I know that a lot of folks are out of town for the long weekend, but I hope that all of you will make every effort to be at one of our two campuses this coming Sunday morning for the beginning of our new series:  “BE-ATTITUDES!” We will be spending the next several weeks working our way through Matthew 5:1-12.  In this passage we find some of the most important teaching that ever flowed out of the life and lips of our Savior Jesus!

Take some time before Sunday to read through the passage and consider trying to memorize it as we work our way through it during the next few weeks. These attitudes are very different from what most of us live with and in every day.  In fact, these attitudes are almost the opposite of the attitudes that most of the world lives with on a daily basis.  As we seek to live with these attitudes of Jesus – it will change our lives and allow our lives to bring change to others!

Looking forward to our learning and growing together!

I have heard from a lot of people this week that seem to be facing frustration big time! For most of us, not experiencing frustration is not an option, so what are we going to do about it?  If we are going to have to deal with frustration, then we must make sure that we get the most out of it.

Our goal is to learn from our frustration and move on! So here are some very important steps to take:

PRAY!  PRAY!  PRAY! We need to talk to God about it.  I know that this sounds simple and most people try it and it does not make the difference that you are looking for.  We don’t need to just go through the motions of prayer.  We need to make sure that we are praying – actually talking and listening to God.  Seek to really make a connection with God in your praying!  Pour your heart out and then make sure that you take some time to open your heart for what God has to give you!

Think Through! If you have actually taken the time to really pray about your frustration, then you will through the process of talking and listening to God already have taken the time to think through the frustration.  Here are some questions to help you think through the frustration:  Where is it coming from? Are you the source or is someone else the source?  What can you do about it? Figure out what you can and can’t do and do what you can and let go of the can’t do!  How can you move on? Whatever you need to do to move forward according to God’s plan – do it!

Get Ready! Another frustration is just around the corner.  We will never totally get away from frustration, but we can always get the most out of it!  One more thing that you can do to help yourself with frustration is ask others to pray for you.  If I can pray for you just facebook, twitter, text or call me!  God Bless and Keep It Real!

No one that I know likes frustration. Most people hate it and try their best to avoid it!  It does not matter how hard you try.  Live life long enough and you will discover rather quickly that you cannot live life without frustration – it just seems to find a way to creep back into your life again and again.  Since there is no getting away from frustration, then the next best thing is to learn from it.  Here are a few things that I have learned about learning from frustration.

Figure Out The Source! Is it internal or external?  Is the frustration coming from you or is it coming from others?  Is it something that you have done or failed to do?  Is it something that someone else has done or failed to do?  Once you figure this out, then you can begin to think about what your next steps will be.

When You Are The Source! If you are the source, then you will need to do some self inspection and figure out what is going on in you that would cause you to do or not do the things that impact you in a negative and frustrating way.  You need to figure out the “CAUSE”!  What is it that is causing you to do or not do whatever it is that is leading to the frustration?  Deal with the cause and you can change the outcome!  This is really not all that difficult.  Most of us or just lazy or unwilling to take the time or practice the discipline of actually “thinking through!”  Thinking through will help you to allow God to take your life to a whole new level.  Here is the question that you need to ask yourself and answer very honestly:  “Is there anything that I can or could have done differently?  If so, what?  And what are you going to do about it?

When Someone Else Is The Source! When someone else is the source, things get a little more difficult.  When you are the source – all you have to do is work on yourself.  When someone else is the source, you have to take the time to figure out why they are causing you frustration.  Most people that frustrate you – probably do not have any idea that they are doing it.  Most people do not get up in the morning thinking:  “I wonder who I can frustrate today?”  Most people that cause other people to be frustrated are usually frustrated themselves and they do not have any idea what to do about their own frustration.  Now here is the important question:  What can I do about it?  Is there anything that you can do or say that you have not done or said that will help the other person?  If so, then what are you waiting on?  If there is nothing else, then it is time to turn it over!  Tomorrow we will talk about how to turn it over and move on!