Good morning! For those of you who know me well, you know I love a good Dad joke. My family has a ‘Dad Jokes’ text group that my Dad will post in (almost everyday) with some sort of Dad joke, brain teaser, or just some random pun to make us all laugh. Let me give you a taste of what we get everyday:
- My friend Jack says he can communicate with vegetables…
- Jack and the beans talk
- What does a white hat dropped in the Red Sea become?
- Wet
- My Dad made Hawaiian pizza one night but burnt it!
- He should have put it on Aloha temperature
- If I am holding a bee, what do I have in my eye?
- Beauty – Beauty is in the eye of the BEEholder
Ok, Ok – I know most of you out there are begging me to stop LOL! One of the reasons I like Dad jokes, is because they make you think outside of the box. The answer isn’t what most people would suspect and I take them as a challenge. They are created to have you think one way and misdirect you from the real answer; which in most cases is right in front of you. I have learned to appreciate the simplicity (and yes sometimes the stupidity) of Dad jokes!
My Dad sent one the other day that I was able to answer, but it got me thinking a little bit and fits right in with where God was leading me to write today.
What is always approaching but never arrives? Tomorrow
Tomorrow never arrives because when we get to tomorrow it is actually today! Think about all the time we spend thinking about ‘tomorrow’ and the next day and so on. My calendar is packed with stuff that I am looking forward to (and maybe even some things I’m dreading) but there are times when I’m so anxious about tomorrow that it robs me of my joy today!
I look at all the responsibilities and wonder how they will all get done. I put together a plan, a plan for my plan, and a backup plan for both – meanwhile, I’m missing out on the ‘right now’! Sometimes I have allowed my thoughts to run wild on me and the ‘What IF’s’ begin to overtake the ‘What IS’ in my life.
When this begins to happen, I find myself planning for things that may or MAY NOT even happen. I begin to be anxious, afraid, excited, upset, or one of many other emotions. My expectations are set for one thing while reality may be another.
Our minds can be a dangerous place if left to ourselves. That is why it is so important for us to allow God’s Word to renew our mind and fill our thoughts with the truth of God. This is a choice we have to make – to read God’s Word and meditate on it so that every area of our lives are transformed.
When we were out for a family walk the other day, and Josh starting slowing up. I told Josh that he has to push his body – his mind may be telling him to stop, but he has to continue to push through the pain to keep going. That is how we get stronger and grow.
How many times do you want to stop? Give up? Quit? This is the tendency when things get hard, but we must continue to push on to experience the growth that God has for us through each situation we walk through.
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
2 Corinthians 10:5
This is a reminder today to anyone who is experiencing the anxiousness of thoughts that are based on the What If. We do not live according to the standards of the world – we serve a God who can do the impossible. We must take every thought captive and make them obedient to Christ! This means that if our thoughts do not align with the Word of God, they should be replaced with the truth of God to bring life!
Heavenly Father, thank You for how much You love us! You have provided Your Word to guide us and teach us what is right. Help us to not allow our thoughts to control what we do, but to rely on the truth in Your Word. Help us to take every thought captive and make it obedient to You! In Jesus Name – AMEN!
Be Transformed 