Think on These Things Bracelet

Thursday, June 23, 2011

I have a favorite pair of pants with the manufacturer’s logo sewn into the leg in the shape of a sticker. Every time I wear the pants, someone tells me my sticker is showing and tries to pull it off. Each time I explain that the sticker is really the logo of the pants and then I mention the brand. It’s a great marketing strategy! Along the same lines, have you ever forgotten to clip the tag from your clothes and displayed to the world the price of your new garment? I know I have! Displaying the price tag of clothing can be embarrassing, but not nearly as embarrassing as displaying an ugly attitude. Ugly thoughts lead to an ugly attitude.

Our thoughts either move us toward our God-given potential or away from it. In either case you can rest assured your thoughts are showing. Our thoughts lead to emotions, physical feelings, and physical actions. What we think will eventually show up! If our thoughts eventually show up in our words and actions, then the first step toward changing our circumstances is to change our thoughts. If ugly thoughts show up as ugly actions, it makes sense that joy-filled thoughts will show up as a joy-filled life.

How then can we turn our thoughts toward God? Right thinking is a choice. We have control over our thoughts. It usually take 21 days to switch a bad habit. This week I’m providing you a strategy to get rid of your negative thinking in 21 days!
Think on These Things Bracelet

The Think on These Things bracelet is a tool that
...monitors how often you think negatively
...helps you track your progress toward becoming negative free.

Use the Philippians 4:8 thinking model to help you think positively and live a joy-filled life.

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. Philippians 4:8 (NLT)

Simply put the bracelet on either wrist and every time you think a negative thought, switch the bracelet to the other wrist. The goal is to go 21 consecutive days without negativity or switching the bracelet.

When the bad thought enters your mind, replace it by following these steps.
1. Rename it – Tell yourself this thought is a negative, bad, ungodly, unkind, etc. thought
2. Re-frame it – Focus on a positive or distracting thought
3. Redirect your actions to something uplifting, fun, or engaging.

Contact me at education@christplace.org, and I’ll be happy to send you a bracelet and instruction card.

Your thoughts are showing! Do you need to switch them? Switch your thoughts not your bracelet!

Emotional Strength

Monday, May 24, 2010

Did you know that if you can master your emotional life, you can produce more joy? Our negative feelings and reactions deplete us of our energy and steal our joy. Emotional strength gives us fuel so that we can experience life the way God wants us to. It is not necessary or even healthy to deny our problems, but if we dwell on them, we become bound to them and they have power over us. Emotional strength is found when we give God our attention instead of our problems.

In his book The 4:8 Principle, Tommy Newberry tells us that emotions are like biochemical couriers that provide feedback about our mood. Emotions help us to feel whatever we are thinking. These couriers tell our bodies whether to communicate pain or joy. What we think shows up in our emotions. It makes sense then to think about things that bring us joy instead of pain.

I encourage you to try Newberry’s strategy for improving your capacity for joy. Make a list of three positive emotions you want to increase and a list of negative emotions that you want to decrease. Then over the next few weeks use the Laws of Emotional Strength to decrease negative emotions and increase positive ones.

The Laws of Emotional Strength
1. The Law of Attention: Knowing that you will feel what you dwell on, make it a practice to broadcast your blessings and think about your hopes and dreams and the future God has planned for you.
2. The Law of Exchange: Replace a negative thought with a positive one. Replace thoughts of fear with thoughts of boldness. Replace thoughts of criticism with thoughts of praise.
3. The Law of Reversibility: Learn to act your way into the feelings you desire. Fake it till you feel it. This is not hypocrisy. It means that you will respond to circumstances in a way that obeys God’s principles and eventually your feelings will follow.

Making our emotions obedient to Christ takes action. It takes motion. In fact, the word emotion is 86% motion! Both our actions and emotions need to be pleasing to God. Let’s work this week to increase our positive emotions so that we will experience the joy and peace that our Father wants us to have.

Take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5