Thoughts Matter

Issue #0008

Thoughts have the power to shape and influence our actions.

We know this to be truth, because the Bible gives specific instructions on both the responsibility of managing the words that come out of our mouth and the task of submitting the thoughts of our minds to Christ.  Our thinking processes often affect us more than we realize.

Here is a life lesson on thoughts from our history:

One summer, our dog, Molly, experienced what is known as a false pregnancy.  According to our veterinarian, this is more common than most people understand, but it was anything but common for our family.  We anticipated puppies for weeks at our house. I can recall several dinner conversations that centered on naming puppies, traits of puppies, and of course the clear question from my children, “How many puppies can we keep?” I read numerous articles and invested in Molly’s health. Having experienced pregnancy myself, I took pleasure in doing my part to pamper her by frequently feeding her scrambled eggs. As the delivery date approached, John and I financially invested in various objects deemed necessary for delivering and organizing a small pack of Labrador Retrievers. One of the items we purchased was a medium size kiddy pool – a place for safe, clean delivery. John lovingly arranged fresh hay in the pool and made a place for it inside our barn.  Molly and Finn (our male dog) both seemed to understand the pool’s purpose, because Finn never set one foot inside it, and Molly would spend hours lying in it! She would wiggle down into the soft hay and stare into the distance with dreamy eyes. (In hindsight, she may have been thinking about those scrambled eggs, ha!)  Molly nested, ate everything in sight, gained 12 ½ pounds, and produced milk, but she had no puppies.  The week of her scheduled delivery an x-ray confirmed that Molly’s puppies were all in her “thoughts”, and her body had responded accordingly.  Now that’s the power of “suggestive thinking”.