Get Rid of the Junk | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: Get Rid of the Junk | Previous Challenge Entry
By Julie Blackman
07/30/15
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Get Rid of the Junk

Michelle couldn’t wait to listen to the breakout session, “Get Rid of the Junk.” This was her first Christian Women’s Conference. She was so excited that she could afford it and that it was over a weekend.

She opened up the conference brochure to read the session description while making her way to the breakout room.

Every day we are bombarded with messages. They can come from conversations, television, radio, online, or even mailings. We can absorb information consciously, but sometimes, it can be a subconscious imprint in our mind. Do you have what it takes to filter out the nonsense? In this session you will learn about techniques that you can use in your everyday life that will help set you free to live your life in peace.

The room was almost 90 percent full by the time she arrived. Only one seat remained in the front row. Without looking too conspicuous, she raced to the front of the room.

“Excuse me, may I slip by?” Michelle asked.

“Oh sure,” said a friendly looking woman. “You’re like me. I love to be in the front. I get distracted in the back—too much chatter.”

“Well actually, I’d prefer to be in the back. I’ve never enjoyed being on show, if you will. By the way, my name is Michelle,” she extended her hand.

“Hi Michelle, my name is Audrey. Very nice to meet you. Where are you from originally,” said Audrey shaking Michelle’s hand.

“I’m from Colorado. I'm enjoying this mini weekend vacation. You?”

“I live here. I love California. I can’t wait for this session to begin.”

After a few minutes, the presenter opened the session with a question. “How often do you take out your trash?”

The presentation was interactive and engaging. It ran over by 10 minutes, but no one seemed to mind since it was right before lunch.

Before exiting the room, Michelle reviewed the three key takeaways.
1) Spend quality time with the Lord
2) Meditate on His Word
3) Think on good things

“Would you like to go to lunch?” asked Audrey.

“Sure,” replied Michelle.

Lunch was served in the Grand Ballroom. The display of food was appetizing with so many choices.

“If that session went on any longer, I would perish from hunger,” giggled Michelle piling as much food as she could onto her plate.

“I was hoping you’d make it to lunch time, Michelle. Your stomach was cracking me up,” said Audrey.

“Oh great. I was holding my breath, so you heard it anyway. Lovely!” Michelle laughed.

They walked over to an empty table and sat down to eat.

“You know what’s the hardest for me? Thinking on good things,” said Michelle. “If something goes wrong, it can upset my entire day.”

“Oh I know what you mean. It’s taken me a long time to work on this myself. But, if you implement steps one and two, they can help you refocus so that you can have peace no matter what’s going on,” replied Audrey.

“Come on Audrey, you expect me to believe that you have this down and never slip up—ever?” There was a slight insolent tone in her voice. She realized how transparent she was when she saw Audrey look up and raise her eyebrows.

“On the contrary. I’m not perfect by any means, trust me. It’s just that over the years, I’ve learned that God is in control. So even when things don’t go quite the way I’ve planned, I can take a step back now to refrain from beating myself up, thinking negatively, or wasting time on regrets.”

“You make it sound so easy,” said Michelle.

“It isn’t at first and I do slip sometimes. Why don’t you try taking some time to de-clutter the junk in your life so that you can focus on good things? God’s got you in His hands, Michelle. Whatever it is, surrender it to Him, and throw out the trash."

Fiction

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