Be Clean

Language

Matthew 12:36-37 emphasizes the importance of speech, stating that each of us will give an account for every idle word spoken. To me, this becomes a very fearful verse as I realize how incredibly effortless it can be to speak without thinking.The words we birth from the womb of our lips are powerful enough to bring about justification or condemnation, so powerful as to possess an ability to create life or death (Proverbs 18:21). Though the tongue is one of the smallest organs of the body, it is so profound that James writes nearly a whole chapter on the difficulties of training it and the dangers that proceed from untamed speech. The way in which we speak becomes so out of control, with many of us making a practice of "talkin' out the side of our necks."

Opening with this Scripture, Stephen persuades us to consciously focus on learning a new language. Now, he's not advising for anyone who is non-bilingual to go out and spend ample amounts of time learning to speak Spanish or French. Rather, he is referring to the language of self-talk. Learning a new dialect in itself has been proven to be very difficult, taking anywhere from three months to two years to fluently speak, read, and write. With this being said, learning the language of positive self-talk may prove to be just as difficult, but necessary. As mentioned in recent episodes, positive self-image begins with how you speak to yourself. The things you say to yourself on a daily basis become implanted within the core of your being, affirming whether you see yourself as a champion, or as a failure.

Understanding that changing how you speak to yourself can take time, it's important to realize that changing how you speak to yourself will also take work and consistency. For me personally, I have to be intentional about what I'm thinking about. As I mentioned in the last blog, most of my life was spent self-sabotaging. If someone complimented me, my automatic response was a refusal of acceptance in the idea that what was said of me could be true. For instance, if someone said I was beautiful, immediately my mind and mouth would respond with things like "But my hair is a mess," or "No, I look terrible." Because I have made a practice of negative self-talk, to this day, I am consciously and consistently working to change my language, realizing dedication to this will produce results over time.

Consistency vs. Complacency

Consistency is key, your companion, your ally. Consistency and complacency will wage a war within you. The moment you decide to make a positive change, complacency will influence stagnancy, for you to give yourself a break, to stay where you are, while consistency fights for growth, for you to move forward. For nearly seven years, I have done diet after diet, exercise after exercise, and with each attempt, found myself not only without results, but even worse off than when I began. The reason is a lack of consistency.

Over the course of nearly three months listening to this podcast, I've come to notice a change within myself regarding consistency. I can undoubtedly say that I have spent many years struggling in this area. Not only with diet, but also with sleep, child-rearing, homeschooling, and even ministry. In this series of Something Has to Change, I have experienced change in my perspective of what it looks like to be consistent. To be completely transparent, I still have much growth to achieve in this area. However, I recently joined a gym, and I will say that the more I have been consistent with going, the better I feel physically as well as mentally. Doing something consistently brings about a feeling of accomplishment, and ultimately, a change.

The challenge sets in when complacency attacks. As said in the "Grab the Rope" motivational videos, "A champion does not wait to be in the mood." We won't always be in the mood to wake up early, to eat a salad, or go for a run, but it doesn't matter. Make yourself. This is how the mind overcomes the body. Consistency fortifies the mind to do what is best for you even when the body would rather do something else. Stephen suggests always holding the paradox of "Yes, I missed the mark, but guess what? I can actually hit the mark.” On my personal journey to becoming consistent, I've experienced this a few times. I've not gotten up at the time I wanted and went to the gym as planned. However, I recognized my fault and made myself get to the gym when I did wake up. Believe within yourself that even if you miss the mark, you're still capable of hitting it.

Clean

Cleaning up your mind begins with cleaning up your home. This statement resonated so much with me. Throughout my years of addiction, I struggled to keep my house clean. The task of cleaning became so overwhelmingly difficult that I didn't clean unless I was high. Oddly enough, every time I did my drug of choice, I would spend hours upon hours cleaning my house from top to bottom, wiping down walls and baseboards, washing, drying, folding, and putting away laundry, etc. I would clean all day and late into the night. I understand now how this was God showing me that though I was consumed in mental filth and darkness, inwardly, I had a desire to be clean.

My brother had a similar encounter, a testimony I'll never forget. He shared with our family his battles with depression and suicide, on the brink of taking his own life, he heard a voice say to him "Clean." Immediately, he got up and began to clean his house, unbeknownst to him at the time that it was the voice of God leading him not only to clean his home, but to clean his mind of sin and bondage that pushed him to that extreme to begin with.

This concept of becoming clean reminds me of the leper in Matthew 8 who comes to Jesus saying, "If You are willing, You can make me clean." Jesus responds to him, "I will. Be clean." As discussed in previous episodes, you are only worthy of what you can believe. You must believe that you are worthy of being cleansed. Believe you are worthy of a clean, stable mind, and Jesus is willing to give it to you.

Stephen says the best way to start is by spending twenty minutes a day organizing a room you spend ample amounts of time. Don't start with your garage or your basement. Try starting with your bedroom or bathroom. You could start as small as making your bed each morning when you get out of it. Believe it or not, a made bed instantly improves the aesthetic look of your bedroom. Not only does it look appealing, it helps you to feel calm and focused while also deterring you from going back to sleep.

Program Yourself to Win

Programming yourself to win starts with creating a schedule. Schedules don't always seem enticing. They can feel restricting or demanding at times, but routine is good for a healthy balance in life. Your days will feel more productive if you can set a routine. In order to implement new things into your schedule, you must remove other things. For example, if you want to get to bed before midnight, you need to cut out binge-watching your favorite episodes on Netflix. If you want to attend a Saturday morning podcast each week, you may have to cut out sleeping in on Saturday mornings. Whatever you put into your schedule, you must set a goal or an aim for your day.

Give your mind a goal. If you have no aim at what you're looking to change, your brain won't know where to start. One of my current goals is to change my sleep schedule. I've been a night owl for many years, staying up all night and sleeping most of the day. This has not only negatively affected my brain health, but has also displayed bad sleeping habits for my children. The flexibility of homeschooling is beneficial in many ways, yet it can enable unhealthy routines if you approach it without a schedule. The host encourages us to look for areas to implement one degree of change daily. If you're someone who typically sleeps til noon, start setting your alarm for 11:30 each day. Once you can successfully wake up at that time, take off another thirty minutes. Small steps eventually lead to great distance.

Something Has to Change

The "something" that has to change is our routine. Routine can't be seen as a choice. Instead, look at routine as the laws of God over your life. The moment routine becomes choice is the moment you default to old ways. Set yourself up for success through implementing healthy, positive self-talk. Create short-term and long-term goals for yourself with achievable dead-lines. Make reading part of your schedule. Take time out of your day to read one chapter of the book of Proverbs. Today is February 13th, so take some time to read Proverbs 13 with a viewpoint of yourself as the wise and not as the foolish. Lastly, start a revolution in your mind. Be the first person to stand up against injustice in your thoughts. Take control of what you give space to in your mind, and don't entertain negative thoughts of yourself or others. Spend the next six to thirteen weeks practicing these small steps daily, and watch how you will begin to change.

In a brand new episode of Something Has to Change, the host, Stephen, opens the podcast with a friendly reminder that Contemporary Speaks is a judgement-free zone. All who attend as part of the live audience, as well as those watching online, are encouraged to seek opportunities to change without fear of others' opinions on the matter. Although you may experience pushback from friends or family, here at Contemporary Speaks, we're all on the journey to a healthier mind, body, and spirit. This is a community of people who are invested in growth not only individually, but in the whole body of those who are actively tuning in to the weekly broadcasts.

Three Takeaways:

1. Stick to a new routine for at least 6-13 weeks.

2. Read a Proverb each day.

3. Revolutionize your thinking.

Want to dive deeper?

Watch the full episode