What do you say when you talk to yourself?

No, I’m serious. What do you say?

Whether we know it or not, there is a continual dialogue going through our minds. The dialogue occurs in two ways:
1) Unscripted: Out-of-control, spontaneous, unanchored. It’s when your social calendar, the people around you, and whatever emotion of the day or hour takes over and rules your life.

2) Scripted: A solid plan. It’s something YOU create after thinking through situations, considering your plans and what you want, talking to God about your worries, cares, and your hopes. Then you actively determine how to handle life (with God’s help and strength). So even when everything feels whacked out, you have something solid to hold onto.

Unfortunately, during my teen years, I didn’t have any idea it was possible to script my thoughts. I learned quickly that how I thought, was what I believed. And what I believed, I lived. And living with my emotions just millime-ters from the surface didn’t always make a pretty picture.

How about you? What does your current, internal dialogue involve? Your thoughts will control your beliefs— which, in turn, will control your actions. This may not result in throwing punches . . . although that is a real possibility.

Believe it or not, you don’t have to leave your life (thoughts, beliefs, actions) to chance. You don’t have to be caught up in the drama, pulled along by every new character that pops into the scenes of your life (whether positively or negatively). Instead, you can realize you are the Star

Performer in your life story. You can write the script. Being the Star Performer of your world doesn’t mean you’re the center of the universe, but rather you understand that God—who is the center of the universe—created you with a role to play. Not only that, He’s provided His Word (the Script) and the Holy Spirit (the Internal Director) to guide you along the way.

To live life scripted means to allow God’s Word to guide your thoughts, actions, emotions, and desires before you throw yourself into the drama of life.

© Tricia Goyer

So. What ARE you saying to yourself?

When People Ask Hard Questions

Camy here, talking about something a little more serious than normal (for me). At youth group the other night, one of the girls asked what to say when a friend or someone asks a really hard question, like if they’re going to hell because they don’t believe in Jesus, or why bad things happen, or something like that.

In youth group, we’re doing a year-long study on evangelism and God’s mission and God’s will, and we’d just covered something that I told to the girls—God’s Spirit is in us to help us.

The Bible talks about how the Holy Spirit gives us the words to say in difficult situations. And sometimes the Spirit doesn’t want us to say anything. And that’s okay.

It’s not up to us to make someone believe—it’s up to God and the Holy Spirit to convict a person. We are not responsible for anyone’s salvation, so don’t freak out thinking you’ve made someone turn away from God forever and they’re going to die in their sins because of you. That’s just not true. God has His hand over every person.

And sometimes, a conversation is not for that person, but for our benefit instead. Sometimes, there’s something God is trying to teach us.

There’s also a point you have to reach where you’re not going to understand everything. And it’s okay. We’re not meant to understand everything. We’re not meant to understand everything God does or allows—that’s what makes Him God and us human. Sometimes, His motivations are just too far out there for us to see or comprehend.

Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, but I have reached a point where I just love believing in God. I love being a Christian. Jesus rocks! And so what if I can’t explain exactly why I believe in Christ, why God exists, why I believe in the infallibility of the Bible. I just do. And I like believing. And no one can take that away from me, not with any arguments. I like being a Christian. Other people just have to deal with it.

So when you’re put in a hard situation, pray to God to give you the words to say. And be willing to say whatever He asks of you. And be aware that sometimes, He doesn’t want you to say anything.

And most important, trust in God. He’s got complete control of a situation no matter how it looks, no matter how completely incomprehensible and non-understandable it is.

Camy Tang writes romance with a kick of wasabi. Out now is her humorous contemporary romance novel, Single Sashimi, and her romantic suspense, Deadly Intent. She also runs the Story Sensei critique service. In her spare time, she is a staff worker for her church youth group, and she leads one of the worship teams for Sunday service. On her blog, she gives away Christian novels and ponders frivolous things. Sign up for her newsletter YahooGroup for giveways!