"When God Sings" by Unknown Author

The “short and sweet” segment of the Bad Thought Therapy™ Podcast will be inspirational messages for Christians. The author is unknown.

Many people get lost during their spiritual journey because they follow (and worship) men instead of God. This does not have to happen and here’s a message to help you find your way again. It’s simple: Seek God first. Everything, love, wisdom, peace… comes from The LORD Almighty. While He uses people to guide us and great messages can come through them, remember that He is OUR TRUE SOURCE.

Black children are required to attend school, but are they EDUCATED when they leave? It is critical that children get the KNOWLEDGE they need to create solutions, innovate, and produce things that empower themselves and others. It might seem radical but Black parents must adopt a new paradigm of education by understanding that THEY should be their children’s main teachers and let the school be a tutor. Schooling and education are two different things. Black parents must shift the focus to getting information, and only the information, that HELPS their children become LEADERS.

The first segment of "Men, Ministry and Money" was aired on January 4, 2022. In this final part of the segment, find out how you can avoid religious scams, including taking responsibility for your own spiritual life, regularly praying, worshipping God instead of men (ministers), and studying religious text for yourself. 

Saying that there are blessings in our struggles sounds almost oxymoronic, yet it is true: there are countless benefits to facing challenges. When you see struggle as an integral part of life, you will learn and grow from it. The greatest blessing of struggle is that it forces us to be dependent upon God. We achieve, not in our own limited power and strength, but in our Creator's infinite power and grace. Furthermore, struggle teaches us to be patient, humble, and more compassionate. The good news is that struggles end and when they do, we become examples of “overcoming” for others. Once you accept that struggle is an integral part of life, you can have peace.

Humans, especially young ones, imitate (emulate) behavior that they see. Therefore, it is paramount that adults are good examples and SHOW, and not just “tell” how to be and do good. Parents and others must STRIVE to be empowering teachers of light; no role model is ever perfect, but each of us must make a sincere effort to be righteous. And when adults make mistakes, they can teach lessons on how to recover from them with dignity.

The human brain is not fully developed until a person is in his/or mid-twenties. It is critical that adults monitor the images that children see as well as the messages that they listen to when they are very young. The key is finding good media that is appropriate for undeveloped minds. Whatever children see or listen to should be teaching them something constructive; it should HELP them in every dimension of their lives. This is radical, but adults should consider turning off all media until they have carefully selected movies, music, etc. that is wholesome. Humans naturally emulate (imitate) what they see and hear repeatedly. Some of the destructive behavior that we see today is a result of children being inundated with toxic images and messages. Children are not born bad, perverse, evil… On the contrary, they learn directly and indirectly through their personal experiences (or lack of the right ones). Yes, we are all capable of doing wrong, but when we are taught HOW to do the right things (and WHY) with love, protection, and provision, we will likely engage in constructive activities. Of course, we are guaranteed to make mistakes, but we can learn how to correct them, then move forward to BETTER choices. Lastly, children must be taught to see evil for what it is and how to resist it. This can only be done with the help of adults who are able to lead by example (Listen to part two of this series).

How can we protect young, gullible minds from movies, messages, and music that glorifies sexual perversion, violence, misogyny, drug use, materialism...? This discussion emphasizes the importance of responsible adults to teach children the truth about how the human brain is influenced by what people see and hear. 

Poems can be so therapeutic. Listen to "Celebration" by Mari Evans (1919-2017). Artwork by Fabian Williams. 

While we might not be able to control what happens to us, we can control how we respond. This episode is a reminder that bad things happen to all people, but those who heal their thoughts; find meaning while suffering; and a purpose of pain, are the ones who will be truly FREE. 

"Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your FREEDOM to CHOOSE how you will respond to the situation."-Viktor Frankl