It Is Good To Be A Rat

There was a rat that felt inadequate and all he wanted to do was die because he lost his self confidence, felt weak and felt no one liked or respected him. That night he sat down and began to talk to God, “Why nobody likes me, I am weak, nothing to offer, no meaning or purpose and I do not want to live anymore.”


God replied back to him, “you are the strongest in this world little rat.”

The rat was in awe and complexed and asked, “but how can I be?”

This started an interesting conversation between them and God said, “You are stronger than the night.” Again the little rat was perplexed and scratched his little furry head and asked, “Can you explain this for me please?”

God spoke, “because when the sun rises the night disappears and this makes you stronger than the sun.” “But how can I be” questioned the rat.

God softly spoke, “because when it is cloudy the sun disappears and you are stronger than the cloud.” Being confused the rat said, “I do not understand what you are trying to say.”

God responded, “Because when the wind blows the clouds move and disappear, and you are stronger than the wind.” Again, the little rat was puzzled and did not understand the logic behind the words of his Creator and responded, “But how?”

God answered, “Because when the wind blows, it cannot move the tower that is behind you, but you can.” The little rat snickered and thought if he was weak how can he move a tower that is 1,000 times his size and questioned God, “ tell me more about how will this make me strong.”

God smiled in His answer to the little rat and said, “My little friend, nor the sun, the wind, the clouds or the night can make this tower disappear. However, you, little rat you can; by simply digging in each stone, you can crack them and make the tower collapse.”

Does anyone occasionally get down on themselves? Beating yourself up (not literally of course), but thinking all these negative thoughts. You know there are some positive attributes, but can't help to focus on the negative ones. You ask yourself, “Why do I do that, it makes me so miserable?” What is wrong with me? Why do I feel this way?

Sometimes you just can figure out what is happening, and you could not seem to get away from it or make it better. You feel so weak and poor. Maybe, you felt in adequate because you were not able to show up for others in the way you wanted too. Or you could not seem to get a grip on everything vying for your attention in your life.

In most cases, the root of the problem is that our feelings of inadequacy are based on us measuring ourselves against the wrong standard or the conventions of the past. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? Are you not a child of God?

Have you tried changing your feelings? However, to discover that there are completely new places of inadequacy, even in those places you felt secure, and it was natural and familiar to you? Finally, you cry out to God in desperation, asking Him to overcome your failings and weaknesses and asking Him for assistance. Feel like the rat in being perplexed in the answers that God provides to you?

Don’t let past failures or fear of the future render you useless. God knows exactly why He chooses you to carry out His purpose. All He asks of you is to trust Him. Feeling inadequate is not a weakness. If you turn your attention and focus on God instead of on yourself, then it can actually be a strength. I know when I am feeling inadequate; I know that I have to depend on the Him. There is no other option, other than failure. When I am feeling adequate and strong in my abilities, I am tempted to draw from my own strength and not from the His. I personally don’t like feeling inadequate, but that is when I see Him working in my life in a special way. It is a good place to be, even though it may not feel that way at the time.

“To ourselves, we are great. Yet most of us live life without making a stand, contented to blend into the background of self-rendering nothingness, and when looking back feel contented at our mediocre accomplishments. Nobody remembers the person who conformed out of inadequacy. Nobody notices a patch of grass, they see the tree” ~Wayne Burrow

Remember, sometimes it is good to be a rat. Much can be accomplished in the small things rather than the big. Therefore, as you read this, please go with an understanding that you are adequate. You are more than a conquer (Romans 8:37). There is power inside you (Philippians 2:13). God is sufficient for you in every situation you may find yourself in, that will never change. If God leads you to do something, He will always enable you to accomplish it. There is no better place to be than in the center of God’s will, doing what He has asked you to do.

Do not believe in the self-talk lies that you are not good enough, or you're not pretty enough, or you feel inadequate and cannot do anything right. The world can distract you with smoke and mirrors. You will compare what you see when you quickly glance at the images which reflect back at you. These are mere shadows of life which have no real meaning.

Beneath the surface of it all lays a foundation, there is living in purpose, and as we sail through life, do not avoid storms and rough waters, just let it pass and just sail. Remember, calm seas never make skillful sailors. Inadequacy is only the exercise equipment of building up our skills in accomplishing more than we ever have thought about! God's plan is often a front for men's plans and a cover for inadequacy, ignorance, and evil

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God  (2 Corinthians 1:20)  It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. (Psalms 18:32)

Healthy Benefits for Being Thankful

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?" ~William A. Ward


The holiday season hits like an unexpected event. Some are prepared with savings to pay for the unexpected turn of events. Some are not prepared and fret over the situation and worry how they will cover the uneventful expenses.

Sometimes it seems difficult to be thankful when troubles arise, but with a little effort, there is something you can be thankful for. Where can one find thankfulness when you find out your little girl has cancer? Where can one find thankfulness when you loose your job? Where do you find thankfulness when you spouse leaves you for another person?

So often we can dwell on the things that seem impossible rather than on the things which are possible. We can be depressed or allow depression to set it by what remains what we feel must be done and then forget to be thankful for everything that has been accomplished for us. It feels like our only light becomes extinguished, but if you wait it can be rekindled by a spark from another person. This begins a quest to think with gratitude of those who have come into your life as a light and restarted the flame within you.

Life is short to go through it without being grateful. Make a habit to tell people thank you. Your waiters and waitresses need to hear thank you and please when they wait on you. Leave them good tips to show your gratitude of their good service. Talk to the cashier that is checking you out and make light of the situation to know they are appreciated. When you appreciate those around you and appreciate life, you will find more people and more life.

Begin to educate yourself in gratitude and not take anything for granted. Open your eyes to the countless ways in which you are supported. You will become occupied when you notice what you are giving and thanking those who have supported you than what you receive. I know what you are thinking. I am spent, worn out, put up with family, and cannot find an ounce of what to be thankful for.

I have been in your shoes. It is easy to allow pessimism and judgmental views to cloud the silver lining that is always there. My parents live an hour and half away from me. For a year, they never came up nor did they invite my family to come down because they were too busy selling or building their house. We would call and ask for them to come up or to come down and there were excuses of being sick like headaches, illness, or we have plans prevented us in seeing each other. For the last six year they have not come up to visit and the last two they barely have spoken. I called them recently, when I found out the possiblity that I may have cancer.  I have set aside forgiveness and tried to reach out to them again this Thanksgiving. My parents said, “No thank-you.”

Thanksgiving is to be about family. Could I allow my view to get in the way of enjoying a joyful event? I could, but why should I allow my parents, and their judgments against my family, to interfere in me being thankful? Last year it gave me an opportunity to invite my wife’s ex-husband and family into our home for Thanksgiving. I will admit this was tough for me. What did I learn? If Jesus can forgive and have a relationship with those who have sinned, shouldn’t we? The year before that we invited those who were without family into our home to enjoy family. When one door closes no matter how much you yearn for your parents’ love, there is something better that can be done. There is other families and friendships to be had.

I want to challenge you not to be bitter, not to be down, not to fret, and not to worry for God works things out. That is something to be thankful for. Being thankful is stepping out of our selfish zone and looking for the hidden zones that need to be tended too.

Here is how I found in the midst of rejection and storms to be forgiving and Thankful:

Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

I had to learn the peace of God comes from having a thankful heart. Note what this peace will do for you. God says "it will keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." People who are not thankful to the Lord are not satisfied. They are discontent always complaining about what they do not have....rather than be grateful for what is God's provision for them.

Psalm 100:2 says, "Serve the Lord with gladness..." and verse 4 tells us to "enter His gates with thanksgiving.

There is much I learned to be thankful for: Salvation, daily provisions of food, clothing, housings, family and friends and prayers. I had to learn and know God’s will. His will guides and provides and that His grace is always sufficient and He will never leave me alone. Being thankful has helped me mentally and physically and there is recent research that shows it is healthy to be grateful.

Jeffrey Froh, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Hofstra University, research focuses on being grateful as a continuing behavior, and the benefits that accrue by staying focused. He advised, "The one particular study that we did was we had students count blessings, which is essentially focusing on the things they were thankful or grateful for, and we had them journal that daily for two weeks.”

Froh’s study followed up three weeks later and found that students who counted blessing were reporting more optimism and satisfaction in their lives than the ones who did not count there blessings. Froh expressed, “"It's beyond feeling good, and beyond happiness, we found that grateful kids tend to report less physical complaints; bit also in the adult literature ... they found that grateful people who counted blessings were more likely to exercise, more likely to report better sleep; less likely to report these physical complaints. There's even some research done, we're looking at, when you have a sense of appreciation your heart rhythms are more coherent and smooth, which of course is healthy."

Therefore, sit, meditate, and reflect on today and the past to remember the good things that God and others have done for you. Take time to write out a note to friends and families and show them your appreciation, even if you feel rejected. At least you can have a peace of mind you tried and the burden is on them. Allow your heart of thanksgiving to become an asset that is a pair of glasses to see a world that is half full rather than empty. It will help you to advance in a world where you can uplift others as you advance through more blessings. ALWAYS celebrate your God-given relationships and even His relationship for Salvation is a big reason to be thankful. Your heart of thankfulness will cause doors to open up for you like they did for me.

People who describe themselves as feeling grateful to others and either to God or to creation in general tend to have higher vitality and more optimism, suffer less stress, and experience fewer episodes of clinical depression than the population as a whole," explained noted author Gregg Easterbrook on beliefnet.com.

As each day comes refreshed; so does my gratitude being renewed daily. The breaking of the sun over the horizon is my grateful heart dawning upon a blessed world. Grace isn't a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal. It's a way to live.

How beautiful a day can be

When kindness touches it!

~George Elliston

Walking on Water

I waited, I waited for the Lord and he stooped down to me; he heard my cry ~ Psalm 40:2


The weekend is over and Moan-day is here. Work mounts like Mount Everest. Head swimming in a sea of thoughts of what to do and how to plan for the week. Problems flow in and out of your mind like a spring breeze reminding you of something fresh is around the corner.

Camel day comes and you’re trying to get over the hump of the middle of the week. The plans you planned have now fizzled. Your expectations are futile. Dreams are shattered or like a ship sailed away beyond your grasp into the ocean of countless and lost dreams.

Fry day is now here, and you feel like your brain is like a French fry waiting to be dipped into a sauce of weekend blues. You ponder about your Sat all day and wonder if you can make it to Son Day. Realization from the University of Hard knocks slaps you with a blow of an illness or even a death in the family. The cloud of despair just seemed to get bigger and like rain drops falling, so do the tears of wondering what is coming next. The wind begins to blow, tossing the thoughts around like falling leaves. There are flashes of light like lighting of memories of events past roar with thunderous echoes of resentment and guilt.

Maybe you are a like a friend of mine that lost a precious animal. Maybe you are like my wife who lost three loved ones in one week. Maybe you are like a co-worker worried about the health and wondering if they will make it. Maybe you put your house up for sale and are just frustrated because it is not going fast enough. These are storms and crises we face whether they are small or large we still have to go through them.

Just writing this out reminds me of my life at one point. I know that my disappointments were clearly my fault and some of my decisions were poor and I took the wrong path. Sometimes it felt like life was my car and I took the wrong turn because of a detour. The detours lead me to a new and fresh understanding about something I had to learn.

What I had to learn is how to walk on water. Impossible! Thought you might think that very thought. However, it is not impossible to walk on water. I created an acronym to help me to remember how to walk on water.

WATER = Working (an) Attitude Through (an) Eternal Relationship.

We all have dreams, expectations, and a mental picture of how our lives should be. Whether it is, for the moment, day by day, or in the future we have some idea of what we expect. A week described above can begin to fathom the demonic lie that begins to form, “Does God exist?” We feel alone and empty and sometimes wonder where He is in the midst of our storm cloudy day that seems to tatter with raining problems.

You may not even believe in God, but if this is true, then can I share a secret in life with you? There is too much evidence that He exists and I had to learn to walk on water in order to experience the freshness and newness of life to see He does exist. It begins with one simple thought: “If you do not change your thoughts and beliefs, your life that you now live, will be like that forever.” I did not want to live in a constant state of what ifs and wherefores and despair of hopelessness.

Do you fear change? Remember my acronym for fear? FEAR = Forgetting Everything About Righteousness is to forget that God cannot work in our life if we fear the inevitable knowing that He can. We allow ourselves to get into all kinds of mischief when we assume God must think and feel as we do.

Peter taught me how to walk on water. Peter says, "Lord, if it be you, ask me to come to you on the water." I understand that is the kind of thing for faith to do. Anyone can walk on solid ground, but faith is a water-walker. Faith has a can do, it has activeness, and it works where others fail, “for it is in Christ, I can do all things.” Faith is an active exercise that prompts you to move and to venture where others fear to tread. Faith developed Peter to love Christ. Even after Peter denied him, Peter was the first to strip his clothes and jump into the sea and swim to meet Christ after His resurrection.

How does one work an attitude through an eternal relationship? God is eternal and it is our attitude, which we have to work in our relationship with Him. We have to make our, “thoughts obedient to Christ”, through the “renewing of our minds”, in order to “know the will of God.”

First, we must let go of our internal intuitiveness to control. My swimming instructor always told me not to fight the water and to relax allowing the water to support your body to float. I had to let go of my fear, relax and learn to float and trust in the instruction I was given. We have to trust in the words of truth that God will see us through. Floating allows us to wait patiently on the Lord to see what he can accomplish in our live for it is, “God that works in you” to perfect His good will in you.

Second, I had to learn to keep walking through the storm. Several times I gave up, and I regret it because if I had only have stayed, I would have been promoted to the next position. Sometimes the pain we feel only sharpens us to a heighten awareness of being prepped to do greater things. We can stay as a caterpillar and slowly crawl through life, or we can change and learn to reach new heights and see a new world from a different perception.

Third, I had to realize that walking on water is not a characteristic of faith, but praying when you begin to sink is faith. Notice Peter when he reached out and said, “Lord, save me.” Peter, did not loose faith. He still kept the faith in the one that made it possible for him to walk on water and kept the faith when he lost focus.

Finally, I remember a story by Aesop, which tells of a story of man that saw a little boy drowning and sitting up by the shore, began to lecture him about venturing out to far. There are those who will ridicule or even our minds will beat us with self defeat in what we should have, would have or could have done and never have a helping hand out of our situation. Then we begin in believing in the lie and observe the burden which is too heavy to bear. However, Christ still seeing Peter reached out and lifted him up. Christ takes the burden off of us and creates the mustard seed of faith. I had to learn how to water that mustard seed and to cultivate it to grow.

Remember we have to work our attitude through an eternal relationship. That relationship is realizing when we are seeking, we use our mustard seed of faith and request help for it is HIM who catches us by the hand and raises us above the seemingly impossible surroundings. The more we seek God, the more we learn of God; The more we learn of God, the less we understand God; The less we understand God, the more we must believe God, and the more we must seek God.

To walk on water one must lean towards him and not run from the storm. Do not confine Him to your thoughts, but provide room for Him to work in your life. Be patient and wait upon him and not hesitate when he bids you to come. Trust that He will see you through and base your faith in the truth of His identity and not your own.

Isaiah 40:28-31

Do you not know?  Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;  but those who hope in the LORD

will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

I can walk on water because my attitude in my eternal relationship with him rests in trusting even when it doesn’t make sense for me to trust in Him. When I put trust in Him and anchor my life in the cross there is abounding love that can and has sustained me through troubled times. Now, instead of swimming, I am walking on water. If I can, you can too because Peter had the faith to show us anything is possible. Faith is the things hoped for in the unseen.

Do you feel worthy?

Have you seen the NBC television show the Apprentice with the infamous Donald Trump? It is fascinating to watch people interact and see how their plans develop. You receive the challenge and if you are the project manager, there is not much time for preparation. You go through the motion, set up the information, and you feel adequately confident when you finish your task.

Until you are sitting in the Trump room around the luxurious and lavish table, and then you feel you do not feel worthy. Conversations fly and emotions are on a high. Defense and offensive talks exchange like an old civil war event. It is a duel of guns of words loaded and measured with accuracy to knock out the opponent.

Then you sit and feel weighed and measure. You feel you did well, but then you are taken back by what everyone else states about you. The ultimate decision weighs on Mr. Trump. The words come out like a gale wind force, “You’re Fired”!

Do you feel worthy? You know you come home and feel unappreciative at work. Maybe, sometimes you feel unappreciative at home. The wife feels inadequate because the husband demands dinner and when you make it the family complains because it was not what they expected. Maybe the husband stops and buys a gallon of milk, but the wife nags at him because he forgot the diapers. Maybe, the parents are telling one child why can’t you be more like your sister Lori or why can’t you be more like your brother.

You are bombarded by messages like rain drops from the sky. No matter how pelted you feel you always walk away drenched from the words which were spewed. You just do not feel worthy. Then you sit down and you watch television. Commercials now sneak in that message that you are not worthy if you do not have this. Your life is not complete without this. You have to get this for your children because they deserve it.

You sit and contemplate. Thoughts creep in like worms to an apple. They begin to bore out the good thoughts, and you feel rotten to the core. You begin to believe in the lies. You are not good enough. You are not worthy. You cannot seem to please anyone. Then you ask yourself, “Do I feel Worthy?”

I feel the need to feel worthy is debilitating in today’s society. This is another lie which we tend to feed ourselves like fish in a pond. We want to be content in the pond and not see the stream flowing in and out. There is away out of not feeling you are not worthy.

You are Worthy. You are perfect the way you are. God has made a plan for you even with the bumps and bruises along the way. It is like being an athlete training for the marathon. Will you let yourself be defeated by self defeating thoughts that debilitate your legs of movement to rise above the occasion?

Soul searching and self-care are tools to help with self-assurance in knowing you are worthy, but they are external tools. Every situation you have lived through has shaped you into the person you are today. It is like the Potter and the clay that molds something beautiful (Isaiah 64:8). We all have our knicks and dings from an everyday use, but we are never broken and should never feel we are not worthy.  The best spiritual tool is His Word.

I have seen and counseled many individuals which struggle with the deeply held questions related to personal value and worth. The self defeat is the struggle to search for external validation. I use to seek for my parents validation and worth, and yet they say, “no thank you” and I go away feeling unworthy. Who needs the negative impact which scars the soul when you can rise above the occasion, and you seek out another set of parents who truly care for you? I did and am eternally grateful for Wanda and Jim Crownover, who stepped in order to provide parental guidance, spiritual aspiration and moral support.

The first step is avoiding those messages that make you feel unworthy. You seek out the positive affirmations and situations, and you rise above where you have fallen. However, no matter how much external validation you receive, you will not be able to accept acknowledgement because you didn’t personally believe in your own value.

How do you measure that you are worthy? You seek the spiritual where it begins. The second step is accepting you are wonderfully made (Psalms 139:14). Get rid of those thoughts and ask yourself: “Am I willing to let go of approval from others”, and Am I willing to push past through my fears when it seems like things are no going to change and see it through” by making your thoughts obedient through Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Remember, you attract what you are. And when you believe who you are and what you are deserving of, you will get. The truth is spoken between you and God. You know the answer to your crises or dilemma. You know if you feel worthy. So I ask, do you feel worthy?

The only measurement you should take is with the Truth. The truth is that you are worthy enough that Christ died for you (Romans 6:10, 2 Corinthians 5:15). If you seek Him and you believe it is Him who works in you (Phil 2:13) then, “God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith” (2 Thessalonians 1:11).

You are God’s most valuable player in this life! You have to constantly remind yourself. No one can make you feel less worthy, unless you allow them to. I want to encourage you that you are worthy. Believe in the love of Christ, become all that you can be even through the muck and mire and walk away knowing you might have won or lost the battle, but the War has already been won through Christ. Believe in the positive affirmation you are worthy.

     "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer

 of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

~Theodore Roosevelt (at the Sorbonne!) in 1910~

Getting Nailed?

Your attitudes and the choices you make today will be your life tomorrow, build it wisely.

"I can't change the direction of the wind,

but I can adjust my sails

to always reach my destination."

Jimmy Dean

Words of defeat can shred like shrapnel exploding from a tongue grenade. Maybe it is a barrage of nail of words penetrating to the soul to nail you down to a board of defeat. Feel like giving up, maybe, like a sailor without out a sail or a windless day getting you no where?

A King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock.

Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.

After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse laying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.

The peasant learned what many of us never understand that every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition. Ever dealt with raw wood and try to make it into something beautiful? Sometimes you can get a splinter a sharp reminder of what you are dealing with when handling raw wood. Having the right tools makes the difference between building a beautiful house or a small wooden bowl.

Words are tools like tools to a pumpkin. They are light and sharp and carve an image into the softest parts. When our self confidence is low we sometimes tend to believe what others think of us. We do not have the confidence in ourselves to believe otherwise. You cannot expect to achieve new goals or move beyond your present circumstances, unless you change." Other people's opinion of you does not have to become your reality."

Positive thinking is a mental attitude that admits into the mind thoughts, words and images that are conductive to growth, expansion and success. It is an attitude that expects good and favorable results. A positive mind anticipates happiness, joy, health and a successful outcome of every situation and action. Whatever the mind expects. It finds.

A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead.

The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all of their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and died.

The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out.

When he got out, the other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?" The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.

This story gives us thoughts to think about:

1. An encouraging word to someone who is down can encourage them to achieve their goal.

2. A destructive word to someone who is down can have negative effects. Be careful of what you say.

Sometimes you feel like you are nailed by words. However, your attitude can cause a change in how to deflect the nails. Words are like The Snow may look smooth and soft, but the rocks underneath are sharp!" Are your words encouraging to others? Are your thoughts deaf to others penetrating nail of words?

Take a leap of faith and look to Him to provide the strength and wisdom. Remember, He was nailed for us to be released from the nails. Don’t be nailed with thoughts that hold you back from moving forward. It does not matter what your circumstances are at the present moment. Think positively, expect only favorable results and situations, and circumstances will change accordingly. It may take some time for the changes to take place, but eventually they do.

Another method to employ is the repetition of affirmations. It is a method which resembles creative visualization, and which can be used in conjunction with it. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. -2 Corinthians 10:5