Friday, January 30, 2009

Dig Deep

A few weeks ago, I was handed the book Battlefield of the Mind to read. It's a devotional with two-paged entries for easier reading.

Well, I got hooked fast because it appears Joyce Meyer was looking in my house when she wrote it.

She writes about negative thoughts.

You know the ones . . . My story stinks, I'll never get published, Who am I kidding anyways? How will I ever find the time to write? . . . Everyone has their own customized list. Sometimes it's buried beneath pages of a manuscript but sooner or later--it'll rise to the top.

But Joyce also shares how to kill off those negative thoughts by replacing them with some positive ones. The ones that tell you everything will be okay, or you have a talent and with hard work might achieve some of those goals.

Are you letting your negative thoughts rise to the top today?

I'm telling myself some news ones lately. . . like working won't interfere with my writing goals. I'm burying my list of negative thoughts deep in the backyard.

Just don't hand me a shovel.

12 comments:

Jenni James said...

Whenever I feel myself going down, and feeling like this is never going to happen. I'm never really going to get published, why am I even trying, when i could be doing something else for my family instead... And YES! I get those (just last week, even) I have to remind myself that I wouldn't be where I was at if the Lord didn't want this to happen. I really have to step back and see the big picture and realize that what I think is slow, has been actually very fast. It helps me remind me of the great blessings I already have!

Jinksy said...

At one time, I thought everybody wrote poetry. When I discovered they didn't, I began thinking I'd like a book of mine published. But, now I've discovered blogging, how great is it to get immediate feedback on your written words?How many times would that happen if they were in the pages of a book? I've had several published, but no body has ever tried to tell me one made them laugh or cry, feel happy or sad. Perhaps the hunger for publication only about seeing your name in print?

Jinksy said...

Including the word 'is' in the last line would help!

Kathleen said...

Such wisdom, and no wonder!

" ... 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. 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." (Phil 4:8-9)

Kathryn Magendie said...

Oh, want to come back and read this! Just quickly stopping by to get your blog addy so I can add the stories this morning! :)

Donna M. Kohlstrom said...

Thanks for the reminder. Our negative thoughts blind us to the blessings in our lives. I use those blessings, like a big eraser, to wipe out what Satan wants to destroy. . . the encouragement, support, delightful blessings of writing and writer friends! Praying you all have big erasers today! LOL!

Janna Leadbetter said...

With the way those negative thoughts can start to stink, burying them is a perfect idea!

Thanks for sharing the thoughts, both yours and Meyers's.

Angie Ledbetter said...

Great reminder, Terri. LOL to Janna. :) I'm a master at burying and crushing down the negative. Doing the Year of Gratitude (YOG) blog really helped give me tools to fight negativity, plus better perspective.

Tea with Tiffany said...

This idea of capturing our thoughts really has changed my life. Maybe not through her book, which I own, but through praying and repeating truth to myself. All the time.

And I believe we each should take the stories we have and pour them out. Offering them to a thirsty world. They don't have to be extraordinary. They just need to be real and include hope.

:)

Thanks for letting me dump here.

Have a great weekend,
Tiffany

Melissa Amateis said...

Negative thoughts are so darn debilitating. I have days where that's all I think. But those days pass and brighter days dawn - thank the Lord!

Mary L. Briggs said...

I try to take every situation with the fact that He is in charge, no matter the situation. Sometimes, with writing, I find this harder to do~but I keep fighting off those negative thoughts. Thanks for the great reminder!

Unknown said...

I love Battlefield of the Mind! It's the kind of book we all need to read every 6 mths or so!lol