until now, I could not reconcile how being content, while maintaining the liveliness in my spirit could go hand in hand.

The Lord is currently wrecking my life and my perspective on contentment.

I’m currently reading a book entitled, “Calm My Anxious Heart” by Linda Dillow and it’s a must-read! I don’t say that often or lightly, but it is teaching me how to have accurate and Biblical contentment. It is not cheesy or repetitive; instead it is filled with deep, though-provoking wisdom and advice! Pick up a copy here****, you won’t be sorry!

After my honest introduction on my thoughts on contentment, allow me to share some thoughts I’m processing through from the first chapter!

What we are on the inside, what we continually think about, eventually shows in our words, actions, and even our countenances.

Allow that to sink in.

You are what you think about! Whether that’s the outfit you’re going to wear tomorrow, what the latest news station is discussing, or what the Lord is saying to you. What you fill your mind with, is eventually who you become!

I don’t know about you, but I want to be someone who’s vision is clear, because I have an eternal perspective!

The word perspective means, “Looking through; seeing clearly; the capacity to view things in their true relation of relative importance.” Therefore an eternal perspective is God’s way of seeing!

In the book, Linda shares rules for contentment. After reading this and meditating on it for a few days, I’ve written it and put it up by my desk at work and in the front of my bible!

Rules for Contentment:

1. Never complain about anything.

2. Never picture yourself in any other circumstance or someplace else.

3. Never compare your lot to others.

4. Never allow yourself to wish things had been otherwise.

5. Never dwell on tomorrow – tomorrow belongs to God.

I’ve begun to be more aware of these things in my life. However, I have a long way to go!

Beloved, I’m sharing these thoughts from my heart for two reasons! First, because I want you all to know that I am not perfect! (But you already knew that!) Second, hopefully my struggles along the road of sanctification will encourage you. We are all doing this messy thing called “life“ together, and we should be cheering one another on!

I am not there yet, but oh how I desperately want to be a woman who has joy and hope that is my circumstances can’t touch. With my eyes fixed upon eternity, I want to always rest in the fact that my tomorrow’s belong to God!

**When my tomorrows are nestled in God’s strong arms, then I can be free to live today.**

Will you join me on this journey? I am learning that contentment, true contentment is one of the greatest things I can possess. It is the farthest thing from boring! It actually frees me to live the life God intended me to live – fully alive!

“Contentment is essentially a matter of accepting from God’s hand what He sends because we know that He is good and therefore it is good.”

-J.I. Packer

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