TRAINED MIND

I must say that I am still sleep deprived. Boy, it's hard!!!

I haven't been able to sleep well since Chloe was born – most specially this past few days. Chloe has some rashes on her body and her face and I think it's really bothering her. I took her to her doctor many times hoping for a medical intervention but her doctor is very old fashion. She said "It's normal for babies to have rashes, so no meds needed. Let nature take its course." Ayayay!!! Nature is taking so long.

I woke up this morning so tired with a really bad headache but there was so much joy in me. I'm puzzled why because this morning is not one of my best. Anyways, we were on our way to drop off Ryan to school, and I find my self singing old songs. Old songs such as Praise that wonderful name of Jesus, His name shall be praise, The glory of the Lord is coming down, I serve a great great God and many more. It was nonstop! The songs continued to flow. Then I remember this verse: "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and He helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him." Psalm 28:7. Without even any effort, my fleshly body rejoices for it knows that I have a God whose powers are limitless. He is my strength when I am weak, He is my joy when I am weary, He is my help in times of trouble. My heart leaps for joy!!! There is none like it.

Self evaluation…
 • I am a very observant person. I receive constructive criticism really well – I see it as a way for me to better myself. Life is exceeding so there should be no dull moments.
 • I am an excessive planner. I tend to have too much plans so when one plan doesn't work, the other plans can be put in place, and if it still doesn't work, other plans are waiting and ready to be put into action. I always look at all possible angles. Basically, I NEVER run out of plans (annoying at times really!)
 • I am an achiever. Whatever I put my mind into, chances are, it will happen.

To make the story short, I have "somewhat" learned to control my mind in some areas. One example is whenever I want to loose weight I just tell myself I am not hungry and I can easily skip meals or eat very little. I am able to suppress my appetite just by thinking that I am not hungry. Another example is when I am troubled. I can easily switch to being joyful by just thinking. I didn't realize this until my husband pointed it out to me a couple of years back. Last Monday, I was reading Ate Jean's entry "Repeat after me" and I was reminded again that our mind is very powerful. So, last week I told myself and started to think: "I have a God, I a God, I have a God, I have a God and I will rejoice in it! For if it's God's will it will be done! For everything is in His hands! I will give Him all the glory and praises." So when I started singing praises this morning unexpectedly, I was surprised because I didn't see it coming. I had forgotten that I began training my mind last week! What happened this morning was the fruit of the seed I planted in my mind last week, which rooted in my heart, and bear fruits of praises and thanksgiving. I am in awe of how God designed our minds and how powerful it can be!

I could be wrong but because of what happened, I am convinced that the "self-will" that God gave to humanity during creation is our mind. For our mind is the beginning of it all – it is a battlefield. The core power of our human body is the mind. If the mind shut down, the entire body shut down. The brain is the only part of the human body that cannot be removed or replaced. All other parts are replaceable.

As I'm writing this down, it reminded me of a very powerful sermon that was preached in our church last year. "The mind of Christ."

Psalm 113:3 "From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, the name of the Lord shall be praise."

Everyday is a day of learning and progression.  Help me Lord to have a mind like yours...