Take Your Thoughts Captive (Live From a 2020 Moms Conference)

I’m really excited for the episode I have to share with you today! One of the things I enjoy the most is the opportunities I get to speak at live events. I so enjoy hanging with the people that I love to encourage – and that’s you! So today’s episode is a little different because what I am going to share with you is the audio from a message I delivered live at the Ignite the Family Moms Conference last year. At this conference, I got to speak on something that affects us all… our thoughts.

I used to think that feelings led to thoughts. But I’ve started to learn that it’s actually the other way around!

At worst our thoughts indict us, accuse us, misinform us, hold us hostage, and criticize us. At best, they actually point us in the right direction, support, and affirm who we are. However, we have to do the work to put that information in our minds so our thoughts lead us in the right direction.

Are you held captive by what you are thinking? Do you struggle with disappointment? Is it affecting what you believe about yourself, relationships, or your circumstances? I think you will find this episode very helpful!

Resources mentioned in this episode:

My Key Takeaways:

1) Our feelings don’t cause our thoughts; it’s actually the other way around. Did you know that your thoughts actually cause your feelings? And your feelings cause beliefs, which in turn cause your actions? In the Bible, there’s a reason we are told to take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:15). That’s a tall order, and we can’t do it perfectly, but it’s so important to pay attention to our thoughts because everything else is affected by them!

2) Beware of three things that do the most damage to our thinking: expectations, assumptions, and lies. These are some of the biggest culprits that lead to incorrect thoughts which not only steal our joy, but also lead us to believe things that are simply not true. If you find yourself consistently disappointed in a relationship in your life, odds are there’s an unrealistic expectation at play in that relationship. Assumptions are when we make conclusions based on limited information (like from the “perfect picture” on social media). Lies are untruths that we let ourselves believe… they may feel reasonable at the time we believe them, but they’re not.

3) “Make the thought flee before it becomes a part of me!” Taking our thoughts captive means to gain control of what we believe. This is a daily task of being aware of what we are allowing ourselves to think. This is an exercise that takes time to build the muscle of, but it’s important to be conscious about what we are thinking and correct wrong thinking before it becomes something we believe and act on.

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