A Thought Closet Makeover

This past weekend, I attended a Women's Conference at a local church. The conference theme was, A Thought Closet Makeover. Honestly, I almost did not attend. I was tired and just not in the mood. Unbeknownst to me, my friend had purchased a ticket for me so I felt obligated to go and not waste my money. Well needless to say, I am glad I did. I won one of the prize giveaways. Yep, a grocery gift certificate! Yea me! Yea me!

The conference speaker was Jennifer Rothschild, a 47 year old woman,who has been blind since she was 15 years old. Jennifer was stricken with retinitis pigmentosa, a disease in which the  retina of the eye degenerates and eventually leads to incurable blindness. Jennifer is a petite woman with a very down to earth presentation. She has authored several books, been on the Dr. Phil show, and speaks all over the country. She is also a mother and wife who appears to have valued maintaining her ndepepndence despite of her affliction.

I am going to give you a brief summation of what she taught. I hope you take a way that, like the words you speak, the thoughts floating around in your brain are extremely powerful. Her premise was this, until you learn to control your thoughts, your thoughts will control you.(ref. Proverbs 23:7a)  She shared this quote which I know I 've seen before but don't have a clue whom to attribute it to: If you sow a thought, you'll reap an action, If you sow an action, you'll reap a habit. If you sow a habit, you'll reap a character. If you sow a character, you'll reap your destiny. Now that right there is a really deep.  As women, it doesn't take much for a negative thought to occur and we turn it into a whole negative situation that simply doesn't exist. She reminded us that every feeling is not a fact.

Using II Corinthians 10:5, "casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ," as a guide, Jennifer challenged us to a) recognize the lie that we are telling ourselves. b) refuse the lie entry into our thoughts. c) rephrase the lie as truth and allow the truth to sit in the middle of our thought closet. Failure to do so could result in our losing the healing from God that we long for. She used the story of Naaman as an example. You can read about him in II Kings 5. 

Next, she encouraged us to get an accountibility partner. See, I was already on the right track, if you read my previous post, Who Gonna Check Me, Boo? I love that she encouraged each of us to find "big girls who act like Jesus." You really do have to be careful who you choose to hold you accountable. They have to be utterly respectful, encouraging, and gentle. They also have to be intimate with the person. The person has to have a peak into your thought closet as well as have the ability to be honest and thorough with you. She gave three questions that I absolutely fell in love with. The questions are 1. What do you see in my life that encourages you? 2. What do you see in my life that you'd like to caution me about? And 3. What else would you like to tell me? Ummmm! Those are serious! You have to be careful to whom you'd pose those questions to. Choosing the wrong person could lead to deep hurt and pain.  

Her ultimate message was that we are who God says we are. God is NOT impressed with our achievements. She told us that we needed turn our thoughts from "I" to "Him" and He will reveal His thoughts for us. If we are the center of our self-talk, we are resisting the spiritual rest that God has for us. If we remove ourselves from the equation, we can recieve and accept our identity from Christ. Our goal isn't to perform for God but to rest in Him and surrender to His will and walk in His grace with meekness. Isn't that something?

Several things became clear to me as a result of Jennifer's teaching. We all need to immerse ourselves in Truth. We can't label ourselves based on our issues, nor can we allow them to define us. God has already labeled us for His character and purpose. He desires for us to be conformed to His own image. God wants us to be clothed(wardrobed) in His righteousness. So it is important to speak truth to yourself and cling wholeheartedly to it. More importantly, we have to cling to Him because He has the ability to heal our issues and refine them. If you allow Christ to reign in your thought closet, your issues won't matter. Christ will resolve them.

So readers, what thoughts are floating in your closet? How many of them are lies that you've been told by others or yourself? Isn't it time to let those lies go and embrace the truth that God has for you? Our thought closet contains EVERYTHING that we've been taught. That is a heck of a lot of stuff! Jennifer said, "it may not be well with your circumstances, but it can be well with your soul. It can only be well with your soul if you are anchored to the truth of God." So today, I am challenging you to give your thought closet a makeover. One lie that you have been telling yourself can be holding you back. That lie comes with a whole lot of other stuff(which could also be lies) attached to it. If we change one lie at a time, we just might change our destiny. You don't want your negative self talk to be your truth and reality. It isn't normal! Please feel free to share your story with me as you change your thoughts. They say you are what you eat. We are as much what we eat as we are what we think. Turn that negative into a positive! Till next time! I love you! Be a blessing!

SN: if you are interested in check Jennifer out, her website is www.jenniferrothschild.com.

Copyright February 8, 2011 by Pamela Cole Thorpe