"The only way to be happy, is to give happy."
It's a busy world, but that's no excuse.
Chris:
Great post. Nourishment for our brain. If we don’t feed it, it will starve to death too.
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Wow! it’s 9am and I haven’t had my coffee yet.
Take time to think?
Me and the boys are planning a weekend fishing trip.
Take time to think?
The play-offs are about to start and the Wings are red hot.
Take time to think?
Uh oh! I just got laid off.
Take t-t-time t-to th-think
I have been looking for a job for over a month and nothing I have found pays more than my unemployment.
t-t-t th-th-th
I had to rent out my house and move to a low income district.
?
My house payment just went up $464.00.
Ok Ok I’m Thinkin’
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Chris,
On 2/28/07, after hearing a sermon based on John 2:23-3:15, I wrote a poem that captures some of what you are talking about. I related it to my spiritual journey as a Christian, trying to understand even the smallest glimpse of God. Here it is:
PARADIGM SHIFTING
(by Catherine Kilpatrick)
You take the long view.
As for me, I only think I do.
You see the entire big picture.
I can’t even see one small corner of its frame, though I sometimes think I do.
You know every consequence of every action and every chain of events that will follow after.
I can’t think beyond one or two of them most of the time.
You planned humanity’s future before even our first Parents had sinned.
Some days, I have trouble planning what I am serving my family for their dinner.
You planned Israel’s deliverance from Egypt many generations before any of them even lived there.
I have to make lists in advance to organize what to pack when I go away for a weekend.
You want me to see eternity.
I’m sitting in physical time and place.
You want me to understand and contemplate forever.
I live in the here and now.
You want me to live in Your RHEMA world.
I come from a LOGOS time and place.
Like Nicodemus, to understand You, I must be born anew.
My paradigms must shift.
My vision must change.
Only then will I fully understand how it is to live as a fully spiritual being in a wholly physical existance.
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Chris, ABSOLUTELY!
We’ve become a “cart before the horse” society. READY, FIRE, AIM!
I’ve learned alot about people over the past few years, especially myself……. it was always so convenient for me to not think on a daily basis. I mean, WHY? I had the TV, radio, public tabloids and the local UAW to do all of that for me! I just needed to wake up and show up. So sad it took me so long to wake up and see what was happening. It’s never too late to CHANGE, however! My life is forever changed thanks to leaders like yourself who put their whole heart into guiding lost souls like me to where I need to be. I make it my personal agenda, everyday, to wake up and make sure the first thing I do is THINK! I also make it a point to pay my blessings forward to everyone I meet as well. Thinking has been so good to me that I’m convinced it’s really good for me! Thank you for your LEADERSHIP and for THINKING of others! God bless you ~ Gary S.
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I once read in a book that those who don’t take time to think, but would rather find something else or someone else to occupy their minds, are subconsciously afraid to face their own thoughts. Maybe they don’t believe they have any worth while thoughts of their own or they are trying to avoid the issues they should really be thinking about.
Think about that for a bit…
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Seize the day!!
I read a statement by Preston Bradley that absolutely grabbed me, and I had to take this bold statement and post it on my bedroom door so as not to forget it-
I’ve never met a person, I don’t care what his condition, in whom I could not see possibilities. I don’t care how much a man may consider himself a failure, I believe in him, for he can change the thing that is wrong in his life any time he is ready and prepared to do it. Whenever he develops the desire, he can take away from his life the thing that is defeating it. The capacity for reformation and change lies within.
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Chris,
By the way, I forgot to mention something when I posted the poem I wrote earlier.
Your post is a very good poem. If that is a first effort at writing poetry, it is a great one. If you didn’t mean to write poetry when you wrote it, you succeded admirably, anyway.
It doesn’t have to rhyme, you know. Just read mine again! Your words did what mine did, in painting a picture and taking your readers into it with you.
Poetry does it differently than prose. We all already know how good you are at it with prose. Prose states and takes stands in non-fiction. Poetry lures and woos and softly entrances. Prose invokes logic. Your books do that. Poetry invokes emotion. Your post does that.
You should save it someplace, like in a hard copy, besides on here. This is definitely a “keeper.” Trust me, I’ve written more than my fair share of “dogs” not to recognize a good one when I see it!
Please take what I’ve said as a bit of honest praise, and advice from someone who has been writing poetry and saving my stuff (even the ones I now know to be awful) for over 35 years . . .
And if you don’t want to share my praise and comments on your poem with the other readers, that’s fine. They’re mostly meant for you, anyway.
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Wow, just got back from the Battle Creek open meeting that Josh and Heather Haveman spoke at, they are such a great inspirational young couple! This is such an exciting time for the TEAM!
Taking time to think is so important for us as members of the TEAM. If we don’t take time to think, we can’t define what we want. If we don’t know what we want or where we want to be we are most likely already there. I know I’ve thought about our economy and our society and I will not appease others who think too small and think we are crazy for what we are trying to accomplish. I found this quote by Winston Churchill that I thought you’d like…”An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.”
~Marina Hentz “TEAM UNITY!”
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Hi Chris,
Everyone……
After all that thinking
take some action.
Hold your wife/spouse/significant other, kiss her.
Thank God
Ask God to bless them in prayer.
Your close relatives would like for you to intercede with God on their behalf.
Dave
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Here is a great link to study and “THINK” about.
http://taxdayteaparty.com/
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Chris,
Here are some more wise words on our thought lives from someone who has obviously done some good thinking. It’s from a daily e-zine we receive.
“What Have You Put Out in The Atmosphere?”
by Cindy Trimm
Apr 5, 2009
Everything in the universe begins with and revolves around two things: words and thoughts. These two elements are divine gifts created by God and given to man. They form the creative substance that molds and shapes the destiny of humanity. Each of us becomes the person we are, chooses the direction we take, and accomplishes everything we do based on these two primary elements.
Just as in every seed, there is life-giving power that resides in every spoken word. This principle illustrates how the spiritual law of incubation and manifestation works. Everything you see in the natural began as a spiritual seed—that is, as a thought.
We are told in 2 Peter 1:3-4 that God, in His infinite wisdom, has already given us all things pertaining to life (the Wycliffe version says, “all things of His God-like virtue”) that we might partake of His divine nature. Included in this celestial equipping are divine thoughts and inspired words.
As a spiritual being created in the image of God (see Genesis 1:26) your spiritual genes hold the creative power to frame your personal world by the thoughts and words you think and speak, which are divine tools given for your creative use. All you are, experience, and ultimately achieve can be traced back to how you have made use of these two simple, yet vastly powerful, tools—your words and thoughts.
What Occupies Your Mind Determines What Eventually Fills Your Mouth
The power of the spoken word is one of life’s greatest mysteries. All that you will ever be or accomplish hinges on how you choose to govern what comes out of your mouth. By what you allow to occupy your mind and mouth, you can either bless your life to great heights of success or send it orbiting into realms of failure, sadness, and discontentment.
This is why Proverbs tells us, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7), and urges, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life” (Proverbs 4:23). Jesus followed suit by declaring, “For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart” (Matthew 12:34-35).
What occupies your mind determines what eventually fills your mouth; your outer world showcases all that has dominated—and at times subjugated—your inner world. Because the law of cause and effect is continually at work, there is always an inner cause for every outer effect. Your outer world is a direct result of your inner world.
Every circumstance in life is a result of a choice—and every choice is the result of a thought. All those things that fill your mind hold the keys to your reality. Your thoughts provide the fuel for your words, and your words provide the fuel for your world.
It is paramount that you become the master of your thoughts. The greatest man has become so by the scrupulous attention he gives to controlling what goes into his mind and what comes out of his mouth.
So, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Philippians 4:6-8).
Blessings,
Dr. N. Cindy Trimm
Cindy Trimm International
Email: info@cindytrimm.com
About Cindy Trimm: Dr. Cindy Trimm has given her life to instructing and activating persons in the atomic power of prayer and equipping nations to pursue destiny. She is a 21st Century leader who has partnered with heads of state, business moguls, politicians, church, civic and world leaders for more than 30 years to equip and empower millions to maximize their potential. Her track record as a revolutionary thinker and prolific communicator has established her as a well-respected and sought-after leader in the world today. She founded Cindy Trimm International (CTI) to bring practical solutions to spiritual and social ills; effecting change within our communities while transforming the course of our global destiny. Dr. Trimm is best known as the General in the Art of Strategic Prayer and Spiritual Warfare, Kingdom Practitioner and is a respected prophetic voice, bestselling author, life coach, and Ambassador of Hope. She is the author of: The Rules of Engagement and Commanding Your Morning books and has been featured on many television, streaming, and radio programs.
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