Guess what I got for Christmas? My wife bought me a miniature copy of John Ortberg’s “If You Want to Walk On Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat”. It’s based on the premise of Peter’s walking on the water to Jesus during the storm.

Here are some cool thoughts I want to share with you that you can carry into the new year.

On the Law of Cognition:

“Whether we are filled with confidence or fear depends on the kind of thoughts that habitually occupy our minds…

The way you think creates your attitudes…Everything about you flows out of the way you think…

Jesus once said that a good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. He was making this observation in terms of the connection between our inward condition and outward behavior. Over the long haul, good thinking - accurate perceptions, healthy emotions, wholesome desires, honorable intentions - cannot produce bad results; bad thinking cannot produce good results.”

On the Law of Exposure:

“Your mind will think most about what it is exposed to…The law of exposure is as inviolable as the law of gravity…

The events you attend, the material you read (or don’t), the music you hear, the images you watch, the conversations you hold, the daydreams you entertain - all are shaping your mind and, ultimately, your character and destiny.”

—————-

So while you’re enjoying the holidays and any time off you may have from school or work consider meditating on thoughts like these. Consider how to make a significant change of mind for 2008 by getting out of the boat.

Merry Christmas and Happy Saviour’s Day!