202: The Trick to Stopping Negative Thoughts for Good

If you’ve ever started your day trusting God — and ended it trying to control everything — this episode is for you. Negative thoughts don’t just affect your mood. They shape your homeschool, your relationships, and the way you mother. In this episode, you’ll learn 2 practical steps to take back your mind with truth.Most life’s battles are won or lost in the mind — and homeschool moms are fighting on more fronts than most. This episode walks you through exactly how to identify the negative thought patterns that keep pulling you back, replace them with truth from God’s Word, and finally stop the spiral before it takes your whole day.✅Why negative thoughts are actually easier to think the more you think them (and how to break the cycle)✅The 2-step process to demolish mental strongholds — straight from Scripture✅What to do when you compare yourself to other moms and feel like you’re not enough✅Real examples of the lies homeschool moms believe — and the specific truths that demolish them✅Why waiting on God renews your strength — even when waiting feels impossibleReady to stop letting your thoughts run your day? Click the link below to join the waitlist for the Raising Leaders community and get early access.Resources for YouWin the War in Your MInd, by Craig GroeschelHomeschool Encouragement CircleShow Notes:Winning the Battle of the MindMost of life's battles are won or lost in the mind. And I decided to talk about this topic today partly because once I made the decision to tackle it, the enemy has been having a field day in mine.Yesterday I came home from church and wrote in my journal — I will wait on you, God. I will trust you, God. You are my joy, my strength, my deliverer. By evening I was trying to take control of all of my life and everyone else's life, fixing everyone's problems. I was not trusting. I was not waiting. It was all going on up here. And today I had to apologize. I had to confess my sin of trying to control someone. I wrote in a text — I'm sorry for not being patient. I'm sorry for not being kind. I'm sorry for being proud. Will you forgive me?Waiting on God is really hard. It requires patience, self-control, and trust and faith in God.What Scripture Says About the MindPsalm 25:3 says no one who waits on the Lord will be put to shame. That word wait also means trust and hope. No one who trusts in the Lord, no one who hopes in the Lord, will ever be disgraced. When we take it off of us and give it to God and put our trust and faith in Him — that is when we can move forward.Isaiah 40:31 says but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They will run and not be weary. They will walk and not faint. That word wait again — those who wait on the Lord, who hope in the Lord, who trust in the Lord.Craig Groeschel and Winning the War of the MindDuring the Texas blizzard in February, I went online to watch church. I came across Craig Groeschel beginning a four-part series on winning the war of the mind. I want to share a few things he shared that Sunday and show how I've been applying them as a mom, a grandma, and in helping kids with their education.He makes this statement — most of life's battles are won or lost in the mind. So are we waiting on God or are we taking things into our own hands? Taking things into our own hands means saying — I can control my life. I can do better. It's all on me. That's wrong.Are you having a worried attitude or a peaceful attitude? If we're worried, we have fear. If we have peace, we're casting all our cares on God — casting all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. Do we have a negative mindset or a positive mindset? A negative mindset means we're critical and complaining. A positive mindset means we have faith in Jesus, we are thankful.And here's the key thought — what comes into your mind comes out in your life. In your words. In your actions. What are you filling your mind with? That's what's going to come out in your life.Your life is always moving in the direction of your strongest thoughts. Let me repeat that. Your life is moving in the direction of your strongest thoughts. What are those strong thoughts pushing you toward?Renewing Your Mind With TruthRomans 12:2 says do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — His good, perfect, and pleasing will.Ephesians 4:23 says let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God — truly righteous and holy. I pray this verse almost every day. I say — Holy Spirit, renew my thoughts, attitudes, and emotions. Renew our families.And 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 tells us how we fight these battles in our mind. For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ.We don't fight with the world's weapons. We fight with God's weapons — the Holy Spirit, prayer, and truth.Two Steps for Overcoming Negative ThoughtsStep one — identify the biggest stronghold. What is holding you down? What is churning in your head? Name it. When we think a negative thought, there is a chemical release in the brain — a dopamine release — that gives a temporary high and then pulls us back down. And every time we think that negative thought, it becomes easier to think it again. Dr. Caroline Leaf is an expert in neuroplasticity and talks about this very idea — taking our thoughts and rewiring our minds so we think positively.So first, name the stronghold. What is it for you? Maybe you feel like a failure as a mom. Maybe you feel like your marriage isn't good enough. Maybe you compare yourself to other moms, other bloggers, other speakers.I'll be really honest — I struggle with comparing myself to other bloggers and authors and speakers. I see bloggers get book deals and I think — I guess I'm not as important. That is a stronghold. I am comparing myself and saying I'm not enough.I once spoke at a conference in a workshop at 5 p.m. — not a great time — and they had doubled up everything that evening. Zero people showed up to my session. I'm admitting this to you because it was humiliating. But I had to say — God, you took each person at that conference to the workshop where they needed to be, and this is just not the one they needed to hear. I had to humble myself.Step two — name the truth to demolish that stronghold. God says He has given us weapons to demolish strongholds, and one of those weapons is truth. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.So instead of — I'm comparing myself to other bloggers and I'm not enough — speak the truth. I have been given everything I need for life and godliness. I don't need more. God gives me all I need. God is using me in a special way with moms and wives. He uses me when I trust Him. I walk by faith, not by sight.Say that truth every morning when you get up. Speak truth to yourself. That is godly self-care.Tim Tebow said it this way — when I wish I were like someone else, I'm really being mad at God. He didn't make me like that person. He made me. And when I compare myself and wish I were different, I'm not accepting who God made me. He has given us gifts and callings, and we need to walk in those.The truth is Jesus Christ. Name the stronghold. Name the truth. And the truth will set you free.I'll put a link in the comments to Craig Groeschel's book on the mind, as well as Dr. Caroline Leaf's book — both deal with retraining our minds and getting our thoughts focused in the right direction. It takes some work, but it is absolutely possible.Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts, your questions, or your favorite springtime activity.