you are what you eat

despite the title, this post has very little to do with food. although, that double chocolate raspberry pavlova is certain to grace this pretty little page in the very near future.

when i was younger, i played tetris religiously (okay, i was in college. whatevs). before i knew it, i looked at everything as if it were a tetris board. in my head, i had mathematically figured out a way in which all my furniture could stack together; the way the ice machine at the restaurant i worked at would drop sheets of cubed ice would immediately throw my mind into a tailspin trying to visualize their exact placements. now, unless you're in the packing business, this is not a very desirable skill set.

and then, there's zumba. i've gotten so accustomed to learning new moves to songs with great beats, that i can't help but dance like a fool in front of everyone at busch gardens when a familiar song comes on (true story). now, even when i so much as listen to the radio while i'm driving, i can't help but see dance moves in my head to every 8-count.

and lately, all this reading i've been doing, i've found myself even thinking in prose. the way i calculate the words in my thoughts; who does that? no one hears them, anyway!

but it all got me thinking:

the things that we meditate on (or do, or become consumers of) are the things that are much brightly reflected in us. ergo: you are what you eat.

even in this short post, i have been able to recognize that my intake isn't nearly as healthy as i had hoped. i've had to scour my bible for the following verses, fully convinced one was in hebrews, the other in 2 Peter.

"we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5 NIV)

why do we do this? well, just like tetris and zumba and the voice of donald miller, the things that we do and consume, are the things that our brain engages. my brain is quite more malleable than i care to admit. just give me a week with a person that has clever sayings or a unique accent, and i can almost guarantee that i'll come back talking just like them (i noticed this after spending a day with a family from kentucky at a hanson concert in atlanta when i was 13; first time i ever recognized a "southern" accent in myself).

so, if our thoughts are wild and wreckless, then our actions are sure to mimic. if they are destructive and unhealthy, our hearts will soon mirror that, too.

but if our thoughts are on Christ, and bringing Him glory, we are ever-cognizant of our charge to live blameless and pure lives (who knew that was riddled throughout Proverbs, too?!), and we are more likely to resemble that call.

all of this seems pretty lofty, this "captivate-your-thoughts" thing. how are we supposed to accomplish something that seems so challenging?

in Philippians, Paul concludes his letter with this: "finally, brothers and sisters, 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." (Phil. 4:8 NIV)

God desires more than just our soul, prayers, actions, or words. He wants our hearts and minds, too. allowing our mind to get caught up in negativity, maliciousness, or lies steals the joy that Christ should bring to each of us. as you think beyond yourself today, i challenge you to focus on the things in life that are right and pure and lovely, thoughts you wouldn't mind sharing with Christ Himself.