Category: 366 days of novice motherhood

Place: home

Poison: blueberries and raspberries

Favourite things: the weekend!

What do you dwell on?

What do you think about when nobody is looking?

If your thoughts were categorized by the library Dewi decimal system, what section would you be placed in?

Fiction? Non-fiction? Horror? Travel? craft? Health? Spiritual?

Our thoughts truly shape our days, yet so often my thoughts wander to lands that are just not helpful.

It’s not as simple as negative or positive thinking for me. I have a plethora of thinking tanks. It’s how detailed I can become and how overwhelmed my emotions can become from the tenure of my mind.

Our focus scripture says this…

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…

Finally!

Imploring us that this is the final but most important piece of wisdom to combat fear and worry.

Finally…whatever…

Noble
Right
Pure
Lovely
Admirable
Excellent
And
Praiseworthy

Think on these things.

The bible isnt telling us to empty our minds, to clear our minds like many contemporary forms of meditation do.

It instructs us to replace our unhelpful thoughts, with constructive ones.

It is not easy to stop thinking patterns that create road blocks in our purpose journeys but to fill our minds with positive road maps is a whole different story.

When we allow our minds to think about good endeavors, our emotions, worries, anxieties, fears and concerns seem to fade into the background and beauty becomes apparent again.

What is the tone of your thoughts today?

Replace them with a new colour?

Bright, bold, brilliant and beautiful. Sparkling, special, solving, salutations. Excellent, engaging, elevating, encouragements. Truthful, telling, thankful, thoughts.

Replace the old with new. Don’t just try to stop cold turkey, create new patterns.

Create anew.

A

Place: home

Poison: toothpaste

Favourite things: bed early!

Thinking about our minds.

Specifically guarding them.

Where do these foreign, unhelpful, negative thoughts come from?

I was thinking this morning about the difference between fear and worry?

Fear is;

An unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.

Worry is;

Give way to anxiety or unease; allow one’s mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles.

Fear being an overwhelming feeling and worry is a state of mind.

They are both similar but attack us in different ways.

When we can define and articulate whether we have fears or worries, anxieties or stress, I believe we can start to build up defenses that guard the mind.

I was asking myself this morning where my mind was weak in this whole journey we are going on.

Sometimes I have thoughts or emotions flying at me. They have no reasoning or context. These I believe are coming from a negative source.

Then other times I have anxieties and fears that rise up internally from actual events or circumstances.

Whether our mind is bombarded by outside negative influences or overwhelmed by internal emotions I believe combatting them with a similar strategy is imperative,

Guarding our minds is taking captive any thoughts that do not honor or bring life.

Taking any thoughts and praying, meditating and flooding them with truth.

I went through a season in my life where I battled an eating disorder. It went on for years. Being involved professionally in the theatre industry I was overwhelmed with thoughts of doubt about my body shape and how I looked. My mind was overwhelmed by negativity.

I combatted this serious disorder with cleansing my mind. If I started to think about myself in ways that were unhelpful I would stop myself. I would say out loud ‘no, that is not the truth’ or ‘stop, you are beautiful’. Speaking truth has power, speaking scripture shifts atmospheres, changing my thoughts, guarding my mind, changed the circumstance.

Over the years, mostly through guarding my mind I was able to stop the destructive eating patterns. I still have times today when those thoughts bombard me. Often it’s at times of immense change or stress.

To bring back those amazing strategies of changing my thoughts and speaking truth. Bringing change to the rabbit holes I find my mind had created.

Write down some of the ways you think fear or worry is attacking you. Is it internal? Is it external?

Write down a couple of sentences or scriptures you can speak out loud to Change the course of your thought process.

Popular culture tells us to clear and empty our mind. Which I think is impossible. Have you ever tried to empty your mind? You end up thinking about the fact your not supposed to be thinking and then you think about something anyway.

God has given us practical advice about this…however thats tomorrows topic.

Signing off, fear warriors…

I am starting to feel a little better about this topic, how about you?

A

Place: in the car

Poison: coke zero and water

Favourite things: Australia

We’re home!

As we walked through customs in Bali the officers stood with guns guarding the airport.

They searched our bags, they removed any liquid over 100mls, they were vigilant.

Scary in fact.

The next part of our scripture study on fear talks about guarding our hearts.

The scripture refers to peace guarding our hearts.

When we live as thrive in the peace of God, our hearts have customs officers standing guard and searching out any foreigners.

Peace forms an army around our hearts and stops war from inhabiting our land.

Being vigilant with peace, focusing, trusting and relying on the lord.

I am finding the more I trust, the more peace reigns and the more my heart is protected.

My heart being my emotions, my feelings, the hues that colour my everyday.

I have come back from holiday, not so much rested as having a newborn overseas required a whole new level of vigilance, but I am returning with perspective.

Peace please stay
Heart be guarded from foreigners that come to break down my borders.
Fear leave quietly and return no more.

A

Place: body works

Poison: pineapple juice

Favourite things: rose petal baths

My son has done the sleeping tour of Bali. No matter the noise and happenings, he has managed to have a little nap, a kip, he just drops off into sleepy time with no fuss.

My mum can fall asleep in the first ten minutes of a massage and cracks the women up as she snores her way through Bali bliss.

Me on the other hand, I find it increasingly difficult to have a little Nanna nap, no matter how tired I am.

My mind is a machine.

My mind is at work trying to save the problems of the world.

My mind is tireless.

I am laying in the most peaceful place, with rose petals, stunning music, a massage like no other and my mind is thinking about the neighbor back home who we have a little grievance with.

What is with that?

Where can I find peace?

Our scripture reference is so far…

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 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. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:4-9 NIV)

And the peace of God which transcends understanding.

I long for this peace.

I think many people long for this. That’s why there are so many temples here in Bali, that’s why there are so many spas here, that’s why people come here to walk the beach, to drink themselves away. Peace seems to escape most of us.

The monks here think that giving away everything is the answer, the shop owners think sacrifices and offerings to the moon Gods is the only way.

I know another. I have relationship and have had deep encounters with Jesus. His peace does surpass understanding, there are times when his peace leads, times when his peace flows and I cannot explain it.

A knowing
A encounter
Peace reigns

Lord let me be an instrument of your peace.

Lord let your peace abide in my mind, where worry and decay rule.

Lord you are peace.

A

Place: seminyak

Poison: coke zero

Favourite things: DVDs in bed

I must admit often my recognition of Gods presence in my life can often be relegated to a should rather than can.

Prayer and reading scripture becomes a task to be endured rather than a delight spontaneously encountered,

Living my life before him is inevitable, but recognizing his hand in all things is a choice.

To live Corem Deo. Which means aware of Gods presence in our everyday.

To present our requests before God seems like a funny sentence.

God is omnipresent, therefore he knows our needs, he sees our fears and he can move despite our prayers…

Yet he requests that we present our fears, worries and concerns to him and he will deal with the rest.

Presenting our requests before God is more about acknowledging our weaknesses, that it is parading our prayer prowess.

I am hopeless at keeping a prayer rhythm but I am good at a constant natter with my king.

I want to acknowledge God more, but my fear, laziness and trust issues prevent me.

Just admitting these weaknesses to you, I believe takes away there secret power.

Before God
Corem Deo

He sees everything, but do you allow his hand to move?

Fear, is the absence of faith.
Faith is to believe without necessarily seeing.

Release me dear lord from fear of the future.

Release me.

A