Pick Your Battles​​

Deuteronomy 2: 19 & 24
   19. Do not harass them or provoke them to war.
   24. Begin to take possession of it and engage them in battle.

You may have heard the saying, “Pick your battles.” It is so true when raising kids or in any kind of relationship. There are some things that just aren’t worth the fight.

Then there are those times when you don’t need to be in battle at all. There are lots of attacks around you that if you tried to go into battle, on your own, you would lose! These are battles God did not intend for you to take on. They may be something like a co-worker who seems out to get you, or a supervisor who hates you. If you fight back, you look like the bad guy.

Then there are battles God says, “Go Get’em, Tiger! This is your battle and your victory! I will deliver this battle to you!”

The key to the battle is listening for God to tell you, “CHARGE!” Don’t rush in and try to fight on your own. Sometimes, you may not fight at all because it is not your battle. Sometimes God may do all the fighting for you. Other times, it may not be the right time for the battle.

Kind of reminds me of the old Kenny Rogers song, The Gambler

You’ve got to know when to hold ’em
Know when to fold ’em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run
You never count your money
When you’re sittin’ at the table
There’ll be time enough for countin’
When the dealin’s done

No matter what the circumstances, you need to let God Pick Your Battle!

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Copyright © 2018 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

Attitudes and Behaviors

Isaiah 26:3
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.

I supervise candidates who want to become special education teachers. When I have to go in and observe them they are nervous. They always worry about…

What if the kids don’t behave?
What they aren’t engaged?
What if they refuse to cooperate?

I remind them I am not observing their students. I am observing them. They are not in control of the students’ actions. They can teach the perfect lesson. They can have the perfect behavior management plan. They can have the perfect classroom routines. However, their students still have total control over their attitudes and behaviors. I am there to see how my student teachers react to the behaviors.

God is the perfect parent. He gave us a perfect world. However, Adam and Eve were in control of their behavior and attitude. Where did that get them? They made their choices. It was all on their heads (and hearts).

So, what about us? Our circumstances are not always our doing. We cannot always control them. However, we can always control how we handle them. We have control over two very important things…our attitude and our behavior.

It really is OK when our world is crumbling around us. We don’t have to keep it all together. No, WE can’t keep it all together. Only God himself can juggle all the situations swirling around us. What WE control is our attitude and behavior in the midst of the storm.

Copyright © 2018 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.