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I found a couple of devotionals at Sam's Club this past weekend. The first is "Battlefield of the Mind" by Joyce Meyer and the other is "Managing Your Moods" and is part of the Women of Faith Study Guide Series. I decided to dive in to the Battlefield one first.

Wow! I have a feeling that if I am able to put into practice what she is saying, this will be life changing for me! The edition I got is a 3-in-1 collection and includes excerpts from her book, devotions and a study guide.

Her premise based on scripture is that our enemy defeats us by putting deceptive thoughts into our minds. He is sneaky and clever about this. Usually we don't even realize that these thoughts are lies. He bombards us with these thoughts until he has set up a stronghold in our minds. According to Joyce, "A stronghold is an area in which we are held in bondage (in prison) due to a certain way of thinking."

She tells a parable about a couple who have a marriage in crisis to illustrate her point. One quote that jumped off the page at me was, "Mary can't control her actions because she doesn't control her thoughts." Oh, ouch!!! That really hits home!!!! It goes on to say, "She doesn't control her thoughts because there are strongholds in her mind that the devil set up early in her life."

I have long known that I have a problem with habitually responding to my children's disobedience with yelling and anger. I am now convinced that this is a result of a stronghold in my mind. The great news is that I don't have to continue with this stronghold! I can tear it down with God's help!

My weapons are God's Word, true heart Praise to God and prayer. You need to get this book and read it to see how to wield these weapons!

1 Corinthians 10:13 promises that God will always provide a way of escape from our temptations. After doing this study and reading the devotion this morning I was asking God to show me the way of escape when I am tempted to respond in anger when my children disobey. The answer came back almost immediately! My way of escape in that situation is the "spanky", (aka loving Biblical discipline)!!!

I felt like smacking my forehead! I know this, but I so often fail to do it! I must also share here that part of the pattern of thinking which has lead to this stronghold in my mind has to do with J's ADHD and Aspergers. I try not to let that be an excuse not to spank him when it is necessary, but I think I have let myself believe lies such as, "He can't help his behavior." and "He needs understanding." While it is true to a certain extent that J needs understanding and struggles with his behavior, what he really needs is a mother who is consistent with administering Godly discipline!

Other lies I have believed are "I am just to busy to break away and deal with this right now." and "I will just deal with this attitude later." Goodness! I sure have been duped! I pray that now that I recognize these lies, I will no longer fall for them!

I will leave you with these words of wisdom from 7 year old B to 6 year old J. "When you are starting to get angry, just be confident and calm down and do what the person is telling you to do. Unless it is a stranger telling you to jump off a cliff or go all the way to China!"