Showing posts with label thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thoughts. Show all posts
Saturday, October 13, 2012
How did it get to Oct???
Oh my sisters, sorry I have been so negligent on here... mercy me!! May to October?? Well, better late than never?
So much has happened since May. I have been working a lot, my oldest daughter turned 21 (not months but YEARS!!!), my youngest turned 19 (also in years), and I'm sure there's more but for now, thats a lot for me. The dynamics have definitely changed in my life. When this (retired) homeschooling mom went back to working, things kind of got dropped, missed, overlooked, etc. It's amazing how UN Superwoman I am... seriously. Do you remember the commercial where the amazing woman on the screen struts to this tune, "I can bring home the bacon. Fry it up in a pan. And never, never let you forget you're a man cause I'm a woman, Enjoli." Um, well I practically forgot my husband was a man but that had nothing to do with the fact that I was a woman! Working retail, I sometimes get home after he's already in bed! Then he gets up and leaves before I'm awake. But we do have cell phones so we enjoy a virtual relationship daily! Haha!
So UN Superwoman me has also failed to keep up with housework, reading, quilting, this blog, getting together with friends. Enter God's abundant grace, His grace is truly sufficient. Let me encourage you today that whatever you are facing in this crazy, sometimes break neck speed life, that God is a constant, faithful, sovereign Lord. He never leaves you nor forsakes you and He is a strength when you are weak (trust me I know about me being weak when He is strong!).
Let's you and I rest in His grace, be saturated by it, be conduits of it. Take some time today to meditate on the instruments of His grace in your life. You will be amazed at His love for you.
Bless you my sisters <3 Let's chat again soon <3
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Whatsoever things are lovely...
Lovely is word that conjures up thoughts of lush, inviting gardens or a serene lake surrounded by trees at sunset; lovely reminds me of sweet tempered, servant-hearted women I know that I can't help but be drawn to. What does it remind you of? Lovely is a picture painting word isn't it?
I am grateful for "lovely", it cheers, brightens, and beautifies the world around me; it is winsome.
Just so, our thoughts are to be lovely - friendly towards others, with love toward others, agreeable. Our thoughts have the potential to reflect beauty and love drawing others to Christ. How do they do that? The Word of God tells us that what is in our hearts/minds will overflow into our lives (Matt. 12:35).
Thoughts full of the love of Christ, compassion, tenderness, mercy, and sweetness. Lovely thoughts have no room for bitterness, anger, malice, envy, jealousy, self-pity, or the like. These are not passive, enabling thoughts, unwilling to face the sinfulness of others but thoughts that are for their best interest, willing to reflect true Biblical love in a winsome way... they are thoughts that are purposeful, carefully chosen, and resonant of pure Christlike love for others.
How can we begin to think on whatsoever things are lovely? By filling our hearts and minds with the living word of God... hide God's word in your heart and that will be what flows out of it.
I am grateful for "lovely", it cheers, brightens, and beautifies the world around me; it is winsome.
Just so, our thoughts are to be lovely - friendly towards others, with love toward others, agreeable. Our thoughts have the potential to reflect beauty and love drawing others to Christ. How do they do that? The Word of God tells us that what is in our hearts/minds will overflow into our lives (Matt. 12:35).
Thoughts full of the love of Christ, compassion, tenderness, mercy, and sweetness. Lovely thoughts have no room for bitterness, anger, malice, envy, jealousy, self-pity, or the like. These are not passive, enabling thoughts, unwilling to face the sinfulness of others but thoughts that are for their best interest, willing to reflect true Biblical love in a winsome way... they are thoughts that are purposeful, carefully chosen, and resonant of pure Christlike love for others.
How can we begin to think on whatsoever things are lovely? By filling our hearts and minds with the living word of God... hide God's word in your heart and that will be what flows out of it.
Pure thinking
Philippians 4:8-9
"Finally brethren ,whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, meditate on these things."
We have begun a journey investigating our thought lives from a Biblical perspective. Along our journey so far we have visited true, noble, and just thoughts. Today we're going to take a look at pure thoughts.
Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines pure this way:
"Free from moral defilement; without spot; not sullied or tarnished; incorrupt; undebased by moral turpitude; holy."
Vine's Expository Dictionary defines the word from the Greek as "pure from defilement, not contaminated". It can also be translated chaste meaning "pure from every fault, immaculate".
One good picture of purity is newly fallen snow... have you ever awakened to a world of freshly fallen snow? It's one of the most amazing and beautiful visual experiences! Being a sunny California girl, it's a rare treat for me to see that. But it only took once to leave an indelible imprint on my mind... the hush, the crispness, the awe inspiring beauty of untouched, undisturbed snow. Oh how I wish my mind had the constant quality of freshly fallen snow - without spot, unsullied, pure white, faultless.
Unfortunately, my mind is battlefield where even if the "snow" falls pure, there is my enemy close at hand to sully that "snow" with dirty boots meant to contaminate the tranquility and purity. But this I know, that even with an enemy so fierce and determined, my God is greater and I am more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus my Lord.
Praise God that His word is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword; it pierces even to the division of joints and marrow, soul and spirit and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Heb. 4:12). The word of God is a purifier (Ps. 119:9), as I press into Him, read and memorize the Word of God - it cleanses my heart and mind convicting, correcting, instructing me (II Tim. 3:16-17).
My dear friends, pure thoughts can only come through the Word of God. As we find our thoughts becoming sullied or tarnished to any degree, we must put off those thoughts and put on the mind of Christ by replacing them with the Word of God. Find verses that speak to your struggle and write them down on a 3X5 card, place them where you can see them (mirror, steering wheel, inside of front door, etc). Keep it before your eyes because the Word of God is our sword. Let me encourage you to pick up your sword and slice through those impure thoughts. Then the victory will be sure time and time again.
"Finally brethren ,whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, meditate on these things."
We have begun a journey investigating our thought lives from a Biblical perspective. Along our journey so far we have visited true, noble, and just thoughts. Today we're going to take a look at pure thoughts.
Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines pure this way:
"Free from moral defilement; without spot; not sullied or tarnished; incorrupt; undebased by moral turpitude; holy."
Vine's Expository Dictionary defines the word from the Greek as "pure from defilement, not contaminated". It can also be translated chaste meaning "pure from every fault, immaculate".
One good picture of purity is newly fallen snow... have you ever awakened to a world of freshly fallen snow? It's one of the most amazing and beautiful visual experiences! Being a sunny California girl, it's a rare treat for me to see that. But it only took once to leave an indelible imprint on my mind... the hush, the crispness, the awe inspiring beauty of untouched, undisturbed snow. Oh how I wish my mind had the constant quality of freshly fallen snow - without spot, unsullied, pure white, faultless.
Unfortunately, my mind is battlefield where even if the "snow" falls pure, there is my enemy close at hand to sully that "snow" with dirty boots meant to contaminate the tranquility and purity. But this I know, that even with an enemy so fierce and determined, my God is greater and I am more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus my Lord.
Praise God that His word is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword; it pierces even to the division of joints and marrow, soul and spirit and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Heb. 4:12). The word of God is a purifier (Ps. 119:9), as I press into Him, read and memorize the Word of God - it cleanses my heart and mind convicting, correcting, instructing me (II Tim. 3:16-17).
My dear friends, pure thoughts can only come through the Word of God. As we find our thoughts becoming sullied or tarnished to any degree, we must put off those thoughts and put on the mind of Christ by replacing them with the Word of God. Find verses that speak to your struggle and write them down on a 3X5 card, place them where you can see them (mirror, steering wheel, inside of front door, etc). Keep it before your eyes because the Word of God is our sword. Let me encourage you to pick up your sword and slice through those impure thoughts. Then the victory will be sure time and time again.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Just thinking...
"whatsoever things are just"
Was I just thinking or was I thinking just (ly) ???
Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines just this way:
"Conformed to truth; exact; proper; accurate; as just thoughts; just expressions; just images or representations; a just description; a just inference."
Accurate thoughts, thoughts that are not exaggerated one way or the other... is that the way I think? Well, if the truth be told, my thoughts can easily be influenced toward injustice.
Proverbs 18:13 tells us, "He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and a shame to him."
Unfortunately I can tell you from experience that this is true. I am not always careful to investigate things before I form an opinion. This careless habit has caused me much shame and regret. The beauty of this learning opportunity is that it can teach me to be more just in the future if I am willing to be taught by the experience.
How can I be more just in my thought life?
~Extend grace - give others the benefit of the doubt (The Lord knows we all need grace!)
~Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative - think in positive terms first as a regular habit
~Consider the facts objectively - step back and look at the situation with an open mind
~Seek God's insight - ask God for wisdom to see things His way
~Recognize my own sinfulness - I am not perfect and will fail, miserably at times, putting me "in their shoes" quite literally
~Be humble- admit I'm not God, I don't know all the facts much less the heart of the person or people involved, only God knows that
~Pray - be a part of the solution and take the person or situation to the throne of grace- Prayer is the key that unlocks all the other actions above.
Just thinking is
Unbiased,
Shaped by grace, and
Truthful
Was I just thinking or was I thinking just (ly) ???
Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines just this way:
"Conformed to truth; exact; proper; accurate; as just thoughts; just expressions; just images or representations; a just description; a just inference."
Accurate thoughts, thoughts that are not exaggerated one way or the other... is that the way I think? Well, if the truth be told, my thoughts can easily be influenced toward injustice.
Proverbs 18:13 tells us, "He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and a shame to him."
Unfortunately I can tell you from experience that this is true. I am not always careful to investigate things before I form an opinion. This careless habit has caused me much shame and regret. The beauty of this learning opportunity is that it can teach me to be more just in the future if I am willing to be taught by the experience.
How can I be more just in my thought life?
~Extend grace - give others the benefit of the doubt (The Lord knows we all need grace!)
~Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative - think in positive terms first as a regular habit
~Consider the facts objectively - step back and look at the situation with an open mind
~Seek God's insight - ask God for wisdom to see things His way
~Recognize my own sinfulness - I am not perfect and will fail, miserably at times, putting me "in their shoes" quite literally
~Be humble- admit I'm not God, I don't know all the facts much less the heart of the person or people involved, only God knows that
~Pray - be a part of the solution and take the person or situation to the throne of grace- Prayer is the key that unlocks all the other actions above.
Just thinking is
Unbiased,
Shaped by grace, and
Truthful
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Birds for Thought
II Corinthians 10:3-5
"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ..."
Thoughts... mine have a tendency to pop up, run rampant, confuse, distract, and keep me awake at night. Thoughts direct our actions and attitudes. Good thoughts can lead to great benefit but those not so good thoughts (negative, discontentment, envy, jealousy, criticism, anger, bitterness, self pity, to name a few) can lead to destruction.
Imagine that you are in a room with a large bird cage in the center of it and inside of that birdcage there are a hundred birds. If all of those birds were to get out of the cage, the room would quickly become chaotic. The birds would panic, squawk, run into things, create a mess, maybe even damage curtains and furniture as you try to capture them and put them back into the cage. The job would be quite a challenge wouldn't it? Can't you just imagine a person thinking, "Why did I let those birds out? I wouldn't have had all of this trouble if I would've left the cage door closed!"
Our minds and thoughts are just the same. How often do we let our birds (thoughts) out of the cage (mind) so that they are running rampant in our heads creating havoc, confusion, damage- among other things - just like those birds. How much better would it be if we were to take those thoughts captive by shutting the cage door?
How do we shut the cage door? By replacing unbiblical thinking with Biblical thinking - memorizing scripture and thinking on it OR opening up our Bible, finding a verse that speaks to our struggle and reading it out loud as often as we must to keep that "bird" caged! It is a conscious choice to stop the flow of thought and deliberately redirect it. It is understanding that this is a battle that can be won by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit - the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God! This verse in I Corinthians has been a great tool in my own personal battle with unbiblical thinking.
Let's carry this analogy just a little further... with all of those birds in one cage, that cage is going to need to be cleaned periodically. The birds will be healthier if they are cared for properly as well. Our minds - like the cage - can get dirty and smelly if we do not keep it clean. If we procrastinate, the job only gets harder to do and our thoughts can start to get unhealthy. Routine maintenance on our "cages" is a good habit to get into.
Philippians 4:8 is a great cage cleaner: "Finally brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy- meditate on these things."
Dear friends, this task is not one that we can do on our own... we need the living Word of God to wash our minds and renew it. In order for that to happen we must pick up the Word daily, read it (even if it is only a few verses), think on it, pray over it, and let it cleanse our "cages" (minds) and bring health to our "birds" (thoughts).
"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ..."
Thoughts... mine have a tendency to pop up, run rampant, confuse, distract, and keep me awake at night. Thoughts direct our actions and attitudes. Good thoughts can lead to great benefit but those not so good thoughts (negative, discontentment, envy, jealousy, criticism, anger, bitterness, self pity, to name a few) can lead to destruction.
Imagine that you are in a room with a large bird cage in the center of it and inside of that birdcage there are a hundred birds. If all of those birds were to get out of the cage, the room would quickly become chaotic. The birds would panic, squawk, run into things, create a mess, maybe even damage curtains and furniture as you try to capture them and put them back into the cage. The job would be quite a challenge wouldn't it? Can't you just imagine a person thinking, "Why did I let those birds out? I wouldn't have had all of this trouble if I would've left the cage door closed!"
Our minds and thoughts are just the same. How often do we let our birds (thoughts) out of the cage (mind) so that they are running rampant in our heads creating havoc, confusion, damage- among other things - just like those birds. How much better would it be if we were to take those thoughts captive by shutting the cage door?
How do we shut the cage door? By replacing unbiblical thinking with Biblical thinking - memorizing scripture and thinking on it OR opening up our Bible, finding a verse that speaks to our struggle and reading it out loud as often as we must to keep that "bird" caged! It is a conscious choice to stop the flow of thought and deliberately redirect it. It is understanding that this is a battle that can be won by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit - the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God! This verse in I Corinthians has been a great tool in my own personal battle with unbiblical thinking.
Let's carry this analogy just a little further... with all of those birds in one cage, that cage is going to need to be cleaned periodically. The birds will be healthier if they are cared for properly as well. Our minds - like the cage - can get dirty and smelly if we do not keep it clean. If we procrastinate, the job only gets harder to do and our thoughts can start to get unhealthy. Routine maintenance on our "cages" is a good habit to get into.
Philippians 4:8 is a great cage cleaner: "Finally brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy- meditate on these things."
Dear friends, this task is not one that we can do on our own... we need the living Word of God to wash our minds and renew it. In order for that to happen we must pick up the Word daily, read it (even if it is only a few verses), think on it, pray over it, and let it cleanse our "cages" (minds) and bring health to our "birds" (thoughts).
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