Going On An Information Diet

What are your eyes sending to your brain every day? What are you putting in front of them and allowing them to send?

We live in a society that is addicted to information - newspapers, television, magazines, books, the Internet - and it creates an overload to our system. It's like our brains are stalled in rush hour traffic all the time because there is so much going on around and inside of them.

What do you remember most from all the information you've absorbed this week? Can you name all the new legislation from Washington? Are you caught up on all the family news? Have you memorized the sports scores? Did you do lots of great puzzles and games? Or can you remember the Scripture you read during your morning devotions? Whatever we spend the most careful time to soak up sticks in our minds for future use.

And the information we take in first thing in the morning sets the scene for the rest of the day. By choosing God's Word first, before we've read the paper or checked the e-mail, we are not only giving the Lord honor but we're giving our groggy brains something healthy and filling to digest. This can be the difference in our mood for the entire day.

So let's make up our minds to go on an information diet starting today. Instead of monitoring everything going into our mouths, let's keep watch over everything we read and look at. We won't lose any inches, but we can reclaim the mind that's underneath all that clutter.

Ask yourself a few questions about any information you take in:
* Is what I'm looking at holy and honoring to God?
* Would I want to share this information with another Christian woman?
* Is this the best use of my time at this moment?
* Who is disseminating this information?
* Is it vital to my day or is it just entertainment?
* Am I taking time away from my tasks for the day?
* What is my motivation for absorbing this particular information?

There's nothing wrong with reading the newspaper or finding some great websites, but there has to be a point where we reorganize our minds and focus on the information God has placed in front of us. He is often showing us beautiful, miraculous, precious works, but our brains are too tired and too full to notice. Paring down that continual feed can make all the difference in our energy, our attitudes and our relationships, especially our walk with the Lord.

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