The Mind-Garden

Your mind is a garden
Your thoughts are the seeds
You can grow flowers
Or you can grow weeds.


As James Allen would put it:
"A man's mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind."


The use of a garden as a metaphor for the mind works because it indicates the need for growth and maintenance.

The mind is the most powerful asset granted to us by our maker. We feed it in two ways; positively and negatively. Positive thoughts are the beautiful blooming flowers that brighten your life. Negative thoughts are the ugly weeds that spread faster than you can imagine and eventually suffocate the flowers.
What and who surrounds us has such a great impact on what grows within your mind.

Hence, I bring forth what I'd term as the first point:
❇Surround yourself with what you want to be.
Bad company corrupts good morals. I didn't say it, the Bible did.(1 Cor. 15:33)
I'm one who's really not easily influenced, especially by what I deem negative but indeed for a long time, I took this verse lightly. I assumed that I could be around people who from time to time discussed unproductive topics and leave the place without even the slightest desire to pursue these paths that would most probably eventually lead to my doom.
Until somebody told me, words are seeds and the mind is a garden. Enough said, eh?!
Avoid:)


I'm pretty sure most if not all of us are well conversant with the saying, "Garbage in, Garbage Out". Everything that goes in somehow comes out.
Viewing the heart and the mind as somewhat interconnected, let me share this.
"A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. "~Luke 6:45
Feed your mind with life, you shall speak life:)
Feed your mind with deceit, it'll be all you are about.
So,
❇Feed your mind positively.

We've been talking about weeds for quite some time now, we may as well delve into identifying them:
°°constantly worrying about what people think.
~Caring about what people say is not the problem (because it can as well build you).. Worrying is. Caring about what others’ think means you respect their opinion and will bear it in mind, but it doesn’t suggest that you will rely on someone else’s viewpoint to determine your worth. Worrying about it implies that your worth is contingent on someone else’s appraisal. As James Frey put it, 'Worrying about what people say will always render you their prisoner'.
It is human nature to want to be loved and accepted but you can't please everyone dear:)

°°taking things personally.
Not everyone is out to attack you.
Relax.
It's never that serious.

°°stressing out about situations.
I'm an overthinker. Sometimes I subconsciously drift into deep thought and only until I develop a tension headache do I realise that I have spent a whole lot of time worrying about circumstances which most times, I can't change.
If you can change the situation, get up and do something about it.
If you can't, go on your knees and take it to the King.
I'm reminded of the nursery school songs, "Why worry, when you can pray? Trust in Jesus, He knows the way......".. And..." Cast your burdens unto Jesus, for He cares for you.":)
Oh, what a sweet feeling. :)!

°°gossip, illicit/obscene material..... You know..
These are stuff we should practically flee from.

°°doubt, fear, anxiety, insecurity, anger, self-centered egos..
Though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you will fear no evil: for thou art with you; thy rod and thy staff they comfort thee.(Psalms 23:4)
Don't allow yourself to often lose your cool and only focus on self-centered ambitions.

Replace all these weeds with beautiful flowers:)
Kindness, Compassion, Love, Forgiveness.......
You can bring mercy and tenderness to the wounded parts of your mind so that the fight within you can come to an end.

It's easy to overthink things, jump into conclusions or get wrapped in negativity especially when you do not have others around you to give you a fresh perspective.
Being alone, majorly contributes to overthinking so you might as well consider appreciating company.
Also, avoid complaining. It's pointless, doesn't make anything better and drains the complainer as well as those around him/her.

Meditation is blissful. It can help your mind blossom:)
Learn to live in the moment, but do not entirely rule out the fact that there is a future.

Beloved, find ways to cultivate the beautiful flowers in your life. Remove negativity in your life in order to see positivity bloom.
Tending to your garden is an ongoing process.
Tend to it daily:)

Love,
The newest flower garden-tender in town..
The Ultimate #JesusFreak

Laura.

F.A.I.T.H!

I used to think I knew what it was to have faith until I actually studied Hebrews 11 in depth, only to realize that my faith was quite superficial.

Faith is a firm persuasion and expectation, that God will perform all He has promised to us in Christ. As God's word itself would describe it, it is 'being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see' (Heb. 11:1)
Faith proves to the mind, the reality of things that cannot be seen by the bodily eye.

Now, I wonder.. if I cannot even purchase an item I have not only seen but also critically analyzed, how can I just simply believe in the occurrence of a certain breakthrough in my life of which my current situation does not reflect one bit?
It's only human to think that way..

Faith is confident in unseen things.
(Romans 8:24-25) "For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with endurance."

Still in Hebrews 11, we are given examples of real faith.. From the creation of the world, to the worthy sacrifice made my Abel and Enoch's ascension into heaven.... These, among other numerous examples buttress the actual definition of faith.

I'm quite a pro in the game of Poker, if at all my skills haven't become all rusty and I can undeniably admit that while playing the game, I do exercise some sort of distorted 'faith', especially where bets were involved. I don't have to get tangible proof that I will pocket the several hundreds placed on the table, I will simply take a leap of 'faith' and cross my fingers (or not)
I notice quite an inter-relation between faith and sight. They are way parallel to each other. Hence, the moment we choose to walk by sight, then we completely lose the whole aspect of faith in our lives and we only THINK we have faith.

❇"We live by faith, not by sight"(2 Cor 5:7)

I was really struck by verse 6 which says, "And without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."
It hit me hard on the face, that I can actually exercise all the possible good traits taught in the Word, day after day, but for as long as my faith is wanting then there is NO WAY I can please God.

I'm guilty as charged of making the "give me a sign Lord"  kind of prayers. And when He doesn't SHOW me, then I begin to complain that He doesn't listen to me. I spend hours on end on my knees, asking God for this that and the other only to just say 'Amen' and get back to wallowing in self pity and discussing my misfortunes with anyone who gives me attention.
Lol. And I wonder why things are not changing..

When Jesus was asleep in the boat, the disciples were shaken and they woke him up like, "what's wrong with you?! How can you be asleep in the midst of a storm?".. I can imagine them saying this, especially the Sanguine of all, Peter. And when Jesus woke up, He rebuked them saying," Oh men of little faith!"
Lack of faith makes it difficult to get through to God, to get past our shortcomings.

When He tells us to take it to the cross, He doesn't mean that we only take a portion and go back with the rest. Then there was really no point of embarking on the journey in the first place. HE WANTS IT ALL. Because He can handle it. Faith is the ONLY way into great salvation. Otherwise, we are only living a lie. True faith is worth every step. It doesn't make everything easy, but it makes everything good possible, to be revealed at God's perfect time.

One of my favorite Hip-hop groups here in Kenya, Recapp, are soon releasing a song titled '5 Stones'.
I love how they use the analogy of David's battle with Goliath.
The chorus goes something like, "all I need is 5 Stones and I will slay the giant (Goliath)."

Stone 1: F, Two: A, Three: I, Four: T, Five: H.

By FAITH, just like David, we can slay every Goliath in our lives. We don't have to SEE how far the stone will go, or where exactly it'll hit Goliath (if not his forehead).. We just have to be CERTAIN, that it's a worthy stone-throw, that shall bring Goliath down and render us victorious.

:)

Wow..
I'm so glad that I have now assimilated this.
Currently a work in progress..
Please join the club;)

Love,
Laura.