Just Another Manic Monday - This is the Day the Lord Has Made!

It's Monday, and like most people I know the weekend, though good, was more tiring than restful.  Consequently I thought long and hard before I got out of bed and committed to going to the gym.  Even the prospect of coffee already in the pot wasn't much of a motivator.  Turning 30 was... and so was the thought of trying to develop more discipline in my life.  Now I'm faced with trying to make this a productive day despite my lack of motivation.  I did manage to dwindle down the emails in my inbox, and honestly if that's all I really accomplish today I will consider it successful!


However, as I am reading through FB updates I see nothing but complaints from so many.  It's cold and cloudy here on the beautiful Emerald Coast of Florida.  The spring breakers are all regretting that they only brought tank tops and flip flops.  Some of my FB friends were greeted with rain and even snow on this late March morning.  Does the bad weather make the Monday even worse?  Or is the weather worse because it's Monday?  Either way it all has me thinking.

Do you realize there are only 52 Mondays a year? The other 343 days are not Mondays.   That means a measly 14% of our lives are spent on Mondays.  And yet we often let that 14% taint and contaminate the other 86%.  How often does a bad Monday serve as an omen for a bad week?  We rejoice when Wednesday rolls around, happy that it is half over, and long for Friday, but then before we know it the cycle starts all over. 

I took a little break from my computer screen and pondered this phenomenon.  Very quickly I was reminded of Proverbs 18:21, "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit."  As a kid we said, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."  I can tell you that though I recited that often, as well as several other sophisticated childhood comebacks, it was far from true.  The words that were said did hurt me.  If my words can hurt someone else, then they can also hurt me.  And if my own words can hurt me - cause me to stop growing, limit what I can accomplish, diminish my image - then they can do the same to my day.  We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities.  When we wake up in the morning and say, "Oh, crap, it's Monday again," we are joining forces with all of the things in heavenly places that want us to have a bad day. 

Monday's really not a bad guy.  Poor thing has gotten a bad wrap.  It's not Monday's fault that everyone decided Monday through Friday was a good typical work schedule.  It could have been Tuesday or Wednesday... no matter what the day is though, it's not the day's fault!

A few weeks ago I was having a particularly frustrating day.  It was one of those Apple Cart days and time for bed couldn't come soon enough.  There was not enough time in the world spent on my couch vegging with my roommate that could fix my day.  The only thing I needed was SLEEP!  (The power of sleep is completely underrated by the way!)  As I finally lay my head on my pillow I said, "Lord I thank you that your mercies are new every morning!"  The next day when to much chagrin the alarm went off, I reminded myself again that His mercies are new every morning.  At 10:30am when the day was starting to shape up much like the one before I said, "His mercies are new EVERY morning, and it's still morning!"  Though the day was still challenging it turned out better.  Ever since I have been trying to keep this at the forefront of my mind.  His mercies are new EVERY MORNING!  That means no matter what happened yesterday, today has the potential to be a good day. 

It's all a matter of attitude and perspective.  In general I've been trying to be more positive.  If I think it's going to be a terrible day... it will probably be a terrible day.  But if I look for it to be a good day, then I have a better chance of having a good day.  The same is true with people.  If I expect them to hurt me, reject me, abuse me, they probably will, but if my expectation is that they mean well, no matter what they say or do, I will have more grace for them.  And both people, and your day, will live up to the expectation you place on them whether it's verbalized or not!

I've been putting some practical application to all of this as well.  After an amazing message last weekend about passive rebellion I've been attempting to squash it in my life.  One way is by being to work on time!  Last week Edgar, Rebecca and I decided we would start meeting at the office for coffee at 8:30am.  So it's up and at 'em at 5:30 and on the road to the gym by 5:45.  Home by 7:30 at the latest and into the office for coffee at 8:30.  It's amazing how 30 minutes of just relaxing and talking to friends sets me up for a better day.  1st of all, since there are very few people in the office I'm not greeted by everyone else's complaints.  2ndly, I get my coffee in me.  And 3rdly I have a chance to just chill, rather than rush, rush, rush all morning.  With all of that despite today being "Monday" it has turned out very productive.  Not only did I get my inbox cleaned out, I set up 2 packets for proof, scheduled a conference email to be sent, updated my department's task list, and now am finishing a blog.

As far as people go... I'm changing my expectations of them by trying to love them more!  Everyone wants, deserves, NEEDS love!  We are the instruments to show it.  It's amazing that if you act like you love someone long enough your emotions will eventually follow suit, as long as you're really putting your heart in it to be self-less.  When this happens your perspective of the person changes.  Your attitude towards the person changes.  All of the sudden you have a little more grace and you want to make things right quicker.  You also take their feelings into consideration and find yourself thinking a little more before you act or speak.

So, how did I get from manic Mondays to relationships and love?  Well, probably because that is so close to my heart right now.  (Pun intended!)  But the fact of the matter is "Your attitude determines your altitude," as I often read on the wall in High School.  Whatever you are looking at, if you will have a good attitude you will effect the results, be it a day or a person! 

Next time Monday rolls around and you want to grumble and cover your head with the covers remember - a. His mercies are new every morning; b. You have the power of life and death in your tongue; c. Your attitude makes the difference in EVERYTHING!