The Heart of the Matterby Dale Harcombe | More from this Blogger 20 May 2008 09:23 PM Do you think those around don't notice your behavior and attitudes? You'd be wrong. They notice more than we realize. Recently a woman I know came to our church. 'It's so obvious the love and affection you and your husband have for each other,' she said later. I tried to think back and work out what could have prompted the comment. Even as I thought about it, I didn't have a clue what had led to her comment. I couldn't pinpoint any specific thing we'd said or done. We were just the way we normally are around each other. But she noticed something that stood out to her. Whether we like it or not people notice how we behave - what we say and do. Sometimes that can be good and be a positive witness for the Lord. Sometimes it's not so good. So how can we try and make sure that our behavior is all we would like and is honoring to God's name? One of the main ways is staying in close contact with the Lord through prayer and reading His Word. The other is filling our minds with what is positive and good, rather than so much that is not which we are confronted with everyday on TV, in newspapers, magazines, books, internet DVDs and music. This morning in bed as I was thinking about this blog, I thought of dahlias. What do dahlias have to do with anything you may ask? Dahlias are one of my favorite flowers, (along with sweet peas, pansies and anything that flowers blue, but I'm digressing). Dahlias are favorites (and not just because of their name). I thought of the way their inner petals fold up and reach towards the centre, curling around the heart of the flower, almost like hands protecting the heart. That's exactly what we need to do with our hearts and minds. We need to counteract the attitudes and values of society by holding onto the good things. We need to take to heart Paul's admonition '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,' Philippians 4:8. Our thoughts and actions are invariably linked. What we think about affects our behavior. Bible verses from The New International Version Please visit these related blogs Are you letting God speak to you? Learn more about Dale Harcombe  Dale has a passion for books and writing. She writes in various forms, from articles to poetry to fiction for children and adults. Relevantchristian tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags behavior, dahlias, heart, marriage, witness Discuss this article
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