Above all else, guard your heart!

I think this is great advice we find in Proverbs 4:23-27.  I find the advice that follows the first sentence helpful:

1.  Think about and control what you say.
2.  Think about and control what you see.
3.  Think about and control where you go.

In other words, what we say, what we see and where we go all impact our spiritual heart health.

When God is silent, is He absent?

Here is a great message addressing God's silence when it seems our lives are being turned upside down:
http://www.northpoint.org/messages/when-god

Right thinking over time

with God's help equals a changed life (Rodney Anderson).  There is power in changing or mind.

We DEMOLISH arguments!

Have you ever been in a real dark place mentally or spiritually?   Have you ever had to battle thoughts so hard that you weren't sure if you would live?  I am convinced that we need to be intense and intentional about guarding our hearts and our minds.  When the challenges of life come, we have got to feed our minds and our hearts with good food.  We have to work out our minds and our spirits by "...demolishing arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.  We must take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ."  2 Corinthians 10:5.

Here are a few suggestions how to do guard our hearts and minds:
1.  Listen to Podcasts/messages on line
2.  Memorize scripture
3.  State over and over sentences like, "To know His love that surpasses knowledge," "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind," "If you hold to my teaching you will know the truth and then the truth will set you free," "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about these things."

Our Adoption Soundtrack

Well, it's been a little while since we returned home from Taldykorgan, Kazakhstan with our amazingly awesome son.  We had one fantastic experience on our journey to be united with him.  To make a long story short, we completed three and a half trips total over a period of about 2.5 months.  We spent about 6 weeks total over there.  We were deported, but were able to fix our Visas in Germany and get back over there to adopt our child!  In the process, there were some songs that we would hear and have left lasting memories and great feelings when I hear them.  I have been wanting to write these thoughts and feelings down.  We had an open house dance party tonight to the songs on our Kazak soundtrack and so I wanted to write these thoughts and feelings down:

1. "Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)" [feat. Nicole Scherzinger]:  This song was played over and over after our Baby House visits.  We stayed in an apartment by the City Plus in Taldy.  We would hear this over and over and over as it was piped through speakers into the neighborhood.  I got annoyed at the time, but now I love to hear the song.  It reminds me of our daily visits to the Baby House hanging with our son. 
2. "When I Look Into Your Eyes" By Firehouse:  This was a song Amanda and I danced to at our wedding.  When driving back to our Apartment with Kareem in Taldy, we heard this song right before we got out of his car.  He was listening to a station that played a mixture of Kazak and American music.  I couldn't believe this song came on.  We had just completed our speech in front of the Kazak judge asking for permission to adopt our son.  That was the most important speech we have ever given.  Our son had been referred to as the little "Boola Bun" by the people who loved and cared for him at his Baby House.  I am not sure how it is spelled in Kazakh, but it meant "eyes of a baby camel."   His eyes are beautiful.  I felt like that song coming on was a sign from God that our adoption would be approved.
3. "I Know You Want Me" (Calle Ocho) [More English Extended]:  Mika was one of our translators while spending time at the Baby House with our son.  She would listen to this song and sing it while we were hanging out.  She was getting ready to begin college.  This song also came on during our rides back to our apt. from the Baby House.
4. "Forever" By Chris Brown: Amanda and I would listen to this song in the evenings while in Taldy.  We also listened to this song before we left our home to meet our son.  This represents the beautiful "dance" we had in our journey to meet and join with our son.
5. "Never Surrender" By Cory Hart:  I prayed and sang this song to our son before we met him for many many months.  Sometimes I would sing it in the car, sometimes at home.  I would imagine him (or her as we weren't sure whether we would be joined with a boy or girl) being in the Baby House and would pray God would give him a sense that we were with him, that God was with him and that he would feel loved by all those caring for him.  Of course, when we were deported on our first trip, I believe this song was meant to encourage us to keep fighting to meet the little guy we were meant to parent as soon as possible.
6. "I Gotta Feeling" by Black Eyed Peas:  We listened to this song the night before we were confirmed that we would be our son's parents.  Amanda and I would sing this song together many times prior to our trips to Kaz.  For some reason, when I hear this song, it also makes me think of one of one of the places we ate when we were deported back to Germany.  Good stuff!!
7. "Alpha and Omega" by Gaither Vocal Band:  We praised God many times for the journey He was sending us on to adopt our child.  I stood in the aisle of our plane about an hour before it landed for the first time in Kazakhstan.  I was praising Him as we were flying through the air.  Little did I know we would be deported about 2 hours later.  That was when the real praising began!  I never praised God for being so so sad.  But, I had to believe He did not bring usthat far to not bring us back to Kaz. 
8. "Poker Face" and "Just Dance" by Lady Gaga: Two more songs that played over and over and over and over at the City Plus.  Funny how hearing these songs take us right back to that spot.  Such great memories!
9. "I Need You" by Marc Anthony: This was a love song I sang to my wife during our adoption experience.
10. "A New Hallelujah" by Michael W. Smith: This was our theme song for our whole adoption experience.  We listened to it many times before we left on our trips and we listened to it while we were there.  Our little one was "a new song" and we are so happy to have him!!...

What does repent mean?

Change the way you think.  Many people have no idea that is what repent means.  Many believe it means to feel bad about what you are doing and try to stop.

I am loving this message:
http://www.northpoint.org/messages/a-beautiful-mind

Guarding Our Minds: Tools of Thought

What tools do we use to guide our thoughts?  The following are a list of the tools we use to guide our thinking: imagination, stories we create in our minds, the conversations we have with ourselves and others in our minds, the ideas we create, the things we contemplate, what we focus on daily, the judgements we make, the conclusions we derive and the opinons we share all represent our thoughts.