Christian Affirmations Help Displace Negative Thoughts

Optimizing Your Life and Becoming the Best YOU Possible

by Rhonda Jones
I received a letter recently that basically said, I work an 8 hour night shift, and then after work I'm chauffeuring children all around, how am I suppose to spend time with God? I'm not sure whether this person is single, but if so, you can just pile another 100 pound of bricks on all she's up against. I know because I've been there.

For almost 15 years, I did just that. I worked full-time as an elementary school teacher and parented three daughters as a single parent. Fortunately, I received a lot of support from their father, so I'm very thankful to God for that. But still, when all the responsibilities fall on one person to keep everything running smoothly, it's both difficult and draining. Some days you just want to give up, but you can't because you have little people depending on you. So you just trudge ahead the best way you can.

This has become the lifestyle or pattern of many Christians whether married, single, or child-less. We just trudge along doing the best we can with the little time and energy we have left over. Whether were employed in or outside the home, attending church services, volunteering our time to various organizations, we often don't take time just for us. Everything else seems to take precedent over our own self-care and this can only last so long with taking a toll on our mental, spiritual, and physical health.

In the question, how do I find the time to spend with God? You don't find the time, you "make" time. That might mean moving schedules around or omitting some activities. If we're just waiting for that time to show up, we'll be waiting for an eternity.

I honestly believe that many of the problems and issues we face today are a result of not taking care of our inner self, our spirit. When we are worn down spiritual, it creates an open door for stress, fear, unbelief, worry, anger, and many other destructive emotions and mindsets. When we aren't feeling our best spiritually and emotional we often find ways to cope and compensate. We overeat or eat poorly. We get irritable and snap at our family members. Minor occurrences become major irritants. We lose our faith and fear takes over. This may lead to hopelessness and depression.

So what is self-care? Self-care is spending some time EVERYDAY doing something that nurtures your mind, body, and spirit. Self-care for one person may be different for another. At a recent workshop where I discussed the benefits of Christian meditation, the topic of self-care came up. Someone asked, do you mean going to the spa or taking a bubble bath? I answered by saying, it could be that for one individual but not another. It's up to you to decide how you want to nurture yourself. But whatever it is you decide, try to spend at least one hour per day just for you.

For me self-care is spending 15-20 minutes with God in the morning. This time is invaluable because it sets the pace for my day, helps me to create balance, centers my mind, and creates a sense of peace and well-being. It's my time to align myself with the Lord and fill myself up with his attributes. It also includes journaling and working through my Weight Loss God's Way Program, which is teaching me how to create the body I want through my words, thoughts, and actions. Dr. Frank Smoot, creator of this program states, "Your most important job in this world is to optimize your own life, so that you can be a true blessing to others." That means becoming the best "you" that you can be. Dr. Smoot goes on to say and we've all heard it before, "you can't give water from an empty well, and you can't contribute much to others' lives if your life isn't working." Jesus loved us so much that He died for us, but we need to fall in love with ourselves as well so that we will do those things make us feel happy and whole. When we take of others at our own expense, it is called neglect. And you can only neglect yourself so long before you become resentful, tired, and disillusioned.

Moving on…self-care for me also includes making fresh fruit or vegetable juice everyday and spending some time recording thoughts in my journal. It includes reading my affirmation prayer and spending 5 minutes visualizing my goals and dreams. My self-care also includes writing articles like these, because they help me as much as they help others with keeping my priorities in check. It also includes spending 30 minutes on my treadmill 3 days a week followed by a six-pack abs workout. These are the activities that make me fill like I really accomplished something that day.

But you might be thinking, we'll now that your kids are grown you have time to do all these things. Let me tell you that space will always occupy itself with something. It's like saying, the more money you have the more you spend. Well time is no different. If you don't plan your time, no matter how much you have, you are most likely to waste it or fill it with those habitual activities. My habitual activities are extended work hours and television; neither of which nurtures my soul.

When my children were younger and in my home, I looked forward everyday to my time with God. Because mornings and early evenings were hectic, I carved about an hour each night around 8p.m. to just abide in God's presence. By this time of night, my girls were settled in for the evening, the house was quiet, and I would retreat to my bedroom, lock the door, and spend the next hour being loved and nurtured by God. It was one of my favorite times of the day and I craved it. Spending time with God in silence or with soft music playing in the background made me feel cherished and renewed. Sometimes I would sing to the Lord along with the lyrics of my favorite soul- stirring songs. I always felt the sweet presence of God's spirit.

My good friend created a prayer retreat in a small room of her home. It is so awesome. She has a chaise lounge underneath a standing lamp, angels and Christian artifacts adorning her shelves, a cushiony rug, pictures, plants, gifts, a vision board, and everything special to her. This is her secret place where she hides away with God every morning or when the weight of the world begins to invade her peace. Unfortunately, I don't have a whole room to devote to spending time with God, but anyone can create an area in their home that draws you to this daily practice.

When you feel good inside by taking time to nurture yourself, every other area in your life will fall into place. That is because you will be making choices and decision from a place of balance and clarity. You will be creating your life proactively instead of just reacting to one crisis after another. You will begin to set the stage of your life, instead of allowing life's circumstances to create your daily script. When this happens, we eat better which results in more energy, better health and weight loss, our homes are cleaner and reflect our inner peace, our relationships thrive, we accomplish more doing less, and we attract better and more positive situations into our lives. Self-care promotes authentic and present-centered living. It also promotes increased peace, joy, and clarity. It helps us to live out our truest values instead of just being dragged along with the tide. It creates the life of our truest desires and dreams and helps us to fill that whole and complete.

Your assignment today is to list your top 10 excuses for not taking care of yourself. Here is what your list might look like:

1.I have too many things on my plate right now.
2.I work fulltime.
3.I have small children and they take all my time.
4.I'm just not important enough.
5.I have more important things to do.
6.I'm so far behind, I need to catch up.
7.It is too overwhelming and I'm just too tired.
8.I can't afford a gym membership or equipment.
9.I'm too involved at my church.
10.I don't get any support at home.

Once you have your list, make a resolution to stop buying into these excuses. Next, begin to think about and reflect upon your inner values and then decide how you will manage your time so that you can incorporate them (your inner values) into your life for at least one-hour per day and preferably two.

Your inner values include those things most important to you and you need to be first on the list. What activities do you need to eliminate or reduce so that you can begin your own personal self-care regiment? Ask God to reveal to you the areas in your life that you are neglecting and what you can do to take your control back. If you just don't know what to do, then sit with God in quiet or with soft music playing everyday for 30 minutes to one hour, until you do. Vision, direction, and clarity will come in time.

Christian meditation or spending time with God in silence and solitude will help you to find balance and regain control over your life. If the thought of sitting alone with God brings on a mini-anxiety attack, consider purchasing one of my guided Christian meditation CDs. These Cds provide a great transition from busyness to stillness and they come in a variety of topics and include a progressive relaxation followed by a scriptural narrative. You can also learn more about Weight Loss God's Way, which is a wonderful program for renewing your mind, "body", and spirit.

Rhonda Jones, MA is the author of 23 Biblical meditation and affirmation Cds and the creator of the awarding winning website, http://www.thechristianmeditator.com. Visit her website to learn more about Christian meditation and its benefits and subscribe to Free Daily Christian Meditations.

Using Christian Affirmations to Displace
Unhealthy and Negative Thoughts

By Rhonda Jones

I'm been trying to lose about 15 extra pounds for the past 3 years with no avail. I’ve tried everything from the South Beach diet to an extensive exercise routine. The problem is that I don’t have the mindset to stick with anything long enough to get lasting results. After several weeks, I simply reverted back to my old eating and lifestyle habits. After doing some extensive research on the power of affirmations, I decided to put them to the test. I then spent several days writing down positive statements and affirmations that would contribute to weight loss and healthy eating habits. Once the lengthy list was complete, I made my own Weight Loss and Affirmations CD. (It will be available on my website soon)

I then began to listen to the affirmations twice a day. The CD contained affirming statements like I only eat one serving at each meal; I master my food, it doesn't master me; I stop eating before I feel full; I monitor my weight and progress once per week; I keep a food journal; I exercise 30 minutes everyday; Saturday is my only spurge day, and 50 more positive statements that contribute to healthy eating and weight loss. I wanted to reprogram my mind with thoughts that would lead to better health habits. In the past, I would make a mental commitment to change a behavior, “like no eating after 7 p.m.,” but before I even realized it, I would break my own rules. I would just simply forget about them.

Yet, after my first week of listening to the affirmations, I lost more than 4 inches of fat! I found myself being reminded of the affirmations when I started to do something unhealthy. For example, after eating my dinner the affirmation, "I only eat one serving at each meal" popped into my head on my way to get second and it gave me the strength to say "No” to the excess food. The more I listened to the affirmations the more they were becoming a part of me. Since beginning the affirmations I find myself cooking at home more, eating with my family more, forfeiting unhealthy choices (except on Saturdays), stopping eating before I feel full, not eating on the run, and making my meals a wonderful daily ritual. I actually look forward to dinner time! I’m not doing everything perfectly, but I’m making progress and that gives me incentive to push forward. The affirmation, “I’ll perservere until I reach my desired weight,” resonates in my mind when I start to get discouraged.

Proverbs 23:7 tells us, “what ever a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” Matthew 12:34 declares, “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45 emphasizes, “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart. So in short, what we think about, we talk about, and what we talk about we manifest, whether good or bad.

Here’s another example: You may have difficulty paying your bills on time. You begin to worry about (think or dwell upon) how you are going to make ends meat. You get around your family and friends and all you talk about is how indebted you are. No matter what you do, your debt seems to increase. It becomes a vicious cycle. It’s like the more your think about your problems the bigger it becomes.

You think about debt. (think)
You talk about debt.   (speak)
You create debt. (manifestation)

If you find yourself battling with the same old bad habits or unhealthy behaviors chances are your mental script needs an overall. If our thoughts control our behavior, then we need to replace unhealthy thoughts with healthy thoughts by focusing on what we want to achieve instead of what we lack. Focusing on lack produces more lack. Therefore, if you are in debt, think about God’s abundance and overflowing blessings in your life. If you are fearful, fill your mind with scriptures or affirmations regarding God’s protection and safety. If you are doubtful, build up your most wholly faith with scriptures attesting to God’s faithfulness. If you are having problems in your marriage, instead of belaboring what your partner doesn’t do, meditate on thoughts that will create a healthy and loving relationship. It will change the way you see your mate. Affirmations, if listened to consistently for a period of time, will help you to change the way you think resulting in a change of behavior.

In her book, Discovering Your Purpose, author Ivy Haley states,

"It's difficult to change your behavior unless you change the inner picture. Here you must be diligent and watchful: watchful by staying aware of what's going on in your mind and diligent to deal with negative thoughts by scuttling them and consciously turning your mind to something else. It's possible to change your attitude by refocusing your mind."

Your successes in life all begin with what you believe. There is a phrase that goes something like, “if you think can, you’re right. If you think you can’t, you’re still right.”    Several months ago one of my friends found the perfect job for them being advertised. We had been praying that she would find a job she loves, working with people she loves, that paid her well. The problem was she had worked for this company in the past. She felt that they would never rehire her because of some small action she had taken. She had convinced herself not even to apply for the job. I told her that her belief and decision not to apply already sealed her fate. If you don’t get the job, don’t let it be because you didn’t even try. Don’t disqualify yourself before the game has even begun. Well, she took my advice, applied for the job, got the job and absolutely loves it. But how often do we let our fears keep us in our self induced boxes? The only difference between a successful person and an unsuccessful individual is how he or she thinks.

Some advice I heard by a very successful online business entepreneur still sticks with me today. He said that everyday he does one thing to promote his business that makes him uncomfortable. You know, the dreaded sales call you need to make; the letter you need to mail, or the promotion you need to start. It’s the actions we take that are out of our comfort zone that create the greatest successes. If we do the same, we reap the same. If we want to see change, we need to do something differently and that starts with changing our views about various aspects of your life. Unfortunately, this can be hard to do all by ourselves. If you can’t afford a life coach or mentor, creating affirmations and new self talk that emphasize your goals is a step in the right direction.

God places great emphasis upon the “Word.” Not only did he give it a separate identity by saying “He (the Word) was with God in the beginning,
God also made himself synonymous with the Word. We know from scripture that God sustains everything by his Word. Just recently while listening to Revelation 2:16, I was quicken in my spirit when Jesus said to the church in Smyrna, “I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.” We create our own circumstances and situations by the words we speak. The e-book, promoted with our titled “You’re Already Living the Life of Your Dreams,” points out that the life you’re living right now is the life that you created.    If a thought gets in our heart and we begin to talk about it, we’re going to bring that very thing to past.

The logical conclusion is to just stop thinking about what we don’t want to create. Right! Well yes, but for most people, it’s not quite so simple because these thoughts are not passing fancies, they’re actually embedded into our subconscious mind. They have become a part of our mental script. A genuine prayer or conscious act to change may work for a brief moment (remember those New Year’s Resolutions), but within several hours or days the old tape starts running again. According to Haley, we make unconscious beliefs and assumptions about ourselves all the time: This is who I am. I can do this. I can’t do this. People think this about me. This will work. This won’t. Our beliefs are the soil in which we plant the seeds that manifest into our lives. Unhealthy soil creates thrwated seeds and stifled plants.   “Give yourself a target and program your mind everyday through explicit, visual messages that this is your actuality,” states Haley. “Our subconscious mind can’t tell the difference between a real experience and one that has been vividly imagined,” she declares.

Affirmations literally help you to change the way you think by changing the content of your soil.   The more healthy your beliefs the quicker you’ll reject unhealthy ones.

The success in using affirmations is repetition. My Christian affirmation CDs will help to keep the same Biblically-based affirmations playing over and over in your mind until they begin to take root and grow. Each CD contains up to 80 biblically-based affirmations and scriptures on specific topic set to soft background music and narrated for optimal mental absorption and success.

When you find yourself dwelling the same troublesome thoughts and depression, anxiety, or other toxic emotions begins to alter your mood, turn on your Christian Affirmation CD and let God’s word displace and attack every fiery dart of doubt and fear. Play the CD in the background at a low volume while you’re getting ready for work in the morning, at the office, driving in your car, doing your housework, and falling asleep. Before long, the affirmations will become a part of your new mental dialogue. When a destructive or negative thought tries to surface, your mind will automatically affirmed God’s word and it will override your old conditioning. With affirmations, you're not focusing on your old thoughts, you're planting new thoughts that will eventually displace them.

Rhonda Jones, MA is the author of 23 Biblical meditation and affirmation Cds and the creator of the awarding winning website, http://www.thechristianmeditator.com. Visit her website to learn more about Christian meditation and its benefits and subscribe to Free Daily Christian Meditations.