Skip to main content

“To find our own voice, we must first wrestle with the voices inside our brains.”


A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus, (2014-02-25) from his book,  The Artisan Soul: Crafting Your Life into a Work of Art (p. 43). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.


There are so many voices in us clamoring for attention and control.

I have spent my morning at Starbucks reading two newspapers and spending time with my friends.  I sat there in my spot with my Dodgers’ hat on reading about how they lost last night and then talking with my friends about what happened.  That is a voice that is inside of me.  It is a voice that has been a part of me since I was a child and it is a voice that at some points has to be controlled.  I used to get so upset when they lost.  It would affect my mood but hopefully I have matured.

Now after I left Starbucks I walked about a mile to Peet’s Coffee & Tea where I pulled out my Kindle and did some reading preparing for sharing some thought on this Blog today.  I read and then pulled out my phone and ear phones and started my walk to home listening to Erwin McManus share from his new book and he was talking about this section on finding our voice.  It was very challenging and very inspiring and I was ready to write until I got home and opened up an email from my cable company telling me why they weren’t yet carrying the new Dodgers’ network and my inner voice changed from inspiration to frustration.  And a wrestling match of competing voices started inside of me.  But I realized what was happening so I went to my computer and found this quote and started writing.  There are so many voices within our brains clamoring for attention.

Erwin continues, “Some of those voices could hold us captive the rest of our lives. Some of those voices, if we choose to give them power over us, will make us become less and less as we listen to them more and more. Some voices inside will silence our souls and leave us without a language to express who we really are.”

Now I realize that the voice of the Dodgers’ has great sway over me and I have to keep it in its place and it does have its place.  But it doesn’t compare to the voice to share with you something that will make a difference in your life.  That is the voice that God has placed in me that controls me that fulfills me but there still is this wrestling match that goes inside of me.  And that voice needs to be cultivated and fed and nurtured and listen to. 

You and I were created by God with a unique voice that other voices strive to take captive and control.  The voice of the Dodgers is a voice that can take me captive and control me.  It has to be constantly wrestled with but it will never win as long and I keep God’s voice of who He created me to be at the forefront of my life.

So what are some of the voices you wrestle with?    
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“Hurry and love are incompatible.”

A thought by John Mark Comer from his book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (p. 23). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Wow, pretty strong thought isn’t it? John says, “All my worst moments as a father, a husband, and a pastor, even as a human being, are when I’m in a hurry—late for an appointment, behind on my unrealistic to-do list, trying to cram too much into my day. I ooze anger, tension, a critical nagging—the antitheses of love. If you don’t believe me, next time you’re trying to get your type B wife and three young, easily distracted children out of the house and you’re running late (a subject on which I have a wealth of experience), just pay attention to how you relate to them. Does it look and feel like love? Or is it far more in the vein of agitation, anger, a biting comment, a rough glare? Hurry and love are oil and water: they simply do not mix.” He goes on, “Hence, in the apostle P...
Post a Comment
Read more

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...
Post a Comment
Read more

“The gospel is good news, not good advice.”

A thought by Timothy Keller (2016-10-25) from his book, Hidden Christmas: The Surprising Truth Behind the Birth of Christ (p. 21). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I’m glad you stopped to catch a glimpse of what this thought really means. Tim says, “Advice is counsel about what you must do. News is a report about what has already been done. Advice urges you to make something happen. News urges you to recognize something that has already happened and to respond to it. Advice says it is all up to you to act. News says someone else has acted.” He then gives an illustration, “Let’s say there is an invading army coming toward a town. What that town needs is military advisers; it needs advice. Someone should explain that the earthworks and trenches should go over there, the marksmen go up there, and the tanks must go down there.”   That’s advice He goes on, “However, if a great king has intercepted and ...
Post a Comment
Read more