By Mendi Behnen
One of my friends taught me about what she calls “Spaghetti Therapy.” She found herself following a pattern of negative self-talk, and recognized it was time to start taking those thoughts captive and making them obedient to Jesus Christ …thus the start of her Spaghetti Therapy. As I explain this process you may not feel like negative self-talk is an issue for you; maybe you struggle more with anger, worry, depression, fear or some other area that you would like to take captive and make it obedient to Jesus Christ in your life. (I have another friend who used a similar process to curb what she called her “potty mouth.”)
So, this is how Spaghetti Therapy works: you take two quart jars and fill one with pasta pieces. Each time you realize you have thought or spoken something derogatory about yourself, you move a piece of pasta from the full jar to the empty one. You may be amazed by how quickly the second jar fills up. (My other friend paid a quarter into someone else’s jar for every foul word …and she quickly realized she was going broke!) Recognizing how engrained your issue has become is just the starting point though. To help you take those thoughts captive and transform and renew your mind, you will need Scripture. Each time you read a verse that speaks to your struggle, jot it down on an index card. Keep them next to your jars and read one each time you move a piece of spaghetti over.
Here are some verses you could start with depending on what area you want to address first:
- Negative Self-Talk: Genesis 1:27, Psalm 139:13-14, Romans 8:1, 2 Corinthians 2:14-15, Ephesians 1:7-8, 1 Peter 2:9, 1 John 3:1
- Worry: Matthew 6:31-34, John 14:27, John 16:33, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 4:6-7, Colossians 3:15, 2 Thessalonians 3:16
- Anger: Psalm 37:8, Proverbs 14:29, Proverbs 16:32, Proverbs 17:27, Proverbs 29:8, Ecclesiastes 7:9, Ephesians 4:26, Ephesians 4:31, Colossians 3:8, James 1:19-20
- Fear: Deuteronomy 31:8, 1 Samuel 12:24, Psalm 23:4, Psalm 27:1, Psalm 46:1-2, Isaiah 41:10, 2 Timothy 1:7
- Depression: Psalm 3:3, Psalm 40:1-3, Psalm 42:11, Proverbs 17:22, Isaiah 61:3, 2 Corinthians 4:16, Philippians 4:8, 1 Peter 5:6-7
“We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” 2 Corinthians 10:5
“ And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2