Stinking Thinking

We are all guilty of it, and we do it every day. It's vicious cycle that we get into and it eats at us and eventually we believe it. It's a little voice in your head that talks to you, and for some reason we let it continue and it festers and grows and it becomes something we don't even really recognize. It is stinking thinking. I heard this phrase in church today and it stuck with me and I realized, I do this...we all do.

Today as I sat in church I listened to the pastor, I prayed, I gave my concerns to God and I sang. As I was taking my notes and listening to the pastor, his words really hit home, but not as much as the phrase stinking thinking. A feeling of peace always comes over me as I sit in church and today was no exception. However, when I got home that feeling left. As I entered the door, this feeling of dread and hopelessness hit me and then the irritation took over and as words I would not be able to take back, almost flew out of my mouth, I heard the phrase stinking thinking.

Living with someone who is always negative is no easy task and today for the first time, I realized that no only has this negative feeling affected my way of thinking and even behaving, it has done the same thing to my children. I am quick to get angry and slow to forgive and God does not want this for us. It is hard to take a good hard look at ourselves, especially if we are wrong.

As I walked into the house today, I felt the negativity like a weighted blanket falling over me. I realized that stinking thinking is weighing my family down. Snide remarks and evil thoughts are not what we are suppose to hold on to. So what do we do? Can we change our stinking thinking?

The first thing I plan to do tonight, is pray. Pray for God to change my thoughts and help me to realize that there are things I need to change so I can change our address. I have been thinking this move is hopeless and the truth is that it is not, if I change my way of thinking. All the impossibilities of this move are possible if I let God be in control. I know there are many people who think that I am running away, and maybe part of me is, but in reality I am moving for my children. Today it is even clearer to me that we need to move. While I want nothing more than to be away from this house, it was never the reason to move to Maine. It is all about the children getting to be closer to their dad.

I need to let go and let God. Sounds simple, but seriously this is the hardest thing for me to do. I want to be in control, always. If I am in control then I control the outcome, but I learned today that if I let go, God controls the outcome much better than I ever could on my own. Luke 19:10 says, "for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." How perfect is this? I have lost sight of God, in my need to be the one in control of my life. My stinking thinking had me so off the path of following God that it seemed like such a long hard climb back.

I am not perfect and I will never claim to be. I am going to make mistakes, and I am going to mess up. Who cares? The people around you? Your family? Guess what, God knows you are going to mess up and He loves you anyway. He will never let you go, even when your stinking thinking has got you so far from Him, you don't think there is away back. He still has you and He will never let you go.

So my challenge is to you all, take a look at what your stinking thinking is costing you and then change it. Take the negative thought that is preventing you from your goal (or whatever it is), and change that thinking to focus on God. When you do, I promise you things will start to happen. One of the things my stinking thinking tells me daily, is that I am not worthy of God's love and since I can't be perfect, He can't and won't love me. Guess what, He loved me (and you) even before our parents knew we were going to exist. He knew who we would grow up to be and what we would accomplish and what we wouldn't. He has gone before us and seen it all and regardless of all the mistakes we were going to make, He loves us unconditionally, stinking thinking and all.

Until the next Scribble.......