Showing posts with label City Notes for Inspiring Books - 2026. Show all posts
Showing posts with label City Notes for Inspiring Books - 2026. Show all posts

Saturday, August 29, 2026

Summer Music | Mirroring Ordained Mathematical Harmony


Takuya Kuroda Jazz Concert at The Red Room at Cafe 939
Boston, Saturday, April 25, 2026


Music mirrors the
divinely ordained
mathematical harmony
of the universe.

+ Vishal Mangalwadi

As one of my sons has continued to grow in his love and prowess of music through the instruments of piano and trumpet, enjoying concerts with him across Massachusetts has become a fun way to fill his early teenage years.

In receiving the gift of new memories with him with the soundtracks of jazz, funk, soul, rock, blues, Gospel, hip hop, stretch music, and more, this summer, I was gifted by my sister-in-law with a book that gives thoughtful rationale to the transcendence of music and how it continues to move and shape us as human beings. 

In the first chapter of philosopher Vishal Mangalwadi's The Book That Made Your World, the author articulates a brief development of music through the past 1,500 years that brought a smile to my face and appreciation for this gift that is part of our universe.

Writing Music into the West's DNA

St. Augustine, the author of the six-volume On Music, was a key figure in inserting music into Western education and worldview. His first five volumes are technical and could have been written by a Greek philosopher. But Augustine was most excited about his sixth book, which gives a biblical philosophy of music. 

Music is, of course, integral to the Bible,
in which the longest book is Psalms.
The last psalm, for example, asks creation
to praise the Lord with the trumpet,
lute, harp, tambourine, strings,
pipe, and cymbals.

Why are these physical instruments 
able to make music?

Augustine saw that the scientific basis
or essence of music lies in
mathematical "numbers" or
scores at the core of creation.

Since music is mathematical,
Augustine argued, it must be
rational, eternal, unchangeable,
meaningful, and objective — 
it consists of mathematical harmony.

We cannot make a musical sound 
from just any string. 
To get a precise note, 
a string has to have a specific length, 
thickness, and tension. 
This implies that the Creator 
has encoded music into 
the structure of the universe.

This insight was not new. It had been noted by Pythagoras (570-490 BC), whose school Plato attended before starting his Academy. Augustine promoted this insight because the Bible presented a view of creation that explained why matter could make music. 

Augustine taught that while 
this musical code is "bodily" (physical), 
it is made and enjoyed by the soul ...

In (the book of Job) 
God Himself tells Job of
the connection between
music and creation:

"Where were you when I laid
the foundation of the earth? ...
when the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God
shouted for joy?"

The Bible taught that a sovereign Creator (rather than a pantheon of deities with conflicting agendas) governs the universe for His glory. He is powerful enough to save men like Job from their troubles. This teaching helped develop the Western belief of a cosmos: an orderly universe where every tension and conflict will ultimately be resolved, just as after a period of inexplicable suffering Job was greatly blessed.

This belief in the Creator as a compassionate Savior became an underlying factor of the West's classical music and its tradition of tension and resolution. Up until the end of the nineteenth century, Western musicians shared their civilization's assumption that the universe was cosmos rather than chaos. They composed consonance and concord even when they experienced dissonance and discord.

In the novel The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien gives us a beautiful, fictional exposition of the Augustinian perspective on the relationship of music, creation, the fall (evil), and redemption. Tolkien's Middle-earth experienced much more suffering than the Buddha's India. Tolkien's "earth" was to be captured, corrupted, and virtually controlled by evil. Suffering was real, brutal, and awful. Yet the Bible taught Tolkien that the Almighty Creator, who was also a compassionate Redeemer, was loving enough and powerful enough to redeem the earth from the greatest possible mess, sin, and suffering. This helped Tolkien to celebrate creation, both in its origin as well as in its ultimate destiny:

" ... Then the voices of the Ainur, like unto harps and lutes, and pipes and trumpets, and viols and organs, and like unto countless choirs singing with words, began to fashion the theme of a great music; and a sound arose of endless interchanging melodies woven in harmony that passed beyond hearing into the depths and into the heights, and the places of the dwelling of the Iluvatar were filled to overflowing, and the music and the echo of the music went out into the Void, and it was not void. ... "

Prior to becoming a follower of Christ,
Augustine had been
a professor of Greek philosophy.
He knew that 
although music was encoded
into the structure of
the physical universe, being finite,
it could never provide 
ultimate meaning to life.

Therefore, he reasoned that
to be meaningful,
music had to be integrated
into the ultimate aim of human life,
which was to love God and
one's neighbors.

Kings Kaleidoscope Concert at Brighton Music Hall
Boston, Sunday, May 3, 2026

Roman Catholic churches began to develop polyphonic music. This style, which combines several differing voice parts simultaneously, began to flourish at Notre Dame (Paris) by the eleventh century. That development in Christian worship laid the foundation for the entire spectrum of Western classical music, religious and secular.

In the tenth century AD, Augustine's biblical philosophy of music inspired a group of Benedictine monks to build the world's largest pipe organ in the cathedral of Winchester, England. The organ required seventy men and twenty-six bellows to supply wind to its four hundred pipes. Technologically, the pipe organ was the world's most advanced machine until the invention of the mechanical clock. Europe's organs stood as emblems of the West's unique desire and ability to use the arts, science, and technology for the glory of God as well as for the relief of humanity's suffering and toil.

Augustine's biblical philosophy of music was an important tributary that contributed to the river of mechanical arts that began to flow out of Christian monasteries and churches. This tradition used technology to worship God and to love one's neighbors.

Taking Music to the Masses

Martin Luther (AD 1483-1546) took the biblical-Augustinian philosophy of music out of the cloister and choir loft to Europe's masses. 

Following Jesus and the apostles, the early church sang worship together until Jerome the Great encouraged priests to take over chanted worship in the fifth century. Since then until Luther's time, congregations rarely sang during Christian worship — and then only in Latin. 

Luther rediscovered the New Testament doctrine of the priesthood of all believers, which made it necessary for the entire congregation to worship God by singing as well as by prayer and other means. Because of his belief in the priesthood of all believers, Luther wrote hymns in the language of his people — German — and brought music to the lungs and lips of even the poorest peasants in the congregation.

For Luther, music had to have a prominent role in education as well. In putting music at the heart of worship and at the core of his curriculum of education, Luther simply followed the Jewish (biblical) tradition of temple musicians and singers who were "prophets" or "sons of prophets." An early meaning of the phrase "to prophesy" was ecstatic singing accompanied with music. King David — the driving force behind the temple worship in Jerusalem — was Israel's musician, singer, and poet par excellence. The Bible calls him a "prophet." The New Testament asked the followers of Christ to seek the gift of prophecy. In the light of the Old Testament, that exhortation had to include learning music, as did the "sons of prophets."

The modern West confirmed 
Luther's educational philosophy
that musical literacy produces people
with an intuitive awareness of
a logical and orderly universe.

It is not a coincidence that universities such as Oxford and Cambridge that have a distinctly Christian heritage still hold music in greater respect than most of the universities founded upon secularism during the twentieth century.

The Flowering of Western Music

It takes barely five minutes to walk from the Bach house at Eisenach, Germany, to the house where Luther had lived as a student, and it takes less than ten minutes to drive up the hill to the castle of Wartburg where Luther translated the New Testament into German. By the time Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was born, that area had become a Lutheran province. 

Philosophically, Johannes Kepler reinforced the biblical-Augustinian-Lutheran view of creation and music by teaching that music mirrors the divinely ordained mathematical harmony of the universe. 

Bach was a musical genius
because he was a mathematical genius
who received as a part of his education
this (non-polytheistic) biblical outlook
of an orderly creation.

" ... At the school which Bach attended
in Ohrdruf the system of education
was little changed from the old
(Augustinian-Lutheran) prescription.
Music was second in importance
only to theology,
and was taught by the same master,
who believed that music makes the heart
ready and receptive to the divine Word
and truth, just as Elisius (Elisha)
confessed that by harping
he found the Holy Spirit ... "

For Bach, as for Luther,
"true music" pursues as its
"ultimate end or final goal ... 
the honor of God and
the recreation of the soul."

Bach believed that music
was a "harmonious euphony
for the glory of God."


+ Adapted excerpts from
Vishal Mangalwadi's
The Book That Made Your World,
pgs. 12-21

 Christ is all,

Rev. Mike “Sully” Sullivan
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Location: Worcester, MA, USA

Monday, August 10, 2026

Story of God CN | Beautiful Faith at Work in a Sanitation Truck


 

If it falls to your lot to be a street sweeper
... Sweep streets so well
that all the hosts of heaven and earth
will have to pause and say:

"Here lived a great sweeper
who swept his job well."

+ MLK


For this Special City Notes (CN), in honor of the work we get to do in the city of Worcester across all our vocations that serve our communities and neighbors, and to complement the "Faith at Work" interviews I have had the joy to do with people throughout Emmaus City Church that are similar to what we get to explore in Surge School, I want to provide you with an overview of how God's story in the Bible shapes how we approach our jobs. And what better job to highlight than our sanitation workers who fight biological warfare for us to help keep our city healthy and clean.

Adapted excerpts from Bruce's story
in The Symphony of Mission:
Playing Your Part in God's Work in the World 
by Michael W. Goheen and Jim Mullins


Creation
Each morning, Bruce steps into his truck, prays for God's blessing, fires up the engine, and begins his route. While most other drivers find little meaning in their work, Bruce knows that he's embarking on a mission. The hands that grip the steering wheel were created to display the glory of God. One of the first cards he reads each morning displays this quote from Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.:

If it falls to your lot
to be a street sweeper, 
sweep streets like Michelangelo 
painted pictures, 
or Beethoven composed music, 
sweep streets like Leontyne Price 
sings before the Metropolitan Opera. 
Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. 
Sweep streets so well 
that all the hosts of heaven and earth 
will have to pause and say: 
"Here lived a great sweeper 
who swept his job well."

Another index card bears the words of Genesis 2:15: "The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." As he reads these words, Bruce is reminded that just as God placed Adam in the garden of Eden, so he has placed Bruce in that truck. Bruce's particular plot in God's garden happens to be the back alleys of his city. He cultivates that space for the glory of God. The broken glass, old furniture, weeds, and cinder-block walls are the materials of his sanctuary, a sacred space that belongs to God ... Every plastic bag or dirty diaper that Bruce keeps off the streets is an offering to honor his King. He sees himself as beautifying God's good earth and protecting the masterpiece of God's creation.

Creation Core Questions
Who am I?
How is my identity formed and defined?


Crisis
The reason I find so much joy in my work is that I believe every inch of this world belongs to God and that by keeping the city clean, I'm serving him. He made us to flourish, but everything got messed up a long time ago. All the proof you need is in the back of this garbage truck. When you look back here, you see a lot of formerly good things that are now broken, rotting, and decaying. What used to be a nourishing meal is now rotting meat; what was a good chair is now splintered wood. You and I both know that what's happening in the back of this truck isn't limited to the garbage bin. It's happening in countries at war, in the cancer growing in Dave's liver, in the corruption of politics, in the strain of our marriages, and in the pain we feel in our knees. Sin isn't just a list of bad things you shouldn't do but a disease that infects all of creation, starting with every human heart. It would make sense for God to crush this whole world and all that's broken. However, he doesn't intend to throw the world in the garbage heap but plans to recycle, renew, and restore all things."

Crisis Core Questions
What problems do I see?
Who's to blame?


Covenant Community
Bruce's working before the face of God, lifting up each trash bin with that robotic arm as if his own hands were raised in worship. His coworkers may give him a hard time for his strange love of sanitation, but behind their banter there's a deep level of respect. Several of them treat Bruce as a mentor and a man of integrity who can speak into many aspects of life. His coworkers often show up at his house during the weekends to eat pancakes with the rest of his family. Bruce and his wife have three of their own children, but there are eight seats at their kitchen table. Each week they ask God to fill those seats with people who need a sense of family. Often the seats are filled by Bruce's coworkers, especially the younger ones who have become estranged from their own families. Bruce and his wife know they've been adopted by the Father through Christ, so they take a posture of adoption toward all who need a family.

Covenant Community Core Questions
How do I find people to belong to, to trust?


Christ (Cradle + Cross + Crown)
When Jesus came into this world, he entered the garbage bin of this earth to make all things new. He didn't just snap his fingers to make things better. He stepped into the trash compactor in our place: 'He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed' (Isa. 53:5). Essentially, whenever you see that hydraulic trash compactor crushing the brokenness, you should be reminded of what Jesus did on the cross. He was crushed so that we, along with the world don't have to be. In his resurrection, he shows the power of God to deal with the brokenness of sin, Satan, and death – and to renew the world."

Christ Core Questions
What will save me, others, and the world?


Church
Not only does Bruce give of his time for the sake of his coworkers; he also intentionally chooses the hardest routes. By bearing the burden of a difficult route, he imitates the self-giving pattern of the cross. Driving his garbage truck isn't just a means of serving his coworkers; it's Bruce's way of washing the feet of the city. As he drives through each alley, he prays over the homes there, prays for the flourishing of the city. He imagines what would happen if nobody were to pick up the trash. Life would become miserable as God's good world would be covered in garbage, and the stench would offend the nostrils of the whole neighborhood. Disease would drive people from their homes. By removing trash from the streets, Bruce tangibly loves his neighbor. His coworkers often ask Bruce why his life is so different, why he loves his job so much, and why he goes the extra mile to serve others. It would be easy for Bruce to give them a stale, memorized gospel presentation. Instead, Bruce has reflected deeply on the redemptive analogies that are embedded in his context. So he often takes his coworkers to the back of the truck to look at the trash and says something like the Crisis and Christ sections above ... After one of these conversations with Bruce, some people roll their eyes or politely try to change the subject. But sometimes people want to learn more, and Bruce invites them to come be with some people with his church so that they can experience community and see the gospel lived out in the lives of many different people. And occasionally, Bruce has the privilege of baptizing one of his coworkers in the community pool at his apartment complex.

Church Core Questions
How do I approach my work, 
calling, and purpose? 
(And again, how do I find people 
to belong to, to trust?)


(New) Creation
What can we notice about Bruce's participation in God's mission? You probably noticed that his life displays the gospel from many angles. He displays God's character through his good work, his sacrificial service to his coworkers, and his gospel analogies from within his context to verbally proclaim the gospel. Rather than pitting these aspects of mission against one another –debating which one is most important – he embraces all three of them, knowing that work, service, and evangelism were intended to work together to bear witness to God and offer a glimpse into the shalom that is the goal of the true story of the world.

(New) Creation Core Questions
What is ultimately worth placing my hope in?




Now, after taking a deeper look at Bruce's work and as you think about your own work, I invite you to consider these four questions:

Creation | Identity
How does God reveal
what the work of the Creator,
Gardener, Builder, Healer, Champion, etc.,
is like through my work?

Crisis | Problem
Where do I experience brokenness 
with my job
(ex. how I relate to it,
how it does or
does not accomplish its goals, etc.)?
Where do I see brokenness
in how I and others
relate to the work I do?

Covenant Community + Christ
Promises, People, Redemption
When do I see reflections of
God's work of redemption
(i.e. bringing freedom, value, restoration)
in myself and in others I work with?

Church | Purpose
When do I sense that my work
is part of God's greater work in the world?

Asking these questions, along with observing how our work interacts within the Story of God, can help us understand how Jesus comes to rescue us and set us free not to diminish our work into idolatry or idleness.

Work Idolatry Examples

My job is my primary source
of value, identity, and satisfaction;
I know who I am and
my worth by what title I hold.

My job is the way 
I can perform the best 
in order to promote my success 
and make a name for myself 
to boost my reputation 
among those I most want to impress.

Work Idleness Examples

My job is just another means 
to make money, 
bide my time before the weekend, 
and get to vacation 
and eventually retirement.

My job is the most frustrating thing
in my life because I control it the least,
so I invest my worst self in it
and save my best for other things
(i.e. entertainment, hobbies, escape).

May we each receive Jesus' rescue
and find our identity in the God
who made us and welcomes us
into a greater story that helps us
see our work for what it truly is –
the garden God has placed us in
where we get to steward what God gives,
serve those around us,
and tell the story of renewal.


Lady K-Fever Sanitation Truck Artwork NYC

More Story of God posts:


Christ is all,

Rev. Mike “Sully” Sullivan


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Location: Worcester, MA, USA

Saturday, August 8, 2026

The Listening Day | Dawn In the Quiet & the Riot (See the Son)

 

Hirayama in "Perfect Days"

Watch the Sun Rise


Look to the east.
You hungered for the Light,
and now it is coming.

The first rays are faint,
only a sliver of darkness 
that is not as dark as the rest.
The sun is the Son-Christ, 
the hope of life,
yesterday, today, forever.
He shakes the earth gently at first,
like one who wakes 
a sleeper from dreams.

"Wake me, too! 
I want to see You as You are,
not as I have imagined You to be."

Be careful what you ask, 
for those who ask receive.
All My ways are Love, 
but few of them are easy.
Waking angers the one 
who has overslept.

Watch the sun rise, 
rousing the beasts and birds,
rousing the trees and sweetgrass,
stirring up all that fly, 
that splash, that crawl, that burrow.
The cities waken, near and far — 
also the pilgrims, the farmers,
the guests to the wedding 
that will come in the evening.
Up stand the soldiers, 
the children, the prisoners.
Up stand the priests and the whores.

All see the Son, 
though they can only squint 
in the light at first.
Hear! He is calling all to walk 
in the manner of God's own,
in the quiet and the riot,
the common and 
the holy of the listening day.

"Lord, You are invading the world 
through Jesus,
Let my heart be teachable and
ready to grow in Your ways 
and in Your works,
living out the light You have begun 
to shine in my heart.
Amen."

Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, 
and Christ will shine on you.
+ Ephesians 5:14 (NRSV)

+ Paul J. Pastor 

Camp Sentinel Sunrise w/ WCS in New Hampshire
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Location: Worcester, MA, USA

Monday, August 3, 2026

Castles of the Mind | Your Longing Has a Name and a Hope


Studio Ghibli's Howl's Moving Castle

Imagine your future self
ten years from now.
What kind of person are you?
How are you different
from the person you are now?
Are you flourishing?

+ Dominic Done
Your Longing Has a Name

In the past few years, one writer who has emerged as a new favorite is Dominic Done. His first published work that I read was When Faith Fails: Finding God in the Shadow of Doubt. And last year, Your Longing Has a Name: Come Alive to the Story You Were Made For was also a good read.

This post features excerpts from Chapter 9: Castles of the Mind, one of my favorite chapters from the book. Done invites us to take a step back from how our rapid firing thoughts (often fueled by what we're scrolling through on our cell phones) are forming us into more anxious and temperamental people. And then, by being still with God and ourselves, we can see how we might be transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we respond to life with grace we've received and gratitude we can give.

The Architect of Imagination

Every one of us has a self 
we're forging.
What does it look like?
Are you more or less anxious
than you are now?
More or less generous?
More or less joyful?
Is your relationship 
with God thriving?
What about forgiveness?
What about addictions?

Let God transform you
into a new person 
by changing the way you think.
Then you will learn to know 
God's will for you.

+ Romans 12:2, NLT

Notice how God desires 
to reconstruct the architecture
of our imagination.
When we allow Him to change
how we think, then we grow
in our awareness of His will
for our lives.

Your actions matter, and if done virtuously and consistently, they contribute to the renewing of your mind. Healthy thoughts are the substrate of a healthy life. Proverbs 23:7 says: "For as a person thinks in their heart, so are they." 

Increasingly, researchers are discovering that your thought life is one of the biggest predictors and influencers of the kind of person you're becoming. Neuroscientists Steven R. Quartz and Terrence J. Sejnowski reveal:

"Every nuance of yourself,
the very fabric of your experience,
ultimately arises from the machinations
of your brain.
The brain houses your humanity."

The You Your Thoughts Create

Did you know your thoughts have the power to shape the physical structure of your brain? Every thought you have is an electrochemical event, producing signals that fire information through your nervous system. If certain thoughts occur frequently, connections are formed between neurons that get increasingly sensitive and strong, and eventually they form new receptors and synapses. These neural pathways produce a volume of physiological changes, affecting your emotions, perceptions, energy, sleep, stress levels, and cardiovascular and digestive health. Scientists now believe that thoughts even influence our genetics.

Every moment of every day, your body is responding to the substance of your thoughts. So if you're constantly focused on toxic and negative ideas — how you'll never succeed, how badly you botched a decision, how others gossip about your or dislike you, how underqualified you are, or how you'll never amount to anything — you're carving pathways in your brain that not only make it easier to continue thinking that way but will also influence the kinds of decisions you make in the future. Likewise, if you choose to dwell on the good — the presence of God in your life, His love and acceptance of you, how He has provided for you, protected you, healed you, and called you — those thoughts physically change your neural structure, making you more receptive to identify and experience God's favor.

Every time you give space 
and time to a thought,
you're conditioning your brain
to move in that direction.
Soon it becomes second nature.
If you focus on anxious,
harmful thoughts,
you're deepening 
your neural pathways.
Or if you choose to focus on
what is uplifting and edifying,
you're strengthening those pathways.

The peace of God,
which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and minds
in Christ Jesus.
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.

+ St. Paul
(Philippians 4:7-8)
  
Just like a river finds the path
of least resistance,
the flow of your life inevitably rushes
toward your most persistent thoughts.

The focus of your thoughts
determines the framework of your life.

Repetition becomes reflex.
Reflex becomes routine.
Routine becomes action.
Action becomes identity.

Researchers at Harvard University discovered there's a small but powerful part of the brain called the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Think of it as the brain's "pattern seeker." Its preliminary purpose is to apply guidance regarding the decisions we make in the present while drawing from decisions we've made in the past. In other words, the thoughts we act on, especially those we repeatedly carry out, set a precedent for how we'll act in the future.

For example, on average, people check their phones within ten seconds of getting in line anywhere. Why is that? It's because we've hardwired our brains to demand digital distraction. That's why we sometimes reach into our pocket thinking our phones are vibrating. Medical professionals call this phenomenon "phantom vibration syndrome." We're so addicted to our screens and the consequent dopamine hits they give us that when we're not staring at them, our brains get annoyed and trick us into picking them up.

Our minds are a jumbled cacophony of well-worn trails. Habits, practices, decisions, impulses, and subconscious reactions crisscross through us — shaping future habits, practices, and decisions. After years and years of reacting to situations in set ways, our responses become preprogrammed, indexing our soul's identities. 

Thus, when new decisions arise, 
we simply do what we've always done. 
Often without knowing it.
You are repeatedly what you think.

But here's the good news ... 

The You You Can Become

We can change.
We can evolve.
Neurons can rewire.

Your brain has a remarkable ability to remap itself. Our mental ruts can get unstuck, and new trails can be forged. Brains are far more pliable than our emotions would have us believe. Elizabeth R. Thornton, a contributor to Psychology Today, gives us hope:

Because of the power of neuroplasticity,
you can, in fact, reframe your world
and rewire your brain
so that you are more objective.
You have the power to see things
as they are so that you can respond
thoughtfully, deliberately, and effectively
to everything you experience.

You don't have to react slavishly to virulent thoughts. You can revolt. You can rewrite the script, choose more beautiful paths, and create new ways of moving through the world.

Here are three practices to live this out:

 | 1 |  recognize 
unhealthy patterns of thinking

| 2 |  control 
your response

| 3 |  replace
unhealthy thoughts with gratitude

 | 1 |  
Recognize
Unhealthy Patterns of Thinking 

Because our thought life is a battle, Paul borrowed a military phrase to depict how to have a godly mind: We "demolish strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). A stronghold was a fortified defensive or military structure. Picture a medieval castle looming on a hill. Your mind is like that castle. Every thought you choose to dwell on is like a stone in the castle wall. At first, it may seem insignificant — each stone an impulse, passion, or desire — but if you jump ahead years, you've built a castle.

Really?
How can I control my thoughts?

On any given day, the average person
has sixty thousand of them.
Some are wholesome thoughts.
Others are harmful and corrosive.

How are we expected to
take them captive?

 | 2 |  
Control
Your Response

You can't control what thoughts come at you, but here's what you can control: what you do with them when they enter your mind.

"You cannot keep birds
from flying over your head,
but you can keep them from
building a nest in your hair." 

+ Martin Luther 

It's true that angry, impure, 
toxic, guilt-ridden, jealous,
fearful thoughts will race
through your mind on any given day.
It's called being human, and you can
own that part of your humanity.
But you still have the power
to determine if you're going to give
your mental energy to them.

If you're like me, you know how easy it is for toxic thoughts to take on a life of their own. Fueled by fear, frustration, insecurity, guilt, or resentment, they gaslight your imagination until you affirm their lies.

What is real
and how feel
are two very different things.

That's why instead of letting
destructive thoughts
have unlimited access to
our headspace,
we ought to step back and
discern whether or not the thought
has merit.

Ask yourself:

+ Why do I feel like this?
+ Could I be wrong?

+ Could I be misreading,
exaggerating, or thinking 
the worst about this situation?

+ What assumptions am I making?
+ Is there any evidence that supports
these thoughts?

+ Are these thoughts true, noble, right,
pure, lovely, admirable,
excellent, or praiseworthy?

+ Is there a healthier way
to interpret what is happening?

+ How can I think the best
about this person?

Researchers have discovered that
it only takes between five and 16 minutes
a day of calm, meditative thinking
to furnish our minds with the capacity
to respond to difficult situations.

For you, it might mean 
before you head out the door.

Or sitting in your car and 
before you step into the workplace.

clearing your mind from the anxiety
of the day,
and frustrations, and 
breathing in God's love and grace.

These simple practices train your mind for godliness. They nurture an environment of inner shalom that allows you to respond wisely rather than impulsively and emotionally to the myriad thoughts you have each day. 

A study at Oregon State University 
revealed that those who pray
are able to regulate their emotions
in a healthier way.

When you choose to catch your thoughts,
rather than letting them catch
and control you,
you're not only preventing conflict,
destructive spirals, or
choices you'd later regret;
you're also freeing up mental bandwidth
that you can channel toward
your flourishing.

Stillness tranquilizes the worried, anxious thoughts that ricochet unrelentingly within. It is the sacred hush of the prayerful soul.

 | 3 |  
Replace
Unhealthy Thoughts with Gratitude

When you begin to honestly reflect on your thoughts, you may be surprised by how many are disconnected from now. Researchers have found that

of the 60,000 thoughts we have per day,
40% are focused on the future, 
30% are focused on the past,
12% are feelings of self-doubt, and
10% are worries about our health.

Only 8% of our thoughts
focus on the present.

It terrifies me to think about
how much life I've missed out on
because of a failure to be 
here.

What I'm learning (from a place of vulnerable admission of how far I know I have to go) is that a potent way to have a godly and disciplined mind — one that's less distracted or swayed by worry and more centered and calm — is to practice gratitude.

What is gratitude?

It's a posture of the soul,
a habit of thinking,
that recognizes and honors God
as the source of all truth,
beauty, and life.

Gratitude is the awareness
of the miraculous gift of 
being. 

Have you forgotten your
wow?

Are there things, places, opportunities, or people that, in your stress and distraction, you've looked past? Have you failed to see the beauty right in front of you? In the hope of big happiness, are you missing the small jobs? God invites you to slow down and fix your thoughts on Him.

Gratitude is the art
of taming your frenetic, 
edacious mind to appreciate

Happiness can only be achieved
by looking inward and learning
to enjoy whatever life has and
this requires transforming
greed into gratitude.

+ St. John Chrysostom

According to the University of Arkansas, thinking grateful thoughts releases the pleasure centers of your brain that make you feel happier. And the best thing? Those feelings of happiness generate a positive feedback loop: you'll be more grateful for them, which only makes you happier.

Gratitude also has a direct impact on your physical well-being. Studies have proven that grateful people have fewer medical appointments and stronger relationships.

Gratitude bolsters the immune system,
decreases blood pressure,
heightens energy levels,
strengthens the heart,
improves emotional intelligence,
increases motivation for self-care
and physical fitness,
and decreases stress,
depression, and headaches.

Being grateful makes you more hopeful,
and it helps you envision a future you
that's holistically thriving.

Gratitude is war.

Gratitude turns disorder into order
and chaos and clarity.

Gratitude unlocks your perspective
and releases you into 
the fullness of life.

When unhealthy thoughts swarm your mind — envy, anxiety, fear, lust, hopelessness, negativity, comparison, insecurity — choose in that moment to capture those destructive ideas with thanksgiving. You may want to speak gratitude out loud or write it in a journal.

What gifts has God given you?
How has He provided
for you in the past?

God is found in rearview mirrors;
 how has He been faithful 
in your journey?  

Take a deep breath and look around:

What is enchanting 
about this moment?
Look closer.
You might be surprised.

a wow is never far away.

Gratitude transfigures
the world you see.

In the Gospels, just hours before Jesus was tortured and killed, He sat at a table with His disciples. To His left was Judas, who betrayed Him for thirty pieces of silver. To His right was Peter, who denied Him at a smoldering fire. Jesus took some bread and broke it. He took a goblet of wine and gave thanks. The Greek word for "gave thanks" is eucharisteo. For Christians, it's the central symbol of our faith: eucharist, or communion. It also contains the word charis, which means grace.

In an atmosphere tense
with the agony of forsaken love,
when the disciples' thoughts
were manipulated by
darkness itself,
Jesus literally gave thanks;
He offered Himself.

Gratitude is seeding grace
into the brokenness.

Gratitude 
adds to your faith
the most beautiful thing of all:
awareness of the God
who is already here.

Come Alive

Jesus and the early disciples revealed that godliness is first formed within, beginning with your thought life. Does how you think line up with the person you want to become? Are there patterns of thinking or strongholds you need to dismantle? What are they?

When we choose gratitude,
we aren't denying our frustration and pain;
we're planting seeds of hope
in the midst of those fractured places.

Gratitude leverages life's brokenness to allow the light into our minds and thoughts. A good place to return to is Philippians 4:8.

What in your life is true?
Noble?
Right?
Pure?
Lovely?
Admirable?
Excellent or praiseworthy?

Take a few minutes and write down some things you're thankful for. 

+ Dominic Done,
"Castles of the Mind"
excerpts from pgs. 132-149
 

Bonus posts: 


Christ is all,

+ Rev. Mike "Sully" Sullivan


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