I’m currently dealing with 5 Christmas Wish Lists from our 5 kiddos. When those wish lists are stacked on top of grocery receipts and never-ending bills, the thought of spending more money can quickly suck the joy out of Christmas, can’t it? 😉
In a season where our minds are focused on lots of lists – wish lists, to-do lists, grocery lists… let me encourage you to start a different kind of list.
Our brains absolutely fascinate me. And of course, God knew exactly what He was doing when He filled so much of Scripture with verses about our minds! (Phil. 4:8, Rom. 12:2, Prov. 23:7, 2 Cor. 10:5…)
Turns out, without knowing it, we can spend years carving out negative pathways in our minds. Literal ruts that we don’t realize we are in or don’t know how to get out of.
But what does this have to do with lists? Bear with me here…
Imagine walking across a field of tall grass over and over and over for days and even years on end. Eventually, you’d be carving out a pathway – and that’s the same pathway you’re most likely to walk.
Walking through the tall grass when you’ve already trampled a pathway wouldn’t make sense. You’d take the easiest route – the one you made for yourself by repeated use.
Our brains are much the same way. That song choice, the constant barrage of negative news reports, that questionable movie, hanging around negative people… these are just a few examples of what can help carve out those negative pathways in our brains.
Pathways that become the natural route of how we think.
Pathways that are difficult to veer from.
Obviously, God created our brains, so He gets to be the expert on the matter. He tells us:
- to take every thought captive
- to think on lovely, true, virtuous thoughts, and good reports (sorry, but running the news in your home 24/7 doesn’t make this cut),
- to be renewed in our minds
- that perfect peace comes from a mind focused on God
Of course, He is God & knows exactly what He’s talking about! And not that we needed it, but eventually over human history, science began to back up these biblical claims. Shocker.
So what is a practical way to rewire our brains to make new, positive pathways?
One GREAT way is to make a list – and check it twice. And this list can help us move from naughty to nice. Move over, Santa, we’re taking over your job. 😉
Writing down a list of how God blessed your day – from the tiniest thing to the largest thing – can do wonders in your life.
Once you start going back over your day or your life and remembering the goodness of God, your mind will truly be transformed & you’ll start defaulting to positive pathways instead of negative pathways.
Write the list, and don’t just check it twice, but check it multiple times. Why? Because you need the reminder – and when it comes down to it, you can’t afford to be anything other than grateful.
That negativity is sucking the life out of you and those around you. Making a gratitude list and reading back over it again and again reminds you of God’s blessings!
There are a host of other things you can do. Here’s a short list of ideas:
- You can literally force yourself to cast out negative thoughts, and replace them with thoughts God tells you to think on (Phil. 4:8)
- You can change the radio station to music that is God-honoring
- You can find a better movie to watch or filter it through a service like Vid-Angel
- If that unrealistic book or movie is making you discontent with your spouse, then toss it and replace it with something better for your mind
- Realize that some people you’re meant to influence and some people you’re meant to emulate. If the friends you’re hanging around are dragging you down and aiding in those negative brain pathways, then try spending more time around people who build you up & who help you feel closer to Jesus.
- Fill your mind with God’s Word every single day
- Write down what you learned!
- Listen to God-honoring preaching/podcasts
All of these things, and many more, will help you retrain your brain & make new, positive pathways. Pathways that become your new go-to.
So yes, life is crazy, it’s overpriced, there are unending laundry mounds, and news outlets remind us that this world has truly gone mad.
Negative things are all around us.
But they don’t have to be IN us.
In the midst of the chaos, you can be the one who trains yourself to see the good and be the good.
You’ll make lots of lists this Christmas season. Make one of those lists a gratitude list, and don’t forget to check it twice, and a third time, and a fourth…It’s the most important and transformative list you’ll ever make.
By: Jen McGee
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Just a Mom’s View 