Declutter


Do you ever feel fogginess of mind? Maybe just weighed down by what's taking place in your thoughts? Your mind is the most important part of your body. Just as important if not more important than your physical health is your mental health. We must begin to take care of our mental space just as much as we tend to our physical bodies with food and exercise. Between our own thoughts, the opinions of everyone that we come in contact with, the random voices we hear in our head and the voice of God all talking and trying to lead us. Our headspace can become very cluttered. Without a way to analyze and clear those thoughts, it is easy to become overwhelmed and weighed down with the battle that is going on for our attention. Unchecked this is a very ineffective and inefficient way to operate. Without a daily check, it can lead to mental distress and burnout. Keeping this in mind here are my 3 personal favorite tips to keep a clean mind and the benefits of each.

1. Prayer/Meditation
Prayer is the lifeline for any believer. It is what keeps us in connection with God and allows for Him to communicate with us. A little lesser known things of prayer though is that it is not just a place where we tell God what we need. It is also a place where God begins to settle our mind, give us strength and negate the negative seeds that would be placed in our heads throughout the day. As you pray God will literally take the weight of your burdens off of you and give you the freedom to breathe even in situations that should overtake you. In your prayer is where God can focus you to where you need to be and give the strategy to push through any situation. I paired meditation with prayer because often we may not know what to pray for or even have the proper words to express what we are feeling. One thing that I will often do is sit and meditate in the presence of God. There are many ways to do this. You can listen to music, recite your favorite bible verse or even just sit in silence with your mind focused on God. Whichever works best for you is fine. The main theme of this is simply allowing every thought and care you have to fade away and placing the word of God and the promises of God at the forefront of your attention. Keeping God the focus of your meditation and allow him to lead you in this process. Prayer and Meditation are more of a journey rather than a task to check off your daily list to be a “good Christian”. This has given me immense peace when I felt as though my mind was being torn to pieces.

2. Journaling
Journaling is something that can be very freeing if you let it. Just like your prayer life, it is a place where you can lay/write down everything that would be on your mind. The biggest difference is the fact that writing forces you to maintain attention on what you are talking about and helps you better place your scattered thoughts into a well-constructed idea. I personally will have about 4-5 thoughts running through my head at a time and it can become very draining and distracting to whatever I am trying to do. When that happens if I have my journal close to me I am able to write down the thought and get it out of my head. From there I can finish focusing on what is important and come back to the random thought later when I have the time to entertain it. This will free you to be more effective and also give you a basis to be creative when you have the time to sit and work on things of the future.

3. Being Physically Active
This one is my favorite. Being active gets your blood flowing and actually can help improve memory and thinking skills. It also improves mood and sleep while at the same time reducing stress and anxiety. It doesn’t take much, something as simple as going for a walk for 15-30 minutes a day can help you get to a better state of mind. If you are experiencing a foggy mind or aren’t able to focus properly please try this it will help tremendously.

Please take the time to check your mental health and keep your mind clear. 15 minutes a day to focus on your mind is needed to stay on a straight course to your purpose. I pray that God keeps our minds clear of distractions and in perfect peace with His will. Love you guys see you next week.

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