"Casting down imaginations ... and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ..." ... 2 Corinthians 10:5
Oh, not the good imagination stuff, you know, thoughts that inspire us to become more creative and dream a little bigger. Rather, it's the stuff which turns us into discontented, whining saddos that we have to watch.
Like this morning. I read Judy's fun post about her vacation and then scrolled down and saw the gorgeous dresser she and her husband brought home and the way it sits before her lovely green wall, beneath her incredible collection of framed prints.
Boy oh boy... Did ol' Debra ever have to 'bring into captivity' some sorry, sorry thoughts. Ones resembling these:
"A vacation? What's that? Tom and I never even go to yard sales like we used to. We just sit around like lazy slugs on weekends now. Besides, our house is too small for new furniture, anyway. Well, Tom's room majorly needs new furniture, but huge, storage-type stuff that we'd have to hire a moving company to carry in, lest we break our backs. That is, if we could find the right kind of furniture because all we do is sit around like lazy slugs on weekends..."
... Yep. A pathetic, sorry, victim-mentality mind-loop. You guessed it.
How to bring all that into captivity? I tell myself to seek solutions that I can make. Changes I can create around here. Colors I can paint what I already have, ways I can rearrange furniture, ideas I can locate on decluttering to make more room. And then I make positive plans.
Every day of my life I 'cast down imaginations' and boss my thoughts and emotions around rather than let them boss me. Every single day. It's that important to me. Thoughts of offense, frustration, envy, worry, selfishness, doubt, even extended-grief--anything not 'in obedience to Christ'--all must be made submissive to the real me. To the real God inside me.
If you asked me what two things I believe are vital to a happy Christian life, I'd say: 1.) Love Jesus with all your heart and 2.) Like a drill sergeant, boss your thoughts and emotions around. Take them captive. Don't let them boss you.
Yep. That's what I would say.
If you asked me.
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Proverbs 25:28
"A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls."
"... but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified." ... 1 Corinthians 9:27
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Did anyone else watch Toy Story of Terror last week? I thought it was laugh-out-loud hilarious. :)
Oh, and on Saturday Tom and I watched the old Alfred Hitchcock thriller, Shadow of a Doubt. Both of us really enjoyed it. Much.
If anyone is interested, the framed pictures on my green wall cost a TOTAL of $35.00. Sale frames from Michael's Craft Store, clearance Martha Stewart scrapbook paper, and bird pictures from a thrift store find - $1.00 for the book.
ReplyDeleteOur vacation was financed by Biolife. My husband does this twice a week and we bank the money in a glass bottle. The day before we left he went out into the garage and broke the bottle. The contents determine just how much we spend on vacation. This time, we came back with money!
He also found a hotel room (through Orbitz)right on Lake Geneva for $59.00 a night. It was LOVELY.
My favorite find was a five dollar vintage rubber doll that my granddaughter has been carrying around ever since. The doll is being as well cared for as any American Girl doll could dream of.
It also helps that we have relatives in Wisconsin who fed us magnificently.
Yes Debra, You are so right! Thoughts are where it begins, if we can control those it is over half the battle!
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