Phil. 4:8 ~ Whatever is honorable . . . think about these things. (ESV)
Yesterday, we talked about reading non-fiction as a way to renew our minds.
But what if you don't consider yourself to be a reader?
What if the idea of picking up a 100 page book is overwhelming, much less a 500 page biography? Or what if you don't have time for a lot of reading?
Well . . . welcome to 2011. If you're serious about renewing your mind, you have options.
LOTS OF OPTIONS!
1. This one is obvious, but you can read blogs. Most authors and speakers have blogs these days. A quick web search will get you started and most blogs (including this one!) have an option to subscribe by email. This means you never have to hunt for the blog again - anytime there's a new post, you'll get an email about it.
One blog I highly recommend is Deeper in Rhode Island with Jesus written by Lori Roeleveld. Lori updates her blog several times a week and never fails to make me think deeper about my faith.
2. Do you have a Twitter account? You can "follow" all sorts of people and churches and receive frequent words of encouragement and exhortation. I follow @PaulTripp, @DailyKeller (quotes from Tim Keller), @SouthsideChurch (my church), @CSLewisDaily (a daily quote from C.S. Lewis) to name a few. You could also follow me ... @LynnHBlackburn. :-)
3. You can sign up to receive daily devotions. I suggest you pick one or two and leave it at that, or you'll find yourself deleting more than reading. I like Christian Devotions for a couple of reasons. One, I know quite a few of the authors who contribute and two, the devotions are only 300-400 words. Long enough to make a point, short enough to be a quick read. (For reference, most of my blog posts are between 400-500 words).
4. If you really hate to read, then you probably haven't made it this far. And I realize that reading isn't always the best way for some people to receive information. If you're more of an auditory learner, or if you spend a lot of time in your car, podcasts and audiobooks are available from local churches, radio broadcasts, and nationally televised speakers.
For example, right now our church is going through II Corinthians. Powerful stuff. No matter where you live, you can download the sermons and listen along. Miss a Focus on the Family broadcast? You can download those, too. Love a particular speaker? A few clicks of the mouse and you'll find ways to hear their teaching.
All of these things are free and effective ways to renew your mind.
Regardless of the method you prefer, finding honorable things to think about isn't really hard.
But no one is going to do your renewing for you.
So what are you waiting for?
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Got some other suggestions for renewing your mind by thinking about honorable things, with or without books? I'd love to hear about them in the comments!
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