The 10 Second Tidy.

This week we are looking at Philippians 4:8.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Yesterday we looked at 'whatever is right' and today we will focus on 'whatever is pure'.

One of the lessons I learned early on in life was 'not to be a litterbug'. It seems I knew from a young age that it was inappropriate to throw my trash out the car window and in a home everything has a place. As an adult I will have to admit one of my 'hang ups' is a 'littered' house. Although I have relaxed a bit in my older age, having a picked up house enables me to focus on other tasks. In our house we have what is called the '10 second tidy'.

A '10 second tidy' is simply checking every room in the house to make sure that things are in their proper place. Once my 10 second tidy is completed, I have the next 6 hours (before the kids get home from school) to focus on my tasks at hand. Then the 10 second tidy starts all over again between 3:30 and bedtime and in the summer, well, it is an ongoing process! :-)

Like our houses can get cluttered with 'stuff', so can our minds become clogged with impurity. Our world brings so much into our minds consciously and unconsciously that we can be come stagnant in our thinking. A steady focus on impure thoughts will send our lives out of control.

Remember in week 1 when we looked at David and how he focused on Bathsheba's beauty which then spiraled into a web of lies and a murder?

Today I want you to ponder on the following 8 sources of input.

What do you watch on television?

What do you listen to on the radio?

What type of music do you prefer?

What books are you reading?

What magazines do you look at?

What types of movies do you watch?

What do you view on the Internet?

While media can be a source of information for our good, it is important for you to evaluate what you are taking in by God's standards. While some may say, I am only viewing this for entertainment purposes. I would challenge to ask you why do you want to be entertained by impure, violent, or corrupt things?

I am the first to admit that I can and have gotten easily caught up in reality TV for the entertainment of watching people back stab, gossip, and hurt others. I have watched movies with nudity, violence, and drug use. I am the first to grab the tabloid magazines at the grocery check out counter and read the lies and gossip. However as I walk closer to Christ my sensitivity to those forms of media becomes greater and greater. While a few years ago, I would have thought nothing of it. Now I feel a knot in my stomach or an ache in my heart that may be this is not what God wants me to view, read, or listen to. Do I always listen to that nudge? No. However do I seek those media sources less and less. YES!

Websters defines pure as free from anything that taints, impairs, or infects.

Scriptures definition of pure comes from James 1:27.

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

Proverbs 15:26 shares that The LORD detests the thoughts of the wicked, but those of the pure are pleasing to him.

So while every day my house needs several 10 second tidys, so does my mind need 10 second tidys throughout the day.

A 10 second tidy can be our best action to monitor the purity of our thoughts.

Have you done yours today?

Blessings,

Jill

What Goes In, Must Come Out!

Have you ever heard the saying, ' You become like the top 5 people you hang out with?' In the last 18 years of my marriage, I will have to admit that we have grown to become more like the other with every passing year. My OCD tendencies to have everything picked up have relaxed a bit, while Milo has developed some interesting obsessive traits with loading the dishwasher. More times than not, we will both be thinking the same thing even before anything is spoken and we can finish each other's sentences without even trying.

This week we have been looking at David in 2 Samuel 11:2-3.

One late afternoon, David got up from taking his nap and was strolling on the roof of the palace. From his vantage point on the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was stunningly beautiful.

David's sin didn't begin when he noticed a woman bathing, what got him into trouble was when he stopped to take a second, more observant look to see that she was stunningly beautiful. It was the second look that prompted him to act on what he saw, leading to a path of destruction. When you toy with sin, your evil desires often overpower you and this holds true to many areas of our lives.

I will have to admit, I am a junkie when it comes to the magazines you pick up when checking out at the grocery store; People, OK, InTouch, and the list goes on. I always say to myself, 'You are not going to buy a magazine!' as I unload my groceries from the cart. But one glance too long and I start to read the headlines, the teasers that get me curious as to what more is on the inside and more times than not, I toss one in.

I used to say that I only picked them up because I liked looking at the cool dresses, fashions and trends. However if I am truly honest, I am curious to read all of the gossip and probable lies about everyday humans just like you and me. Then I start sizing myself up to the air brushed, perfectly sculpted people inside and everything downward spirals from there. I like David, ponder to take a second look. While you may not think that it could be a sin, in God's eyes there is no ranking of sin. Sin is sin anyway you look at it. If you toy with sin, your evil desires often overpower you.

So I challenge you and myself today to take a good hard look at what you are putting into your mind and your body. After all, what goes in, must come out! Who are you spending your time with? What type of books are you reading? What are you watching on television? Are you becoming like the top 5 people you hang out with?

I love the advice given in Proverbs 4:25 - 27

Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.

In fact, I believe I am going to write this on at the bottom of my grocery list as a reminder to keep my eyes and thoughts focused on God. May be instead of reading the tabloids, I visit with the checkout person to find out more about them? Always remembering that we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18.

Blessings,

Jill