Thinking, feeling, doing

In counselling speak, there's a process related to CBT (Cognitve behavioural therapy) which I often refer back to as it's such a simple idea, and easy to remember and excercise when needed.

You think something which leads to feeling, which leads to a certain action. So, if it's negative, it will lead to negative outcomes, and if it's positive it will lead to positive outcomes.

In a job when there's lots of space in the day (compared to what I'm used to), it's easy to get distracted by things, feelings, thoughts, ideas, that really have no place in my life, so it's quite the challenge to 'take each thought captive', and be faithful with the time, energy and resources I have, and seek new ways to make the most of it, or merely persevere with things I know will hopefully be useful, like cold calling students, and seeking them out. Fortunately, there's lots of fun things that do come along throughout the day, not to mention people with crazy amazing stories.

Some verses often come back to me at those times, and others when I am reminded of the 'cream'. Jeremiah 29:11 is such a famous verse, and so awesome, but the truly challenging, extraordinary, humbling, gems of verses to me, are the ones following.

And, because I have landed on The Amplified Version, here it is.
Jeremiah 29:11-14

¹¹ For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.

¹² Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear and heed you.

¹³ Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

¹⁴ I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will release you from captivity and gather you from all the nations and all the places to which I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I caused you to be carried away captive.

I love the call to intimacy, of being found, of having to seek God with all my heart. When life seems to say that so many other things should have a claim on  my heart first, it's nice to be reminded that seeking God with all my heart is not only an added extra, but a first response.