Fwd: Make Up Your Mind to Manage Your Mind

This one certainly requires ENDURANCE!

Make Up Your Mind to Manage Your Mind
By Rick Warren — January 8, 2019

"I have made up my mind to obey your laws forever, no matter what" (Psalm 119:112 CEV).
The reason why most people are ineffective in life is that they've never learned how to fight the battle of the mind.
If you want to learn to manage your mind, you have to be delivered from destructive thoughts. That isn't easy, because there are three enemies that keep you from fulfilling all your good intentions of changing your life.
The first enemy is your old nature.
Paul says in Romans 7:23, "There is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me" (NLT).
Do you ever find yourself doing things that you don't really want to do? That's the battle in your brain between your old, sinful nature and your good intentions.
The second enemy is Satan.
Satan cannot force you to do anything, but he can make suggestions, and those suggestions are incredibly powerful. He is constantly planting negative thoughts in your mind. He'll use other people or he'll use the TV or he'll just throw a thought in your mind.
The third enemy is the world's value system.
Does anything in our society encourage self-discipline? Not much. Advertisements tell us, "You deserve a break today. Have it your way. We do it all for you."
The Bible says in 1 John 2:16, "For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world" (NIV).
With enemies like that, no wonder we struggle with discouragement and despair and failure!
So how do you fight this battle? Look at what 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says: "Though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 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"(NIV).
You have a choice. Your mind has to listen to you. God didn't give you just a mind. He gave you a will! The best time to win the battle with temptation is before it begins.
"I have made up my mind to obey your laws forever, no matter what" (Psalm 119:112 CEV).PLAY today's audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>

Sunday Smiles

Church and lunch with my favorites today:). Then off to other side of town to visit Morris. He has really fought the good fight and is finally feeling better. Cancer hasn't taken his smile:)

New Ride

Wait... what?!? T's early birthday present is a pretty sweet ride! How can this boy be turning 16 already? With a little help from Nana and mom, this boy is super happy :)

Finally found time to post my new year post. Last year my word of the year was patience. I learned a lot more about myself last year than I have in a very long time. I knew that a year of patience would challenge me on many different levels, and that it did indeed. My patience has grown, yet I believe I still have more growing and stretching to do in the patience department. God has been diligently showing me that His timing and my timing are two very different things. His timing is always right on time, and mine well... just isn't. So as I exercised my patience muscle, I also incorporated being more intentional. The two went hand and hand and I believe helped me through several trials this past year. Pretty sure patience will always be something that I have to intentionally work towards.

So now I start a brand new year! The Lord has led me to the word ENDURANCE for this year.

endurance

noun

en·dur·ance | \in-ˈdu̇r-ən(t)s, -ˈdyu̇r-, en-\

Definition of endurance

1: the ability to withstand hardship or adversityespecially : the ability to sustain a prolonged stressful effort or activity a marathon runner's endurance

2: the act or an instance of enduring or suffering endurance of many hardships

Sounds bleak doesn't it?!? However, little did I know that He had already included last year's word and this year's word in scripture just for me :) After doing my research, this is the real definition that clearly He meant for me...

But before I read Hebrews 10:36, many other verses came to mind that I feel are going to be important to me this year. Here are a few of them:

John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Ephesians 3:20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

1 Corinthians 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.

Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

As you can see, I am hearing from Him that this year there will be some hurdles and hiccups along the way as Satan tries to interfere in my life. However, I am also hearing that with God all things are indeed possible and that I need to focus on Him. He will be my source of patience, strength, and endurance throughout each and every trial that is ahead. He will provide all the ENDURANCE that I need!

Hebrews 10:36 Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.