Tag Archive for: Isaiah 26:3

Time to Train Your Thoughts

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Isaiah 26:3 — You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

I am sitting at my kitchen table with my Bible open, sticky notes scattered like confetti around me.

I wanted some new habits. Better ones. Ones that didn’t make me spiral every time a negative thought showed up uninvited. But habits are funny like that. They sound inspiring until they get hard and ask for consistency.

How long does it take to form a habit? Twenty-one days? Sixty-six? Two hundred and something? I Googled it of course. Every article disagreed, but they all circled back to the same word: repetition. Do it again. Then do it again tomorrow and again when you don’t feel like it.

And our minds have habits too don’t they?

I had a conversation with my friend about this, and it keeps replaying in my mind. She’s starting a food diary this year. She’s measuring portions, tracking macros, and trying to learn what works and what doesn’t.

She told me it was exhausting and confusing and kind of annoying, honestly. But she also said she knew it would get easier if she just kept showing up and kept her mind in the right places.

That’s what it comes down to for me too. I just know that if I want my life to move in a healthier direction, my mind has to go first.

Breaking thought patterns is messy work. Some days the negative thoughts crowd in so thick I lose sight of why I started at all. Other days quitting sounds amazing, but instead of giving up, I ask God for help. I write words on my mirror. I tuck verses into my pocket. I let them interrupt me when my thoughts start running wild.

I don’t do it perfectly. I just do it again tomorrow.

This morning, without forcing it, a verse surfaces in my mind: Isaiah 26:3, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”

That’s so good. It makes me want to run around the room.

It’s so true. Over time, something always shifts. Scripture stops feeling like an assignment and starts feeling like food. The repetition stops draining me; it steadies me. And without even noticing when it happened, other goals begin to move forward too.

This is how real change grows. Quietly. Daily. One small decision at a time.

So, the question isn’t how long it takes to form a habit. The real question is whether I’ll open my Bible today, and let it shape the way I think tomorrow.

 

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

  • What thought patterns do you notice repeating most often in your mind right now?
  • Where do you feel the tension between wanting change and struggling with consistency?
  • What is one simple way you could “stay your mind” on God today—through Scripture, prayer, or reminders?
  • How have you seen repetition shape growth in other areas of your life?
  • What might change if you trusted that small, daily choices can lead to lasting peace?
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Sunday Morning Struggles

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Isaiah 26:3 — “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” 

The dogs were barking at the squirrels and frogs again this morning. Lennox was wanting my attention. My teenage stepdaughter was hunting through my closet for a cardigan. Chris was glued to ESPN, and my hair was refusing to cooperate.

It’s safe to say, Sunday mornings at my house are a bit chaotic these days.

But sometimes, in the midst of the noise, I remember my mom. She would stand near the window on Sunday mornings, playing her flute. She always chose that old hymn that made her smile. I can still imagine her lifting her voice in praise.

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face.
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.”

In those moments, everything just settled into peace.

This morning, however, I felt anything but calm. I told Chris to go on without me. We both serve at church, and showing up in a bad mood is never ideal. I just needed a few more minutes to get my life together.

In the stillness that followed, that old hymn crept back into my mind. I felt a gentle question press on my heart: Have you spoken to God yet? It stopped me in my tracks.

It was Sunday, of all days, yet I had rushed right past Him. My eyes had been fixed on the chaos instead of the One who brings peace.

The dogs still barked. The cardigan remained missing. The ESPN highlights rolled on. But somehow, those things seemed smaller when I turned my eyes back where they belonged.

If your life feels loud and chaotic like mine does, know this: there is another way to see it. When you lift your eyes to Him, the noise fades into the background. The chaos shrinks, and the peace grows. So, take a deep breath and look up. Let Him carry the weight that was never yours to bear alone.

Turn your eyes to Him, and watch the chaos shrink in the light of His grace.

 

LYRICS

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!

Refrain:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
O’er us sin no more hath dominion—
For more than conqu’rors we are!

His Word shall not fail you—He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!

Hymn by Helen H. Lemmel

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Breathing Easy in Faith

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“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

Isaiah 26:3

I woke up with fear sitting heavy on my chest.

Even before my eyes opened, the anxiety was there—pressing, suffocating, unshakable. The world had shut down because of the pandemic. The news was a constant flood of uncertainty, and my mind raced with questions that had no answers.

Would my family be okay? How long would this last? How would we make it financially?

I rolled over and stared at the ceiling, hoping the stillness of the room would settle my nerves. It didn’t.

I needed something stronger than fear.

I threw off the covers, walked to my home office, and pulled up the Christian radio stream.

The voices of my friends back at the radio station filled the room. Happy. Steady. Reassuring. They were not ignoring what was happening, but they were not drowning in it either.

As I listened, something wonderful happened. It was as if, for the first time in days, I could actually breathe. Tears blurred my vision as I sat back in my chair. Because in that moment, I knew—God had not abandoned us. He had not abandoned me.

And He had just used two people on the radio to remind me of that.

That is why I believe in Christian radio. Because it is not just a broadcast—it is ministry. It is real people, speaking real hope into real lives. And I know I am not the only one who needs it.

Someone else is waking up today with that same weight on their chest. I want to make sure that when they turn on the radio, hope is waiting for them.

Would you want to be a part of that?

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