Think Upon: Excellent/Praise Worthy

A couple weeks ago, I went on a little getaway with a friend I met at a fitness conference. Who knew a couple years later God would be reuniting us. It was a great reminder how nothing is wasted and all actions have a purpose. During our visit she shared with me an activity that was life changing. The activity began with thinking of a word that relates most to you in this season of life. The word I chose was broken. You then begin spider webbing other words that relate to the word you chose. For example: I used the word broken then branched out from there with relationships, dreams, friends, mind, and emotions. From there, I created a bigger web by using one or two words of explanation. After brain storming, flip over the paper and read Psalm 40. Reading and rereading the scripture, be attentive to what God has to say. The word He gave me from the verses was sing. From there, I did the same thing except with words God revealed to me such as stillness, strength, teachable, and selfless. If you've never been apart of an activity like this, I would 100% recommend it! With all of that being said, today we are going to further how God has used and is growing the word sing.

Philippians 4:8 states, "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." The final subjects God commands us to think about to win the war inside our minds are excellent and praise worthy. When seeing the words praise worthy, I think about singing songs to God because He alone deserves to be praised. Thus, the word sing. You cannot be mad, angry, bitter, full of anxiety or worry when you're focus is off of yourself and on to the King. At first, I would just hum a little, repeat my favorite lyrics in my head, or play the song over and over. But recently I discovered that the sound of your own voice, and the deep breaths it takes to sing out loud allow heightened emotions to subside and truth to be revealed. Pick a song that you absolutely love and memorize the chorus, if you haven't already, and every time negative thoughts and emotions arise, SING! Side note: I also LOVE playing an instrument when I am full of anxiety and worry, if that is you... Make Time For It! If any of this is super uncomfortable for you, write out the chorus of your favorite song and say it out loud a couple times.

Now back to thinking upon whatever is excellent. The definition is "extremely good, outstanding." Therefore, what do you consider outstanding? My parents and I watch the voice, and to hear some of those artists sing is truly outstanding. (ironic how I immediately thought of singing). Other people I find outstanding are very in shape and or have the ability to shred a guitar. Objects I find outstanding are Disney World/Land, Christmas light shows, and LuLa Roe leggings. Now you may find all of these things completely dumb and they may not be outstanding to you...so what is outstanding in your eyes? Whatever it is, think upon it. Sometimes it is okay to allow our minds to be distracted, as long as we are not avoiding or hiding from the current situation. A trusted source recently explained to me that there is a difference in distraction for a break and replacing the entire thought. The definition of distraction states, "to prevent from giving full attention to something." It was very relieving to know it's okay to distract myself and let go of what's going on. However, I cannot avoid the situation but must remain in balance. Therefore, when the little break of distraction begins to replace what is wrong, it becomes an issue. The definition of replace is, "to put something new in the place of." I encourage you to replace negativity with God's Word yet allow yourself to take a break and think upon or DO something that is outstanding (excellent). Acting upon excellence is another great way to live victoriously. Be the outstanding fill in the blank that you thought of earlier. If you're striving to act and embody excellent behavior, you won't have time to be filled with negativity. Again, keeping that focus off of you and on to the reason we should do everything, for God's glory. Sing praises to God, act and interact with others as He calls, fill your mind with praise worthy and excellent things and Always remember, WE ARE NOT THE POINT.