Hearing Voices

I hear voices…all the time. Do you hear voices? I imagine so, especially if you are a woman. These voices are intrusive at times, other times they are quite helpful. The trick for me is learning to orchestrate these voices. The music of my brain is under my direction…I just have step up and pick up the conductors wand. 

For women this can be particularly difficult, more so than with men. Why is this? I have attached a wonderful short video that everyone should watch. It is a great description of the male and female brains by Mark Gungor. I promise it will make you laugh, but it does explain why women in particular allow stressful, negative thoughts to run amok through their heads.

My biggest problem is allowing the voices of negativity and worry to take over the airwaves in my head. They tend to be the loudest and most repetitive of all the voices swarming around in my brain. They also tend to have a great amount of perseverance. Beating them into submission is not an easy task.

So what to do when these negative, stressful thoughts come knocking at my door? Turn to Him…

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things

 ~Colossians 3:2 NIV

Once I have done that, be it through prayer, reading God’s word, or singing His praises, I find the negative voices have receded. Filled with His Spirit there is no room for the negative, and peace can be found. My brain may still be filled with the notes of voices…but ultimately I control the direction the music takes.

In Him ~Marla

Living in Denial

I have spent the better part of my adult life living in varied states of denial. I figure as a parent you basically have two choices: Denial or constant worry. I decided before my first child was born that denial was the best choice for me. This isn't the naive denial of a teenager who takes serious risks because they believe the are invincible. This is purposeful denial, because to do otherwise is too terrifying. When I was pregnant I did not spend time worry about the health of my unborn child. When my children were young I did not worry about every sniffle or whether they would develop childhood leukemia. It was not that I really thought these things could not happen to my child. After all when I was 20 my 8 year old nephew was taken by an unexpected illness practically overnight. It was more of a conscious decision to not waste time dwelling on possibilities I had absolutely no control over. I did, however, pray. I prayed like crazy! But then I turned it over to God and continued on in my cozy state of denial. When my son was playing high school football and getting tackled every other play. When my daughter went off to college and was on her own for the first time. When my son started competing in track in college as a decathlete, and was pole vaulting over 16 feet in the air. When my daughter bought her house and was really on her own. Through all of this denial has kept me sane and my blood pressure low.
Tomorrow marks a new state of denial for me. My son is graduating from the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center. As he begins his new career as a police officer I will pray for him daily, for his safety, for his decisions, for his colleagues. And I will slip comfortably back into my state of denial, trusting in the Lord for all things, and hopefully avoiding worry lines. I am proud of you son.
~Marla