I have recently become fascinated with the power of words and thoughts and the role they play in our happiness and in the strength of our relationships.  I realized a long time ago the power of words in my own life and wrote a blog post about it

The old proverb “The tongue has the power of life and death” is not just an old, outdated saying, but an eight-word guide for our lives.  Without rehashing too much of my old post,  in a nutshell, it talks about how our words can bring healing, diffuse arguments, and cause us to fall in love.  On the flip side of that, our words are also sometimes the reason for the loss of a job or a divorce.  We can lose friendships over our words and some suffer from low self-esteem because of words spoken over them and about them.  That’s how much power they hold!

But what about our thoughts?

Our words are solely a product of our thoughts.  When I started thinking about the power of our words, I quickly realized that we can never change what comes out of our mouth until we change our thoughts.  In Matthew 15:18 it says “But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart.” 

To quote Dr. Charles Stanley “our minds are the control tower of our life, and that unseen thoughts produce visible consequences.”  If you spend your time thinking about how unworthy you are, or often find yourself having angry thoughts, you can now understand why your life may not be where you want it to be.   So if what we think about controls us and what we think determines how we live. How can we change this habit of negative thinking?

Changing our thought life is one of the hardest things to do since it’s a habit that is so ingrained in us.  The Bible says to “set your mind and keep it set.” I have made it a habit to wake up and lay in bed for a minute or two each morning just thinking about what I am grateful for.  If I don’t, all of the things that are not right, or not settled will fight to make their way to the forefront of my mind.  We all get too tempted to think about what we “feel” (which we all know changes from minute to minute) instead of what we know.

The Choice Is Yours

When a friend of mine called me depressed last week, I asked them what they were thinking about.  After listening for a few minutes, it was obvious it was her thoughts that were dragging her down.  I told her about a little ritual I have nowadays (it’s almost like a game).  I know that with every negative thought that comes my way I have one of two choices.  Either hold onto that thought knowing it will change my mood and attitude (for the worst), not to mention it will steal my peace. Or, I can stand against those thoughts and be happy.

A great study for this is reading up on the Armor of God.  It can give you something tangible to think about when fighting off unwanted thoughts.  If any of you find that your thoughts are controlling you, instead of you controlling your thoughts, give it a try. What do you have to lose except some unwanted thoughts that are holding you back?

Now onto this healthier version of coconut onion rings.

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