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Are You Adequately Caring for Your Mental Health?

Are You Adequately Caring for Your Mental Health?  -christyfitzwater.com

The doctor showed us two pictures. One was of a little boy on crutches. She said it was obvious that he was injured, and people at school would be offering to sign his cast and carry his backpack. The other picture was of a teenage girl sitting on bleachers, and the doctor told us she looked just fine but had a concussion we couldn’t see.

“Save the Brain,” they call themselves. It’s an organization that educates people about the needs of students who have concussions.

If the name weren’t already taken, I might steal it and re-brand my blog.

Paul David Tripp has had me thinking a lot about thinking. I’m now on my second pass through his book, Instruments in The Redeemer’s Hands, except this time with a highlighter. I never ever mark my books, so you know this is a big find.

Tripp says this:

We are always organizing, interpreting, and explaining what is going on inside us and around us. We all think, though some of us do it better than others.

Another Paul is on a mission to save the brain. He says:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.  (Philippians 4:8 NIV)

We can look fine on the outside but have destruction going on inside our minds, much like those neurons the doctor was telling us about. They start to die when they’ve been violently jolted. The damage from a concussion spreads and sometimes doesn’t manifest itself in symptoms until 48 hours later. In the same way, one bad thought can cause death around it in our thinking –spreading damage into our minds.

Do you know the brain is the most fragile organ –like gelatin in substance?

I was kind of watching football with Matt the other day (trying hard to care), and I witnessed two players violently bash heads.

“Oh, they’ll call him on that,” Matt said.

“But it looked like an accident,” I said.

Matt told me it didn’t matter. They were being extra careful these days about head injuries and not accepting any actions that might cause one.

Skull bones. Helmets. Brains need extra protection.

The brain is fragile but not just physically. It’s fragile in the thoughts we allow to pass between neurons as well. As followers of Christ, we are commanded to take charge of our thoughts and only think what is excellent, because anything else is dangerous.

Sometime in the next 24 or 48 hours, our thoughts are going to manifest themselves. People are going to see if our minds our healthy.

So are y-ou thinking well today?

7 Comments

  1. Renee Richmond says:

    Excellent Christy! I’m still out here lurking, just been “Crazy Busy” which is the title of a book I’m reading right now on the topic! I’ll fill you in soon. But wanted to say how important our thoughts are and they can drive us to despair if we don’t corral them! You are so right about this!

  2. sooo goood!!! too often I think in the negative field….but in His Word it tells us to take every thought captive, and cast down imaginations or anything that would not exalt Jesus Christ. I keep praying that God will transform me and my negative thought patterns. I am weak and cannot do it myself, but thru His Power I KNOW I can be changed!!

    Your posts bless my days. Thank you for your inspiring blog!

    1. It really does require a transformation. You’re right -we can change out of negative thought cycles!

  3. Alisha Smith says:

    Well, if you are on round 2 of this book it has piqued my interest so I just ordered it and can’t wait to devour. I mark up all my books tho, hope that means we can still be friends:)
    When you do write a book, I will have highlighted like crazy in that one too!! (I promise thats a compliment.)

    1. Hahaha. I won’t judge you by your marked-up books, and I would be quite honored if you would take a highlighter to my first book -hopefully in March sometime. 🙂

      1. Alisha Smith says:

        How wonderful! Can’t wait to read and mark!!!

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