I didn’t know that May 2017 was Mental Health Awareness Month. However I woke up on May 10 & 11 with the following thoughts about mental health running through my mind. (For me mental health has always required a lot of work, but the peace and joy that I have has been worth every struggle!)

Mental health doesn’t just happen. It is built by specific thought & effort. Don’t allow tormenting & troubling thoughts to trample your mental health. For mental health; continually think, say, & consume true, wholesome, and uplifting words.

If you regularly ignore your conscience, mental health will be hard to find. A wide open mind is consumed with consternation. Choose your thoughts wisely.

Some thoughts produce mental health; other thoughts produce mental pain. Every thought that you allow to reign in your brain, shapes your mind in its image. An unmanaged mind careens into inner chaos. Embrace contentment; reject resentment! A mind open to everything stays entangled in mental traffic jams.

Perhaps our minds are too open and our hearts are too closed. We’ve opened our minds to chaos and closed our hearts to wisdom. If you won’t control the thoughts that you allow in your mind; they will control you.

People falsely assume that all their thoughts are self-generated. Not true! Three voices speak in you: 1) yours, 2) evil’s, & 3) God’s. Which do you follow most? God, evil, & self, all put thoughts & feelings in you. Learn to discern between them. If you aren’t controlling your thoughts, who is?

Evil thoughts torment, accuse, depress, discourage, deceive, tempt, oppress. Resist them! Your own thoughts focus on your desires, your interests, & your concerns. If a thought that you don’t want comes to your mind, that thought isn’t from you. God thoughts warn, comfort, direct toward good, give wisdom, bring hope, show love. Live well by embracing thoughts from God & rejecting thoughts from evil.

Evil thoughts like to trick you by pretending to be your own thoughts. They lie! If you don’t overcome evil thoughts, they will torment & control you. If you continually embrace & obey thoughts from God, He will lead you to peace & joy. Regularly reading the Bible will help avoid deception by (& overcome) evil thoughts.

Overthrow evil thoughts. Continually combat them and keep them out of your mind. Refute evil thoughts with truth. Talk back to them. Forcefully make them leave! The closer you get to the risen Jesus, the more power you’ll have over evil thoughts.

If you’re following yourself, you’ll just go in circles. Follow the risen Jesus instead. Jesus taught “deny yourself,” not “accept yourself.” Too many people have put on Son-screen to avoid exposure to the risen Jesus. When confusion abounds, we need the Bible’s wisdom & clarity more than ever. True love warns when it sees someone headed into danger.

Regularly running inspiring thoughts through your mind is an invigorating exercise. Reading the Bible with an open heart, is a powerful workout for your mental health.

Prayer — the pause that refreshes. The most effective life coach is the living, resurrected Jesus. He can transform lives from mental pain to mental health! There’s a rising inner flow from Jesus that lifts me up with hope & joy all day long!

Unscripted prayers
That flow from the heart,
Go beyond formality
And connect with God.

You can be as open to God (or as closed to Him) as you want to be. God won’t force anyone to be at peace with Him forever. However, He invites everyone. God is so tolerant He allows people to turn away from Him & reject Him.

However, God’s way is the high way — the way to mental health. Confused? Stuck? Feeling inner pain? Can’t see the way forward? Jesus is the Way Maker!

To have it your way is to miss out on God’s way. (See Isaiah 55:8.)

Support groups can be a great benefit to mental health. Christianity was originally set up as informal support groups rather than as formal religious meetings. More @ this link.