Campsites

This morning I woke up and quickly got to work tidying up the house and our bedroom as the house cleaners are coming today. So I started off being frazzled because…I couldn’t have my coffee until I finished with the upstairs…and now it’s cutting into my reading time…and why weren’t these shoes put away…and why weren’t these clothes that clearly got washed and folded-NOT put away. And then I began to think about the funk I’ve been in this past weekend about not being able to do a garage sale because of the rain and our schedules and how tired I am of all the “junk” everywhere and how unorganized I feel constantly. Blah blah blah, woe is me, yuck!

Once it was time to sit down with my coffee and my kindle and begin to read- this is what I read-

“Before I even have my first cup of coffee most mornings, the mental battle begins. Lies bombard me with scripts that don’t line up with the truth of God’s word and drag my mood down before I’m even given a fair shot to enjoy the new day. The mess that was left in the kitchen the night before will turn into an entire mental dialogue about how disrespected I am and how inconsiderate and uncaring my people are. The truth is my people care deeply about me, but they are sometimes forgetful when up playing family games or having late night chats. I wish my first inclination wasn’t to personalize those dirty dishes, but the lies are loud and so convincing sometimes. I’ll make a snarky comment out of frustration, which just sets the completely opposite tone in my home than what I really want. Then the guilt of my morning annoyance turns into lies about myself because I should be more patient and understanding.”

Wow! Did Lysa Terkeurst just write a chapter about ME? How did she get in my head? Did she put a hidden camera in my house? Nope. She was writing about herself. And I related 100%! But I have a feeling I’m not the only one. And just like me, one or more of you needed to hear this too. So I will continue with what she wrote in the chapter-

“The danger is that lies don’t just pass through our thoughts. Lies ravage our beliefs. Lies, unattended to, affect the perceptions we form. The perceptions we form eventually become the beliefs we carry. The beliefs we carry determine what we see. That is why we must be so careful to recognize where lies are affecting us…In the midst of the messes, the frustrations, the aggravations, and irritations, I can still be a noticer of some good and redirect where I choose to park my mind.”

So true! I could have woken up this morning and thought how grateful I am to have a house cleaner once a month! Or a husband who works so hard to give me that house cleaner once a month! He even made it happen, when I told him I can clean the house weekly just fine and we don’t need to waste money on that-but he knew that a monthly deep cleaning would protect my sanity. I could have realized that my husband also did the laundry this weekend AND folded it- who cares if it wasn’t put away…HE DID LAUNDRY! (Insert shocked face here). I could have thought about so many positive thoughts and things to be grateful for…so clearly I, myself, am still a work in progress. I do not sit here trying to preach to you about how you should live. I sit here with dog hair covering my tongue since my jaw hit the floor reading this chapter and thought, maybe someone else needs to hear this too!?

Lysa finished the chapter with this final piece I also want to relay onto you-

“Friends, rather than giving space to any lies that are trying to come in and set up camp in your mind today, remember that God has given instructions for a better place to park our thoughts- what is right, pure, lovely, admirable, and praiseworthy.”

Thank God for 7 am wake up calls to redirect my thoughts and attitude before train wrecking another day! I will even be putting a sticky note on my bedroom door to see every morning and remind myself not to camp my mind in the mud! To redirect and smile.

May your day go better now than it did before, and if it was already going great- awesome job protecting your thoughts! Teach me your ways! You clearly know the right campsites!

Sincerely,

Audra