Guarding Your Heart

I have been reading my 4:8 book (see previous post on this) and I have been reading on guarding my heart.  So I wanted to share a few things with you about what I am reading and thinking.  I like the NIV version which is to the right in the picture but I also really like the NLT version:

"Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life."  Proverbs 4:23

So what does it mean to "guard your heart".  I believe that it means we need to be intentional about what we put into our minds.  What we allow ourselves to be exposed to.  Of course not all things are under our control on this but most are.

Everything we read, watch on TV or in movies.  The music we listen to and even the people we hang out with.

"We often allow negative ideas and others' opinions to corrupt our potential for joy" quote from The 4:8 Principle

I know for me that sometimes I will see something on TV that I find later I feel very discontent with my marriage.  I start thinking "I wish my marriage was like that".  Well TV is not real (well most of it that is) and this has happened to me from watching a very clean, wholesome Hallmark movie.  It can sneak up on you.  Once this negative thought is in my mind it takes root in my heart and then I think negative thoughts about my marriage and my husband and before you know it I am not a very nice person and can bring him down very fast.  It is like a virus that infects without warning.

"How can you who are evil say anything good?  For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks."  Matthew 12:34

Once I have allowed something that is not productive and beneficial for me in and let it take root then at some point it is most likely going to come out of my mouth and it won't be good.  Not something I like about myself and working on changing.

JUNK IN=JUNK OUT!!

When we allow negative images or music into our minds it has then become part of our subconscious.  Once there it is pretty much there for good.  We have to work to overcome those and sometimes never will.  They will always be there it is just choosing to not allow them to change who we are and how we act.  The best way to do this is to NOT allow those negative things in our lives in the first place.

I will be the first to admit that I really like certain TV programs and I don't know if I am ready to give them up.  I do listen to mostly Christian music but sometimes like to "rebel" and listen to music that can and does bring back memories that maybe should not be brought back to the surface. 

It is very important to remember that if we choose to take away something we know is not good for us that we MUST replace it with something we know IS good for us, otherwise we will end up just putting another negative in its place and that is not what we want.

Quote from 4:8 book:  "You are the gatekeeper of your mind.  To experience a life full of joy, you must reject the negatives and protect the positives God has placed or has promised to place in your life.  Those who experience more joy don't necessarily have more to be joyful about; they just think differently.  This option is available to you as well."

I want the joy-filled life and am choosing to work towards that.  I am working on guarding my heart.  I am taking steps to protect my mind.  This is not always easy for me but I will work to continue to do this.

Just a couple ways to help and I have been putting one into practice for a while now and they are what Tommy Newberry talks about in his 4:8 book. 

One:  Start your day with JOY!  What can you do in the first 15 minutes of your day to set the tone for the day. 

Immediately upon waking I ask myself this question:

What am I grateful to God for this morning? 

Then I do a devotional, prayer & listen to worship music.  That is how I work to spend my first 15 min. of the day to set a positive tone for my day.  Of course not everyday does this work but I try.

Two:  Seal your day with JOY!  What can you do in the last 15 minutes of your day to get your mind relaxed and set on good, positive things.  I try to say prayers with my husband, maybe read a little but for the most part I am really bad about falling asleep to the TV.  I am working on this one.

One more quote and I will wrap up since I have rambled on pretty long this time.

"Realize that everything you watch, read, or listen to either brings you closer to God or nudges you further away."  from The 4:8 Principle

"As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man"  Proverbs 27:19

  I am choosing to Guard My Heart!!