Garbage In, Garbage Out

Truly, "What you put in is what you get out," "Garbage in, garbage out."

We are so inundated with ungodly stimuli every day, both unsolicited and solicited, and fail to think about, process and discard the waste of most of this mental and spiritual stimuli as our physical bodies do naturally with the food we eat every day.

Instead many of us just accept the stimuli in the form of ungodly billboard advertising, commercials and televisions shows, movies, literature/magazines, music and conversations we hear and allow to saturate our minds, our thoughts and fill our hearts, never discarding the filth. By doing this we are poisoning ourselves just as surely as we would be poisoning our physical body by eating a lot of unhealthy food that clog our digestive system and prevent regular bowel movements.

Today's Verse: Phil. 4:8

Finally, brothers, 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 ON SUCH THINGS.

So what are you thinking about? Scripture is replete, full of instruction and commands on how to guard, control and renew your mind. However, I daresay that most Christians do just as James said NOT to do:

"Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourselves. DO WHAT IT SAYS.

Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and after looking at himself, goes away and IMMEDIATELY forgets what he looks like." (James 1:22-24)

You forget who your are and whose you are and what you're supposed to look like and act like. You've got to take the image God has given you in the "mirror" with you throughout your day.

Meditate today on those things the Lord is showing you. Think about those things that are in your life or that you want in your life that's, TRUE (BLUE),

-that's NOBLE and of good report,

-that's RIGHT, don't focus on the wrongs,

-that's PURE and undefiled,

-that's LOVELY, beautiful to behold and think about,

-that's ADMIRABLE, that which elevates your spirit and mind,

-that's EXCELLENT and not mediocre,

-that brings PRAISE to your God and uplifts others.

Practice thinking on these things.

Celebrating Men

I love men. Immediately I imagine that my statement will be incorrectly interpreted by most. So let me shed some light on the statement. First, I am a woman. Secondly, I'm not making that statment in reference to man just as a sexual being.

Last year the Lord led me to write a book called, "Celebrating Men". (To be released in early September 2010.)The book started out from conversations I had with two of my best friends who encouraged me to put some of the things I was sharing with them into a book. They were both men.

I say I love men because I find them fascinating in the way they think, look and behave. They are so different to my experience as a woman and are God's special creation just as women are. It was to man that God breathed the breath of life, not animals, even though we may act like them sometimes. It was in the image of God that we, man and wo-man were created. The beauty of nature fills me with wonder but even more so does man. Think about it, God put infinite care into the creation of man (general term) and turned around and gave man the authority to name all the other creatures of the earth and gave man dominion over all the earth! Then at the appointed time, God sent his one and only Son to DIE for the sins that we committed! That's priceless! That puts inconceivable value upon mankind even though we don't deserve it. So in my mind, despite all our incredible mess ups, despite the overflowing prisons, the largest oil spill in history, the racism, sexual abuse and massive depravity evident all around us, there is still equivalent good and God said it first, rejoice and repeated it, by saying, "Again I say rejoice!" Why? Because of Jesus who is the hope of glory. Because of Jesus who came to make us new creatures and TRANSFORM our lives! That's why.

Specifically, why do I celebrate men? After my mom's influence and after the Lord transformed my life and my thinking at an early age, I found that it was men who played the greater role in shaping my life today, not women. Now please don't think me completely naive to the wickedness man has done, is doing and is capable of. I don't need to know or discuss all of the wicked schemes of the devil done through men. For though man is culpable for his sin, I sometimes recognize that it is the work of the devil in conjunction with our evil desires that brings about much of what we see and hear on CNN, NBC, ABC and all these other "news" reporting mediums. However, if after being flogged to within inches of death, spat upon and brutally nailed to a cross for crimes He did not commit, the Son of God can say, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do," then who am I not to find a way to forgive and obey his later command to rejoice?!

If you let Him, God will be a Father to the fatherless, a friend to the friendless, a husband to the widow and single, the ultimate Comforter, Father and Friend. It is because of Him that I can celebrate men!