I’ve been working on staying more positive. Being a drama queen does help because I will think of the absolute worst thing that could happen, and then I’m relieved when it doesn’t go that way.

But I’m a professional worrier. I can be realistic and tell myself, “Rebekah there is no way an anvil is going to fall out of the sky and break your leg, and then you can’t go to work, and then your boss will get mad, and then you’ll be fired, and your leg will heal crooked and you’ll be a cripple and have to live on disability…”

No. I know that’s crazy. But that doesn’t stop me from thinking about it constantly and worrying that it MIGHT happen.

I’m an over-thinker. That’s what got me into writing. Put that creativity to use! Right?

So what’s the devil got to do with it?

Well we gotta cast the blame somewhere!

Just kidding.

My pastor was preaching on Psalm 137 yesterday at church. It’s a small chapter. So if you’re curious, read it. In all honesty, if I was reading it on my own, I would’ve skimmed over the verses thinking, “okay they’re sad and refuse to sing… Seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks?! Grody. Now moving on..” In one ear, out the other.

But pastor dwelled on a certain verse. 2, “There on the poplars we hung our harps.”

Giving up. They gave up. No more music. They hung up their harps.

If you’re a musician, you know the feeling of trying to play a piece of music, trying again, trying again, trying again, then slamming the keys or dashing the strings and announcing you’re “DONE!”

You give up.

The music isn’t motivating you anymore. It would sound pretty but you don’t care. You’re over it.

Hung up your harp.

You’re not happy and no joyful music is coming out, no beautiful song.

When you’re positive, when you’re happy and right with God and looking forward to the future, you have a song in your heart. But the devil will hit you will little stings: you keep messing up. What if you embarrass yourself. What if this is the biggest mistake of your life. What if you’ve already made that mistake?

The devil tries to steal our song. Constantly.

Biggest. Party. Pooper. Ever.

He feeds on our fears – our worries – our negativities and uses it to hold us back and keep us from singing our song.

Don’t let the devil steal your song.

My young women’s bible study is taking a five blessings a day challenge. Simple as that. Every day, we write down five blessings and text them to each other. My coworker has a journal specifically for this every night, and she was the one who gave me the idea.

Tips on being more positive:

Count your blessings. Stop with the drama and think of the good you have. If you’re healthy, ate something tasty, heard a good song, had a good hair day, survived work yet again. Those are things to be thankful for.

Laugh more. My dad is always my inspiration to laugh in the face of disaster. If he’s working on a car and starts to laugh, it means something went wrong. You may look like a psychopath to other people, but it’s better than moping or throwing tantrums. Light hearts are good for the soul.

Realize things could be a hundred times worse. This may work for some of you. Just like I was saying earlier. Even if it’s just you staring at your computer screen and saying to yourself, “well at least I don’t have one of those teeny invisible cuts on my cuticle that burn constantly like I shot my finger off.”

Remember you’re not alone. You have friends, family, and above all, God. God is always there to listen to you vent. I prayer journal every night. Without it, my mind will swirl with all the thoughts I had throughout the day, and I won’t sleep a wink.

My last one is: Be excited about something. This is the one I’m working on since my personal struggle is worrying about the future. I’m changing it into being excited about the future. Again, may look psychopathic that I’m grinning like a fool because I’m excited to take a shower and spray on one of the new scents I bought from Bath and Body Works. But oh well. It makes me happy.

Don’t let worrying about what other people think keep you from your happiness.

And ultimately, the last note I took from pastor’s sermon yesterday was “Straying from God makes you more and more miserable.”

If you’re finding that you’ve lost hope, that that’s it, you’ve given up, maybe it’s because you haven’t had something to live for. God supplies a never ending fountain of hope, joy, peace, and that feeling of complete-ness that we all crave. What are you afraid of?

Or maybe you’re just now realizing you’ve taken too many steps away from Him.

Go to God with your worries and troubles. Not all of us have troubles just in our mind, like me. I know a lot of you have legitimate issues. All the more reason to bring them to God.

The greatest thing that keeps me positive is knowing God is in control. I don’t have the power to monumentally screw anything up. God has my best interests at heart, and He’s holding my life in His hands.

He’s got this.

So for those of you out there struggling to keep positive, think about these things. Chose joy, like Paul says. Smile more. Laugh often. Acknowledge you’re still breathing. You can still see, feel, hear, speak, eat, walk, etc.

Don’t let the Devil steal your song.

When life hands you limes, rearrange the letters and turn it into a SMILE.