Your thoughts can greatly influence the kind of day or life you will experience.
Yesterday was a discouraging day for me. The day started fine until my husband and I began a conversation. The hurtful words led to hard feelings between us.
It wasn’t anything significant. What took away my joy that day was my tendency to dwell on those words.
My husband has been working on a large maple tree in our backyard, which appears to be dying. Several of its limbs have lost all life, so he began pruning it.
While he was pruning, he discovered the cause of the tree's decline: vines were growing within it, sapping its strength.
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Failing to keep the undergrowth away let vines climb, sapping the tree of the nutrients it needed to survive. If we dwell on unkind words, our relationships will die.
I think myself happy (Acts 26:2, KJV).
Paul's life, as described in the Bible, was quite difficult. He was beaten, stoned, left for dead, and imprisoned. Yet, in this verse, he considered himself happy.
He didn’t dwell on all the bad things that happened to him. But had his mind set on all the good things God was doing in his life.
This morning, when I woke up, I began thinking about the good things in my life. My family, friends, the things God has allowed me to do.
I didn’t let my mind go back to yesterday, the arguments, the hard times in my life.
Staying disciplined in our thinking can be tough sometimes. With a little perseverance, we can really appreciate the positive impact it has on our lives. The effort is definitely worth it!
