So, with Iggs winding down in Swazi, she asked if her fondly referred to ‘Rents’ would consider guest blogging for her this week. Whatever do we write about??? Her response pretty much left the door wide open, except for one request: “Have dad write a haiku.” Dad, aka Mark, loves to write haiku’s…he also loves Palindromes, but a WR Palindrome will have to wait for another day.
Taking on this challenge, he came up with two:
When we look ahead
then we can look down and see
where we are going
Being last…you win!
First Jesus…others, THEN YOU!
Unspeakable JOY!
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As for the other half of this duo, aka Mama, who is more prosaic, and has been recently reading Seth Barnes book “The Art of Listening Prayer,” here is a brief reflection.
Today I spent more than a sufficient amount of time wasting away the hours scrolling through instagram. Granted there are some really good posts- some edifying posts- on instagram. There are often fun pictures of my children, both near and far, that I can enjoy as well. This was not, however, what was capturing my attention. Instead I carelessly let time fritter away while I filled my mind and thoughts with frivolous twaddle. In a brief moment of introspection, I chastised myself for not considering my thoughts or spending my time more prudently, and grabbed the aforementioned book, flipping to my next chapter.
God always seems to meet us right where we are-and often humorously so. Turning to Chapter 10, I was slightly surprised to see the title, “Getting Control of Your Thought Life.” Seth proceeded to share his family’s collective absorption with the computer game Myst, and how focused they became on this game. He segued into 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,”(NIV) challenging the reader to ask God to help him exchange his worldly thoughts for God’s thoughts (Barnes, The Art…, p. 82). This made me think about how I had just wasted 30-40 minutes looking at fashion pages of clothing I would never wear, and celebrities about whom I know little other than their public personas do not necessarily share similar lifestyle goals with my own. Was I really focusing on what is pure, lovely, admirable…no. Elder Thaddeus of Vitronica once said, “Our life depends on the kind of thoughts we nurture. If our thoughts are peaceful, calm, meek, and kind, then that is what our life is like. If our attention is turned to the circumstances in which we live, we are drawn into a whirlpool of thoughts and can have neither peace nor tranquility….. Our thoughts become reality,” (St. Herman Press, Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives, P. 63). In essence, our thoughts determine our lives.
The Apostle Paul, Seth, and Elder Thaddeus all made important points about thoughts. We need to be watchful where our focus lies. Are we distracted by the cares of the world, or are we disciplining our minds to think on things above…on the excellent and the praiseworthy? While I may think it no big deal to waste this time I could otherwise be using making dinner, calling a friend, reading a book, or even praying, I am actually forming a habit of distraction. Not only this, what kind of example am I giving to my children whom I am often chastising about screen time saying, “Garbage in, Garbage out…”
With this in mind, may God help me/us to truly focus on His ways, to lay aside all our earthly cares and distractions, and to cultivate a habit of watchfulness. Through this may we each be able to better control our thoughts, and ultimately our lives.
