I have this sweet, little scripture hanging in my home:
Whatever is noble, right, pure, lovely…think on these things. Philippians 4:8
I say “sweet, little” because, well, it’s a nice goal. Don’t ya think? But, who really takes it to heart and executes it in his or her life?
Not me. Not always.
I can let my thought life take me down a road of perpetual worry. I can let my thought life cause me to become resentful of not having more time for myself. I can let my thought life lead me down a road of becoming irritated with my husband, because he fails to see his clothes on the floor. I can let my thought life do a lot of damage in a day.
It can rob me of time that I can’t ever get back. It can rob me of trusting in Him, because I worry. It can rob me of enjoying a smile from my baby boy’s sweet face, because I’m thinking how little time I have to myself in a day. It can rob me of appreciating how hard my husband works for our family.
I’ve always heard we should “bounce our eyes” when confronted with something visually unhealthy. That’s important. But, so is bouncing our thoughts. The moment we let a thought that is not noble, right, pure or lovely surface, we need to bounce it immediately.
What if every one of our thoughts was truly noble, right, pure, and lovely? How different would our life look? How much more would I enjoy the gifts God has given me? How much more would I trust in my Savior who has NEVER let me down?
This is exactly what God is working in my life right at this moment. He is teaching me how much I need to bounce my thoughts. And, oh boy, will I need some reminders and accountability on this one.
How is your thought life?
DustyTakle.com 
Great lesson we all need to learn, be in check with someone with, especially if we have people who are negative or complain, judgemental come into our lives! WOW! I have to check my thoughts always. Just a normal generational thing that theatens my peace! Well put, well written blog, Dusty Takle! What a blessing you are to so many!
Dusty….I have had to do this soooo many times! I remember when I rededicated my life to Christ, although in reality when I look back, I believe I actually fully surrendered. My first “worries” were about all that I had done, seen, said in the previous life. And I didn’t know this Scripture at the time, but I remember someone telling me to just ask God to help me. And you know something? It works. Simplistic, easy, no-frills. If something pops up from before (and yes, it does at times, that enemy loves to bring up the old to show those failures) and I find myself ruminating on it, I will stop and pray that God help me find the good in it and then help me forget. Because that is the old me. Not the one that is, as you said, under construction. I think keeping our thoughts in line is one of the hardest things we can do as a Christian. Far harder than serving, worshipping, helping those less fortunate, tithing. Because no one but GOD hears our thoughts so we feel we can get away with it! Except that if I tear someone down with my thoughts, eventually it will travel to my heart and become an action and that, to me, is something I don’t want to do….so yes, I’ll help keep you accountable if you will do the same!
Me too girl, me too. Our thoughts ARE what shapes our world… I spend so much time in a car thinking — more and more, God is showing me how big he is, how he wants to expand my thinking, and there is no way to do that with petty and fearful thoughts and worry. love you!!
Many years ago (m-a-n-y–when Laurel was a toddler) I heard Kaye Arthur teach (on TV) about “frisking” every thought, ask where did you come from. Are you a thought from God or NOT! If you’re not a thought from God, I rebuke you and refuse to think that way. This was at a point in my life when I had sooooo. . . shut out ‘hearing’ any gospel because I was so angry at God. After all; all my problems were God’s fault. . . . Ha! I had said that God would have had to roll back heaven and say, “Peggy, this is God…”before I would listen. I finally started gradually to ‘listen’ on TV, even though I did NOT want to.
This has come back to me so many times and I have tried to share it w/ my kids and grands from time to time. We all have such a tendancy to just feel so sorry for ourselves.
My kids used to get Gospel Bill Videos in the mail and he was excellent also at explaining this to kids and saying that complaining and whining are actually witchcraft because they are not the truth. We must choose to think about the truth, like the scriptures you were saying were for your kids.