I'm positive I'll be mocked for this.

There is a big part of adventure that I now believe is sticky to the touch and should be avoided. In walking with some of my friends tonight during what we were calling "ghost-hunting", I stepped into it with very innocent intentions. What seems to be innocent always has a way of sneaking in a little harm on the side. Our mind has commonly been called a battlefield, but even in knowing that this statement remains very accurate for a majority of people on Earth (whether they recognize it or not), we still tend to toy with the ideas of the darkness of spirituality. We allow ourselves to entertain thoughts of the realities in realms of evil and corrupt wickedness. So ignorant. So........blatantly stupid of us.

Back to my story.......We're walking through this dark forest, headed to an old colonial prison, where apparently tons of American men had died. It's cool, not too creepy. It's history, so there is an element of mystery yet also appreciation for it's structure and wealth of age. However, it's not the building that causes the pit of my stomach to sink, it's the step that was taken in light of the atmosphere, which was to tell factual stories of encounters with various spirits/ghosts/beings. I wanted so bad to close my ears. To leave. To vanish. To be a ghoul myself and be anywhere but there. I couldn't, because I couldn't ruin the fun for everyone. What a people pleaser I turned out to be.

This is the part where people begin to mock. Mock if you will, but I'll believe what I want and you can't stop me. I've never liked scary movies. Is there really enjoyment in being shaken to fear? Thrust into a position of internal imbalance for some deep emotional thrill...?? I shudder at the thought. It's beyond me to understand what kind of pleasing excitement is birthed from fear and why it's worth the venture. I revert back to that childhood song, "oh be careful little eyes what you see....oh be careful little ears what you hear...." It's about guarding your heart. I believe, the things, good/bad soil, that enter through your senses can also penetrate into the heart. "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." Am I right? It's not an odd connection. The parallel here that I'm trying to show is that what is going in the body is settling down on the inside and somehow planting its unhealthy roots at the core of our spirits and producing a fruit that is already rotten and spoiled. What goes in eventually comes out. It's a natural bodily function, and I believe it's a natural spiritual function as well.

So I'm walking back, after hearing multiple ghost stories, and feeling wrong about what just happened, knowing my own vulnerability to the situation, and as clear as day I hear Jesus say, "Think on things that are true. noble. and good." Needless to say, I was convicted. I'm sure that most people wouldn't be, but I was. So much so that I had to sit and write about it in order to purge myself of all this wickedness I let in my mind and allow God to restore a sense of order and stability to my thoughts with His peace. In everything I do, I want to give glory to Him. Such a hard command to obey, but in regards to this situation tonight, I want to be obedient and turn it around for His glory.

We are so weak, God. Consecrate our minds daily to You so that we do not allow the evils of this world to poison our spirits.