I've had a dilemma to deal with on this blog. I am a religious person and some of the sites that we offer through this company are centered on those same religious beliefs. I hope that means that users of those sites read this blog, in which case, it would be acceptable to discuss religious topics in the blog. But I read and post comments on many blogs that are not religious in nature. Which might mean that non-religious individuals or individuals of religions with differing views are reading this blog and might stop as a result of the religious content. So, here's the compromise. Religious topics will be discussed on a series of posts airing on Sundays. The rest of the week will be psychology, economics, marketing and general business topics. Because all of our sites aim at strengthening the individual through peer support, social psychology will be a common topic.

This being Sunday, I am going to begin with a topic that is religious in nature. But even those that aren't religious or are of a different belief system will see parallels to their own beliefs in the example I'm going to use. I've found that when I make commitments to God, He often follows through even when I don't. I know that his blessings are usually contingent upon my obedience to eternal laws, but sometimes he goes right ahead with faith in me that I will keep my end of the bargain. And when I don't, it causes problems for me, not for Him. For example, earlier this week I was really tired and making dumb mistakes and struggling to keep my mind and heart on the right course of thought. So I told Heavenly Father that I was going to go to bed early the next day. I think I even promised that I would. The next day, I went to bed maybe half an hour earlier than normal. This was still late and He and I both new it. Come 4:30am, I'm awake. I had decided awhile ago that if Heavenly Father ever woke me up in the middle of the night, I would get up and talk to him or read the scriptures because He was probably waking me up because He wanted me to figure something out. But that morning, at 4:30am, the response wasn't that I was supposed to figure something out, but that I was supposed to get started. I had things to do that day that He had planned on me doing and I wasn't going back to sleep. I stayed up and had a great morning, very productive and effective. Of course, I got tired and took a nap around 7am before I had to leave for work at 8am. I, of course, woke up late and was rushed. At the first sign of dumb mistakes throughout the day, I felt (didn't consciously think, but felt) "Well, this is your fault, Father. Why'd you wake me up so early?" (Directed to God, of course). And the response was, "Well, why'd you tell me you were going to bed early?"

I felt dumb. I'm grateful for a God that believes me when I say I'm going to do something. I wish I was strong enough to actually follow through.

Powered by ScribeFire.