Don't Believe Everything You Think

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  When I was in sixth grade I had a teacher named Mrs. Burgess, and she was one of the best teachers I ever had. Anytime someone made a wayward comment or had a "brain fart" she would just look at them and say, "T-H-I-N-K". In her room these five letters were in big, bold print on the wall and sometimes instead of saying them out loud she would just point to them with that strict teacher look in her eyes. I remember being so challenged by her. Everyone always wanted to tell me what to think, and they rarely challenged me to think for myself. This was the first year that I was challenged to take my own thoughts and ideas and test them for myself. I will forever be grateful for this lesson. Thank you Mrs. Burgess! But with all that said, there is a very scary side to me thinking completely for myself. It means that I get to try to define the truth for myself, my emotions influence my thinking, and my previous knowledge and experiences infect the new ideas that come into my mind.
     It wasn't really until my first year of college that I was challenged not to believe everything I think. When I started college and joined FOCUS I was learning so much new information about myself and about God. I was still being challenged to form my own opinions and think for myself, but I was also challenged to submit my thoughts and opinions to God. Ultimately there is only one Truth, and my opinion in the matter is completely void. The main problem with my thoughts is that ,unchecked, they can lead me away from the Truth. Sometimes the way I think is so influenced by my life in that particular moment that I forget that things will not always be like they are right now. So while my opinions, thoughts, and feelings are subject to change, the ultimate Truth is unchanging and unending. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, "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." So what checks and balances do you have in place for your thinking? Do you ask God for guidance to the Truth, or are you stuck in the prison of your own "truth"? I pray that we could all submit our thinking to God, and that he could help us decide what to keep and what to throw away.

SICM and Showcase 

Kylie Von Runnen, Ashley Mullings, Zoe Randle, and Emily Mullings singing "I am a Man of Constant Sorrow" 
Pico Dickinson singing a rewrite of "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus"
Josiah Smith and Sirak Asfaw playing "Hotel California" 
Zoe Randle singing "Breathe" 

      I just wanted to start by saying thank you to everyone who came to Showcase and helped support our students going to SICM! We were able to raise over $20,000 for our students! SICM stands for Student Institute of Campus Ministry. Every year we get the opportunity to send some of our students to this leadership conference to help them learn about leading a small group, doing evangelism on campus, reading and teaching the Bible, and so much more. This trip is an explosion of information and really allows us to equip future leaders and disciple makers for God's Kingdom. Please continue praying for this trip, and for all of our students that will be attending. We are praying that the Corona virus will not cause the trip to be cancelled!

How Do I Pray?

I had a really hard time praying when I first became a Christian. I would sit and my room and just think about what to say. The truth is that God is okay with us being "bad" at praying, and he is okay with us using our resources. Here are three prayers that I have used this month to pray. You are welcome to use this as well to connect with God. Just start somewhere. 






Other Prayer Requests:

  • Please pray as we continue to reach out to students around campus. Pray that we could show the love and freedom of Jesus to them
  • Pray that the Corona Virus would not get in the way of what God is doing at UTD
  • Pray for our students who are preparing to go to SICM 
  • Pray for the FOCUS staff as they decide what the staff will look like this next school year 
  • Pray for all of the students and families who are sick, and have loved ones with failing health 
  • Pray that God would continue working through our studies and sermons 
Thank you so much for reading this and supporting me! I really am so encouraged by all of you. Please leave a comment if you have any questions or comments!

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