Thought Changing

I have been changing my mornings to include an hour or so of scripture reading, and then 'capturing' (prayerfully pondering and writing the thoughts of the heart). It has been a very good experience which has made me more aware of the changes that I need to make. Everyday that I get up early to have this time with the Lord, my day has gone more smoothly, I have had more patience with the kids and I have used my time more effectively. On the days that I sleep in, and just try to fit in the time while everyone else is awake, I find that I am more irritable, waste more time and yell at my kids a whole lot more.

Today during my scripture study, I read about fasting. I found an interesting quote from a book called "From Heartache to Healing" about how we can fast from other things, not just food. "What you fast from doesn't always have to be food. We have learned that the spirit of fasting can be made effective in our lives by surrendering something the Lord is inviting us to let go of." Perhaps He knows that as we let go of what it is we think we want, we will be in a position to get what we really want. As I read a lot of scriptures on fasting, three things immediately came to mind that would be good to fast from. The first is sleeping in, the second is facebook and the third is sugar. Today I committed to fast from them for a least month. We will see from there!

Another book that I have been impressed to read is a book by Louise Hays- How to Heal your Life. In it, I read about how we need to change our thought patterns so that our thoughts are positive. I have been writing out a positive affirmation daily and repeating it throughout the day. As I have done this, I have noticed more internal peace, despite the outward conflicts that come in raising children and generally living life. I have felt more desire to change my environment and organize my home.

A fun story that is a blessing of this new way of thinking, cleaning and organizing is that I decided that I really needed two matching desks in our master bedroom. With our morning study time, the table just wasn't working for both of us. I knew that our colors with black brown and so I started looking for the desks.

I found a garage sale at the end of the block and felt impressed to go and look. There were two matching desks and a credenza- all for $50! I bought them and reorganized our room. I am so excited to have my own space to read and ponder! (oh yea, and study for school which starts in two days!) My side is the one with the red lantern on it, and his is the one with the bookshelf and lots of books as he is presently working on preparing lessons.

I am very blessed and grateful for this new way of thinking- It is refreshing and brings a lot of positive changes.