things that are true, noble, right...

Philippians 4:4-9

4  Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
5  Let you gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
6  Do not be anxious about anything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests
    to God
7  And the peace of God, which transcends all understand, will guard your hearts and your minds in
    Christ Jesus.
8  Finally, brother 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
9  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And
    the God of peace will be with you

This morning in church we heard about joy... true, to-the-bone joy... I have been thinking about this actually for a few days - I was surprised, yet happy to hear that God had placed a similar message on our pastor's heart.

 

Over the last few months, so much has happened around me. I have seen people pass away much too early. A friend of my son's youth was in a horrific car accident, and we are still waiting to see how well he will recover. I have experienced wonderful times and some dark, lonely times. Each instance, I have allowed to effect me... I have chosen to concentrate on things that do not deserve my attention. I have been overly critical of myself and have had pretty negative thoughts about things...

 

not good

 

Another look at the above scripture, but in a different translation... The Good News translation for verses 8-9, are the following:

 

"In conclusion, my brothers and sisters, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honourable. Put into practice what you learnt and received from me, both from my words and from my actions. And the God who gives us peace will be with you."

 

Seems as though I have been concentrating on the wrong stuff.

 

I am saved from the depths of hell from a Savior who died for me. I have a good husband. I have three healthy children. I have seen my life change for the better in many ways over the past 6 months. I have a good church with people who love my three kids and look for ways to help each of them weekly. I love my job of 11 years and laugh at the idea of getting paid to play with young children each day. I have a warm home that is more than enough for the five of us.

 

I am a blessed woman who needs to be reminded to concentrate on lifting myself and other UP... the world will drag us down - there is no need to help with the dragging...

 

Let's swim upstream together - fight the negative thoughts and fill yourself with the joy and the knowledge of all that we have in our Lord....

 

some days it is harder than others... but I need to start making an effort every day