“Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts“ – Proverbs 4:23 MSG
Have you ever tried to train your child to ride a bicycle for the first time? If you have, I can bet it was a very interesting session. Your child was most likely very excited about riding for the first time and you were most likely concerned about their safety gear for the ride!
I imagine you instructing them on all the rules they needed to follow and the importance of wearing the needed protection as they took that first ride and even subsequent rides.
It was the same experience I had with my kids when they were much younger, especially going on their roller skates. I would never let them ride without their arm and knee guards, proper attire, and their helmets. It was my responsibility after all to keep them from serious harm in the event of a fall.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23
Have you ever pondered on Proverbs 4:23? It implores us to keep vigilant watch over, guard, or mount a guard upon our hearts! Why does the Bible give us specific instructions to guard our hearts? Our hearts serve as the center of our lives, and it is what controls everything about us.
Just like a mom never would let her child ride their bicycle without the right protective gear, why would we allow our heart to remain without any form of protection?
Sister, our thoughts shape the kind of life that we will experience, and it is no wonder God’s word says, “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7).
This is why we must never let our thoughts run rampant with no control, we must continually filter and check what we let into our thoughts. If we want to be joyful, then we must choose joyful thoughts. Not always will circumstances around us be favorable, but we can decide to regulate our thoughts towards joy.
How do we regulate and choose our thoughts?
- We check what goes into our minds by filtering out negative talk from those around us
- We pull down strongholds and any lie of the enemy that we hear
- We strengthen our minds by meditating on the truth of God’s word
- We renew our minds by constantly checking and replacing negative and toxic thoughts with God’s word
This checklist is what it means to take captive every thought, bringing them into submission and obedience, subjecting them to the rulership of Jesus. Sweet mom, protect your heart and start choosing joyful thoughts, starting today!
Love, Oluseye Ashiru & The Help Club for Moms Team
She is an Author, a Certified Clarity, Parenting and Family Values Coach, Trainer, and Speaker with the John Maxwell Team. She is the Founder of Mothers Arising, a global community of over 12, 000 mothers
represented globally across 24 countries in 5 continents.
As the CEO & Lead Coach at Mom Youniversity, she has had the privilege of coaching over 2,500 women in the last 7 years, through her training, coaching, and mentoring programs. Her passion is for helping mothers to be more intentional about their motherhood and to also equip moms with the right tools, structure, and strategy to discover, embrace and fulfill their God-given purpose.
Oluseye also serves as the Founder and Lead Disciple at ROOTED Disciples Bible School, a discipleship school with a mandate to equip believers with the foundational truth of God’s Word and to disciple others.
She is a published author of eight books and counting, and she also loves to write and
produce empowering content for women and particularly mothers. She shares this passion through blogging for platforms like Mothers Arising Blog,
Help Club for Moms, Thrive Global, Huffington Post, She Leads Africa, and her recent podcast series aired globally across 12 international platforms.
To learn more about Oluseye, you can find her on these platforms:
Website: www.oluseyeashiru.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/oluseyeashiru
Facebook: www.facebook.com/oluseyeashiru
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