Today I want to talk about foxes. It's funny because when I was a teenager we might call a pretty girl a fox but we don't call them that today. Now while some guys might say that a pretty girl can certainly be trouble, I am not talking about them today. However, I do want to talk to you about another type of fox. The Bible says that little foxes spoil the vine. I know this has been true in my own life.
Let me talk to you about a couple of things that happned to me in the last few days. Yesterday I got up and went to the gym. After I got done lifting weights, I went out for a run. Well at least it should have been a run but my hips were hurting so I ended up running part of it and walking part of it. Normally when I run, I let my mind sort of drift where ever it wants to go. I think about my day and what needs to be done and the people in my life for the most part. But yesterday was a little different.
My mind drifted to a couple of people and situations that I don't particularly like. I envisioned myself confronting them and telling them exactly what I thought of them. As I was doing this, I noticed that my mood started to darken a little. I am generally a very positive person and I wasn't turning into Voldemort but I wasn't as positive as I normal. Here is something else I noticed, I wasn't really all that upset with any of those people or situations, I was upset with the fact that my run was going extremely slow and that I was in a pain. So the real question for me was how to let my thoughts effect my day. If I continued down this path, I was destined to be in a bad mood the rest of the day. These little foxes were going to spoil my day if I didn't do something.
At some other time, I will talk about the two Ts - Trust and Thankfulness. For now, let me say that I had to trust God during my run and I had to consciuosly walk away from those thoughts. When I did, my whole world brightened back up and I did enjoy the rest of my day. While I am on the subject, let me say a word about the other T - Thankfulness. I was out in the fresh air on a beautiful morning run/walking my normal six mile course. The first several weeks of this year have been the best start of a year in at least the last 20 years of my life. I have the most amazing woman in my life. She has two kids who are truly a blessing to be around and I enjoy spending time with them. I have three of the most amazing kids God ever gave anyone. My business is going up and a new business that I started is really picking up. For the first time in a long time, I feel great. What's my point? The Lord has truly blessed me. God has been very good to Tommy!!
On top of that, both of my legs work just fine; I can see; I can smell; I can touch; I love and I am loved. Let me take a side trip to relate a story that is pertinent to thankfulness. On another morning I went out to run and had a bad time. It wasn't a bad run but it was slower than I like. After the fact, I was grumbling inside about life in general but the root cause of my grumbling was a bad run. I was blaming other people for all kinds of stuff. On the outside I was smiling and having a good day but on the inside I was throwing a temper tantrum like a two year old kid. Eventually the Lord had enough of my unthankful attitude and He told me so. You wouldn't have heard what He said to me because I heard it on the inside but it had a lasting effect. He said, "You see that man over there in the wheel chair with no legs from the knees down? He would almost kill someone to be able to go and do that "sorry" run you just did." Well that jerked the slack out of me in a hurry.
The same was true for my run the other morning, I trusted God to do what he said in his word and deliver me from those stupid thoughts (the foxes) that were running through my mind. Once I put a stop to those, I went on to have a very productive day.
Let me wrap this up by asking, what little foxes are spoiling your vine? Maybe you are faced with an annoying person or situation. Maybe you are just allowing your mind to run all over the place like mine did. Maybe you are just complaining too much. Whatever it is, I want encourage you to take a hard look at it and make a conscious decision to walk away from it. If you will focus on the positive things going on in your life, it will make the negative ones get so much smaller.
That's another Opinion of the Minion
Let me talk to you about a couple of things that happned to me in the last few days. Yesterday I got up and went to the gym. After I got done lifting weights, I went out for a run. Well at least it should have been a run but my hips were hurting so I ended up running part of it and walking part of it. Normally when I run, I let my mind sort of drift where ever it wants to go. I think about my day and what needs to be done and the people in my life for the most part. But yesterday was a little different.
My mind drifted to a couple of people and situations that I don't particularly like. I envisioned myself confronting them and telling them exactly what I thought of them. As I was doing this, I noticed that my mood started to darken a little. I am generally a very positive person and I wasn't turning into Voldemort but I wasn't as positive as I normal. Here is something else I noticed, I wasn't really all that upset with any of those people or situations, I was upset with the fact that my run was going extremely slow and that I was in a pain. So the real question for me was how to let my thoughts effect my day. If I continued down this path, I was destined to be in a bad mood the rest of the day. These little foxes were going to spoil my day if I didn't do something.
At some other time, I will talk about the two Ts - Trust and Thankfulness. For now, let me say that I had to trust God during my run and I had to consciuosly walk away from those thoughts. When I did, my whole world brightened back up and I did enjoy the rest of my day. While I am on the subject, let me say a word about the other T - Thankfulness. I was out in the fresh air on a beautiful morning run/walking my normal six mile course. The first several weeks of this year have been the best start of a year in at least the last 20 years of my life. I have the most amazing woman in my life. She has two kids who are truly a blessing to be around and I enjoy spending time with them. I have three of the most amazing kids God ever gave anyone. My business is going up and a new business that I started is really picking up. For the first time in a long time, I feel great. What's my point? The Lord has truly blessed me. God has been very good to Tommy!!
On top of that, both of my legs work just fine; I can see; I can smell; I can touch; I love and I am loved. Let me take a side trip to relate a story that is pertinent to thankfulness. On another morning I went out to run and had a bad time. It wasn't a bad run but it was slower than I like. After the fact, I was grumbling inside about life in general but the root cause of my grumbling was a bad run. I was blaming other people for all kinds of stuff. On the outside I was smiling and having a good day but on the inside I was throwing a temper tantrum like a two year old kid. Eventually the Lord had enough of my unthankful attitude and He told me so. You wouldn't have heard what He said to me because I heard it on the inside but it had a lasting effect. He said, "You see that man over there in the wheel chair with no legs from the knees down? He would almost kill someone to be able to go and do that "sorry" run you just did." Well that jerked the slack out of me in a hurry.
The same was true for my run the other morning, I trusted God to do what he said in his word and deliver me from those stupid thoughts (the foxes) that were running through my mind. Once I put a stop to those, I went on to have a very productive day.
Let me wrap this up by asking, what little foxes are spoiling your vine? Maybe you are faced with an annoying person or situation. Maybe you are just allowing your mind to run all over the place like mine did. Maybe you are just complaining too much. Whatever it is, I want encourage you to take a hard look at it and make a conscious decision to walk away from it. If you will focus on the positive things going on in your life, it will make the negative ones get so much smaller.
That's another Opinion of the Minion
I know what you mean. Good one.
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