"A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart." — Luke 6:45a

What we store up—in our heads and hearts—really matters. What we think about drives so much of how we feel, what we do, and who we become. This month, we’re focusing on this exact idea that Jesus talks about in the Gospel of Luke: “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart” (Luke 6:45a). In other words, when we “put good in” we “get good out.” It’s a foundational verse for Christian living and it’s also a foundational verse for our new book, Dwell Differently: Overcome Negative Thinking With the Simple Practice of Memorizing God’s Truth (WHICH COMES OUT TOMORROW!). 

My sister and Dwell Differently co-founder, Natalie Abbott, and I wrote this book for this very reason…to help ourselves (and now you) get the good things of God into your heart and head (11 Bible verses to be exact!). Each verse is the truth you need to store up in your heart instead of the false thing you might tend to dwell on, like a verse about God’s care when you feel anxious or a verse about God’s rest when you feel overwhelmed. As ever, Natalie and I are so pumped to help you memorize God’s Word, and we can’t wait to help you learn even more verses in our new book. Let me give you a quick look into the book where I talk about those negative paths our minds tend to travel and how we can re-route our thinking by memorizing and meditating on God’s Word: 

The Paths We’re On: Negative Superhighways

Before we can get started on the good paths we want to travel, we need to take a peek into our own heads and see the negative superhighways we’re traveling day in and day out. One common one is the feeling that we are unlovable. These thoughts tell us we aren’t pretty enough or smart enough or valuable enough to be loved. Or maybe one of our superhighways is that we’re unacceptable. These thoughts center around all the ways we fail to measure up, all the things we didn’t do, and all the ways we’ve not succeeded. Another possible superhighway is fear. These are all our worst-case- scenario thoughts, the things that we Google and shouldn’t, and all the bad possibilities that come at us time and time again. I’ve just mentioned a few things here, but do you see the pattern? Do you have patterns like this too? What are the superhighways of negativity you’re traveling? 

You Can Get on a Better Path 

What if we could reroute and start down some new walking paths of truth in our mind? At first, they will be just that—little, tiny walking paths—but those walking paths will begin to wear in and become country lanes, then major four-lane roads, and eventually superhighways of truth in our minds. What if this were possible? If it’s possible for the bad, then it must also be possible for the good!

God’s Word, a Better Path

In this book, we plan to fix our minds on what God says is true and beautiful and good. And we have the easiest way to help you dwell in it, meditate on it, and speak it to yourself until you have a superhighway in your brain filled with God’s Word—truth about who he is, how he loves you, how he gives you power over sin, how he equips you to fight anxiety and fear, how he is your one good thing in this world! His Word holds the true affirmations we will speak over ourselves and the thoughts we will fix our minds on! These affirmations are where our peace and confidence will find their firm foundation. 

Wait—is she talking about Bible verse memorization? Why yes, yes I am. This might be something that you don’t want to do, don’t know how to do, don’t believe you can do. But I’m going to challenge you for one moment to stop and really check in with yourself. If you look deep enough, way deep down, I’m gonna guess that if you really think about the freedom that is available to you, the idea of having God’s true words about you—his loving, purpose-filled, safe, kind, generous words for your life—steeped in your brain and richly living in you, guiding your every thought, feeling, and action, you would admit that this is exactly what you want. You want a free mind and peace-filled spirit. Friend, these are available. It is possible. Even if you are skeptical, ask yourself, If it really worked, wouldn’t it be worth a try? We’re doing it one verse at a time, one chapter at a time. We’ve picked eleven of the most common negative superhighways we humans find ourselves speeding down. We’ve then prayerfully chosen a truth from God’s Word to memorize and say to ourselves, creating new good pathways in our mind. Here are these pathways:

TRUTH to overcome NEGATIVE THINKING
TRUTH when you feel UNLOVED
TRUTH when you feel INSECURE
TRUTH when you feel UNACCEPTED
TRUTH when you’re ANXIOUS
TRUTH when you’re DEPRESSED
TRUTH when you’re AFRAID
TRUTH when you need DIRECTION
TRUTH when you CAN’T PRAY
TRUTH when you need REST
TRUTH when you have TROUBLES

**TRUTH when you feel NUMB

Friend, these are the very things we all struggle with at times. In our book, Natalie and I talk about how we’ve seen God meet us in our struggles through the power of his Word, giving us peace and joy and victory—and most of all, himself. We’d love for you to join us. And be sure to check out our new podcast, Overcome: The Dwell Differently Book Podcast, where we’re talking through each verse in the book.

Thanks for reading!
Vera (and Natalie)

**We didn’t get the chance to include this chapter in the book, BUT for anyone who preorders the book today, we will send you lock screens and coloring sheets to get this truth into your head and heart too! Order your copy of the book, email your order confirmation to dwell@dwelldifferently.com, and we’ll send you the link to all the resources!