The 8 Day Challenge Day 5

Thought of the Day
"I feel what I dwell upon...and I feel fantabulous."

A joyful morning to everyone and welcome back!
We're on day five and today I want to highlight the connection between Philippians 4:8 and the strength and quality of your emotional life. Positive attitudes do produce positive emotions.

To put it rather mildly, the Apostle Paul was well ahead of his time when it came to understanding the human condition and in particular the mind of man. Paul knew that the root of destructive emotions is destructive thinking. As a proactive measure, he instructed us to think on noble things so that we would experience noble emotions.

No doubt about it, our Creator wants us to experience the bliss of His love, peace and joy. If you believe that negative emotions are outside God's will for your life, it provides a wonderful incentive to get really picky about the thoughts you allow to occupy your mind. Remember that the quality of your emotional life right now reveals the quality of your most recent thinking patterns.

There are strings attached. Your emotional life can advance only after your negative thoughts retreat. You will most definitely feel what you dwell upon. This is exactly why Paul, knowing we would have a choice to do otherwise, urged us to fix our minds on what is lovely, pure, excellent and worthy of praise. And consistently thinking about the good stuff supercharges your capacity to experience the richness of life that God wants for all of us.

Your current feelings reveal what you've recently been dwelling upon. So, if your emotional life today is not where you ultimately want it to be, then your top priority should be shifting your attention to your blessings, to your strengths, and to the aspects of your life that are working.

Refuse to fuel negative emotions by constantly talking about what is wrong with your marriage, your oldest kid, your sore back, your strange neighbors, and the world in general. This is 8:4 thinking. Instead, broadcast your blessings to anyone who will listen. Verbalize your exciting vision for the future to trusted friends and allies. This is 4:8 thinking!

Question of the Day
What would have to happen for you to improve your emotional life by 30 percent?

The Challenge of the Day (for extra credit...or the extra mile)
Make a list of the eight emotions you desire to experience most often. Then, next to each, identify the sort of thoughts that would naturally precede such emotions. Give specific examples for each. Decide whether or not these emotional blessings are worth pursuing.

1. passion: thinking about my future husband!
2. joy: my nephew's smile, spending time with my family
3. confidence: trusting that I am who God says I am, words of affirmation, learning thru reading scripture or hearing sermons
4. gratitude: counting my blessings
5. peace: knowing that God is in control and I'm not
6. satisfaction: doing what i was made to do- loving on others..
7. awe: being outside in nature, worshiping
8. excitement: the little things- it could be scented candles, wine & cheese, a candlelit dinner, deck sitting, dark chocolate, fall
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