be mindful

I love those two little words, "be mindful".  I tell my kids to always be mindful of the people and situation around them.  Do you say that?  Or tell your kids that?  Or yourself?

I think as Christians we need to be mindful of the Holy Spirit.  I'm not any great theologian, but I believe the Holy Spirit is our advocate.  Do you know what that word means?  He is the One who looks after us, and He wants the best for us. 

Just in case I may not be right, I'm going to take a minute to check out the true meaning of that word.

Dictionary.com says this about the word advocate:
  
To speak or write in favor of; support or urge by argument; recommend publicly: He advocated higher salaries for teachers.

I was right, it turns out.  :-)  I love it when that happens.  

But I believe that about God as the Holy Spirit~He wants the best for us.  And, I believe in some cases, He leads us to shut our mouths when the time is appropriate.  And when we are blessed enough to realize when He is leading us to shutting our mouths, we need to be mindful of His leading.  

I won't go into details, but tonight the Holy Spirit literally stopped me in my tracks, turned me around and softened my heart.  Right before He did this, I was in tears, crying out to God to help me be less of a mess.  And in the next instant, I almost felt like He reached down, picked me up, turned me around and changed my heart and my attitude.  

I knew right away that this was exactly what happened, and it was an answer to my cry for His guidance.  And right away, I was humbled and thankful that He cares so much for me.  

I might break down and tell the rest of the story eventually, but for now, I'll stop at this point.  

I just want to encourage you to be mindful of His presence.  He is literally one conversation away from helping you.  If you feel like you're alone and don't know what to do, call out to Him.  He hears, He knows what we go through.  Even when I sometimes don't know what to pray, all I say is "Jesus".  Over and over and over and over, until I feel His peace washing over me.  

And that's okay with Him, after all He is the giver of life, the Creator of our hearts.  He knows what we think before we can ever speak it.

Reach out.  Receive all He has to offer.  Be mindful of His holy presence.  

Love to all.