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A Shirley Erena Murray hymn invites us to, "come and find the quiet center in the crowded life lead." Even though it is summer, our pace rarely slows down. How can we refresh and strengthen our spirits and remain grounded in faith when our pace and pressures never let up?

Perhaps a shift in thinking will help. Instead of saying, "I have to"... try "I get to"...whatever. You fill in the blank. This is the kind of change that Paul wrote about in Romans 12:2. "Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think." NLT

I recently came across a helpful blog post by Judy Allen on Five Steps to Renewing Your Mind (Unlockingthebible.org/blog). Consider this.

Step 1:
Ask the Lord to guard and direct your mind. Allen suggests starting our day with a simple prayer like, "Jesus, by your Holy Spirit, keep my mind firmly set where you want it to be focused today."

Step 2:
Recognize the source of self-focused and self-defeating thoughts. The enemy will try to disrupt our progress at every turn so resist by inviting Christ to help us defeat him.

Step 3:
Replace self-focused thinking with a God-focused mindset. Scripture verses such as Philippians 4:8 help.

Step 4:
Rest in the truth that you are accepted in Jesus Christ. In Christ, we are children of God and heirs along with Jesus (Romans 8:14-17).
These steps are a great way to focus our minds on things of God. Give it a try this summer.
Rev. Dr. Mary Dennis is the interim pastor at Valencia UMC.
Valencia United Methodist Church 255-1301