70,000 thoughts a day.
Whether we realize it or not, we’re planting something every single day we live.
Out of that amount of thoughts, we speak up to 16,000 words a day—and for us women… or should I say Chatty Cathy’s (because let’s be honest, I can have my days too 😄)… we can hit closer to 25,000.
That’s a lot of words.
A lot of thoughts.
A lot of seeds.
Because here’s the reality…
Every one of those thoughts, every one of those words…
is a seed.
A seed planted into our own life—
or into the lives of those around us.
So just imagine…
If even a portion of those thoughts are negative…
fear-filled…
defeating…
And even a portion of our words sound like:
“I can’t…”
“This will never change…”
“I’m always going to struggle…”
That’s not just a moment.
That’s planting something that will eventually take root.
Where?
In our heart.
And Scripture makes this so clear.
Life and death are in the power of the tongue - Proverbs 18:21
Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks - Luke 6:45
So it’s a cycle:
Thoughts → Heart → Words → Life
What gets planted… grows.
And what grows… eventually comes out.
And what’s powerful is—this isn’t just biblical truth, it’s how we’re wired.
Research shows that repeated thoughts literally shape the way our brain functions.
There’s a phrase often used:
👉 “Neurons that fire together, wire together.”
Meaning what we think repeatedly becomes what feels natural.
What we rehearse internally…
becomes what we begin to believe.
So if what’s on repeat sounds like:
“This won’t change…”
“I’m a failure…”
Those thoughts don’t just pass through.
They start building something.
Because of the seeds they’re planting.
And that’s why we’re told:
Guard your heart—because it determines the direction of your life - Proverbs 4:23
What does that mean? Guard what’s getting planted in your heart.
If anyone had a reason…
If you’ve never heard of Corrie ten Boom, let’s take a moment… because her story is one you don’t forget.
She was a Christian woman during World War II who helped hide Jewish families from the Nazis. Eventually, her family was discovered, arrested, and sent to a concentration camp. It was there that she watched her sister die and endured conditions most of us can’t even imagine.
And here’s what makes her story so powerful…
She had every reason to let bitterness take root.
Every reason to let her thoughts spiral into anger, hatred, and hopelessness.
Every reason to speak from that pain for the rest of her life.
No one would have blamed her.
But she didn’t do that.
In the middle of everything she walked through, she chose something different because she refused to let what happened to her determine what would grow inside of her.
She chose forgiveness.
She chose faith.
She chose to trust that God was still who He said He was—no matter what.
And those choices didn’t stay small.
They grew.
They shaped her words.
They shaped her life.
They shaped her impact.
After the war, she traveled the world sharing about forgiveness and the love of Jesus. Her story has reached millions—not because her life was free from pain, but because of what she chose to plant in the middle of it.
She never ignored what happened.
She just refused to let the hardships of her life speak what her life was going to become.
Holy Habit
So this week, here’s the shift:
Before you speak…Before you allow your circumstances to speak on your behalf…Before you let that thought run unchecked…
Pause and ask:
“What seed am I planting right now?”
Because it matters. More than we realize.
Reflection
What thoughts have been on repeat that I wouldn’t want taking root in my life?
What have my words been reinforcing lately?
What is one seed I want to intentionally plant this week?
Think About It
You don’t just accidentally end up with a harvest.
It comes from what’s been planted—
over and over again.
In your thoughts.
In your words.
In the everyday moments no one else sees.
So the question isn’t, “Am I planting?”
It’s this:
Is what I’m planting leading me closer to the life God has for me… or further from it?