Episode Description: Do you desire transformation but just aren’t sure what it means to renew your mind? Check out Married to the Ministry for a simple method for applying Romans 12:2 in your life. Author and podcaster Barb Raveling shares what she’s learned about renewing her mind through the process of truth journaling.
Related Links and Product Info: Ep. 2: How to Renew Your Mind in Marriage, BarbRaveling.com
Hello!
I’ve shared with you before (CLICK HERE) some of my personal study journey learning what it means to renew my mind, which is how God transforms us (Romans 12:2). But I wasn’t sure what to do–I needed some steps to take!
Eventually I discovered Barb Raveling and her practical teaching on how to renew our minds with truth. She explains how to actually practice that discipline in order to be set free from “every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us” as it says in Hebrews 12:1. After going through several of Barb’s books, I was able to connect with her and we talked about how God transforms us through truth.
But…we still have to do the work of lingering and abiding in truth in order for it to work in us!
Truth Journaling
Barb developed a method or tool for renewing our minds called “truth journaling”. When you truth journal, you write down your thoughts, analyze them against the truth.
Here is some of my conversation with Barb. To hear everything she shared, click on the “play” button above to listen to the episode.
Janet:
I have become a huge fan of yours over the past two years I just want to tell you that God has really been yeah, really been teaching me some things about renewing my mind. Please tell us why renewing our minds has become the focus of your work and ministry.
Barb:
I became a Christian when I was twelve years old and got married young. I became a homeschool mom and 4 four kids homeschooled those all the way through high school and in some ways that part of the story is part of why I started truth journaling — because I became kind of discontent in my marriage.
Every day I started writing down all the negative thoughts about my husband. Then I’d write down the positive thought next to them. It wasn’t very long before I realized a lot of those negative thoughts were lies, so I started replacing lies with truth and called it truth journaling. God just changed me so much through that! He changed my emotions. I stopped being annoyed with my husband and started to enjoy him more. I began accepting him for who he was.
Later that I realized I was reading the Bible and carrying each thought captive to Jesus Christ. Making it obedient. I’m taking off the lies and putting on the truth. I was renewing my mind with truth!
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage battle according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
I didn’t always write down a Bible verse. Sometimes the truth of a certain situation was a biblical principle. Sometimes it would be a practical truth. But this project really got me excited about truth and helped me get back into the Bible again after a lot of years of boredom with my quiet times and not being able to make myself meet with the Lord every day. So It really kind of revolutionized that too!
Here are the simple steps to Barb’s Truth Journaling method:
- Write out your thoughts. Don’t take time to think, just spill them out.
- Go back and number each sentence.
- Then look at each sentence – one at a time – to see if it’s a lie or truth.
- If it’s true, write true. If it’s false or only half-true, rewrite it so it’s all the way true.
For more instruction and examples of how you can learn to renew your mind this way, click here to visit Barb’s website.
*If you would like to help Married to the Ministry to grow and flourish, we’d like to invite you to get involved. Click here to learn more.
