After doing something stupid, have you ever asked yourself this question…What was I thinking? Or have you had those moments when you had a temporary brain freeze and common sense and reason was just not there for you? I have…a lot. For example, when I was attempting to spray the deck at our home with a new coat of wood stain. I pumped and pumped the sprayer and yet it didn’t work… Then I realized…I had not released the small cap on the end of the sprayer…when I did release it, the built up pressure was so great that it took on a life of it’s on…it jumped out of my hands and not only sprayed the deck; but me, the side of the house…and the sliding glass door..( it took 2 weeks to clean up my mess).

It is very important what we think about. The Bible offers us some good advice about the importance of our thoughts and what we should do with them. Here are some examples:

What we think about has a tremendous impact on us. “Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life.” (Proverbs 4:23). Our mind and attitudes affect our emotions and actions. We also need to realize how much it can eventually influence those around us.

We aren’t responsible for every thought that enters our mind but we are responsible for what we do with that thought and what we dwell on in our thoughts.The Quakers had an old saying that ” you can’t prevent a bird flying over your head bout you can prevent a bird building a nest in your hair”, in others words we need to monitor our thoughts and not allow our thought patterns go the wrong way. We are not responsible for every thought that enters our mind, but we are responsible for what we do with that thought. The Bible teaches us to” Bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). How do we do that? Apply God’s Word to our thought life.

God’s filter for our thoughts can help us process our thinking and keep it focused on the right things..Phillipians 4: 8-9 (NLT) describes the filter this way: ” Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”. Ask yourself is it true? Is it honorable, right, pure and lovely? If not, don’t go there or stay there in your thoughts.

Focusing our mind in the right direction leads to Peace. That is a great benefit of allowing God and His Word, the Bible….to be the focus of our thought life. “You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [ both its inclination and its character ] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You. Isaiah 26:3 ( Amplified Bible ).

Our prayer should be “Look deep into my heart, God, and find out everything I am thinking. Don’t let me follow evil ways, but lead me in the way that time has proven true.” Psalm 139:23-24 ( CEV).

It is good to have regular routine to help us remember to do certain things on particular days of the week. Every day is important but especially the two that start with the letter “T”.

These two days can help us remember that …

God is always with us,

and that He also goes ahead of us.

What a wonderful truth to know that God goes in front of us into the future.This relates to one of my favorite Bible promises:“Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you, He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” (Deuteronomy 31:8)

God is not surprised or caught off guard about what problems we may encounter in the future. He already has the answer and the solution before we get there!

That is why it is so wise for us to trust and follow Him, instead of…impulsively running ahead of His guidance and trying to “take matters into our own hands”and just hoping, that He will bless it somehow. Although we are limited by time and space, our Eternal God is not limited.

His wisdom, guidance and grace is always trustworthy. Who better can we follow than the One who created us, knows everything about us and still loves us?

Another one of the Bible promises that I am thankful for is found in Hebrews13:8…

“Jesus Christ is the same…

Yesterday

Today

and

Tomorrow!”

We need to trust and follow Him, especially on the days that begin

with the letter “T”…

Today and Tomorrow!

This is my prayer for you and me:

Lord, please help us today…

May we seek Your presence and peace

instead of “going to pieces”.

Help us to focus on our faith in You…

rather than the fears inside and outside of us.

Take the tangled strands of our anxious thoughts

unravel them and replace them with the strong

thought patterns of hope and confidence in

Your grace and love.

Help us to let go of things that hinder us from being

and doing our best,

and give us a fresh grip on the most important things.

When our patience with ourselves and others

is “wearing thin”…

Give us the grace and strength to say and do

the right thing anyway.

Help us to become better instead of bitter

by being thankful for what we do have instead

of being disappointed about what we don’t have

right now

Give us the desire and wisdom to let

You guide us…

even when we don’t understand

and can’t figure things out on our own.

Thank you Jesus, for Your love and help today..

Amen.

There are seasons in our lives, that we feel like we have taken an unexpected detour and we wonder when our life will ever feel normal again. Especially if we are dealing with things we had no way to prepare for ahead of time. We can feel like our hopes and dreams are put on a shelf for now. Life is not always predictable, but we must find our path to navigate through it. Here are some helpful things to keep in mind along the way…

WE CAN TRUST GOD DURING DIFFICULT TIMES. Instead of trying to figure everything out on our own, we should seek God to help us overcome our fears and heal our disappointments and hurts. He will will do this if we will turn to Him for help.

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” – Psalm 34: 18 (NLT)

OUR PROBLEMS CAN DRAW US CLOSER TO GOD. There are times when we don’t know how to respond to our situation. I saw an interview recently with Julie Andrews, a famous successful actress. In the interview she said both her mom and grandmother taught her that “ when you are in doubt, be still.” Instead of just over-reacting with panic, we should take some time to stop…to be still, think and pray it through.This is also when we need to seek God for clarity in our decisions as we seek His wisdom and guidance. If we will do this, we will begin to see that an obstacle becomes an opportunity for us to experience God’s direction and plans for our individual lives in a new way…

” We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on You.” -2 Chronicles 20:12 (NIV)

“ The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand. Put your trust in the Lord. Travel steadily along His path.” – Psalm 37:23,24,34 (NLT)

TRUSTING GOD IMPLIES THAT WE GIVE HIM CONTROL OF OURSELVES AND OUR PROBLEMS. This is a very important step for us to recognize our need for His control in or lives and to trust and follow Him more than with just our own limited knowledge. We are designed for a close personal relationship with God. His ways are even better for us than our own plans. We can trust Him! What a relief for us!

“You can throw the whole weight of your anxieties upon Him, for you are His personal concern.” – 1 Peter 5:7 (Phillips Translation)

GOD CAN USE OUR EXPERIENCES TO HELP OTHERS. Max Lucado says that… “ Your pain has a purpose. Your problems, struggles, headaches, and hassles cooperate toward one end which is the glory of God.” We may not fully understand that now, but sometime in the future God can use our current experiences to help others…

“All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, He brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so we can be there for that person just as God was there for us.” – 2 Corinthians 1: 3-4 (The Message)