Yesterday was an incredibly perfect day.  Probably one of the best days of the year for me, no joke.  I came back from the sunny beach after hanging out with my family, watching the kids play in the waves, soaking up the sun, playing catch, it doesn’t get much better than this, right?  We came back to the house and I thought I would take a dip in the pool so I jumped in and man it was AWESOME!  Then 20-30 minutes later I realized I had been swimming with my phone in my pocket!  Oops, bye, bye, phone.

Bad decisions are bound to happen but it is more about how you react than the decision itself. 

“for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”   2 Timothy 1:7

It happens to all of us.  We make boneheaded decisions, fail, forget and sometimes these decision happen on accident.  There are a ton of different reasons we make these decision, self preservation, selfish ambition, forgetfulness, but what should we do when we make these decisions?

6 Things To Do When You Absolutely BLOW IT!

#1 Calm Down –  Overreacting is perhaps the silliest thing you can do.  When I realized I had been swimming with my phone, I got out, looked at Summer and said, “whoops, I forgot to take my phone out of my pocket.”  Then, she laughed at me, and I laughed at myself.  Can you imagine me, FREAKING OUT, losing my mind?  (Ok, maybe you can) but that didn’t happen.  You can’t get to step one until you control your emotions.

#2 Ask For Help – Immediately, after she laughed I asked her if she knew what to do, of course she did.  Power off the phone, Get some rice, put the phone in a plastic bag with the rice and do nothing for 36-48 hours.  So many people make bad decisions and then try to go it on their own.  Pride and unwillingness to be wrong cause so much hurt.  Who do you need to accept help from today?  So I immediately jumped in the car, drove to the store and got a bag of rice and some ziplock bags.

#3 Act Quickly – Now is the time for action.  Time is of the essence.  Don’t wait for someone else to solve your problem or to take a step for you.  You are responsible for you and your own actions.  Your character is at stake.  It’s time to act.  Don’t wait for others to do what you can do for yourself.

#4 Get Rid of Guilt –  Moping around the house will do me no good, THE – PHONE – IS – DEAD.  Only the rice and a miracle act of God will save the phone now.  Guilt is okay for a few moments.  I felt pretty stupid, but hey, who can fault me for jumping in the pool, Summer was in there 🙂  It happened, Its over, let’s move on from the guilt.

#5 Don’t Blame – We spend way too much time blaming other people for our circumstances.  Even if they were at fault for where you are now, the question is, “What are you going to do?”  It’s over!  Move On!  I know it may not seem that simple, but no matter what the current reality it’s time to forgive and move on.  Its a hard thing to do, but it’s worth it.  Sometimes the hardest person to forgive is yourself.

#6 Be Patient – There comes a time when you realized you have done all you can.  If that is the case, take the pressure off, rest.  You have done everything you know to do so you have to let go and just wait.  Take it one day at a time and control what you can control, your actions.

I think I’ll go for a swim.

Josh

By the way…since the writing of this blog, Phone didn’t make it 🙁

Join us at 217church this week for our message… “Total Dependence on God.”

Join us at 217church, a multi-site, contemporary church in Mercer County NJ.  217church is a family with small groups in New Jersey and Pennsylvania that meets Sundays in the Hamilton AMC24 Theater 9:30 & 11am and Grace Rogers School in East Windsor, NJ at 10:15.  Our new East Windsor Campus meets every Sunday.  If you are looking for a church in East Windsor NJ, Lawrenceville NJ, Ewing NJ, Robbinsville NJ, Hightstown NJ, Hamilton NJ, Mercer County, Middlesex County or Bucks County, PA, don’t miss our weekend services. Visit www.217church.com for more information.  Celebrate mother’s day with us Sunday May 11