Living in my Brain: (Audio)

My wife asked what I was doing…the other day…I was just sitting and thinking. Deeply. A lot of thoughts were being discovered, opened, analyzed and handled. Avenues of thought were chosen, and then rapidly discarded. New ways of looking and thinking were considered…

Wait. Wait. The other day… Back to my story. My wife asked what I was doing? I was sitting and thinking, “Just living in my brain!” says I. “That would be zoning in, right?” “Nope. There’s not one single thing to focus on. It’s a view of multiple areas. All at once…. Simultaneously. Just living in my brain.”

I’ve known my mind works differently than others and entirely too often I’m distracted by multiple thoughts occurring simultaneously. Like right now. It’s hot outside, waiting on a phone call, writing a blog, pastoring people, paying bills, scheduling 2 months out, thinking about tomorrow, make dinner reservations, oil change, deposit, mail, dry cleaning, prayer meeting, Saturday… Thankful I mowed yesterday before it got too hot.

Just like that, I’ve put 40 hours worth of stuff on my plate!

That’s Living in my Brain. And normally with a cup of coffee in hand!

It’s a place where seldom is heard a peaceful moment, and the raging tide of thought and action must coincide with the schedule and the clock….

There’s something to be said about knowing how your mind works and learning to go with the flow. When I need to be “in the zone” then my brain kicks into overdrive and the focus is there for the specific task. Otherwise, driving down the road my brain is just active with many needful things.

But here’s the problem many of us face. How to control the sidetracked direction that takes us off into green pastures at the bottom of a cool glacier and beautiful mountains of peace? It’s not day dreaming. It’s escapism. The last place we need to escape to is in our mind.

Pure thought without action is getting things done inside, but never completing outside what your brain has been accomplishing. Think it through, yes, but follow it through to completion gives your innards the knowledge on how to think through the next project even better.

Thought must build to action
so that action leads to better thoughts.

Thoughts are good, but you live outside of what you are thinking! We live within a verb. An “action or doing” word. You cannot live only inside of your brain!

I turn here so many times, but Paul’s statement to the church at Philippi is vital. Important.

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9 KJV)

Notice… He turns our attention inwards with thinking of good things. David tells us that our thoughts are precious to God (Psalms 139:17) even when God knows so many of our thoughts are futile (Psalms 94:11). But his son tells us that our works committed to God will establish better thoughts (Proverbs 16:3)

It’s a nested process that unravels our thinking into doing!

Back to Paul. Think of good, pure, true, lovely and honest things. Keep your thinking on Good Reports! But once you’ve experienced this, and seen its results in him and others, then you are to “DO“.

Another time I will tell the story again, but I call this “Thimk and Do“. Yes, it’s misspelled on purpose. Can you thimk of a reason why?

Let’s get our thinking caps on, but then let us do the work we are called to do!

By Michael Gurley

Making Sense of Life, One Thought at a Time!