What is on your Top Ten?

What is on your Top Ten?
Light For Life February 2006

Do you have a favourite top ten songs? Some of them might be today’s hits, but you will probably find that they will always include, perhaps with a majority - old songs. Sometimes, the songs that I hear on the radio take me back to a time, a place from my past, they conjure up feelings and emotions, memories which can be good or they can be painful ones. Songs have a way of getting straight into the deepest parts of your being in just one bar.

So, we have our own top ten songs (or more) in our head, songs we like and songs that remind us of a moment in time or season of life. I was walking a long this morning in the fresh air and of course you think as you walk along don't you? All of a sudden I thought of somebody, someone I needed to call as we needed to catch up. And then, out of no where a painful thought came in my head, a memory to do with this person. It is a scenario I have played over and over in my head for far too long, and it was something that I found very difficult to let go of. But, no matter how hard I tried, as it was something that I didn't understand and that didn't make sense, it was very persistent and had remained within my ‘repertoire’ of thought topics!

Well I mustn't have thought this thought for a while, because as it came into my mind, it got caught in the filter of what we are thinking and a message flashed up to me…. ‘Warning, warning, you are now entering a restricted zone, terminate all contact!!! Warning Warning!!” Oh, it occurred to me, I hadn't thought along these lines for at least a few weeks, perhaps even a month. I don't want to start that again, I want to let it go. So right then I decided that I would take that record of the player in my mind and break it.

This happens with songs we hear on the radio too, there are songs we love and are encouraging and there are songs that are detrimental, they lead us to sad thoughts, angry thoughts, broken heart thoughts, and so many other places that we should stay out of if we want to move forward and not be worried, anxious or depressed. Sometimes when one of those songs comes on the radio we change the station, if we have the CD and it is not good for us we may relegate it to the back of the stack, we might give it away, send it off to the ‘op shop’. We might even break it!!

So what about the songs, or thoughts in our head? What is in your ‘Top Ten’ the ‘Top Ten’ best songs and ‘Top Ten’ worst songs? Take note of what is on your play list and take the record out!!!! Some of the worst songs we can play in our mind are about hurts, broken hearts and dreams, love gone wrong, songs that are angry, about revenge and spite, songs of area’s where there needs to be forgiveness, songs of ‘the good old days’, what could have been but what is, ‘woe is me’ songs, of jealousy and envy. The list goes on and on…. songs like ‘That person hurt me’, ‘I missed out again’, and ‘I can't stand it anymore’! Along with these songs little movies are also played on the big screen of our mind – some of these are best sellers too and could have made millions if they were to have had the numbers at box office that they have had in our minds! There are familiar scenarios or fantasies that these thoughts conjure up.

Think about it if you take out the song, you can end the movies’ season and you end contact with the scenario in your mind. And while you are taking them out, replace them with some good stuff, songs that will motivate and inspire you, songs that will equip you and add life, peace and joy. We are responsible for what goes on upstairs in our own heads.

God is holding our future, trust Him instead of the bad memories. How can worrying add even one minute to our lives? Conjuring the memories holds the person you are thinking about from being released and more importantly it keeps you from being released. We all know that quite often this person will not even have any idea of how we are feeling. Don't you want to start this year by moving on from things, thoughts that have held you where you are? We can begin to do it by changing and removing the songs we are playing in our mind.

I encourage you, when you start listening to what is being played without blindly listening to it, you might be surprised. Take stock. What will become the ‘Greatest Hits of 2006’? Songs that will move you on, encourage you, give you good advice? Check over what is on the ‘playlists’ in your head, the 'Top Ten’s of 2005', change some records, hey, why not break some records. Make the greatest hits of 2006 be ones that help you not hurt you.
Love
Cam

Word For Life

Playlist: List of chosen, currently playing songs. A list of musical selections for broadcast or performance.
Often written as playlist (one word), the term has come into use with hard disk recording systems. It refers to a list, or some sort of view of audio items that can be defined to play in a particular order (usually the order shown in the list). Items will play back in order, even though they may have nothing to do with one another. Though the term is used more loosely like that these days, it originates with early disk recording systems that simply showed the sound files in text form in the order they were to be played.

Think of this in terms of your play list in your head and the thoughts that are played there. Very profound.

The Word

Philippians 4:8 - Finally, my brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are right, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue and if there is any praise, think on these things. (Message Bible)
Philippians 4:8 - Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious--the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. (Modern King James Version Bible)