Wonders of Heaven

Stairway to Heaven by Jim Warren

As we go about our days, our minds are full of various thoughts. 
We usually don’t think about how those thoughts get there. We usually assume they just happen. But while they might just happen, they are completely within our control. That is the secret most people don’t realize. Worry creeps into the head. Stress punches its way in. Fear grabs us. Critical and judgmental thoughts sweep in on the wings of pride. The world says we have no control over these thoughts; they just come. But the gospel (the Good News!) teaches something very different.
While those thoughts may enter uninvited and unexpected, we don’t have to be hospitable to them. 
We have the power to show the unwanted intruders to the door and boot them out.

When we consistently evict negative thoughts and emotions we are living in Truth. And when we live in Truth we live in an awareness of God. Instead of negative thoughts, we are filled with an awareness that God is near, that He cares for us, and that He is helping us. That awareness comes from simple things like admiring the symmetry of a tree or delighting at the first signs of spring or even appreciating the snow in winter. Those thoughts come from savoring the hug of a loved one, or admiring the talents of others. As we evict negative thoughts, we make room for positive thoughts to enter, and with each positive thought, we grow in our awareness that God is near.

As the scriptures tell us, “And behold, all things have their likeness, and all things are created and made to bear record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of me.” 

(Moses 6:63).

When we expel negative thoughts and concentrate of positive thoughts the very windows of heaven begin to open up to us and increase the view we have of God's grace.