Month: April 2016

April 20, 2016

Stinkin’ Thinkin’

Have you ever had “one of those weeks?”  Perhaps your best laid plans fell through… or someone you love misunderstood your intentions and “let you have it”… or illness drained your energy and left you feeling despondent.

In a nutshell, life is just not going the way you envisioned. download

Maybe your circumstances have left you feeling like a big green trash receptacle – full to the brim with the lid barely closing.  If so, I have good news – a truck from the sanitation department will take that trash away if we are willing to let it go.

Willing to let it go??  Why would anyone want to keep a stinky garbage can full of trash?

Why indeed?  Yet, how often do we sit around and ponder the problems in our lives?  How many times do we dwell on the negative things our loved ones do without considering all of the positives?  How often do we allow despair and doubt to color our world and affect our decisions?

God has provided a beautiful challenge that will help to clear away the debris and garbage that is trying to clutter our minds.  It’s found in Philippians 4:8.  Read through this list slowly and see if you have “set the garbage on the curb” or if you are hanging on to it and allowing it to stink up your life.

“Whatever is TRUE, whatever is NOBLE, whatever is RIGHT, whatever is PURE, whatever is LOVELY, whatever is ADMIRABLE – if anything is EXCELLENT or PRAISEWORTHY – think about such things.” 

Why not ‘dump the trash’ over into the Master’s basket?  Let Him take care of it.  He has an amazing way of transforming our thoughts and causing our situations to change when we entrust them to His care.  What the enemy meant for harm, God can turn around and use to help us grow and mature in Christ Jesus.

Instead of dwelling on the negative, give it to Jesus and allow Him to transform your thinking and fill the atmosphere of your life with His sweet fragrance.

I think I hear the trash truck coming…

Sonja

April 13, 2016

A Song is just a Song?

I find it interesting that shortly before Moses died, the Lord instructed him to teach the children of Israel a song.  Not just any song; and definitely not a “top-40” tune that tickles the ears and causes your toes to tap.  It was a serious song that would remind them of where they had been and prepare them for where they were going.  (It’s found in Deuteronomy 32… uh, don’t expect the praise team to sing it anytime soon! :))

God gave this song to Moses along with these instructions:   “Now write down this song… so that it may be a witness for Me… this song will testify against them…” ~ Deut. 31:19,21

Music is not neutral.  Every song is proclaiming a message.

Think about the songs that were sung at your wedding…  What if they were not just catchy tunes that called forth lovey-dovey feelings or the rote recital of a prayer?  (I actually talked my husband into singing a duet with me!  T23-wedding-paris-ceremony-636x636hat feat alone assured me that “he had it bad!!”)
What if the words of those songs rose up in judgment to testify for or against your marriage?

Take “The Lord’s Prayer” for example – if this popular song was included in your ceremony, is “Thy kingdom come/Thy will be done” still the cry of your hearts?  Is depending on God for daily bread and living a life of forgiveness a reality in your home?  Are you resisting temptation and giving the Lord all the glory forever??

As the Psalmist would say: “Selah” (Think about it!)

If we fall short of the loving feelings and actions featured in the lyrics, we can always pray to the One who gave us the gift of music and ask Him to restore and strengthen our love.

In the words of one popular wedding tune:

“Lead us to a place/ Guide us with Your grace/ Give us faith so we’ll be safe”                                                                  (“The Prayer” ~ Foster/Sager/Testa/Renis)