To View the Video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/TfWGGJfa1Rg
SHOW NOTES
Welcome to a new week of the Hope Rescue Podcast. This week we are starting a new short series on habits. Tim and Kimberly use this episode to explain a biblical principle that will change your life. Keep reading or check out the podcast to hear more!
Our lives are made up of a multitude of little habits and routines. Whether we realize it or not, these daily habits and routines compound and define our behavior.
Tim and Kimberly explain that when you want to make a change in your life, there are two different types of habits:
Keystone habits: habits that are a catalyst for fundamental change in our life.
Cascade habits: habits that naturally flow from creating a keystone habit.
Tim and Kimberly share the example of making your bed everyday. If you wake up every morning and make your bed, that would be a keystone habit. From developing this keystone habit, new cascading habits could naturally follow such as being more productive in the morning.
Three keystone habits that Tim does every morning that have changed his life are praying alone, reading scripture, and writing in his thanksgiving journal. The most influential keystone habit for Tim is being intentionally thankful. Every morning he writes in his thanksgiving journal and keeps track of what he is thankful for that day. Tim says, "If you start your day with thanksgiving, you automatically become an encourager because you have set your mind up to be grateful for what you have today." Starting your day with thankfulness keeps you from worrying and produces a life of joy.
If you want to purchase our thanksgiving journal, click this link: https://tinyurl.com/mwh42jr9
Proverbs 4:23-27 says, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.”
In verse 23, the word keep could also be translated to “watch” or “protect,” so to change your negative behavior, you have to start by protecting your heart. For example, if you want to break a habit of drinking excessively but you surround yourself with heavy drinking friends every weekend, you are not protecting your heart. If you want to be a better spouse to your husband or wife, protect your heart by surrounding yourself with other couples who respect and love one another well. Protect your heart by watching what you are consuming. What music are you listening to? What shows are you watching? Who do you follow on social media? Evaluating these questions will help you protect your heart from multiple different angles.
Tim explains that the keystone habit we can take away from this passage is to watch our hearts. Tim emphasizes the importance of saturating our minds with scripture and constantly receiving truth from God’s word. If we can change our hearts, we can change our lives.
Tune in next week as we continue the conversation on habits.
