Think About Such Things | We have a Choice

What is your mind focused on? What do you dwell on when your thoughts tend to wander? Do you focus on your own abilities and ideas? It is easy to get caught up in our own capabilities and measure our self worth on our own perceptions or others’ input. But God calls us to fix our minds on things above. If we dwell on His excellence and glory, we are able to move mountains. Philippians 4:8 beckons us to ponder on thoughts that are true, honorable, worthy of respect, right, confirmed by God’s word, pure, wholesome, lovely, peaceful, admirable, of good repute, excellent and worthy of praise. We are to continually think of these things and center our minds and hearts on them.

When you reminisce about the past, are you filled with regret or hope for the future? God is always doing something new, so don’t get caught up in what could have been. Fix your mind on what’s ahead. Yes, learn from the past, but don’t get discouraged or compare your current circumstances to what was. Be thankful for what the Lord has brought you through and hopeful for what is to come.

It is so easy to get distracted. So many things bombard us for our attention. But we have a choice. We can change our focus to what is commendable and worthwhile. It is a choice though. We have to consciously set our mind on heavenly things. When we think about what God is capable of - His omnipotent traits, then we will be filled with peace and hope. So don’t get bogged down by your problems or the mundane. Forget what lies behind but strain forward for what is ahead. Press forward towards his goal. Empty your mind. Clear space for what God has for you. Know that you have a heavenly calling. You are bound for beautiful and marvelous things. Keep your focus on the heavenly prize that awaits you, when you are finished running this race.

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About the Author

Mollie is recently married to her wonderful husband Dustin. She is a Wound Care RN at McKenzie Willamette Hospital. She enjoys being creative, getting outdoors and spending time with friends and family.

Think About Such Things | What to do with the Time That is Given Us?

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.

 “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” 

This conversation between a hobbit and a wizard in the first book of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of my favorites. It gives me hope. If you’re not familiar with the books (or film versions), their world, Middle Earth, is in dire danger from a power-hungry ruler. Mighty warriors from various kingdoms and races (humans, elves, dwarves, etc.) fight to save it. But Middle Earth’s greatest hope lies in the hands of an unlikely hero: a hobbit. 

Hobbits are the smallest of all the human-ish races in Middle Earth. Their land, the Shire, has enjoyed prosperity and peace for so long that they have no warriors anymore. They would rather tend their gardens and relax with friends in the local pub than go on an adventure or volunteer for a mission. But Frodo, inspired by his uncle Bilbo’s adventures and filled with the desire to save his beloved Shire, volunteers to do the impossible. He will take the dark lord’s magic ring to the heart of the dark lord’s land and destroy it. 

The journey over the three books nearly destroys Frodo, both physically and mentally. How does he survive it? I can think of seven key advantages that helped him: 

1. Encouraging friends. Most notably, his best friend and fellow hobbit Sam, who cheers him on and is possibly one of the most positive people in literary history. Sam has such great hope in the future that toward the end of their difficult journey to Mount Doom, Frodo discovers that Sam has saved rations of food for the return journey. Frodo is in shock, because he didn’t think they’d survive after their mission was complete. This jolt of hope gives Frodo the strength he needed to carry on. Sam isn’t the only one, though. Earlier in the story, the rest of their companions (called “the Fellowship”) each in turn encouraged and challenged Frodo along the way. Some of the Fellowship were powerful people (a wizard, two human warriors, a dwarf, and an elf), but I love that 4 of the 9 of them were friend hobbits from back home! Merry and Pippin could not be dissuaded from going with Frodo and Sam, because they cared about their friend. 

2. Focusing on the beauty and joy of the world he was trying to save. This is also often thanks to Sam, who pointed out flowers in the midst of a devastated forest. Frodo also delighted in experiencing the beauty of the land and culture of the elves in his travels.  

3. Group efforts. There are so many examples of this in the story, but even at the end, when it’s just Frodo and Sam trying to reach Mount Doom to destroy the ring, the rest of their Fellowship friends stage a battle elsewhere to draw out the enemies so Frodo and Sam can continue unhindered. 

4. Seeing the best in people. Sam never liked Gollum, the creature who had possessed the ring previously and became consumed with it. He predicted (correctly) that Gollum would betray them. Yet Frodo gives Gollum much grace, thanks to a conversation with Gandalf about pity and compassion earlier in the story. Frodo trusted Gandalf’s instinct that Gollum would have an integral part to play in their mission. Spoiler alert: he did, pretty spectacularly! 

5. A champion/hero/mentor. Frodo had some amazing people backing him, including Aragorn, the future king of Gondor. People have drawn parallels to Jesus regarding Aragorn, and while he doesn’t have divine power like Jesus does, he fought valiantly for Frodo’s sake. Gandalf the wizard also fought on Frodo’s behalf. Both Gandalf and Aragorn acted as mentors for Frodo in the first part of his journey, and he relied on their wisdom and philosophy of life in the rest of it. 

6. Sanctuary. Along the way and after the war, Frodo encountered places of rest, safety, and healing. These included Rivendell and Lothlorien, magical places of beauty with the Elves, as well as the Houses of Healing in Gondor after the main war. After a final battle back home in the Shire, Frodo rests there and writes down his whole story. I believe this was not just to preserve it as a history, but also to process the trauma he has been through. Finally, he goes on one last journey: to Valinor, the Blessed Realm or Undying Lands where the immortal elves go to live forever. 

7. Help from above. When Frodo and Sam have destroyed the ring, they are stranded on the erupting Mount Doom. There is a literary trope called Deus ex Machina (God in a machine) that was used in ancient Greek theatre to save the day at the last minute. It gets used frequently in fantasy literature and is panned as a bit of a cop-out. It’s been argued that the Great Eagles function in this role when they appear just in time to rescue Frodo and Sam from being swallowed up by lava. Also, fans of the books argue over whether or not the eagles could/should have just carried Frodo all the way in the first place. But I think Tolkien was telling us something about how God works (see below). 

How can we apply these concepts to our lives in our modern world? I would love to hear your ideas. Here are mine for each of the items above:

1. Invest in friendships and communities that are supportive. The group that was entrusted to support Frodo’s mission was called a “Fellowship.” Churches and other places of community can provide that fellowship to encourage us. If you don’t have strong ties to one yet, please consider investing in one. Fellowships aren’t perfect; they’re made up of imperfect people. But a healthy one can work out its differences and faults together. Regarding personal friends, I’ve discovered that keeping friendships strong takes a lot more intention and action than it did when we were kids and saw our friends at school every day.. Take the time to strengthen your friendships. Send a “Hey, how are you” text or postcard. Invite a friend out for coffee or a hike. Call a long-distance friend just to chat while you wash dishes. It’s too easy in this busy world to neglect this important part of your life. Find little ways to grow friendships. 

2. Notice and/or document the beauty and blessings in your life and world. Take photos of nature on a sunny day. Stop and smell the roses. Write a sentence or short list in a gratitude journal on a regular basis. Create art. Reflect on the ways that you see God working in your life or in the world. 

3. Work with others on something that makes a difference in your community or the world. Collective efforts can make great changes where we can’t do much on our own. Find an organization that does something you believe in and contribute, or invite a group of friends to help you with a project. 

4. Assume best intent. I learned that catchphrase at a diversity training once, and I still need to work on applying it to my life. The trainer taught us strategies to use when we are offended. First, assume people are not trying to harm you. Try to see from their perspective, even if we don’t agree with it. But if they have harmed us or someone else, we can say “Ouch” and gently let them know how their words hurt, even if they didn’t mean to. We can and should have healthy boundaries in place. 

5. Fix our eyes on Jesus. We have a champion, and He has overcome the world! He is our Rock, our firm foundation. He has won the war, not with might but with love. He has overcome evil with good. When you’re scared or anxious, look to Him. (Telling this to myself at least. Please feel free to throw these words back at me when I’m fretting!) And God’s Holy Spirit is our counselor, guide, and mentor. We can pray for wisdom anytime. 

6. Find places/moments of rest, peace, and debriefing. Soak in God’s presence during musical worship in the sanctuary of your church. Go for a walk in the woods. Attend therapy. Journal your experiences, good and bad, to process them. Spend time reading and reflecting somewhere sacred (once in a while, I spend an afternoon in the Retreat Center building at the Mount Angel Abbey). Visit mountains. And know that this world is not perfect, but someday we will be at perfect peace with God in Heaven. 

7. Look to the sky. Not literally (it’s just atmosphere and outer space), but pray to the God of Heaven for miracles. We may not get rescued by giant eagles at the last minute, but we will be in God’s hands no matter what happens. His timing and plans are perfect and He has reasons for why He does things the way He does. Chris and I were talking the other day, and we think sometimes God lets us wait or partner with Him while we walk through difficulties instead of making things easy, so we’ll come to a point of complete dependence on Him. That’s why we think Tolkien had the eagles wait until the end to help. (Please remind me of that when I get anxious about finding a house before the house we’re renting gets sold!) Trust that He will work for our good and the good of the world. He is omniscient and all-powerful, and best of all, He loves us. He knows the story of the world and has it all under control. 

When we feel like the weight of this world is too much, or too scary, let’s think of what Gildor the elf told Frodo: “Courage is found in unlikely places.” He could tell that hobbits had a hidden strength in them. Let us encourage each other by the power of the Holy Spirit in us. 

Thanks for going on this journey with me! Verses that inspired my thoughts on this (NIV): 

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. 

Romans 8:31
What then, shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 

Romans 8: 37-39
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither life nor death, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

I also credit some of my inspiration from the book “Finding God in the Lord of the Rings” by Jim Ware and Kurt Bruner. 

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About the Author

Jessie is a novice writer, with several books in various stages and a blog about travel and the journeys of women. She is very excited to be a part of the CitySalt blog team. She has been blessed by a few communities of Christian writers that have encouraged her dream. She lives with her sweet husband, Chris, their 5 funny kids, and 1 fluffy cat in Springfield. She loves hiking and other outdoor and indoor adventures with her family.

Think About Such Things | Ordinary Holiness

We are bombarded with all kinds of content, ideas, judgments, images and words, every single day. While we might encounter beautiful and good things, there is also pain and discouragement. But God invites us to proactively turn our heart and mind to the goodness that He is freshly creating each moment. The Salt Blog team is inviting you to join us in considering the true things, noble things, right things and pure things as we savor what God wants to share with His children.

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Have you ever thought about… thinking? What do you spend most of your time thinking about? Have you noticed how your thinking makes you feel?

Driving to my home in the country from the city, do I see the hills, the sky, the forests and fields, the cows and horses? Do I really see them? Do I recognize how much the amazing gift of life is represented in all these things? Or do I just ruminate on problems to solve and things to do, with a load of wondering if I did such-and-such well or poorly, or what someone said or didn’t say to me? Do I compulsively roll around thoughts of what is happening around our country and the big, wide world, even about places I’ve never been to and will probably never go to? 

Yes, these are often the thoughts that fill my head and cause me, more often than not, to feel discouraged, sad, angry, confused and a host of other feelings that basically bring me down. On my trip home, these kinds of thoughts are what fill my brain! With a mind and heart stuffed full with such thoughts and feelings, there’s not much room left for noticing the magnificence of God’s Creation all around me!

The apostle Paul apparently understood very well this tendency of human nature to get lost in negative thoughts. He writes in his letter to the Philippians (

Philippians 4:8-9
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. 

Such powerful words! One surprising thing that Paul assumes is that we actually have some control over what we fill our heads with. We are not victims of random, negative, ruminating thoughts. How wonderful is that? We are more powerful than we think we are if we put into practice some of the ways Paul recommends us to live. And what an amazing promise: keeping our minds on the good things (that are every bit as real as the negative things, maybe even more so), will bring us into the peace of God.

One thing that’s true, but that’s so easy to miss, is the holiness all around us in our ordinary lives. Is holiness something that is only found in church or in spiritual mountaintop experiences or miracles (think: Moses’ burning bush)? Is holiness found only during the big milestones of our lives like a “salvation experience” or falling in love or childbirth or the passing of a loved one? Or can we experience holy moments while hiking, while cooking or gardening, while watching our child’s first soccer game, while riding our bike, while working at our job…while doing the dishes! 

I mention dishwashing on purpose, since that was the occupation of Brother Lawrence, a 17th century French monk whose job it was to wash dishes in his monastery kitchen. He is still known and read today by his writings, put together in book form entitled Practicing the Presence of God. He would say that washing dishes can be a holy moment by doing so fully in the awareness of the presence of God who is always with us, always surrounding us. In other words, it’s not our circumstances or our environment that makes a moment holy; it’s the presence of God that makes it holy. And that can be anywhere at any time!

Brother Lawrence took the apostle Paul’s words seriously. He put into his daily practice the strength of his faith, that God walks with us every day, all day, no matter the circumstances. Certainly bad things happen in our lives and in the lives of others. We have to address these things with wisdom, perseverance and the right amount of attention. But to allow ourselves to be overcome with them threatens to throw us off our center, which is with our God who is the Center of everything.

The author Barbara Brown Taylor puts it this way:
“Earth is so thick with divine possibility that it’s a wonder we can walk anywhere without cracking our shins on altars.” 

Surely there are “altars” all around us if we open our eyes and let the Holy Spirit show us the holiness in the ordinary things of our lives.

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About the Author

John lives in Pleasant Hill with his dog, Gunnar, and a multitude of guests who enjoy the peace and beauty of the Cascade foothills. With three children and three grandchildren all living in Oregon, he is continually blessed with their company and the good food that always accompanies their get-togethers!