Day One

     "This is the day that the Lord hath made, I will rejoice and be glad in it" Psalm 118:24. After listening to a recent sermon on the topic of spiritual warfare, I have taken the advice of Pastor Chip Ingram and committed myself to memorizing some scriptures to heart, for the purposes of sharing with others, motivation in the face of adversity, and also for use in instances where I need my own sword or shield. This verse from Psalm 118 happened to be the first one that I have decided to put to memory. And what a great verse to place right there in the forefront of my mind.
     When we wake up each day we are faced with a choice, we can choose to live in the successes or missteps of yesterday, or we can choose to be thankful for the day that we have been given and live that day out to its fullest. That is the message I get from Psalm 118:24, TODAY is the day that we have been given I'm going to live it like the gift it is, and not allow yesterday's events hamper what today holds for this life I have been given to live.
     In that same way, I won't put off till tomorrow what God has given me the day today to do. Procrastination is a tool used to deflate the gift of today. The idea that "I'll do it tomorrow" runs counter intuitive to the mindset of rejoicing and being glad for the gift of today. I've said it before in other posts, but it's worth mentioning a thousand more times, tomorrow is not the gift. None of us has the guarantee of tomorrow. If that is the case then why would we take the day that we have been given to work, love, share, or serve and place it on the shelf?
     When you woke up this morning that signaled "Day One" of the rest of your life. How you choose to use this day may very well determine the direction that someone else chooses to go in life because of the way you are living this day. Day One signals a new beginning, your past is just that past, yesterday's mistakes are done, the impact of those mistakes will be determined by what you do today to correct them or use them to make today a better day. Day One signals an opportunity to start all over. You may have had a bad attitude yesterday, for the last year, or maybe for the biggest part of your life, but guess what? Today is Day One of a whole new chapter in your life. You make the decision on what today is going to look like, remember our scripture "I will rejoice and be glad in it!" That is 100% a choice, it would have been just as easy for the writer of the psalm to say, "This is the day that the Lord has made, "I wish I could enjoy it but ________". Some of us may be able to fill in that blank, but I can't, let me make it clear, I won't fill in that blank. I have too much to be thankful for, too much to do, and hopefully, God willing, way too many lives to impact with this day that the Lord hath made!
     Today is Day One. I believe that is an appropriate title for our Flat Tire thought for the week. Each day you wake up is a gift, it is your choice to decide what you will do on Day One of the rest of your life. My advice, live it well, live it like it is the first day of the rest of your life!
Coach Carter