Picture this. You just purchased a rickety old house (because that’s all you could afford), and you’re standing in the living room, keys in hand. Looking at all you need to work on.
How would you feel at that moment?
Would you think, I can’t believe I bought this house! What was I thinking? then go out for a little Dairy Queen blizzard?
Would you skip off to dinner and a movie, expecting the house to magically transform itself with no effort on your part?
Would you make a plan right now this very instant to do every single house project on your list simultaneously?
Or would you just choose a project—whichever area of the house needed it the most—make a plan and start working?
I think we can all agree that the last option would be the best option.
Self-Improvement Projects
But here’s what we do with our own “self-improvement” projects. The areas of our lives that don’t look so good.
- We beat ourselves up because we’re so bad.
- We expect to be magically changed because “we’re Christians now!”
- We claim the power of God in our lives to change us, then get discouraged and maybe even start doubting when we don’t see God’s power doing anything. (This is a variation of the last option.)
- We try to work on everything at once because obviously there are so many things we need to change.
- Or we look at all the other frail human Christians living around us and think, I’m not so bad compared to them, then go on to live an untransformed life.
The interesting thing is that whether we try really hard to change or don’t try a speck to change, the result is the same: we don’t change if it’s an area of our lives that we can’t change in our own strength. And we all have those areas!
Transformed by the Renewing of the Mind
But what if we were to take a different approach to growth? The home improvement project approach? Choose one area of our lives—an area that could use a little help—then make a commitment to renew our minds consistently in that area so we could see some change?
That’s what a renewing of the mind project is. It’s a project where you make a goal—I want to worry less, I want to stop being annoyed with this person, I want to break my too-much-Internet habit, I want to start a quiet-time habit—and then take actual steps (both practical and spiritual) to see that goal come to pass.
I’ve used this approach in my own life for 20+ years and have seen God change me in countless ways. Not only has He given me victories in some of the areas I thought I’d never change, but He’s also brought me closer to Him as I’ve partnered with Him in working on transformation.
That said, it hasn’t been easy. I’ve had to renew my mind about the same old lies that were keeping me stuck over and over and over again. Go back to the same old Bible passages and try to see things from God’s perspective. Look once again for practical things I could do to help me change. Research to see how other Christians made those changes. Keep pressing on when every bone in my body wanted to quit.
But has it been worth all the work? Yes, yes, and again yes! God really does change us when we take the time to renew consistently in one area of our lives.
Renew Your Mind Project
If you’re ready to jump in and give this a try, the first step is to choose a project: something in your life you want to change.
It may be a habit, it may be an emotion such as insecurity or anxiety, or it may be a sin that’s been plaguing you forever.
Commit to renewing your mind every day about that habit, sin or emotion and watch God transform you with His truth.
If you’d like a book to walk you through the process, check out my book, the Renewing of the Mind Project. It includes worksheets, renewing activities, and explanations to help you do your first (and ongoing) projects.
If a book isn’t in the budget right now, click on the link below that corresponds to your project. Then go to the Renewing of the Mind Tools tab for ideas on how to renew your mind.
How-tos:
- Lose Weight
- Break a Habit
- Let Go of Negative Emotions
- Start a Habit
- Pursue a Goal
- How to Do a Renewing of the Mind Project
You can also find helpful blog posts corresponding to your project by clicking on the tabs at the top of the blog: lose weight, break a habit, pursue a goal, and live in peace (this is the letting go of negative emotions tab). Each tab has a pull-down menu, so look at all the items on the menu below the tab for further help. Here are some other resources that may be helpful:
Other Resources
- Leader’s Guide for the Renewing of the Mind Project
- The Renewing of the Mind Project: This is the book I published in 2015 after three years of writing about the renewing of the mind on my blog. Click here for resources mentioned in the book.
- Renewing of the Mind Bible Study Series
- Example of me working through one of my own renewing of the mind projects – 4 posts on excerpts from my journal about insecurity in blogging and writing.
- Christian Couch Potatoes: Blog post about what a day in the life of a person who is working through an annoyance project might look like.
- Renewing of the Mind Tools: practical how-to blog posts with hands-on tools you can use to renew your mind.
- Christian Habits Podcast
I love this focus. LOVE IT! The thing I’ve learned is that battles are won or lost at the threshold of the mind… I have to capture the thoughts and subject them to the scrutiny of scripture. I love what you are doing here!
Thanks so much for the encouragement, Carey. I love what God does through the renewing of the mind. His ways are brilliant. I always have a renewing of the mind project going because I always have areas of my life that need to be brought captive to the truth. My current one is on the subject of blogging – which I’m also blogging about.
I’m looking forward to getting into your site a bit more… perhaps tonight! So much to do, so little time!
You’re exactly correct, battles ARE won or lost at the threshold of the mind.
Freedom from emotional eating Bible study did wonders for me! I’m ready for another study. Thank you!
That’s wonderful, Cathy – thanks for letting me know! It’s encouraging. I’m excited about the new study. Hoping to get it out in August but at least by September.
Barb – thank you for writing your books! Transforming truths! I have been through Taste for Truth and am considering doing Renewing the Mind Project as a family study with my husband and 6 children, ages 9-19. How do you think it would work as a family study, with each working on their own project?
I think it might be pretty neat, Linda! It would probably depend on their ages and willingness to spend the time renewing their minds as far as what you could do with it. I’ve taught the concepts a lot locally but not with kids younger than teenagers. Most teenagers seem to really like it, but it would be worth a try with the younger ones to see how it goes. If you have already have daily study times established, maybe everyone could use that time to do their renewing of the mind by themselves, but together. Then share what God is teaching them once a week. In my experience with the older kids it works best if it’s voluntary on their part. That’s cool that you’re thinking of doing it! Would love to hear how it goes! Email me at the contact tab at my blog if you decide to do it and get a chance to let me know how it’s going!
In your book you stated that a free leader’s guide could be found under the Renewing of the Mind Project Tab. I am having difficulty finding this. (I am not the most computer savvy person in the world.)
I am unclear how to lead ladies through this study. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks a bunch. Jan
Hi Jan, Thanks for letting me know about that. It looks like I changed where it is on my blog since I wrote the book. I’ll have to put a link to it under the Renewing of the Mind Project tab as well! It’s now under the Other Resources tab, but here’s a link to the exact page: https://barbraveling.com/leaders-guides-for-barb-ravelings-books/. Let e know if you have any other questions!
Thank you Barb. I have printed what is required for the first lesson, and am ready to go. Thanks for your insight.
Jan
Wonderful! Hope you have a great study, Jan!
Is there anyway I can get an online accountability partner? I don’t have anyone locally who is involved in this study? (Renewing the Mind Project)
Hi Helen, You can try checking on the Renewing of the Mind Project Facebook group, but it’s not a very active group so I’m not sure if you’d find someone or not – it’s worth a try though! You could just post a request and see if anyone wants to do accountability. There is an active weight loss Bible study FB group which you can access through the other resources tab and then the online Bible studies tab, but that’s only for weight loss projects. Here’s the link for the renewing of the mind group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/331000447097806/. Another idea would just be to ask a friend if they want to do the project. Hope you find someone – I think it would be really helpful, but I know it’s often hard to set those things up!
Thank you for all these great resources. Just what I was looking for!
So glad they’re helpful, Paul!
H Brave Barb,
Thank you so much for the lessons “Renewing Your Mind”. I was randomly looking at bible studies on-line when I came across your lessons. What a treat! I went through all 8 of your lessons. I am a divinity student at the Christians Leaders Institute. I always liked the idea of teaching different doctrines that are laid out in the Bible, but you nailed it! I will take more of your studies. I will highly recommend this course of study to anyone who appreciates logical doctrines that relate to our daily walk. I don’t have to tell you that divisiveness is on the rise, not just in the US. Spiritual warfare is in full swing. I will also pray for you, Brave Barb, and your ministry, I’m sure it will touch many more people like me.
God Bless,
Joe Weil
You are so kind, Joe. Thank you for that encouragement, and I’m glad the studies were helpful! Praying God will guide you and bless you in your ministry!
Hi,
Page 6 references scripture supporting God’s desire for us to continue transformation throughout our lives. Did you mean to cite Matthew chapters 5-7 and all of Hebrews 12 as well? I’m having trouble tracking with you relating those entire passages without your direct relationship explained. Can you point me to where you relate the entirety of these passages to your point? Does Matt 7:24 summarize the point? Additionally would Heb 12:1-2 be the key verse supporting lifelong transformation? For some reason this tripped me up from the get-go, however I am forging on since I was encouraged enough by the audio read-through to want to dive into the project head first!
Hi Debra, Yes, I did mean to cite Matthew chapters 5-7, although after looking at Hebrews 12, I think it would have been better to just list Hebrews 12:1-17. I’d use those passages because they both talk about growing in holiness. Matthew 5-7 is the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus talks about all kinds of things He wants the believer to either do or not do to love others well. If He didn’t care about them continuing on in transformation, He wouldn’t have given them instruction on how to live.
Hebrews 12 talks about using discipline in our lives for growth and it also gives some suggestions for grown, plus I agree that Hebrews 12:1-2 is a good passage supporting the idea that we need to keep growing. I guess I wouldn’t choose Matthew 7:24 as a summary verse. The whole idea is that God wants us to grow in holiness (1 Peter 1:16). Since we aren’t completely holy now, it makes sense that He would want us to keep working on transformation in the areas we need help with – plus the fact that Jesus continued to instruct the disciples and His followers on how to live – I would say that reinforces the idea.
Anyway, hope that is helpful. The hard thing about writing books is that we can’t see people’s faces and know where we need to explain things a bit better. :) Also, I’d love to know – what audio read-through did you do? Was that something on my blog?
I am trying to decide which one of your books would be best to start with. I have several bad habits I would like to stop. One of them being overeating. What do you recommend?
Hi Mariah, If you decide to work on overeating, this post will help you decide which book to start with: https://barbraveling.com/christian-weight-loss-resources/. I definitely have the most resources for overeating, but it’s also a hard habit to break! If you want to go an easier route, I would suggest doing an “Emotions” project, which is described in the Renewing of the Mind Project. Hope that helps! I know it’s hard to make a decision!
I’ve been trying very hard to put into place renewing of my mind to help me with my control of food. However, I’m having a hard time scheduling it into my day where I need it. The time I’m most likely to fail in my boundaries is when I am driving on my long commute to work and stop to grab a bite to eat. And I can’t seem to pinpoint why it is this is such a trigger for me. I want to renew my mind and try to get myself to stop, but I can’t journal while I’m driving, and by the time I can write I’ve usually already broken a boundary. I was hoping to get some advice on what I should do.
And when it comes to renewing my mind, I’m confused where to even start. Do you do like a truth journal every day, or an option chart? Or do you kinda just start writing? I’m struggling a bit because I really want to make this a habit but am just confused on where to get started.
Hi Chelsea, I would renew my mind before I head out the door in the morning. I know it will be a hard habit to start, but you could put an alarm on your phone – maybe wake up 10 minutes earlier each morning. I would either truth journal (write down 1-3 thoughts you’ll be thinking as you get close to your favorite places to stop and eat) and then write the truth for each thought. Or – choose a renewing exercise from my newest book that seems to go along with the temptation – or journal through one of the sets of Donut questions based on what you’ll be thinking as you get closer to the pull out place. Then don’t worry if you still are tempted and stop. If you renew every morning faithfully (in writing), you will eventually no longer want to stop and get your morning food!
On a practical level, it would also be helpful to put your billfold in the trunk or back seat where you can’t reach it if you go through the drive through and eat before you head out the door so you’re not hungry.
Hope some of these ideas help!