Which Swing Thoughts Are Helpful?

Collecting meaningful lessons is a joy for me! And the real delight comes from God producing the fruit through our application.

“Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.” (Philippians 4:9, KJV)

Did you catch the most important 2-letter word in there?

Do.

This encouragement to apply what we have learned is reiterated in James 1:22 (NIV). 

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” 

We don’t have full control over emotions that arise within us, but God does grant us some control over our thoughts. Our thoughts impact our emotions and behaviors, so calling to mind God-honoring and truthful thoughts eventually helps us do what God says. The Passion Translation of Romans 12:2b says,

“be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.” (TPT)

As mentioned last week, a swing thought in golf is focusing on one concept to maximize the effectiveness of your swing, whereas in life, a swing thought is how you focus on one truth to enhance your effectiveness in life! 

Here is a sneak peak at one of my most helpful swing thoughts, collected over the past decade:

1. People over projects (succinctly stated on this podcast)
   
   Relationships are extremely important to me and I am usually more relationally-minded than task-focused. But motherhood is an exception for me. Sometimes the demands on my time seem impossible unless I work swiftly and efficiently from sunup past sundown. 

I can get caught up in striving and abandon the wisdom of ceasing. 

It is vain for you to rise early, To retire late, To eat the bread of anxious labors— For He gives [blessings] to His beloved even in his sleep. (Psalm 127:2, AMP)

When I am faced with the decision to start one bonus load of laundry or listen to the full story from one of my daughters, while patiently making eye contact, this swing thought helps me choose wisely.

Don’t get me wrong, it is necessary to work and it is ok to make our kids wait a moment until we get our household tasks complete! We can just as easily drift too far in this direction and abandon our responsibilities or accidently communicate to our children that we only exist to please them. 

However, this swing thought helps me in seasons when I am out of balance and in the unhealthy space of continuously prioritizing tasks over the souls right in front of me.

At the end of the day, as my eyelids get heavy, I am most gratified reflecting back on these small choices . . . the extra story read, the conversation that lingered, or the savoring of laughter that was possible because my to-do list didn’t win. See more biblical wisdom on this topic here.

If you want to read the rest of the list of swing thoughts for free, join our email list! 

These swing thoughts ultimately end up guiding us to live a more thoughtful life where we glorify the Lord. 

Which swing thought has personally impacted your life? I would love to hear it!

Best,

Laura