So I honestly believe that sometimes we tend to dislike things about others because they are really characteristics that we dislike about ourselves. With that being said, this is more about me than anyone else, so please don’t take offense. Recently, I was on the phone with someone and I noticed that EVERY conversation we had the other person only had something negative to say. I tried to be as encouraging as possible but I will admit I was more that happy to end the conversation early. I was so frustrated when I got off the phone, how can everything that is going on in your life suck. Then I was even more annoyed when I read their Facebook status (social network at its beast) and it was “happy-go-lucky” (what a contradiction.) And of course I went down the list of how FB and other social networking sites allow us to create to fake image of happiness, which only made matters worse. Then it hit me, (1) I was being negative right then and (2) my husband says that I never have anything good/positive to say and that sometimes he hates talking to me because I can be a downer. And yes,  I will admit that I do have my moments but I am not sure if I have that same “negative Nadine” effect on everyone. (And if I do, it must suck to be around me!)

After venting on the phone with my husband and doing what I love (playing in makeup), I had a revelation: “How thankful are we (really), if we are always complaining?” And it’s true, no matter how much of a front we put up on FB, twitter or anywhere else if you complain about your blessings then you aren’t thankful. And complaining really doesn’t solve anything, it just make you feel worse and  makes you annoying. I remember about 4 years ago when I was working at the bank, everyday I complained about how much I hated my job and then without warning I was unemployed. I was devastated, to say the least. So when I was able to find a job with the power company, I thought that it was the greatest job ever. We should be careful when we complain, especially when what we have is truly a blessing. I try to remind myself of that incident and trust me it really hard to NOT to complain when my children are driving me crazy. But, I read somewhere a while back, that you life is someone else’s dream. So when complaining about having to go to work, cook, clean or anything (for that matter) consider the fact that you could be unemployed, hungry or homeless. Just a thought…

And I am reminded of this scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5: ^“16 Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”