Just when I was asking

On the point about my tape recorder of a brain. Last night, at church, I asked God plainly, "God, I have your Word and I have been reading it. But I get so easily distracted and I'm not entirely sure what to focus on. My mind is still bombarded with these negative thoughts and images. I read a line and before I know it, I've spent the next 5 minutes stuck in some terrible place and start questioning You again. And then I have to re-read the line 10 times to let it sink in a bit. What am I to think about exactly God? To replace these greatly debilitating thoughts. Could you please be really specific?" And today God says (with the daily verse from Bible Gateway), "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."- Philippians 4:8 (Thanks for pointing this out, Lisa!)

Thanks God. So what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy? Let's see. Let's start simple.

• What is true - Knowing that God is good to me, He's extremely faithful and full of love and grace
• What is noble - Choosing to believe that men are not the enemy, I should honour God by being willing to love them and pray for them
• What is right - Recognising that what I read, see, hear about and think I know may not be the whole picture, the media sometimes distorts the truth and there is so much going on that is beyond my comprehension at the moment
• What is pure - Not harbouring ill thoughts about God and others, not judging and criticising but instead spending time focusing on the truth
• What is lovely - God says I'm fearfully and wonderfully made even though I've been mulling over the flaws in my complexion off late
• What is admirable - Honouring God by not gossiping but choosing to be holy as God is holy
• What is excellent or praiseworthy - Choosing to live to my full potential by digging up all that God has deposited within me, by discovering who I am and what I am capable of in God through the Word, and by tapping into the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish His great plans and purposes that will bless not only me but others (and who knows, maybe even generations!)