If you spend much time around me you will realize one thing about me…I NEVER stop thinking!! I don’t say that as if to brag or boast about how (I think) I am some “great thinker” or anything! I say that because I can’t help it…I mean that I LITERALLY I can not stop thinking (even when I want to). For example…
- I hit up the gym…lift weights & catch myself thinking about how to prepare our kid’s to be stronger spiritually…
- I cut my grass and think of ways to make the yard bigger and better…
- I check out a movie and attempt to analyze how the story applies to the kids & can be used…
- I notice people and try to figure out why they are the way they are (good or bad)…
- I visit a theme park and admire the process and try to create a formula to implement…
- I watch TV shows and try to pinpoint the personality of each character, what they will do next, & why…
- I go to sleep and dream of the BIG things God tosses around in my mind…
- I read my Bible and think about what to God is teaching me and how I’m growing (or should be growing)…
- I breathe in and count the number of people dying and going to hell & wonder, am I doing all I can?
So when I say, “I can’t stop thinking” I really mean it! However, as hard as it may be to “shut off my thinker” I have learned to soak up every moment of it!! Why? Contrary to the myth…I don’t believe we can think too much! I do believe we have to learn to moderate it, but I believe God has called me to be a thinker! Actually, I believe He has called us all to be “thinkers!”
My motto in life is this…“question everything!” Now I don’t mean that in the sense of “second guess” everything or question your leadership (that’s just plain non biblical). What I mean is that we should ask questions about everything, learn everything, and find as many ways as we can to make everything we do better.”
However, many times we hesitate to challenge ourselves to think more because we fear what we may find. We don’t want to probe because we fear we may find a “problem.” We don’t want there to be “problem,” but whether we recognize it or not…”problems” will always be there!!
So, the question we have to ask ourselves is, “Are we willing to be proactive enough to think through problems before they occur?” Or will we choose to be retroactive and continue to deal with problems as they occur. The start to thinking this way is changing the way we think about “problems.” We have to see problems in a different way…
As Mark Batterson writes in his book “In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day,” we have to learn to see problems as potential opportunities…not problems! Which, as a side note, if you want a great book that will challenge the way you think, live, and act spiritually…get this book and read it! It ROCKS!! From this book I learned that we have to be LION CHASERS and seize the opportunities that come our way.
We have to change the way we think! We have to realize our calling to be THINKERS and seize the opportunities that come our way! We have to realize that “thinking too much” is a myth and that we are all called to be thinkers!! We have to take a stand and be great thinkers!! 
I believe God has called us to think through everything we do and ask…why do we do it that way? Is there a better way? Why aren’t we doing it? What are you thinking through in your ministry? What opportunities have you encountered lately?
June 1st, 2007 at 7:43 am
So…no one really liking this post huh?
lol
pudge
June 1st, 2007 at 8:47 am
Of course the reason for the post was not our enjoyment but to make us think. I was going to chime in but was interupted and then forgot (I am getting older). Our staff is studying “In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day” and everyone is enthralled. It is indeed a challenge. Each week people say, “that chapter was better than the last”. One week a woman said, “I need to read this chapter every day so I can learn to live it”. The think is we do studies like this as a staff just to accomplish what you are indicating, to create thinking. One of the best habits I ever created was going away for one day a month to pray and think with no disturbances.
June 1st, 2007 at 9:08 am
I am still THINKING about it….;-)
June 1st, 2007 at 10:01 pm
Hi Pudge,
One of our creative people at church told me if I didn’t quite watching every TV show and thinking I should be recroding it to DVR so we could use a clip in a service that I would never enjoy TV or movies again - but that really hasn’t stopped me.
I’m thinking through something huge and have a huge proposal in (I didn’t budget for the changes and had to request capital) for something that could revitalize our children’s ministry. It was really hard for me to put it on paper after I got it in my head. How do you think through that process so it will make sense to others?
June 1st, 2007 at 11:12 pm
Tina:
You ask a GREAT question! This is one of the largest challenges I have…I can think up a lot of ideas (some good, a lot bad), but getting them on paper can be a HUGE challenge (the same goes for communicating an idea to others). This can be very hard because we often forget that what we have ran through so many times in our head…no one else has!
Tell you what…I am loving this topic. Look for a post this coming week (hopefully Monday) about how I try to put my ideas on paper and communicate them to others.
thanks!
pudge
June 2nd, 2007 at 10:56 pm
[...] Myth Busters: People think too much! [...]
June 20th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
I can so relate to non-stop thinking. My mind never stops! I also loved “In a Pit…”!! Awesome book and it is so true that our biggest struggles are our biggest opportunities. We can get stuck in problems, or look ahead, chase the lion, and come out of the pit…thanks!