Thoughting

I am really not sure why we do this to ourselves, but we do it all the time. A friend from work has been pretty down this school year. It's odd because he is usually the one that is always jovial. I stopped and told him to smile today. He said "I am smiling". I gave him that look, you know the one that says "yeah right!" and he replied 'I am thoughting". I looked at him strangely and responded "thoughting". He answered matter of factly "yeah you know I thought about it, and I thought about it again, and now i am thoughting about it again!"

Why do we do this to ourselves? I am guilty of thoughting myself. In the end, I have spent countless hours rethoughting the same thoughts and not coming up with any different solutions. I end up back where I started. The difference is now I have wasted countless moments that should have been spent living life, thoughting instead. As Christians we are told "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. " (Philippians 4:6) I don't understand why we don't follow this advice so often. We are consistently anxious about nearly everything. Thoughting at it's very core is something we all do. Of course I doubt you have ever looked at someone and said "I am thoughting" but when you are mulling over something in your mind that you should be giving to God. You are guilty as charged. A friend once said this to me "You can over-analyze, under-analyze, and all-around scrutinize me and what is happening with us, but you will never come up with an answer to how this happened. It simply "is" and is our destiny..." This was in response to me thoughting things over too much. He was right. It isn't going to change anything the more I thought it over. It is what I do about the thoughts I do have that makes the difference. I can choose to analyze it until I am blue in the face. I can choose to argue up and down between my head and my heart. But in the end, If I had just followed Paul's advice in Philippians, I could be joyful in everything and not be so bothered by thougthing.

Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that we shouldn't think over decisions. I am not saying that the first thing you ever think of is necessarily the right thing. But what I am saying, when it is out of our immediate control, or understanding, give it to God. Let him have those days, and stop the thoughting already :)

Lord, help me to stop thoughting over thoughts I need to give to you. You have all the answers before we even ask you for them. Thank you for giving us more blessings than we can even imagine. Give me wisdom Lord, to know the thoughts that I need to consider again and again, and to stop thoughting over the ones that I should give to you!

Smiles to you all, and rays of California sunshine too!!!