I’d like to think that no one could notice when I’m having a stinking thinking episode in my head. I have extremely thick hair, so it would be nice if it could cover a little brain turmoil. Sadly, that stinking thinking can ooze out through the expression on my face and the responses from my mouth.
A scripture that helps me fight it off is, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)
So here’s my plan to fight the stinking thinking: A negative thought pops into my head. I realize it, grab it, and tell myself to be done with it. Applying this thought process and scripture can be helpful for teens as well. Younger children may grasp the idea easier if it’s visual. A fun website for elementary age kids that deals with stinking thinking is called:
It has a free cartoon video quiz called Think You Stink? that asks seven multiple choice questions. Once your child answers the questions, it gives a score and a level of “stinkocity”. Click on the “stinkometer” and your child will see their forecast, ranging from “Blue Skies with a chance of Sweet Scents” to “Severe thunderstorms and Tornado Warnings with Severe Reekness”. After receiving their forecast, they can see their prescription with helpful activities to combat stinking thinking. Examples are doing at least one kind deed every day, and a stinking thought awareness activity that sounds, well, stinky.
Here’s the link, in case you want to check it out. If you just want to take the quiz for yourself, no one will ever know. http://www.idontstink.com/think-you-stink/
Entertaining stinking thinking is a hard habit to break. I wish I had fought the inclination more when I was younger so it wouldn’t be such a challenge today. We have the awareness and tools to help the next generation decrease their “stinkocity” early in life. Speaking of stinking—my kids have a guinea pig cage to clean. Now that ranks in the “severe reekness” category.