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Thinking my Destiny

Words are really powerful, they have the ability to build up and to tear down so quickly sometimes its hard to stop and over the last year or so I have been reminded of just how powerful and devastating they can be, while I was working at another site, there was a lady in reception that had the following quote above her computer:

Watch your thoughts, they become your words.
Watch your words, they become your actions.
Watch your actions, they become your habits.
Watch your habits, they become your character.
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.

It’s a pretty good reminder, something that I don’t think about anywhere near enough. It all starts with a little thought and if you’re not careful it can get out of control. Words don’t just happen, they come from thoughts, despite how bad you think the filter is… In fact if the filter is bad, words are probably an even better representation of your thoughts because they aren’t filtered… they just come out the way they were found in the brain, which for someone with a bad filter like me is a scary thought in itself.

This is something that I have been really challenged about recently, the impact of my thoughts on my life. My outlook, my reaction to things and the way that I deal with people. Often I am quite negative and sceptical on the inside, but on the outside I am peachy pie, until you ask the right questions. But even though I can push it to the back it still taints everything I do, it sets me up to have a bad attitude right from the beginning. It sets me up to be disappointed because that’s what I am expecting. The book that I am reading at the moment, ‘Soul Detox’ by Craig Groeschel, talks a lot about getting your mind right, stopping negative, bitter, jealous thoughts dead in their tracks and replacing them with things that are of God, which is straight from the bible…

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Philippians 4:8 (NLT)

I think I need to start making a conscious effort to control my thoughts, to protect my mind and to stop things that aren’t true, noble, right, pure, lovely or admirable from dwelling, before they become my words or my actions. Stopping them one thought at a time, before I let them turn into words that hurt others the way that the words of others have hurt me.

A Public Announcement Regarding Change Rooms

On Monday night I indulged in water aerobics again and as you do, I went into the change rooms after to dry off and swap into some regular clothes rather than my bathers… Now when I go to the change room I am a ‘do it quick, don’t make eye contact, show as little skin as possible and get out’ type of person… but I know that not everyone is like this there are others… others that have interesting habits… very interesting habits… so this is a community service announcement for women everywhere…

If you are using public changing rooms please take note of the following:

Do NOT take everything off… do half at a time, it’s not that hard… I know we all have the same bits and pieces but I don’t want to see yours. You don’t need to air them out, you don’t need to go for a walk once you are naked… just keep going and put your clothes on… you can be naked at home… not in public.

Do NOT do stretches clothed or unclothed… You can do stretches out in the foyer… or by the pool… the change room is not an appropriate place, in fact it’s just a little awkward.

Do NOT do exercises clothed or unclothed… see above… but also note that exercises in a change room are dangerous… everyone else is trying to get in and out so don’t be swinging your legs or arms around there is not enough space for that… this is a changing room the gym is through the door.

Do NOT stop for a snack… Seriously… I can’t believe this even happened… Don’t stop, turn around, sit down and pull out a container with cut up fruit and start eating… why do you need a snack half way through changing? Change rooms are dirty and they are for changing… quickly… not eating! Does there really need to be a sign that says do not eat? Surely it’s just common knowledge… plus when you stop for a snack… where do you look? I am not comfortable, despite my quick changing, to have someone just sitting having a look around just watching the world go by… it’s weird… and disturbing… put your pants on, leave the change rooms and then have a snack… don’t do it in the change rooms.

So there you go… here endith the community announcement.

Aquarobics – That Awkward Moment When…

Last night I crossed number 97 off the list… go to aquarobics… luckily I didn’t need to do this alone I got to go with my brother and two friends… As much as I loved it there were a few awkward moments…

There was the awkward moment when you get there and realise you bring the average age of the class down by half…

The awkward moment when you are busily doing the actions and you realise your bathers aren’t covering as much as they should be…

Or my favourite from last night, that awkward moment you leap out of the water to continue the actions to the chorus of the YMCA and no one else jumps… hilarious… but awkward.

I actually really enjoy aquarobics… it really is a lot of fun and a pretty good workout.. who knows perhaps it will become more regular in my life… I think I would like it if it did… I guess that’s actually up to me?

Anyway, it’s now off the list.

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Make me uncomfortable

Sunday night at church we were asked the question what does Easter mean to you… for someone that calls themselves a Christian you would think that this was an easy enough question, but it’s actually been playing on my mind all week… what does Easter really mean to me? And I think unfortunately Easter for me has become a tradition rather than a revelation.

Easter is the best part of my whole life story, the part that means I am not eternally stuffed, but instead I have eternal life because of Jesus’ sacrifice, yet more often then not I forget about the true meaning of Easter and get more excited about the chocolate and depending when Easter falls, my birthday. I take the story and the event completely for granted.

It makes me quite sad that this is the case, but I think that I am not alone, and I think that the reality is because I live in a good country, where I want for very little and life is pretty good, I have become comfortable, comfortable with what I have, what I can do, and where my life is heading, my faith in God is a choice yes, but one that I find I can separate from my life if I want to, which is terrible.

The reality of the Easter story is uncomfortable, it says that I caused this, my sin killed him, but he did it because he still loves me. The Easter story also highlights my laziness in telling others about God, because if I let the Easter story in all it’s fullness invade my life, the reality of life and death, heaven and hell is more real then ever before and it hurts, so its easier just to take the chocolate and run.

The other question that has been going around and around is why isn’t Easter as big as Christmas? And in all honesty I think all of the above is part of the reason, the Christmas story is lovely, wholesome and heart-warming (on the outside at least, if you don’t think too closely about the reality of giving birth in a stable, or travelling pregnant on a donkey). But it is all wrapped up nicely with a beautiful baby, some kings, presents and a super duper star and then this is linked to a jolly fat man who brings us lots and lots of gifts. Easter doesn’t have that, sure there is a fluffy bunny, some baby birds and a ton of chocolate but it is tied together with a man, an innocent man dying brutally on a cross because we stuffed it… it’s not really your feel good story of the year, on the surface anyway.

The reality is though, it’s the most beautiful love story ever told, a man lays down his life so that I can live, so that you can live… so that we don’t have to pay the price for what we have done. But it’s a story that forces us out of the comfortable spot that we live in… it challenges us, but instead it should give us hope…

Anyway, I guess what I really wanted to get at is this Easter I am praying that God will make me uncomfortably with my apathy towards the story, with my reluctance to share and that I will be moved once again by the amazing sacrifice and gift that I have been given and that I will share it.

I want to look past the traditions, the hot cross buns and the eggs, but into my daily walk with and what the eternal consequences of it actually are… I hope you want this for your Easter too.