The Whole World Stinks

Don't be alarmed, that is simply just a title of a section in I DARE YOU, by Joyce Meyer. She's talking about our minds in Chapter 12, which I am reading with my "reading group" this week. Here's a "taste" of that chapter......


Wise men and philosphers throughout the ages have disagreed on many things, but many are in unanimous agreement on one point: we become what we think about. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "A man is what he thinks about all day long." The Roman emporer Marcus Aurelius put it this way: " A man's life is what his thoughts make of it." In the Bible we find: "As a man thinks in his mind, so is he."

One Sunday afternoon a cranky grandfather was visiting his family. As he lay down to take a nap, his grandson decided to have a little fun by putting Limburger cheese (very stinky) on his grandfather's mustache. Soon, Grandpa awoke with a snort and charged out of the bedroom saying, "This room stinks." Through the house he went, finding every room smelling the same. Desperately he made his way outside only to find that "the whole world stinks!"

So it is when we fill our minds with negativism. Everything we experience and everybody we encounter will carry the scent we hold in our minds.

When we are intentionally thinking and living in a positive manner, our lives can change for the better. Our physical energy increases and our overall attitude remains more positive.

I have found this to be true (my words now) that if I approach a situation with a positive attitude, the outcome of the situation may not change, but my feelings will. I will be better able to handle strife and annoyances if I can just get past my emotional response. This is an area I know is an invitation for the enemy if I'm not careful.

By the way, I have an interested party in discussing this book with me, and I'm very excited! Sure, I can study alone, and I often do, but it's nice to have some feedback from someone too. Now I will have to share the muffins, won't I? If you've been reading prior posts about my "study partner", you'd get that joke.

Is your glass "half empty" or is your glass "half full and ready to be completely filled"? It really is our decision, isn't it?