Four months after losing their two month old son to SIDS, my best friend (lets call her Wordy) and her husband are getting ready to adopt a ten year old and a twelve year old, bringing the grand total of children living in the house to seven. As parents, they can’t wait to get started in their new lives together. The biological kids are thrilled to have new playmates, and the kids who are on their way are excited to be joining a family that they have already come to know well and love. The Bible says that TRUE religion is to care for orphans and widows, so when a family that espouses to love God decides that they want to extend that love to needy children, I find it surprising that there are so many people out there that have negative words and advice to offer them.
Wordy writes a blog aptly named The Wordy Woman (I have a link to her blog at the bottom and under the resources tab on Stuffyourfaith.com). Today she addressed the naysayers in her life and politely asked them to keep the negative thoughts to themselves. I’m glad she did that because sometimes addressing negative influences head on has to be done in order to more solidly plant your feet into the goal you are striving to obtain.
I know there are times when I will be gung-ho about something, whether it be weight loss goals or a project idea that I’ve come up with only to be met with a lackluster (or sometimes downright discouraging) response from someone. Then, just like that, the anticipation and excitement that I felt can be turned into frustration and the resolve that once was had turns into doubt.
In order to be successful at anything, you are going to have to learn to disregard the advice of people who bring you down and gravitate toward friends who build you up. Read these verses and tell me that they don’t apply:
"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away." Psalm 1:1-3
It is plainly saying that you will be blessed if you don’t take counsel from wicked people and people who scoff (ridicule). Follow that advice and you will be firmly planted and will succeed in all that you do.
So the next time you hear:
“What if _______ happens?”
“You are doing it wrong.”
“You’ve tried that before and it didn’t work.”
“You can’t...”
“You shouldn’t...”
“You won’t...”
You need to run those things through your filter, put them in the appropriate mental receptacle (preferably the trash can) and replace those thoughts with encouragement from someone else who is there to cheer you on and provoke you TOWARD your goal and not away from it. Because you CAN do whatever you set your mind to and the only person who can stop you is yourself.
Wordy writes a blog aptly named The Wordy Woman (I have a link to her blog at the bottom and under the resources tab on Stuffyourfaith.com). Today she addressed the naysayers in her life and politely asked them to keep the negative thoughts to themselves. I’m glad she did that because sometimes addressing negative influences head on has to be done in order to more solidly plant your feet into the goal you are striving to obtain.
I know there are times when I will be gung-ho about something, whether it be weight loss goals or a project idea that I’ve come up with only to be met with a lackluster (or sometimes downright discouraging) response from someone. Then, just like that, the anticipation and excitement that I felt can be turned into frustration and the resolve that once was had turns into doubt.
In order to be successful at anything, you are going to have to learn to disregard the advice of people who bring you down and gravitate toward friends who build you up. Read these verses and tell me that they don’t apply:
"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away." Psalm 1:1-3
It is plainly saying that you will be blessed if you don’t take counsel from wicked people and people who scoff (ridicule). Follow that advice and you will be firmly planted and will succeed in all that you do.
So the next time you hear:
“What if _______ happens?”
“You are doing it wrong.”
“You’ve tried that before and it didn’t work.”
“You can’t...”
“You shouldn’t...”
“You won’t...”
You need to run those things through your filter, put them in the appropriate mental receptacle (preferably the trash can) and replace those thoughts with encouragement from someone else who is there to cheer you on and provoke you TOWARD your goal and not away from it. Because you CAN do whatever you set your mind to and the only person who can stop you is yourself.
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