Put It Into Practice
"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, 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." - Philippians 4:8-9
Real talk. Ya'll know I love Oprah. I love her larger-than-life personality, her unique way with interviews and people and tough subjects, I love her outfits and her glasses and her passion. I love that she shares her struggles and she has grown along with millions of women throughout the years.
I turned on Super Soul Sunday over breakfast this past weekend and Oprah was interviewing Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist (because, DUH, Oprah). I managed to watch about 3 minutes and take 2 pages of scribbled notes before the sounds of Jesse gagging and his eyes falling out of his head because he was rolling them so hard overwhelmed my ZEN. Totally, 110% destroying my ZEN, MAN.
So, yeah. This is real life.
Oprah gets to sip tea and talk meditation with her homie, Thich. In a fabulous pink pastel outfit and matching glasses. Her hair also looked fab, fist bump to my girl.
Me? I'm scarfing egg whites and trying to get dogs fed and get dishes done because my dishwasher is STILL not fixed and feed this weirdo frog we inherited from the first grade class and get to church at a reasonable time. While my husband's ears are bleeding because I am subjecting him to the horror that is Oprah, please lift him up in prayer, ya'll.
This scenario made me think, however, about the truth in this verse from Philippians.
Turn on any outlet to society today, any tv, phone, laptop, twitter feed...and there's plenty of lies, disloyalty, wrong, unclean, horror, shock.
The struggles of our everyday life - and perhaps the walk you are on right now - feature these characteristics, loud and clear. Children making poor decisions. Ailing parents. Loss of jobs. Financial strife.
This year has been plenty interesting for our family. There has been a lot of...flux. Uncertainty on many fronts. It probably has been for yours too, right?
Here's what I'm going to suggest for you. Because I put it into practice, just as Paul commanded us to do.
1. Attack the short, fleeting thoughts with authority.
Girl (and guys) - I know we all do it: that person WRONGED me. That person deserves to get fired, not me. That girl is showing too much skin at that event. That guy doesn't even know what he's doing. Why is he coaching that team, he doesn't even know the rules?
Just STOP. Take a hard stop when those thoughts infiltrate your mind. And just say no.
It's laughable but I literally train myself on this constantly. When an ugly, mean, or gossipy thought crosses my mind - which can be OFTEN, because I am REAL with ya'll - I just take a hard STOP. If you can replace it with a nice thought, then yes! But sometimes all we can muster is just switching our train of thought to something else. We are preventing that snowball of negativity from affecting our thoughts - because ultimately, our thoughts become our words, and our words become our actions. Me? I think about the beach and rolling waves. Or Beyonce's hair. Snap!
2. Prepare for the long term battle.
We don't all have hours to sip and practice tea meditation like Oprah and monks. But here's what you do have time for:
When you prepare your mind and feed it with the Word of God, you are flexing your spiritual muscle and positioning your mind for these declarations: truth, nobility, righteousness, purity, loveliness, admirable behavior.
The small meals count, my friends. You are feeding yourself for a battle and every bite counts.
So, we can't all be Oprah. I mean, there's only ONE OPRAH.
But there's only ONE YOU TOO.
Choose to put it into practice and watch the way God will change the lens through which you look.
Real talk. Ya'll know I love Oprah. I love her larger-than-life personality, her unique way with interviews and people and tough subjects, I love her outfits and her glasses and her passion. I love that she shares her struggles and she has grown along with millions of women throughout the years.
I turned on Super Soul Sunday over breakfast this past weekend and Oprah was interviewing Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist (because, DUH, Oprah). I managed to watch about 3 minutes and take 2 pages of scribbled notes before the sounds of Jesse gagging and his eyes falling out of his head because he was rolling them so hard overwhelmed my ZEN. Totally, 110% destroying my ZEN, MAN.
So, yeah. This is real life.
Oprah gets to sip tea and talk meditation with her homie, Thich. In a fabulous pink pastel outfit and matching glasses. Her hair also looked fab, fist bump to my girl.
Me? I'm scarfing egg whites and trying to get dogs fed and get dishes done because my dishwasher is STILL not fixed and feed this weirdo frog we inherited from the first grade class and get to church at a reasonable time. While my husband's ears are bleeding because I am subjecting him to the horror that is Oprah, please lift him up in prayer, ya'll.
This scenario made me think, however, about the truth in this verse from Philippians.
Turn on any outlet to society today, any tv, phone, laptop, twitter feed...and there's plenty of lies, disloyalty, wrong, unclean, horror, shock.
The struggles of our everyday life - and perhaps the walk you are on right now - feature these characteristics, loud and clear. Children making poor decisions. Ailing parents. Loss of jobs. Financial strife.
This year has been plenty interesting for our family. There has been a lot of...flux. Uncertainty on many fronts. It probably has been for yours too, right?
Here's what I'm going to suggest for you. Because I put it into practice, just as Paul commanded us to do.
1. Attack the short, fleeting thoughts with authority.
Girl (and guys) - I know we all do it: that person WRONGED me. That person deserves to get fired, not me. That girl is showing too much skin at that event. That guy doesn't even know what he's doing. Why is he coaching that team, he doesn't even know the rules?
Just STOP. Take a hard stop when those thoughts infiltrate your mind. And just say no.
It's laughable but I literally train myself on this constantly. When an ugly, mean, or gossipy thought crosses my mind - which can be OFTEN, because I am REAL with ya'll - I just take a hard STOP. If you can replace it with a nice thought, then yes! But sometimes all we can muster is just switching our train of thought to something else. We are preventing that snowball of negativity from affecting our thoughts - because ultimately, our thoughts become our words, and our words become our actions. Me? I think about the beach and rolling waves. Or Beyonce's hair. Snap!
2. Prepare for the long term battle.
We don't all have hours to sip and practice tea meditation like Oprah and monks. But here's what you do have time for:
- A post it note with this verse, taped to your mirror / dashboard / office cubicle / washing machine.
- Listening to worship music on your way to work.
- One verse from the Bible when you wake / before bed.
- Listening to a podcast while you're on the treadmill.
When you prepare your mind and feed it with the Word of God, you are flexing your spiritual muscle and positioning your mind for these declarations: truth, nobility, righteousness, purity, loveliness, admirable behavior.
The small meals count, my friends. You are feeding yourself for a battle and every bite counts.
So, we can't all be Oprah. I mean, there's only ONE OPRAH.
But there's only ONE YOU TOO.
Choose to put it into practice and watch the way God will change the lens through which you look.
Comments
Post a Comment