What is Capturing Our Thoughts

Yesterday I found myself sitting in a long line of traffic exiting the high school at the end of the day.  Traffic can get quite congested as there is one traffic light that allows about four to five cars to pass through the main intersection as it turns from red to green to amber.  We were probably five to six cycles back.  I found myself observing the small black vehicle in front of me that held two students, teens.  It was evident that they were listening to music as the car was rocking up and down and from side to side with the rhythm.  There were a couple of things that were outside the ordinary way that I observed the occupants of this car.  First, we, my teenage daughter and I, could not hear the music, neither the woofers or the tweeters; it was cold outside, and all windows were sealed tight.  Second, my daughter and I were not involved in a conversation.  Our car was silent. 

I was mesmerized by wondering where the minds of each of the occupants in each of the cars ahead of us were focused.  Your first thought might be, hopefully on their driving, but I can almost guarantee it was not, school was out, traffic was thick, the weekend was about to begin.  What captures our thoughts when we do not put intention behind them?  At the time of my wondering, I was pondering eternity.  A sad idea came to my being as I contemplated that possibly I had the only minds thinking of my creator, The Creator who gave me thought.

Our minds are vulnerable to other influences and if we do not take the time to capture our thoughts, they will lead us to places we do not want to go.  In Proverbs 4:20-24 we read, "be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.  Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.  For they are life to those, who find them and healing to all their flesh.  Keep your heart with all vigilance, and from it flow the springs of life."  There is a mind, body connection between our thoughts and our actions.  When we realize that there is spiritual warfare going on all around us regardless of what we can visualize, the need to capture our thoughts and focus them becomes more compelling.  I have to ask myself this question, and I hope you will too, how often do I genuinely examine my thoughts? 

Lately, my mind has been captured by the thought of what is entering the minds of our youth, especially in the area of literature.  Do we make an effort to manage the content of what we feed our brains?  I have been reading and reviewing articles about young adult book censorship.  Rather than get involved in this battle, I am seriously contemplating the idea of writing young adult Christian fiction focuses on a Biblical foundation.  I know that it is not humanly possible to read ahead of my avid teen readers, I have had to rely on other sources to teach me the content of books they pick up to read including violence, profanity, sex, gender issues, suicide, drinking, and drugs.  Now there seems to be a new evaluation that I've not been familiar with called consumerism.   

I understand that there are pro's and con's to exposure, but if I as a parent am unaware, it leaves me without an avenue for teaching foundational principles that support our faith journey.  In the innocent act of reading, how many young adults minds are being captured without parental intervention.  It is my responsibility as a parent to "train my child up in the way they should go," but we have many things vying for that opportunity without our consent. 
When we read God's word, we are filling our minds with precepts that allow us to filter out the bad and hold on to what is good, but unfortunately, many Christian families are not placing their priorities here.  We let so many other forces have control of our minds,  sources too numerous to mention. Paul tells us in Romans 12:2, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. That by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

As a mom, it is challenging to remain focused on this renewal, but unlike many, I am able to spend much of my time in research to aid my writing or in preparation for teaching a weekly woman's Bible study, or lesson for children's ministries.  Trying to tackle the boredom I experience while walking on the treadmill, I fill my brain with spiritual studies through video lessons, or when I'm driving the car, I often have my Pandora station tuned to worship music.   There is some intention behind my actions.  Where I struggle most is teaching my children to desire the same.  We make church and family prayer a priority, but often times miss the opportunity for getting into God's word together.  We involve ourselves in understanding the books that consume our teens free time, but often wish that we could have a more meaningful dialog about the story and content.

God's word instructs us in Philippians 4:8 to think about, "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, and if there is anything worthy of praise."  The more we do this, the more we are honoring God with our thoughts.

What is capturing your thoughts?