Don't Fall Into the Gap!
Good Morning!
A few weeks ago, I began studying Romans with no expectations really. I knew God had plans for what I'm doing with my time, but at the outset, I didn't think this was the book of the Bible I should be studying. I went ahead and decided to do it anyway, along with a friend and my Marm. I am so blown away by all that I write after I read a chapter. It coincides perfectly with my study of the brain and I just love how much things are aligning.
One of the areas that I'm studying is how to bridge the gap between what we want to do and actually doing it. I think for most people, we make a decision and then we determine that we are going to work really hard at it and after a period of time we fail. We begin to say, "did it really matter that I accomplish that?" "God wants me to enjoy my life, so maybe that discipline wasn't really what He wanted" --It is interesting that those thoughts are not at the beginning of our decision when we're excited and ready to conquer, but those thoughts creep in when the motivation is dwindling!
Our mindset is defined as: a fixed mental attitude or disposition that predetermines a person's responses to and interpretation of a situation. An inclination or a habit.
"Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires, but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace." from Romans 8
Whenever people come to me for coaching and want to know what to do to accomplish their goals, if they are a Christian, the first area MUST be and has always been learning to live by the Spirit. Spending time getting to know God, learning how to communicate with the Spirit and trusting that we have the power of the Spirit in us, is the first step to developing the mindset. Because, let's face it, when motivation is weak and we are on our own to decide, we lose our mindset unless it's fixed on Jesus and we've begun to develop a habit of going to Him and not something else to "ease" us.
Developing a mind that is set on things above is what I'm studying right now. I absolutely love that our brains can be rewired and those new (or unused) pathways in the brain can be the default!
But, as Hebrews 12:11 says "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it"
May you have a wonderfully positive Mindset this Monday!
jennie
