Monthly Archives: September 2012

Redefining our thoughts – 3

I am reading Dr. Trimm’s book Commanding Your Morning’ and so many things are jumping out at me. The primary realisation is that I cannot become something I cannot already envision myself to be. She puts it even better when she quoted a friend who told her that ‘…your feet cannot take you where your mind hasn’t already been.’ Isn’t that big?????? I think it’s really really big.

 

I have been meditating on the whole concept of renewing my mind. How does it happen? What does it mean? Will we all be able to renew our minds? Why does it seem easier for some people than others? What are the challenges and hindrances? Where does one start? What is the path marked for each of us?

 

It struck me that contrary to popular belief renewing the mind is not rocket science. It is the product of committed and consistent effort. Effort to reconnect the wires in my brain back to the way Papa created them. You see, my mind has over the years recorded reels and reels of conversations and prophesies doubts and fears and stored them deep in my subconscious mind. All this is regardless whether they are true or not. It has been going on for so long that I now believe all those things as gospel truth even though some of them are contrary to what God is saying about me. Therefore, when something happens I was prone to say things like:

  • …that is just how life works
  • …I am not really good at that
  • …it never seems to work for me
  • …she is so lucky because….
  • …I will never be…..
  • And the list is endless

 

The reality is that I am the only one who can take the word God has spoken over my life and call it into being then act upon it. The flip side is that if I don’t believe His word about me I cannot become anything close to it. I won’t even believe whatever He says about me because I will remember and possibly cling to all the things I am not good at and I have failed at in the past. The memory of the past will affect ability to move forward.

 

So I asked myself, how can some people be moving forward and achieving loads yet I am in the same place I have always been? Why is it that some people made it despite incredible odds yet I am seemingly stuck despite my great potential? The trigger came for me when I realised that I need to change the print of my life. I needed to change the print from my thoughts to beliefs to words and finally actions. There is a lot of talk about our footprint and finger print but I came face to face with an even bigger print that I had to discover and align to. I came across the Voice Print. Yes, I said Voice Print.

 

When I first heard it from Dr. Trimm I was like…what??? No way!!! That borders on absurd and for a long moment I stopped in my tracks

However, I realised that she IS actually right!!!! My words have limited me in line with my thoughts. I realised that the extent of my thought process had become the boundaries of my words and beliefs. The fact that I have said certain things over and over again had reinforced them into my life and no matter how much I tried to believe otherwise it all was a losing battle. Every new thing I tried has been bound to fail because I do not believe it internally and I will not confess it externally. So my voice print had indeed been created from my thought process.

 

As I begun to internalise this, I realised that it is not impossible to re-write the script in my head but it takes time and consistent effort. The renewal of the mind had to begin with the awareness that my mind is corrupt and has moved away for the purposes of Papa for me hence it needs to be changed. Secondly I needed to change the script of what or who I listen to and where I hang out to be able to change the base message in mind. Third, I had to assess my closest relationships and realised that I could only go as far as my crowd. This helped me realise where I was going and if that was really the way I need to be walking in. Finally, when all is said and done I need to know for sure about what God thinks about me and who He desires I become. Once I know for sure that I am created in His image and likeness and I am able to make a difference in my mind the process begins. I can begin to understand His purpose for me and my life.

 

To renew my mind and my thought patterns is to change the way I think and this has to be done by removing one way of thinking and replacing it with another. I now understand better what God was talking about when He told Joshua to ‘meditate on the Word day and night that he may be prosperous and successful.’ Joshua 1:8-9. In the same scripture Joshua is told repeatedly to ‘be strong and courageous’ meaning that this change process will not be easy.

 

To redefine my thoughts means that on a daily basis I need to meditate on the word of Papa, internalise and commit to memory His word over me and then act on it till it resonates in my spirit. When it begins to resonate I will be able to speak it out with great conviction and as I speak it out the voice print over me changes. I am no longer bound by the negative thoughts that used to be part of my life. I find that when a negative thought comes, I am able to recognise it and deal with it. I have made the connection to the path that was set out for me. The path for a new life is unfolding one petal at a time one day at a time.

 

Dear Papa, help me continue to connect with your plans for me that it may resonate and make life more meaningful for at least one other person. Teach me to work with you and grow the depth of my relationship with you.

 

Dear reader, walk with me and post how the process is going. Be encouraged for there is hope ahead of us

Redefining our thoughts – 2

  • Proverbs 32:7 “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he” KJV.
  • Matthew 12:34 “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”
  • 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “…We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

These are all the scriptures I mentioned in the past that actually provide the basis for our discussion. You see, when we move along with these verses, it becomes clear that we are the one  and only thing that stands between us and our destiny. We determine where we go and what we achieve. Even if God has great plans for us he cannot force us to reach the fulfilment of the same because He gives us free will and a mind to process and align with him.

So often we life around us has standards expectations and these are based on what has happened in the past and what others have determined is the truth and is reliable. Think about it, when we were young weren’t we told that if we did not do well in school we would not be able to get good jobs and hence be unable to become anything in life. REALLY? Have you ever stopped to wonder if that is the whole truth? What of Albert Einstein, Richard Branson, Winston Churchill? How many people who have made it in life have done different things? Think of your locality and find people who reached great heights even when they had very little…they had to do something different to make the change and difference.

On the other hand there are people who we believed would the best in life because they were at the top of the class yet today they are in their graves too early or wallowing in a lost way. There has to be more to life than just where I was born, my education, my connections and past experience.

The ability to move away from the normal and into the realm of different must have another trigger and I would put it forward here that it is a matter of “my thought process.” I become my thoughts and I am bound by my thoughts. I had never thought of it this way but my thoughts are either wings or chains. They can make me fly or tie me to the ground. Think about it again…you become what you think or better still, “What you focus on expands.” I’ll say that again, “What you focus on expands.” That last statement was said by Dr. Cindy Trimm this last weekend and it has not left me since…”What you focus on expands.”

I have always given this a lot less weight than I really needed to give it. It also bears witness in my heart that focus is conscious and subconscious. Even when I am not actively pondering things, they are brewing and brooding in the back of my mind or in the depths of my heart. This means that the day I meet that one person who hurt me deeply once in my life, I feel my guard going up and I brace for the fight or the barb I am expecting from them. How can I react this way unless I am somehow and sometime thinking about it? Isn’t there a place deep inside me that is processing, brooding and holding onto the pain and hurt? Why can’t I let it go?

I realised that there are things I need to stop focusing on to ensure that I stay on the right track and keep moving from one level to another. It means that I must reassess my life, feelings and how my mind works. I must desire to find out how my mind works and processes data. I must then recognise the road I am destined to follow and measure progress against the revelation I receive daily. When I find that I am not on the right track I must take myself to lie at the foot of the cross and ask Papa to “Transform me by the renewing of my mind…” Rom 12:2.

Renewing my mind is really not rocket science. It is shifting focus from the things that have held me captive to something new. The new focus must be something that is bigger, greater and more powerful than me. The best way to find this place is found in Philippians 4:8Finally, 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.

Remember that what we focus on expands so we must be sure that we are focusing on the right things and growing in strength and grace every step.

Dear Papa, help me to find you and walk in your ways always. Renew my mind and allow me to be all you desire for me and then some. For when you created me you said I was good. Today I decree and declare that I am good, I am blessed, I am able to be transformed in my mind, I am child of the Most High God, I will become all Papa set out for me to become.

In Christ’s name I pray AMEN.

Redirecting your thoughts 1

I wrote the article below a while back and it has come back afresh as part of a longer set of articles….read this again and we will take it up again with a second and third part shortly

 

CHOICES:

Here is the thought of my day…I am certain that there is something we all do.

Was playing a game recently and I was losing pathetically. I even got penalised to sit out a couple of rounds. The thing that really got me thinking as I sat out waiting for my turn to re-enter, was the realisation that I had checked out mentally from the game a while back. For some strange reason my mind was elsewhere working through other things. The short of the long is that as I became more distracted and begun thinking about other things, there was a direct impact to the activities I was currently engaged in. Around me all the others were excited and forging ahead and I had just resigned myself to whatever comes.

Suddenly it flashed through my mind that this probably wasn’t the only place this was happening. I did a quick personal evaluation and realised that my attitude to certain areas of my life was in the same disorganised state. As I looked at the issues I realised that the results were also the same. I was surely astounded how easily things can come together. The stark reminder here was that my thoughts will direct the path of my life. This is exemplified in Proverbs 32:7 that says, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he” KJV.

It was totally startling that in that moment of temporary mental dissociation I had connected to and projected the internal state of my heart into reality. In a split second I remembered that everything I do makes a differences in the way my life pans out. I realised that in the midst of life I can at times lose track of the real and meaningful connections and connectors in life with devastating effects. Further to this, Matthew 12:34 jumped out to remind me that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” So here is the clincher, I lose focus on the way and everything falls out of plan and purpose because there is nothing to hold it together. So I could be waltzing through the day with my mind jumping from here to there accomplishing nothing and then at the end of the ask what happened.

There are things I need to do that I don’t and things I shouldn’t do that I do. These then become sources of greatness or loss. What do I need to stop doing? What do I need to start doing? What are the repercussions of the choices I am making? My choices will make or break my life. I therefore chose to take charge of my thoughts as 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “…We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

What do you need to daily, moment by moment take captive and redirect your thoughts about that will change the entire course of your life from your terms to God’s terms? What do you need to give up? What do you need to start doing?

Dear Lord, help me daily connect with you and to the realities that you have for me. Amen

Amazing ways

 

When was the last time you really thought through the circumstances in your life? Have you been in places that seem impossible and then out of the blue everything works out? When did it last happen to you that something you had been working on seemingly resolved itself in minutes?

This week has been one of those for me. We are in the middle of a project and for a while things have not been working. Well, at least in the physical it was not working. So here we were wondering and making streaks in the carpet pacing and worrying and still nothing seemed to be working out. So after a few hours of quiet contemplation it dawned on me that the success lies not in the hands of a man but in the hands of God. There is a place for work and it is mandatory for us to put in elbow grease in everything we do. However, there is also a big place for Papa to check in and make things work in the way that he so desires.

So sitting at my desk we begun to get resolution and commitment after commitment came through. So my colleague and I wondered what had triggered the sudden influx and we were reminded… ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty. Zechariah 4:6

So what is it that has been said that must happen? Where do you need to go but see nothing but darkness? Where is the opposition? Where is the challenge? Who is standing in the way? What is holding you back? Remember you are more than just a statistic. There is a purpose and plan for each of our lives and when we check into it great things happen. It is not about who you know or can be connected to. It is more about your destiny and God’s divine plan for your life. Some of us will be kings, others priests, others business leaders and still others care givers. The reality is that we need to connect to our divine destiny and flow in it.

Take time to sit at the feet of God today and find out the road you need to travel. Take that road even when it seems lonely and farfetched. Make time to follow your dreams. Follow the call in your heart. Be the difference you desire in your community.

Remember, it is not about your personal possessions rather it is about your personal legacy. Leave a good one.