Episode 57: Think On These Things

In this episode, I share how Philippians 4:8 can become your personal “to-think list” for navigating life’s hardest challenges. You’ll hear a powerful story of how one woman reframed her diagnosis by choosing to focus on what is true, honest, pure, and lovely—and how you can do the same. If you’ve been feeling weighed down by fear, worry, or uncertainty, this simple exercise will help you shift your thoughts and open your heart to hope.

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Full Transcript:

You're listening to the Think New Thoughts podcast with Emily Ricks, episode number 57. Think on these things.

I'm Emily Ricks, and this is Think New Thoughts, a life coaching podcast to help you find more joy in your relationships. In each episode, I'll share a simple idea that will help you see things in a new way, so you can love God, your neighbor, and yourself more deeply than you ever have before. If you're ready to literally change your mind, I think you'll like it here.

Hello, my friend.

So, if you've been with me for a while, you know that I love the scripture Philippians chapter 4, verse 8. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Think on these things. As a life coach, I help people understand what they're thinking and what those thoughts are creating for them.

And then I help them make intentional choices to think new thoughts if they want to create new results. So I love this scripture because it's a guide of what kind of thoughts will help you to feel happy, to feel connection, to experience hope and faith and love, and all the good news of the gospel, right? One of my favorite Christian coaches, Tommy Newberry, calls this scripture Paul's to-think list, like a to-do list, but for your mind. If you want to be happy, think about what is true, what is honest, what is just, what is pure, what is lovely, what is of good report, what is virtuous, what is worthy of praise.

Now, it sounds simple, but in a world filled with things that aren't pure, that aren't honest, and that aren't lovely, it can be challenging to actually live this. Tommy Newberry calls Paul's to-think list the 4-8 principle, because it's Philippians chapter 4, verse 8, the 4-8 principle, which, if you sum it up in just a few words, is choose to focus on the good. I think I've mentioned before that my husband and I have gone to his marriage retreat a couple times, and he gives lots of reminders to 4-8 your mate, to focus on the good in your spouse.

Think about, dwell on, focus your mind on what is pure and lovely and worthy of praise in your spouse. That's one way to live the 4-8 principle. I was talking with a friend recently who gave me an amazing example of how she chose to live the 4-8 principle when she was going through a hard time.

I love this so much. She said I could share it here on the podcast. So I'm hoping this will be inspiring to you if you're facing a big challenge right now.

When she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and liver disease, that was a hard thing to face. So she made a think-on-these-things list about the situation and wrote some things down. So I'm going to share with you what she wrote.

So she made this list, just like in a notes app on her phone, think-on-these-things list, my diabetes, and then she listed each category and then journaled a little bit about each one. So she typed in, what is true? It is true that I am now in a category of needing consistent attention from doctors. It is true that my life will be different if I address this illness.

It is true that I caught it at a good time and I live in a great time to have resources and help. And then she wrote, what is honest? And underneath that she said, it is honest to say that I made choices that got me here. It will require honesty from me to make the best choices and to be compliant.

This will be hard, but it is not impossible. And then she wrote, what is just? What is just is that my body has been abused and neglected and this was a known possible consequence. What is pure is the chance I have to see food as fuel and my body as precious and worthy of respect.

What has been lovely is the kindness and care I have received from my medical teams. No judgment, just solutions and praise. And friends of good report.

It is good to report that modern medicine is giving me the opportunity to make changes more quickly and I am blessed to have many options available to me. Any virtue. I want the virtue of self-control and patience as it pertains to this earth life in every aspect.

I want to conquer any and all addictions in this life. Any praise. I praise God for his mercy and grace in bringing me to the doctor when I could not find it in me to fight anymore.

I praise his love and kindness in giving me the chance to get help when I would not seek it. I praise those who seek for solutions for people like myself who cannot overcome on willpower alone. I praise my body for forgiving me and trying to heal.

Like don't you just love that? Isn't that the coolest thing? I love that she took the time to write this out and went through word by word focusing her mind to think on each of those things. What a powerful exercise. What a powerful way to guide your mind.

You can do this too. If you are facing something really hard, you can open up to Philippians chapter 4 verse 8 and write down each word on a piece of paper. True.

Honest. Just. Pure.

Lovely. Of good report. Any virtue.

Any praise. And then spend a little bit of time. You can do it in a notes app on your phone.

You can write it on regular paper. And just jot down a couple of ideas underneath each one. I think you'll be amazed at what you think and what you feel even in a difficult situation.

This can be a life-changing thing to do. When you focus your mind, when you choose to think on these things, you really can transform how you feel about something that's difficult. And I love that true and honest are the first ones on the list.

Sometimes what is true is that we feel anxious or worried or angry or afraid. And that's okay. Start there.

You can write that under what is true. I feel worried right now. Here's what I feel worried about.

Then as you go through each word and keep telling the truth, you can help your mind to focus on what is of good report and praiseworthy. And as you do, your emotions will start to shift. One of my clients had this experience during a recent session.

Her husband recently lost his job. And of course, that is a big challenge. And understandably, she was feeling worried and afraid about the future.

We didn't do this exact exercise of writing down the words true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and thinking about each one. But we did start with what is true. We found out, what are you actually feeling? And what are the thoughts that you're thinking about the situation that are creating that feeling? She said, I'm afraid.

I'm not going to get the support I need. I'm afraid we're not going to be able to agree on things. I'm afraid he's going to get into a depressive slump over losing his job.

So that's what was true. That's what she really was thinking and feeling. We also explored what is true and what is honest about how she shows up when she focuses on things that she's afraid of and feels that fear.

And she discovered that when she's feeling afraid, she stresses and worries and lashes out, emotionally attacks her husband, bombards him with her thoughts. She realized when she's feeling afraid that she overreads, oversleeps, doesn't pray, doesn't connect with God. And in the end, when she's fixating on the fear of her husband going into a depressive slump over losing his job, she kind of puts herself into one.

So that's what was true and honest for her about the situation. And when she could see it, she was ready to begin brainstorming other options of how she could orient to this challenge. Ways that she could be more just, more virtuous, more worthy of praise.

She imagined who she could be if she wasn't thinking the thought, I'm afraid my husband is going to go into a depressive slump over losing his job. Without that thought, she saw herself being compassionate and kind and asking him questions like, what can I do for you today? How can I support you today? She imagined herself praying, praying for peace, praying to be more supportive, praying for the ability to see her husband's needs and desires during this time and not just her own. When she started with what was true, she could then shift into what is virtuous and pure and of good report.

And as she explored the possibilities, she started to say, this can be a new beginning to us. We can start living our lives differently beginning today because of this circumstance. And the fear that she came into the session with slowly gave way to hope.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things. The next time you find yourself spinning in doubt or worry or fear, I want to invite you to pull out this scripture, Philippians chapter 4 verse 8, and do some journaling or talk to someone and intentionally choose to think on these things. When you change the way you think, you can change the way you feel.

I hope you try this, and I hope it brings more joy to your life. If you haven't done a free mini session with me yet, what are you waiting for? Go to emilyrickscoaching.com forward slash mini session or follow the link in the show notes of this episode and sign up for a time that works for you, and I will guide you through this 4-8 exercise about a challenge you're facing or coach you through anything else you'd like help with. If there's anything true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, or worthy of praise, think on these things.

If that feels overwhelming, just start with what's honest and go from there. Thanks for joining me today. I'll talk to you next week.

Find the joy, what I look for in my mind, it's what I'm gonna find, oh, find the joy.