Mind Games

This morning as I sat in my favorite chair, gazing at the shimmering Christmas lights on our tree, and sipping my quickly-cooling-to-lukewarm coffee...I realized how much negativity I allow inside my head.

I assume the worst about situations, people and myself. I don't anticipate I will have good day...it's "enduring" through life. Sometimes I even feel guilty for enjoying life or having a happy day. How ridiculous! Why live under such a burden?

"The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."

"The steps of a man are established by the Lord, and he delights in His way. When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the Lord is the One who holds his hand."

"Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God."

"Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear."

"Finally brethern, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy or praise, dwell on these things."

With these truths in mind... I decided it was time for a change. Holding His hand, I will...

-choose to think the best of people.
-choose to only allow pleasing, honoring thoughts to enter my mind and heart.
-have a good day today!

Along the same lines, I recently read an article concerning the power of words. Here are some excerpts (Click on the title to be directed to the full article online) :

Vocabulary of Grace
by Rachel Starr Thomson

“As a writer, I deal with the power of words every day. Words damage or heal; impart grace or condemn. On a deep level, they alter the way we see life and respond to challenges. They create safe places or dangerous ones…. Of everything in life we tend to be most careless with our words, yet they are powerful and worthy of care.

Language of Faith
"When I was 13 or so, my dad put the kibosh on a word we'd been using for years: "lucky." Why remove something so common from our language? "Because," he said, "we don't believe in luck." Awkward though it sounded to us at the time, we were instructed to use the word "blessed" instead. … This simple switch in vocabulary triggered a profound difference in attitude. … Luck, after all, is arbitrary. Blessing comes from the deliberate hand of a good God.

" … So often though, our speech ignores reality and refuses to give God His due. When our speech reflects truth, truth will sink deeper into our hearts — and perhaps give others something to think about as well.

Speaking Honor
"We live in a culture of irreverence. In the name of making people laugh, we make a mockery of everything. … Few things are dishonored more in our culture than marriage and family. This is true among Christians as much as anywhere else. Engagement is met with crude jokes and comments about life being over. ... We claim to believe what God says about marriage and family, yet our speech patterns are just as likely to reflect feminism, humanism, and hedonistic values.

"… We have the opportunity to use words that reflect what we really believe, that strengthen our highest ideals and give glory to God. Why not take it? … We can probably all think of a time when someone's unexpected words lifted us up and gave us the strength to keep going. Ultimately, the words we speak are gifts — to those around us and to God, who always hears."