"Sow a thought and you reap an act;
sow an act and you reap a habit;
Sow a habit and you reap a character;
sow a character and you reap a destiny."
~Samuel Smiles

Isn't it funny how things always start out so small. As this quote so wisely points out all the trouble (or good things) start in our minds with our thoughts. No one usually forms a bad habit overnight. Usually no one ever gets better overnight either. For instance, I am overweight. That didn't happen overnight, and I can assure you that it is not coming off overnight either. The problem started in my mind where all I wanted to think about is wanting to eat too much or for the wrong reasons. Those thoughts turned into the act of eating when I shouldn't eat. Those acts turned into a habit of eating too much. After eating too much for several years, now I am obese and have diabetes. Now I have the hard task of trying to reverse the damage and change my thinking patterns so that the bad acts and habits can eventually change. That is why the scriptures say:

2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Hebrews 3:1 (NIV)

Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.

I think we like freedom in our thoughts and feel it is harmless to let our thoughts run wild. But here is the breeding ground for every evil. If a negative or sinful thought is allowed to continue, it will breed other negative or sinful thoughts. On the other hand the same is true with pure and good thoughts. That is why we are encouraged to fix our thoughts on Jesus. He'll take care of the rest!

God is doing a New Thing!

Isaiah 43:18 - 21

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert
and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise."

I just read this scripture this morning and I am so thankful to God for leading me there. I think most of us deal with the past (some more than others), and the past can be a crippling thing. Bad memories and past hurts can fill us with resentment and hinder us here in the present. Like I have shared recently, God is teaching me to let go of the past. The temptation to keep thinking of how someone hurt me or did me wrong can be so strong. In a twisted way it feels good to nurse a wound. But as this scripture points out, dwelling here takes me to a wasteland, a desert.

But what wonderful encouragement! God is here in the desert! He causes streams in the wasteland to spring up! He is doing a new thing and I will miss it if I refuse to leave the past. I want to drink from the streams God is causing to spring up. I want to be a part of the new thing God is doing. Will you join me?

New Beginings

I love the new theme at our church this year, "New Beginnings." God is doing something new and I am really excited. I love that God allows us to start again, new, fresh and forgiven. Now If I can just learn to do that with others I will experience a new level of peace and joy that I have never experienced before. I have always been prone to a kind of attack from the devil where I think I have no friends, feel lonely, etc. If someone hurts me I tend to revisit that hurt many times and nurse it for all it's worth. I am so tired of being weak in that area. It never does make the other person act differently, it just hurts me. God is the One I need to look to, not people and I am trying to let God teach me these things just like the old saying, "Let go and let God" says. That is my expectation for this year. To just trust God to do His will and I know that He will work things out for His glory!