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BY CANDIDA SULLIVAN

contributing columnist

The enemy wants us to focus on fear. He continually paints us a picture of hopelessness. Anytime that he can direct our focus from God to our troubles, then he succeeds. God is love. Therefore, when we focus on God’s amazing love, we have hope.

One of the most significant decisions that we can make in our lives is to decide who we are going to serve. We cannot serve God and hold onto the devil simultaneously. Once we decide to serve God, then we should serve Him with our whole hearts. That means walking after His love and light.

We only get one life, and we get to decide how we will use it. We can dwell on the past and become anxious for the future, or we can live in the present moment. The present moment is the only moment that matters. What can we do now to bring joy, peace, and love into our hearts? Instead of focusing on everything that might go wrong, we must focus on what could go right. We need to ask ourselves better questions.

When I ask questions like “Why am I so miserable? What is wrong with me? Why do I have such bad luck? Why do the bad things always happen to me?”

Then, I am giving my mind negative questions to answer. Right away, my mind will go to work for me and come up with the answers to my questions. The answers, however, will only bring me down even further.

When I ask questions like “What can I do today to show and feel love? What emotions do I want to feel today? How can I enjoy this day? What can I do today to help me to become the person I want to be?”

One set of questions keeps me stuck in a negative pain cycle. The others help me to think productively. We have the power inside of us to change our lives and to create a fantastic life for ourselves. At any given time, we all can choose a new thought. God gave us the freedom of choice, and yet most of the time, we live as if we are in bondage. Today, we need to take our power back. We only have one life, and we should do everything we can to live well. Ask God to help you establish your thoughts and to live the life that He created you to live.

Candida Sullivan is an award-winning author, inspirational speaker and certified life coach. Her book, Despite Your Circumstances, won the 2016 CSPA book of the year award. It is her passion to help others learn to overcome their own circumstances. She lives in New Tazewell, Tennessee with her husband and children. To contact her, email candidasullivan@yahoo.com.