Do Your Thoughts Really Determine Your Destiny?

There are many books and quotes referring to your thoughts and the impact they have on your life. For example, As a Man Thinketh by James Allen, The Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer, "Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve." - Napoleon Hill, "Whether you think you can or you think you can't - you're right." - Henry Ford, and "Watch your thoughts: They become your words. Watch your words: They become your actions. Watch your actions: They become your habits. Watch your habits: They become your character. Watch your character: It becomes your destiny." - This quote is attributed to many authors. The original author was Frank Outlaw, the creator of a successful U.S. Supermarket chain. Dr. Caroline Leaf says in her book, Switch on Your Brain, "As we think, we change the physical nature of our brain. As we consciously direct our thinking, we can wire out toxic patterns of thinking and replace them with healthy thoughts."

In addition to these and many others, the Bible has quite a bit to say about your thoughts. Some Scriptures are: Romans 12:2 "Do not copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." Changing the way you think changes your perspective. You can reframe the way you look at the circumstances of your life. Instead of being overwhelmed by the negative, you can see some good that can come from the situations you are dealing with. Philippians 4:8-9 "Whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things...and the God of peace will be with you." So, if you are tired of being anxious and stressed, change what you are thinking about. Take those thoughts captive by changing what you focus on.

An exciting development is that more and more, science is discovering the power of your mind. Recently, I have been reading quite a bit about neuroplasticity - the ability of the brain to continuously change over a lifetime. There is a short course you can view on Khan Academy which explains this concept as Growth Mindset. Here is the link:

https://www.khanacademy.org/college-careers-more/learnstorm-growth-mindset-activities-us/high-school-activities

If you are interested in hearing "10 Ways Neuroscience and Scripture Align to Help You Flourish" you can listen to Dr. Lee Warren's podcast on this link: https://youtu.be/LjeigU1EazE

He has also written several books, one of which is: The Life-Changing Art of Self-Brain Surgery: Connecting Neuroscience and Faith to Radically Transform Your Life It is available on Amazon.com

In conclusion, what you focus on, is what grows. Your perception is your reality. What you allow into your mind influences you. My hope is that this post will encourage you in your life journey to realize that where ever you are in life, if you want your life to be better, you can make the changes needed to accomplish that goal. You have been equipped by your Creator to do so. God bless you!

Add Something Good

During the Advent season of Christmas, we prepare our hearts to celebrate the coming of Jesus, who came to make a way of reconciliation between God and man. Years ago, I heard someone speaking about their faith journey. He had made a decision to purposefully pursue a closer, more intimate relationship with the Lord. He sought ways that would work for him.

In pursuing a closer relationship with the Lord, each of us may approach this in different ways: Some may add more Scripture reading, some may add more meditation and prayer, some may spend more quiet time listening and looking for God's direction. My friend decided that what he could do is this: Each year, during Advent, he would add one good spiritual practice to his life and during Lent, he would let go of one thing that might be hindering his close relationship with the Lord.

When I heard that, I thought it would be a great idea for each of us. It takes some discipline, but with God's help, we can do all things. Our part is to be willing to make that choice: to turn our hearts more and more to the Lord each year.

So this year, during the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season; purchasing presents and enjoying fellowship with our family and friends, let's take time to think of the greatest present of all and the One who made it possible. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Proverbs Part 2

Last time, I talked a little about why you would benefit from reading Proverbs and challenged you to add that to your Bible reading regimen.

In addition to your Bible, if you would like a resource to help you dig deeper into understanding Proverbs, I think you would be interested in this. "In Search of Wisdom: Life Changing Truths in the Book of Proverbs" by Joyce Meyers. It is available at joycemeyer.org/shop/books where you can support her ministry. During checkout, for a limited time, if you use the code BookSale25, you will receive 25% off of any purchase.

Joyce Meyer also has a Bible study entitled "31 Days in Proverbs". If you are interested, copy and paste this link in your browser.

As we continue in the Proverbs posts, I will be sharing little tidbits of what I gleaned from my readings.

In Proverbs 1, the question is raised, Do you want to be a fool, or do you want to be wise? If you want to be wise, you will listen to God's instructions and follow His lead. If you don't listen, life will not go well for you and you will suffer the consequences of your choices. If you do listen, you will live in peace and things will go better for you as you reap the consequences of your good choices.

Proverbs 2 emphasized the importance of seeking God's wisdom as if you were seeking a hidden treasure. Think about how you would behave if you found a treasure map and knew that if you followed the map, you would find a great treasure. I bet that you would be pretty excited and search for it with all that was within you. I believe that the wisdom of God is much more valuable than any physical treasure you could imagine. As you seek God's wisdom, you will discover it and God, Himself will give you knowledge and protect you. Wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasing to your soul. You will have the understanding necessary to avoid evil.

How is your journey through Proverbs going. Please leave me a note below to let me know. Thank you. God bless you.