"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Proverbs 4:23
I started running today...again...it was a rather "short" run, well, it was actually a "very short" run, to be honest, it was a really long walk. (: I guess the important thing is that I at least STARTED to run! There have been so many times in my life that my well intended plans to eat better & get back into heart healthy shape quickly fall by the wayside - until, I get back on track yet again.
So here we go - again.
But I was thinking about these words as I ran this morning - it's such a great verse for this "heart healthy" culture that we live in! I mean we hear that everywhere, the importance of "guarding our hearts" - keeping our lives free from the things that would not be HEALTHY for our hearts. And then I think, how many of us "guard our hearts" more "physically" than we do "spiritually?" How often have I done that without even thinking about it?
We even teach our children about healthy living, being active, eating right. In my "younger" days, I was such a junk food eater, I could have existed (& probably did a few years) on chocolate, coffee, & french fries, ugh! But I would NEVER DREAM of letting our children pour that into their little lives, no way! We naturally want to teach them to make wise choices in what they choose to eat & what they do in order to have a healthy life & heart.
I can't help but think how that MUST carry over in the spiritual training & equipping of our own kids. If we allow "junk" food in - that's what our heart will pour back out, junk.
Let's equip them to make wise choices in what they allow in - let's tell them WHY we choose to not watch certain things or WHY we choose to not play some type of video games or WHY we don't want to put things into our bodies that make us act "goofy." Let's show them the incredible things to pour into their hearts - the Word of God, spending time with God & with others who love Him, fun up beat music that honors Him - there's so many good things that we can help fill up those little hearts with! Let's instill in them the reality that the Bible is NOT a big book of "don'ts," but that God wants for us to live a life of freedom & joy, He wants the very best for us!
And, in the long run, we'll be teaching them how to make those choices - on their own - it's not always easy, there's temptations everywhere out there for all of us. Wow, we live in a real world with a real enemy who wants nothing more but for us to pour junk in. Praying for all of us today, that God will help us parents to do all that we can to keep our families "heart healthy."
No comments:
Post a Comment