by Donna L. Watkins
You might enjoy a story I heard a couple of weeks ago that has remained on my mind. There was a lady who had read a book about how our thoughts create our lives. She didn't agree with it but something happened to her that brought that book back to mind.
She had a houseplant that had a branch that just looked out of place and every time she would walk past it, she would think, "I need to cut that stupid branch off, it looks awful!"
After a few weeks of doing this, one day she noticed that every leaf on that branch died and yet the rest of the plant was gorgeous. It really shook her up a bit, so she decided she was going to test it on people before believing it. She had a mother-in-law who only called about 5x a year and it was always a negative call that was dreaded. Obviously she chose a most likely NOT to succeed case study, but she decided to think good thoughts about her. Praying blessings over her, wishing her a good day when she thought of her, etc. Not long after that the mother-in-law called 3x in one week and ALL of those calls were positive. She was now convinced and I thought that was awesome!
Words really do create. God created the entire world with words. He SPOKE all things into existence so the power of our speech, or our thoughts which have to be formed before we even speak, are really amazing.
Genesis 1 is filled with "God said" for the creation of the universe. He blessed it all and called it good. What would happen if we took on a project like the woman with the houseplant? Forget the plant and choose somebody that you have a problem with and begin to think and speak good things about them. If you do that only half the time and the other half still have negative thoughts, you obviously won't have any changes come about, so be sure to choose someone that you can sincerely speak blessings over.
Often our children don't follow the way through life that we had hoped they would. I hear a lot of people speak things over their grown children that can be interpreted as curses. Just because they're doing things we don't want them to be doing doesn't mean we should give the devil glory by repeating or recounting his work in their lives. We need to expect that it will change because we have Christ within us and we can use words to bring about change.
I used to think about many things that we did not agree with as our son lived his own life. Imagine how that must have come across to his spirit? If we have children who have no interest in the Lord and we're born again Christians ... could it be that they don't want anything we have because our thoughts toward them have shown we have seemingly given up on them ever changing.
There is a control factor here that has to be considered. Sometimes we want our children to be just like us ... or want them to fulfill dreams that we never did. That's control and manipulation. Each human being has the right to discover for themselves what God wants them to do with their lives.
Our thinking can't overcome somebody's free will, but some folks only need an ally, somebody on their side, to turn the tide. Somebody who can believe in them, no matter what the circumstances look like. Speaking good things over our children or another person can make a huge difference in their lives. It would also make a difference in our lives. If we're doing this with others, we are surely thinking and speaking things over ourselves that will create a life that brings joy or one that brings sadness.
"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 4:8
You might enjoy a story I heard a couple of weeks ago that has remained on my mind. There was a lady who had read a book about how our thoughts create our lives. She didn't agree with it but something happened to her that brought that book back to mind.
© Donna L. Watkins - Native Azalea Native Plant Botanical Garden Georgia Perimeter College, Decatur, GA View Enlarged Image |
After a few weeks of doing this, one day she noticed that every leaf on that branch died and yet the rest of the plant was gorgeous. It really shook her up a bit, so she decided she was going to test it on people before believing it. She had a mother-in-law who only called about 5x a year and it was always a negative call that was dreaded. Obviously she chose a most likely NOT to succeed case study, but she decided to think good thoughts about her. Praying blessings over her, wishing her a good day when she thought of her, etc. Not long after that the mother-in-law called 3x in one week and ALL of those calls were positive. She was now convinced and I thought that was awesome!
Words really do create. God created the entire world with words. He SPOKE all things into existence so the power of our speech, or our thoughts which have to be formed before we even speak, are really amazing.
Genesis 1 is filled with "God said" for the creation of the universe. He blessed it all and called it good. What would happen if we took on a project like the woman with the houseplant? Forget the plant and choose somebody that you have a problem with and begin to think and speak good things about them. If you do that only half the time and the other half still have negative thoughts, you obviously won't have any changes come about, so be sure to choose someone that you can sincerely speak blessings over.
Often our children don't follow the way through life that we had hoped they would. I hear a lot of people speak things over their grown children that can be interpreted as curses. Just because they're doing things we don't want them to be doing doesn't mean we should give the devil glory by repeating or recounting his work in their lives. We need to expect that it will change because we have Christ within us and we can use words to bring about change.
© Donna L. Watkins Native Plant Botanical Garden Georgia Perimeter College, Decatur, GA View Enlarged Image |
There is a control factor here that has to be considered. Sometimes we want our children to be just like us ... or want them to fulfill dreams that we never did. That's control and manipulation. Each human being has the right to discover for themselves what God wants them to do with their lives.
Our thinking can't overcome somebody's free will, but some folks only need an ally, somebody on their side, to turn the tide. Somebody who can believe in them, no matter what the circumstances look like. Speaking good things over our children or another person can make a huge difference in their lives. It would also make a difference in our lives. If we're doing this with others, we are surely thinking and speaking things over ourselves that will create a life that brings joy or one that brings sadness.
"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 4:8
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