Tree Trimming

It's tree-trimming day! Now, I love trees. But as much as I love trees, so much more do I hate trimming them. I mean, trees grow just fine out in the wild, don't they? No problem! So why do we feel like we must "domesticate" the trees in our yards by trimming them?

Still, I have driven down roads with breath-taking scenery flooding my senses, and have given thought to just how much more beautiful that setting would be if those trees were cleaned up a bit. 

I recently moved into a home with quite a few trees in its yard. These trees were mature and beautiful. Ok, more than "mature," those trees were old. So old, in fact, that one of them came tumbling down in a huge thunderstorm we had last spring.  Once I was settled into my new home, I began looking around at things I wanted to do to update the home and make it "mine." In my search, I began to notice that most of my trees had dead branches that needed to be trimmed off. So began the process ...

The most immediate need was to cut branches off that hung dangerously low and close to my roof. The damage to my roof would have been more than I could afford. So, clip ... they were gone. Then I was able to begin trimming some smaller branches that, again, hung too close to the house. Other smaller trees had dead branches as well, and needed trimming. I was pleased with these efforts as my beautiful trees were looking even better!

The next spring, I began to notice something else: I began to notice (to my great surprise) that without all those dead branches, the trees in my yard were growing fuller and even more beautiful than they were before! It seemed like new life was beginning to happen! So this time, I began to snip off all of the little shoots that were now growing out of the main trunks and off the larger branches. The trees (or were they bushes before?) were now beginning to take on beautiful shapes. All those dead branches were gone, and the new life that was forming as a result was being gently guided in an upward direction, thereby reaching its maximum potential and beauty.

And of course, this got me to thinking: isn't that exactly what God does with us? He loves us enough to meet us right where we are. But He also loves us enough to not leave us there! He "trims" off the "dead" stuff ... negative and/or wrong thinking patterns, beliefs, behaviors, attitudes and ideas ... and "shapes" us into the beautiful person He created us to be, fully capable of reaching our "maximum potential" to accomplish the goals for which He created us.

Those are my thoughts. What are yours?

Poverty Mentality

This morning a friend posed an interesting question concerning our human, natural instinct that circumvents "change" at all costs. Change is not easy for us, as she so eloquently put it.  Since this is a topic that I write about, I was interested in what she was saying, and I posted on her query. Also, since she is a nutritionist and very active in helping people overcome health issues, the subject naturally leaned in that direction as well.  I'm hoping that you benefit from the conversation below:

Angela: "Thinking about some lessons as of late about how we live in a spirit of poverty. Pondering this, this morning about how we let the spirit of poverty control us or make us believe wrong things about God's promise of His provisions. I'm not talking just finances either. Mulling over the spirit of poverty and how it can creep in and we can find ourselves impoverished: mentally, emotionally, spiritually, financially and physically. How does it affect us? Are we sick/sickly/tired/run down because we believe our "condition" can never improve? Are we distant in our relationships because we have been hurt? Are we spiritually awake in our lives? Financially is there hope that things will change for us? Can and will God truly meet all of our needs?  Will our circumstances ever change?  Things to ponder in light of "He will supply ALL our needs" What do WE need to change in our belief patterns, faith patterns, emotional patterns, and behaviors? Can we begin to ACT as we should believe....that He WILL supply for all our needs.

"Jane, too often, I feel, or rather, believe, that it is our BELIEFS that keep us stuck in the poverty. Now, I'm not talking when $$ is TRULY so tight. I'm not trying to harass anyone here about just "get up and get yourself out of poverty. It's real, it exists. But I know you work very strongly with faith and belief patterns. I'd love if you could share some thoughts here......how CAN we begin to move in faith and belief and move towards actions of changing our lives and coming out of the different types of poverty in our lives. Will you share?"

Jane: "Sure, Angela. But as you have said, it's not just a matter of "get up and get yourself out" ... of anything, poverty mentality included. Believe it or not, this is what "Duct Tape for the Christian Mouth" is all about ... changing old, unproductive and/or inappropriate thought patterns and belief systems, habits and traditions.

"The REAL issue is to get back to the root cause of the belief. Are we believing something that is true, or not? If it's not truth, do we still want to hang onto that belief? Often when I'm asked this question, I compare it to hoeing weeds. I just can't wrap my brain around the principle of hoeing weeds! I do understand that we need to get rid of those weeds, or they will overtake our yards, and then some! But hoeing them only takes off the top of the weed. There's still a root system underneath the ground, and that root will grow thicker, fuller and bigger now that we have taken off its head ... and we'll have an even greater problem than we had before!

"The same is true with our beliefs, ideas, attitudes and habits. We must get back to the root cause. And then we must choose. Our choices are: 1) to still hang onto that old way of thinking, OR 2) to toss it out like yesterday's trash, and replace it with TRUTH!

"While this is not an easy process, especially since we are strong willed, independent and most often comfortable with what is familiar to us, it is possible. It depends on how bad we want it. How badly do we want change, even change for the better? What is priority in our lives, we will find time for. We will find a way.

"This is true not just with the poverty mentality that you're talking about, but it's true even with our health. I was literally forced into taking a step back and doing something on the offensive about my health. I've always wanted to "grow old gracefully." But there came an issue in my life (migraines) that caused me to re-work my thinking. At the same time I was developing migraines, I was also developing an allergy to drugs. While sitting in the allergist's office one day, I read a poster on his wall about the immune system. It fit right into my belief that God created our bodies to be healthy, and to ward off illnesses when they attack. And He gave us the "equipment" to do it. One of those things is our immune system. When the immune system has a glitch in it, that's when it loses it's ability to ward off that which would make us sick.

"Long story made short, I realized that I needed to take the pain medicines the doctor was prescribing, when the migraine hit. But I also realized that while those drugs were getting rid of the symptoms, they were doing nothing about getting rid of the root cause of those migraines. And just like those root systems that I talked about above, the root cause of the migraines needed to be dealt with. That's when I started going on the offensive with my health.

"And a change in my thinking processes and belief system was necessary to carry it out. Are nutritional supplements and foods expensive? Yes! But I'd much rather spend my money on supplements that KEEP me healthy, than on drugs to GET me healthy. It's taken a while to get to this place, but most times now I don't even have to medicate it when I get a headache!

"This principle of change is crucial to our lives! Freedom without responsibility equals chaos ... and chaos is what has happened in our minds and in our bodies of late. For more information on this subject, please see "Duct Tape for the Christian Mouth." 

Those are my thoughts, what are yours?

Tate Publishers, or wherever books are sold