Monday Morning Memo: Stinkin' Thinkin'

I’m back!  For the first time in five years, I took a month off from writing.  I knew I needed to do that…but really didn’t realize how badly I needed it…until I actually did it.

I knew I was tired; more specifically my brain was tired and I needed the opportunity to shut it down for a while.  I know that I only share one devotional a week but even that was beginning to be a chore and I realized that I was in need of somewhat of a respite.  I also sensed that God had a work to do within me, which always makes me a little nervous!

We also had a vacation planned in January and I really wanted to be able to “zone out” during that time and not have any deadlines to meet.  The first week we were blessed to be able to cruise the Western Caribbean and that was amazing.  It was a relaxing time with dear friends, which was just what my weary soul needed.  We laughed and ate…and then laughed and ate some more and I enjoyed every minute of it.

The second week was spent in southern Florida and it didn’t take long for my husband and I to realize that this week wasn’t going to be quite like the cruise week.  The most glaring difference was the attitude of those with whom we came in contact.  Of course we had friends to be with on the ship and it was just the two of us for this week in Florida but we could not believe how unhappy everyone was around us.  We tried our best to be friendly towards those in the area…but even getting them to smile was next to impossible!  At one store, we went to pay for our items and my husband greeted the cashier and asked how she was doing and barely received a grunt in return.  I then walked up and asked her the same thing and her response was priceless…but rather sad.  With no expression she said, “If you want friendly…you have to go farther north.”  With her statement she confirmed what we had been seeing for ourselves…people in this particular area just weren’t very welcoming.

As I’ve thought about this cashier’s statement, I’ve realized that I can easily fall into some of the same “stinkin’ thinkin’”.  As I’ve written about before, for me, it’s often when my health takes another detour that my attitude begins to stink and discouragement can set in and it didn’t take me long to realize during these past weeks that this is what God wanted to speak to me about during my break from writing.

A couple weeks ago, I happened to pick up the book Screwtape Letters.  Dan has read it and had told me that it was a book I should peruse.  If you aren’t familiar with this book, it contains 31 letters written by a senior demon named Screwtape to his nephew, Wormwood, who is a younger and less experienced demon and has been put in charge of securing the damnation of a young man.  Screwtape tries to teach Wormwood how he can best tempt the young Christian man away from Heaven and into Hell.  Screwtape knows where the weaknesses are in this Christian man and guides Wormwood as to how to enter this man’s thoughts to influence his daily choices so that he will walk away from his relationship with the Lord.

Hmmmmm, this got me thinking how I’m sure that Satan knows where my weaknesses are and I’m confident that he knows if he can get me to dwell on my health problems, I’m not much good serving the Lord.  Every day I have the choice to dwell on the negatives in my life or the many blessings in my life and that will determine whether “stinkin’ thinkin’” will take hold of my mind and attitude.

After reading this book, we attended a memorial service for a friend of ours who died of ALS at the age of 59.  He and his wife never expected to have their lives take such a difficult detour which would usher him into Heaven much sooner than they could have imagined.  But his wife and family testified of the Lord’s strength and love that sustained them during his illness and continues to sustain them now.  They shared 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 which are verses I have read many times…but it was as if I was hearing these words for the first time:

 “Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away,

yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary

troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen,

since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Oh how I needed to hear these verses. I came home and printed off 2 copies and put one on my refrigerator and one on my bathroom mirror, to make sure that these words permeate my mind and soul every single day.

I thought the Lord was done speaking to me on this…but of course I was wrong.  A friend contacted me and asked if I would consider leading a small group for people in our area and she already knew what book she wanted us to use for the study.  The name of the book?  Lord, Change My Attitude Before It’s Too Late by James MacDonald.  Ok Lord…you now have my full and undivided attention!

I’m in the process of reading this book and oh how the Lord is whispering in my ear.  In a Christian’s life, there is NO room for “stinkin’ thinkin’”.  None at all.  Every day I choose what my attitude will be and I am being convicted that any “stinkin’ thinkin’” attitudes I choose to have are sins.  Plain and simple.  Oh how I grieve the Lord when I sin.

I’m not sure I will take another month off from writing for a while…in some ways it is just too painful J  But I’m so thankful that the Lord loves me so much that He is willing to continually prune me and mold me so that I will look more like Him.  He has a huge task ahead dealing with me because my edges are still pretty rough and I still struggle with times of “stinkin’ thinkin’”.  But my prayer is that those times will be less and less and that my attitude will reflect His wisdom and love with those who come into my path.

So today, I will choose to fix my eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.  Amen!