upward & outward...what's that?

I remember first hearing this phrase a few years back from C.J. Mahaney, leader of Sovereign Grace Ministries during his message entitled "The Main Thing." C.J. was actually quoting Scottish theologian Sinclair Ferguson who said the following:

"The evangelical orientation is inward and subjective. We are far better at looking inward than outward. We need to expend our energies admiring, exploring, expositing, and extolling Jesus Christ.”

C.J. went onto comment that "life is a spiritual, relational, and emotional roller coaster not because that’s just how it goes, but because we so often look inward to ourselves rather than outward and upward to our Savior. We experience this roller coaster because we pour energy into our selfish desires and expectations rather than 'admiring, exploring, expositing, and extolling Jesus Christ.' In other words, we must stop thinking about ourselves and start praising Christ, learning about Christ, and talking about Christ."

This little phrase "upward and outward" has stuck with me. In any given situation if I stop and ask myself where my focus is, I am immediately faced with a decision. Will I make the choice to readjust my focus away from myself and upward to the Savior or will I continue looking inward at myself? This one little question has had a great impact on my daily life as wife, mother, and friend.

So there it is, my first post.