Jesus, Tips, and Seafood (67)

Okay, here I go, I’ve had my laptop open for the last hour and haven’t started my blog for today yet. It’s not that I don’t know what to write about, or I don’t want to write, I just haven’t opened up a Word Document yet…

Today was actually a pretty decent day. Yeah I had to work and didn’t feel super great because of the weather that is moving in, but God did some pretty cool things today.

First of all, I got to spend a little bit of time reading the book I got for my birthday a couple days ago, “Jesus>Religion” by Jefferson Bethke. It is so very applicable to my generation. Many times when someone tries to reach “Generation X, Y, or Z”, they tend to compromise the truth of God’s Word. They talk about God’s love without mentioning that fact that you cant just live your life for yourself. They take the meat out of song lyrics and make them sound like the songs you hear on any rock and roll radio station. I love the way Jeff uses modern language and illustrations without compromising the Truth. He is really worth looking up on YouTube and then purchasing His book at your local Christian bookstore or I think even at Wal-Mart.

Secondly, my work day wasn’t too bad either. I work in a copy and print center so I typically spend my days making copies and getting paper cuts. Today was no different, but I had a customer that I helped a month or so ago come back and request work from me again. This gentleman told me that he was so glad when he saw me working today. I finished this guy’s job, and he tipped me! He was so pleased with the way I had taken care of him and just wanted to show his appreciation. I also had another gentleman come in today that I had also helped previously. He also was very pleased with my work the first time and was excited to have me do some work for him again. The absolute best part of my job is getting to make a customer’s day by going above and beyond what he requests. Making them happy, makes me happy!

The third thing, is kind of two things. So since I worked late on my birthday we didn’t really do a whole lot. I came home and ate the reheated baked spaghetti I requested and opened presents and went to bed. My parents we super thoughtful though and had a dozen roses and balloons delivered to work. I absolutely LOVE them! They are so pretty and I smile every time I see them. Tonight when I got off work my parents asked me where I wanted to go for my birthday dinner. I totally wasn’t expecting anything. I couldn’t decide where I wanted to go, but finally decided on Red Lobster. I sure do love seafood. Needless to say, I have the best parents on earth! Be jealous!

Today’s Blessings:

1.“Jesus>Religion” by Jefferson Bethke

2.A very nice man that gave me a tip!

3.My awesome parents! (and seafood)

-Christy

Captive Thoughts: Do it Yourself! (23)

Okay, so from now on I’m no longer going to promise that I will have updates by noon. That is still going to be my goal, but no promises anymore. I seem to be failing more often than not!

Anyhow, I don’t know about you all, but my brain is always running! I might be sitting at dinner or out with friends and I will be thinking about a million things at once! Occasionally, I verbalize those thoughts and end up scaring the people around me, with what seems entirely random. Sometimes my constant thinking is a good thing, like when I play the piano, or when I’m listening to sermons. But sometimes, it’s not such a good thing. For instance…Rich frequently reminded me that over-thinking doenst accomplish anything. Like when my dad lost his job and we were faced with moving, within moments I had the worst possible circumstance formed in my head. Rich calmly reminded me of the verse in John that says. “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I (Jesus) have overcome the world” Even though our trials are inevitable, we can have hope because we know who wins!! 🙂

Not only is thinking all the time bad when it comes to worrying, but it’s also a bad thing when it comes to thinking about my future or struggling with wrong thoughts. Before I moved to Arkansas the first time, someone gave me a verse to think about when I’m struggling with letting my mind run away. I had nearly forgotten about the verse until just recently.

I Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

What does it mean to bring someone or something into captivity? We hear about animals being put into captivity and kids being held captive by horrible people, but what does that mean? Well, I like to think about it like a cage for my mind. Whenever I have a thought, ANY THOUGHT, I need to “cage” that thought. I hold that thought captive for just a few seconds while I analyze it against the Scriptures. A good place to start with the analysis, is Philippians 4:8.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, 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.”

If the thought that comes into the cage of my mind isn’t true, or noble, or right, or pure, or lovely, or admirable, or excellent or praiseworthy, then it needs to be released from the cage of my mind and cast out like it says in I Corinthians. If I’m not sure if it falls into those categories, I like to imagine that my thoughts are going to be projected on a big screen in front of my church and the people that I love. If that thought scares me, then I know I shouldn’t be thinking it. Building that cage in your mind is hard! I’ve been working on it for a while now, and I’m nowhere near where I should be. I fail a lot in that area! Like I said, it’s a major downside of thinking all the time! I can never let the guard down in my mind.

In my devotions this morning it said that God won’t automatically bring your thoughts into captivity. It doesn’t just automatically happen. It’s a process, and it’s something you have to do yourself. Yes, God will help you do it, but He won’t do it for you. So today I challenge you to do something with me! Bring your thoughts into captivity! It’s not gonna be easy, it’s gonna be hard because by trying to follow Christ, we are gonna have a huge target on our backs! Satan is going to try to beat us, but we can’t let Him!

Comment and let me know if you’ve ever tried bringing your thoughts into captivity, and how it’s worked for you! Or comment to let me know you’re going to try this captive adventure with me!

Today’s Blessing:

The victory that Christ is going to give me when I choose to think right!

-Christy