Consider Changing Course

By Trish Ryan

"I urge you to seriously evaluate whether the activities and influences that are a part of your life are ones that increase your desire for God and His holiness or whether they are ones that diffuse your interest in spiritual things and diminish your impact on the world."

This quote was in an email I received this morning, one of those daily-inspiration offerings that puts reminders of God in my inbox, in the midst of all the other things fighting for space on my "To-Do/Urgent!" list. This morning's message was some tough love, no doubt about it. But I like tough love, especially when it comes in the form of an invitation from God to try something new.

My friend (I call her Super-G when blogging to disguise her identity, because she's a spiritual superhero...far be it for me to blow her cover!) and I have been trying this for a few weeks now: making conscious choices about the music we listen to, books we read, TV shows we watch, words we speak (and the ones we keep to ourselves). It started as a bit of a joke one night over dinner, as we wondered if we should try to be a bit more virtuous. But it's been a really cool experience, bringing us closer to God and all the promises in the Bible: knowing peace in challenging times, not freaking out over things that in the past would have panicked us, feeling sure about the good future God has for us...I could go on and on.

Truth be told, the changes have been subtle. Neither of us were all that wild to begin with, and I doubt that the people around us have even noticed a change (although my husband was happy to see that my DVR pre-sets for The Real Housewives had been deleted; they conflicted with his favorite home renovation show). The changes have happened inside...where we needed them most. But subtle changes can make a tremendous difference over time. As I've changed (or, more accurately, as I've let God change me), the things around me have changed, too. There's a spill-over effect; bonus blessings. I never would have guessed so much good could come from being more picky about what I let into my mind and out of my mouth, but it's been more than worth the effort.

So today, I invite you to consider the question above: The things you're watching/doing/reading/listening to/thinking about...do they make you long for more of God, or to they numb you out a bit, leaving you indifferent? If you don't love your answer, today is a day you can take God up on His invitation and try something new.