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?    

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

“When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 57). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. To realize that from God’s perspective life is a test goes a long way in determining how you handle your life.   It is important to see that in testing your character is both developed and revealed.   Rick goes on to say that “even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.” So there is a God purpose behind each situation in your life.   Even the bad ones are there to strengthen you and develop you.   You see those bad situations are really good ones because they are there for your good. I start each day with a reminder that God is good.   Not every situation that is going to come in my day is good but because G...

“What areas of my personality, background, and physical appearance am I struggling to accept?”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 35). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. Rick posed this question at the end of his chapter, You Are Not an Accident.   In this chapter he deals with the fact that God created you the way you are with a purpose.   In other words you are not an accident.   I am also reading the Apostle John’s view of Jesus and what He said and did while He was here on earth.   In the beginning of Chapter 9 there is a story about a blind man.   And the disciples who were with Him asked Him a good question, “Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind? ”   Have you ever asked the same thing about something in you that you don’t like?   Like that characteristic is a curse or something.   Society has set a standard that is not a standard of God.   Remember, He created you and you are not an accident. Je...