I don’t know about you but sometimes my brain runs around like monkeys who have just escaped the zoo and are determined to wreak havoc. I am thinking about God and my devotional one minute and the next second, I am thinking about how warm I am and that I need to turn on the fan. That task accomplished, I settle back into my chair and get ready to read and realize my drink needs more ice. So, off to the kitchen I go. And as long as I am up, I may as well check on our cat Daisy, go to the bathroom and use my eye drops. At least ten minutes later, I settle again. Why does this happen? Honestly? Because I allow it. We have choices to focus our thoughts and oftentimes I make the wrong choice and let my thoughts circle like the birds do when there is seed on the ground.

FIX your thoughts means to focus. We have the choice to rein in our thoughts and force ourselves to focus on things that are admirable, praiseworthy and godly. Every minute, every second is a choice.

There are so many things calling for our attention. Devices with messages from family and friends. A TV show that we really want to watch. A book that we really want to read. A snack we want to enjoy. But nothing, not one thing, nada is worth sacrificing our time that we set apart to be with the Lord. We say we will “do it later” and later becomes harder and harder to stop and take the time to enter into His presence.

I have been working on memorizing this verse because I need it. I need to remind myself that I can stay focused in the middle of the chaos, that there is time to do what I want to do after I spend my time with God. And frequently the things that I want to do change as I spend time listening to my Father in heaven.

I think of my thought life as an unruly toddler. I want him to do one thing and he is dead set and determined to do his own thing. Who wins the battle? The one who keeps focused on what the goal is. If you know toddlers, they have a short attention span, just like my mind. So, I have to rein it in each time it wanders and get it to pay attention to the current task at hand. I also need to be careful to keep positive thoughts, not the whiny and negative ones that whisper that things are bad and they are going to get worse. (That sounds a lot like my maternal grandmother who was known by all of us and the cloud on a sunshiny day.) My desire is to control my thought life so that I can then control my actions and attitudes. It is all connected and it starts with fixing my thoughts.

I hope that you have understood today’s blog for what I mean for it to be. It is myself, standing in front of a mirror, telling myself to stop the wandering thoughts and fix my thoughts on the good, the pure, the noble, the right, the honorable and the lovely. Sounds a lot like I need to focus only on God, doesn’t it?