April 30, 2016-RTM, Day 17

Today’s Verse:

I am focused on what is unseen and eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18).

In Context:

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever.  So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever  (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

This is sometimes the hardest thing for us to remember in the moment, that this too will pass.  The trouble of the day can quickly take over our every thought, change our mood in a single moment, and cause great anxiety, but we must remember that even though these troubles seem overwhelming at the time, they won’t last long, especially not compared to the sum of our lives. We will have many troubles, some tougher than others, so how do we keep them in perspective? According to these verses, we focus on the things that cannot be seen, such as God, the future, our faith.  I am all for praying about it and giving it to God, but for me, that’s not enough to keep my mind off of the trouble of the day, so I have to pair that with action.  If it’s a trouble that I have any control over or that I can physically DO anything about, then I will come up with a plan for what I can do and take it step by step to start working toward the resolution.  If it’s not something I have control over, then I focus on those things in my life I do have control over.  Staying busy and taking care of the others in my life at work, home, and in the community quickly takes my mind from anxiety to calm reserve.  It doesn’t make the problem go away, but it takes the intense focus from it and puts it in perspective with the rest of life.  As hard as some problems are, life does go on. It has to. That may sound harsh, but so is living in constant fear and worry about the troubles of life.  So to renew the mind, I focus on what I can change, on what work I can do to help myself and others, and then I give the things that I cannot control over to the unseen and eternal, leaving it to God. 

April 25, 2016-RTM, Day 16

Today’s Verse:

I am redeemed and forgiven of my sins (Ephesians 1:7).

In Context:

So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. (Ephesians 1:6-8)

These verses are another reminder of how loved we are by God, if we are willing to accept His love.  As humans, we have a hard time forgiving.  Even when we do, we rarely truly forget what sins were committed against us.  We have a hard time letting go and often become bitter or just angry about being mistreated. We also hold plenty of guilt ourselves about our personal mistakes and sometimes wish we could go back and make better, more compassion choices. Guess what. God doesn’t have this same issue. He forgives us and forgets it, without a second thought.  Many do not believe in the truth of the Bible. Many say they cannot believe in what they have not seen or cannot prove beyond the shadow of a doubt.  I’m not here to tell anyone what he/she should believe, but whether or not you believe in the Bible, the principals “preached” in the Word of God are nothing short of loving and worthy of consideration.  If we could forgive and forget and be as rich in kindness and grace for each other as Paul talks about in the versus above, maybe our world would not be riddled with quite so much pain and division.  Unconditional love, forgiveness, kindness, wisdom, understanding…words I will strive to embody my entire life and will never be successful at accomplishing fully, but I will not be ashamed to try and if my efforts help even one person, I will consider myself very lucky!

April 2016-RTM, Day 15

Today’s Verse:

I am a child of God (Romans 8:16).

In Context:

So, you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. (Romans 8:15-16)

Fearful slaves. These are powerful words. How many of us feel like slaves to someone else on a daily basis? It could be a boss at work, the people we serve at our job (if we are in a service industry career), a co-worker who has been with the company for many years, someone in our family who depends on us or who just doesn’t respect us and expects us to take care of everything for them, OR it could be a time from your past or your culture’s past.  Point being, most of us have felt at one time or another what it was like to be a “slave” to another, and even possibly a “fearful slave.”  Thankfully, in today’s American workplace, we can report the “slave driver” who is treating us inappropriately to a supervisor, union, or the EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity), but it doesn’t take away that fearful feeling we once had at the hands of another. It doesn’t take away the degradation we experienced from someone who was entitled or was put in a position of power over us. 

So, here’s the good news…the “renewing your mind” kind of news….It’s not a natural state of mind for us, that slave mentality.  Some people are better at remembering that than others. They always stand up for themselves and their rights, and they never let anyone walk over them, but others of us are not so good at it.  Some of us have a hard time drawing that line, and we just want to please, even at the expense of our confidence and self-esteem.  It’s during those times that we need to remember we are not slaves to anyone. We were made by a mighty creator, all equal and loved the same. 

April 17, 2016-RTM, Day 14

Today’s Verse:

I am filling my mind with only good things (Philippians 4:8).

In Context:

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:8-9 NLT)

I absolutely LOVE these verses! If only I was able to abide by them every day all the time.  This is truly the definition of renewing the mind, particularly when our thoughts are often far from honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable.  It’s so easy to get caught up in all the problems of the world and in our own lives.  It’s so easy to complain, be negative, blame someone else, wallow in self-pity, and generally be sour.  It seems to be easier to be negative than it is to be positive. 

One of the things we are trained on in the world of childcare is to use positive guidance. This means avoiding the use of the words “No, don’t, and stop.”  You don’t realize how hard it is to eliminate these words from your vocabulary until someone challenges you to actually do it.  Don’t run. Stop hitting your friends. No, that is not okay.  Instead, we attempt to rephrase these into positive terms. Use walking feet. Be gentle. What can you do? Here’s your choices. Imagine if we all tried to take these words out of our vocabulary entirely….not just when working with children.  Fixing our thoughts only on the positive, the best in people, the things that are worthy of praise, not worthy of our complaints.  How might that change us and others we work with, play with, or meet each day?  What if we used positive guidance on ourselves and our mindsets, so that whenever we start to even think negatively, we “rephrase” our thoughts.  It’s certainly something worth trying, isn’t it?  

April 14, 2016-RTM, Day 13

Today’s Verse:

I am speaking in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Ephesians 5:19).

In Context:

So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5: 15-20, NLT)

Sound familiar, well it should. This is the same set of context verses as from my Day 8 RTM blog post.  The difference this time is the verse number. In Day 8, it was verse 18, now it’s verse 19, and there is much to gain from each verse in this powerful, yet concise 5 verses written by Paul to the church in Ephesus.  

In terms of how we can renew our minds when considering these verses, particularly verse 19 (singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs…), I think this one is the most straightforward of them all so far.  Let me explain why. My son and I just recently finished watching the last season of American Idol together on TV. It was a very emotional season, and more than once the judges of the show (Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban, and Harry Connick Jr.)  explore with the contestants what they believe/think the purpose of music is including things like to make others feel what you feel and to connect with others through what you sing.  I can’t remember the exact words by one of the judges, but I do remember how powerful it was because her comment emphasized the idea that although music is not what many would consider a “service type” industry, it still serves an important purpose in touching people and often moving them to action, either to better themselves or help one another. 

I agree wholeheartedly with the judges’ thoughts on music’s purpose. I know the purpose it has served for me….to get me through hard times, to calm my fears, to bring me joy, to remind me that I am not alone in this world or my experiences, and to express my own emotions in a healthy manner.  Singing has always been my favorite part of church services, my favorite thing to do in the car on long rides, and a way to share my thoughts and feelings (similar to writing-it can be a therapeutic experience for me).  So, what can we learn about ways to renew your mind through this verse? Simple, when you need a pick me up on a rough day, put on your favorite song and jam away! Music has always been able to bring me out of a funk. How ‘bout you?