IMLKNUP

How long did it take you to decipher the title?

It stands for "I'm Looking Up." Did the picture give you a clue?

I read about a lady that used IMLKNUP as her car tag for several years as a way to remind herself to shift her thinking, attitudes and perspectives. Pretty cool, huh?

Have you ever stopped to think how greatly your attitude determines your response to the circumstances that happen in your life. Do you see things as obstacles or opportunities? Is the proverbial glass half full or half empty?

Sometimes our genetic wiring influences us toward either a positive or a negative attitude. I hate to admit it but I have a strong genetic predisposition toward negativity. God, in His great wisdom and tender mercy, gave me a husband who is the exact opposite. Roy generally has a positive outlook about most things. I have learned SO much from him over the years! His upbeat attitudes have taught me to take another look and adjust my thinking when my natural inclination to be negative kicks in.

Oswald Chambers said this about our attitudes:

"Our state of mind is powerful in its effects. It can be the enemy that penetrates right into our soul and distracts our mind from God. There are certain attitudes we should never dare to indulge. If we do, we will find they have distracted us from faith in God. Until we get back into a quiet mood before Him, our faith is of no value, and our confidence in the flesh and in human ingenuity is what rules our lives."

Hmmm.

What attitudes do you indulge in that rule your life in negative ways, my sisters? Could God be telling you it's time to change? I can't help but wonder if some of those FAULT LINES we talked about could be cracks and crevices that were chiseled by sharp attitudes!

How do we go about getting an attitude adjustment? Is there something specific we can do to move our attitudes in the right direction?

YES! We can begin LOOKING UP!

Colossians 3:2 tells us to "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."

The key is to purposely "SET" our minds on the things of God. We have to make a conscious decision to shift our thinking from our old ways to God's ways. When one of the negative attitudes that shapes our perspective pops its ugly head up, we can let it be a trigger in our mind. A trigger that prompts us not to act or feel as we always have but to remind us to immediately LOOK UP and set our minds on God's truth.

I'm sure it will feel awkward at first. I'm sure we'll forget and embrace our old ugly attitudes once in awhile. But just like any other habit, the more often we do it, the sooner it will become second nature to us. We will be transformed by constantly setting and resetting our minds.

This is SO important, girlfriends! I really want to take not just my thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ, but my attitudes as well. How about you?

Here's what I'm doing to help myself remember ... when I sign notes or emails to my friends, I'm going to start signing "Looking Up - Beverly." I think it's a pretty good mantra.

Looking up!