The Garden of my Mind

Thoughts.  Sometimes they pass over our minds.  Sometimes they're ours.  Sometimes they are planted by darkness.  Sometimes...they are God's voice, trying to reach us through the distractions.  Such little things.  Not visible.  Often meaningless.   When they are whispered from darkness...untrue.

It's amazing that our whole life can be determined by what we do with these little fleeting, though sometimes debilitating tufts of information.

I've been feeling anxious and down.  The root?  My thoughts.  The darkness has been delivering some doosies lately.  Instead of ignoring them or replacing them with truth...I've rested there.  The completely wrong thing to do.  I've been tired, gotten some gluten, felt hormonal, been discouraged, focused to much on the hard stuff... all things that give the enemy of God a good chance of affecting me with lies, fear, and confusion.  I let my guard down.  I gave way to the lazy vacation days where it was hard to find alone time to focus on Christ and His truth.  POW!  Without even knowing it, my thoughts  became undisciplined and anxiety and heaviness of heart crept in.

I've taken some time today to let God's love pour into my soul.  Through prayer, reading the Bible, and realigning my mind with Truth.

I've written Philippians 4:8 on a note card and stuck it on the dryer in the laundry room...the place I'm most likely to see it, OFTEN.

"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 is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - mediate on these things."

Tending thoughts are like caring for a garden.  They must be planted in good soil, rich in nutrients.  They must be watered with truth to stay healthy.  And they must be weeded often to remove those that are untrue, fearful and confusing.  I'm focusing on that tending again.  It takes time.  It takes discipline.  And it takes laying everything down and letting Christ lead me on in the truth of who I am in Him.