{"id":3615,"date":"2014-09-06T13:04:05","date_gmt":"2014-09-06T13:04:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=3615"},"modified":"2014-09-06T13:04:05","modified_gmt":"2014-09-06T13:04:05","slug":"think-about-such-things","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=3615","title":{"rendered":"Think About Such Things"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s already started. The commercials or Facebook posts about the upcoming scary movie month of October. I dislike horror movies. I\u2019m not crazy about suspense movies. And evil Halloween movies make me cringe. Well, let\u2019s just say the big screen viewing of \u201cJaws\u201d and \u201cHouse of Wax\u201d (in 3-D I might add) as a teenager have caused great distress.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/sunflower-image-Vintage-GraphicsFairy-2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-2217 \" src=\"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/sunflower-image-Vintage-GraphicsFairy-2-248x300.png\" alt=\"sunflower-image-Vintage-GraphicsFairy (2)\" width=\"117\" height=\"142\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/sunflower-image-Vintage-GraphicsFairy-2-248x300.png 248w, https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/sunflower-image-Vintage-GraphicsFairy-2-846x1024.png 846w, https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/sunflower-image-Vintage-GraphicsFairy-2.png 992w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 117px) 100vw, 117px\" \/><\/a>The problem is that when I see something or hear something that is remotely frightening, I am more apt to have a nightmare about that very thing. I cannot watch horror movies or any television program with even hints of a scary segment. Call me a wimp, but I don\u2019t like it.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>So when October rolls around (and it does each year), you\u2019ll find me muting the television, changing the channel, closing my eyes or even leaving the room (if necessary) to keep these images and words from my mind and heart.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I know there are people who love this kind of thing. I don\u2019t get it, but I know there is a huge market for this genre of \u201centertainment.\u201d But because I can, I will share my thoughts.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>My feelings about scary movies are not just what I think. God has something to say about this as well. Take a look at Philippians 4:8 (NIV). <em>\u201cFinally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable\u2014think about such things.\u201d<\/em> I don\u2019t find anything lovely or pure about scary movies.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In a section of 2 Corinthians, Paul adds this phrase <em>\u201cwe take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.\u201d <\/em>(2 Corinthians 10:5 &#8211; NIV) If my thoughts are to be captivated by Jesus, there must be room for Him. When I cannot get past a frightening scene in my head or heart, Jesus is pushed out. I cannot allow that to happen.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>King Solomon had a few things to say about how foolish we can allow ourselves to get. Here are two verses to consider. <em>\u201cThe discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.\u201d <\/em>(Proverbs 15:14 \u2013 NIV) <em>\u201cA discerning man keeps wisdom in view, but a fool\u2019s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.\u201d<\/em> (Proverbs 17:24 \u2013 NIV)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Now I\u2019m not going to suggest that the only thoughts in my head are spiritual and praise-worthy. What I am saying is that I choose not to add anything else that will distract me even further from God\u2019s truth.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>For me it\u2019s horror\/scary movies. For another it might be pornography. And for another it might be romance novels (or you can add anything that holds your thoughts captive). The evil one has put plenty of entertainment options out there for us and when we are consumed by these movies or books, we don\u2019t allow time to be in God\u2019s presence and to meditate upon His Words.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s allow God to show us where our foolish eyes have wandered. Let\u2019s allow God to hold our thoughts captive as we are obedient to Jesus. Let\u2019s dwell on God\u2019s truth and His knowledge. Let\u2019s keep the evil one at bay and be prepared to fight the battle when necessary.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I still dread October and probably always will. But there is so much good in this life. So, I choose to dwell on the good.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Grace and peace be yours in abundance,<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Donna<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>P.S. \u2013 Peabody the peacock has a friend. I have named him Sherman.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; It\u2019s already started. The commercials or Facebook posts about the upcoming scary movie month of October. I dislike horror movies. I\u2019m not crazy about suspense movies. And evil Halloween movies make me cringe. Well, let\u2019s just say the big screen viewing of \u201cJaws\u201d and \u201cHouse of Wax\u201d (in 3-D I might add) as a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"yes","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,17,14,21],"tags":[3015,3018,3019,3013,3012,1046,3016,3017,3014,3011],"class_list":["post-3615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asking-god","category-obeying-god","category-seeking-god","category-trusting-god","tag-2-corinthians-105","tag-dont-dwell-on-the-ugly","tag-dwell-on-the-good-in-this-life","tag-halloween-movies","tag-october","tag-philippians-48","tag-proverbs-1514","tag-proverbs-1724","tag-scary-movies","tag-think-about-such-things"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3615"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3616,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3615\/revisions\/3616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}