~ Under The Sycamore
"I’ve grown up knowing that what comes out of my mouth is a reflection of what is in my heart. When there is good in my heart, good comes out of my mouth. I’ve always thought about it related to my words, but recently I’ve been thinking about it regarding my eyes. Or more specifically, the way I see the things around me. When my heart is in a good place, I see the overflowing goodness around me. I see the good first. When my heart is in a bad place, well I certainly don’t see the good around me first....
what flows out of me is a reflection of what is inside of me…."
~ To Overflowing
"Unless I diligently stop and run into him, I will internally tear down those I love. I will entertain lies and justify my rights. So I have to pause and press into the Real."
~ Inspired to Action
"When we are frustrated and angry, our responses are not going to bring about righteousness in our children. Being mad doesn’t teach our children anything except that “if Mom can fly off the handle, so can I.”
Be like Jello, absorb their emotions and frustrations, filtering them through prayer. If we can’t respond in LOVE, tell them we need to calm down and postpone response."
Elizabeth Elliot writes: “A simple and orderly life represents a clean and orderly mind. Muddled thinking inevitably results in muddled living. A house that is cluttered is usually lived in by people whose minds are also cluttered, who need to simplify their lives. This begins with simplifying and clarifying their thinking. Mind and life need to be freed from the “disorder of the unnecessary.”
There is a lot of wisdom packed into this little quote, so let’s break down this quote and apply it to our own lives.
“A simple and orderly life represents a clean and orderly mind.”
Would you say you are leading a SIMPLE and orderly life? The reality is – life in 2012 is extremely complex. We own more things and have more food, church and career choices than any generation before us. We have more voices speaking into our lives through computer technology than ever before. Life is complex…and it’s affecting our ability to think clearly.“Muddled thinking inevitably results in muddled living.”Because our thinking has become muddled by so much information – our living has become muddled. If we are not filtering all of the information we read through God’s word – we will lack the peace of God that will guard our hearts and minds that Philippians 4:7 speaks of.“A house that is cluttered is usually lived in by people whose minds are also cluttered, who need to simplify their lives.”Look around your house – would you say it’s simple or cluttered? Elizabeth suggests that a house that is cluttered usually (there are exceptions to this) is lived in by people whose minds are cluttered. So if you are not the exception and you live in a cluttered house – the solution to get some clear thinking back is to declutter. But how and where do we begin?“This begins with simplifying and clarifying their thinking.”
* * * * * * * * * *
Mindset for Moms (ebook by Jamie Martin of Steady Mom)
"I wanted to be a mother; I believed this was an important part of my mission in life…and yet.
Yet I also sensed a restlessness inside, an exhaustion, a discontentment. What could I do to enjoy my life more – this life that was exactly what I said I had wanted for so long?
In time I realized that much of my negativity stemmed from my thinking. I slowly discovered that my happiness had less to do with my circumstances and more to do with my thoughts about those circumstances.
As I began to learn how to choose my mindset with more intention, I found that much of my life also started to change…from the way I felt physically, to the way I handled challenges, to even the home we now live in."
"My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you..."~Isaiah 26:9
