Hey, you. Yeah, the person staring at the screen.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d like to invite you to think about your feet.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve done a lot for you, so take a few minutes to acknowledge your ten-toed reality. \u00a0How far have your feet travelled today? Have you ever gone anywhere without them? Do you like them, or do you think they\u2019re gross?<\/p>\n
Next, notice what your feet are feeling. Are they cold? Any pain or discomfort? Bare to the air or surrounded by socks? Do your socks match?<\/p>\n
All right. Our experiment is done and it\u2019s time to talk about why we just did that. Of all the things in the universe, why should we expend our precious mental energy on feet, unless, of course, we\u2019re clipping our toenails or buying new running shoes. Do we really want our feet to be in our heads? I don\u2019t, but what I shared is a silly example of a habit that I do<\/i> want to practice, and that\u2019s mindfulness.<\/p>\n
Have you heard the buzz about mindfulness? <\/i>Google, Target, and JP Morgan offer employees mindfulness training to increase productivity and boost the bottom line. Elementary schools use mindful meditation as a strategy to improve student\u2019s attention. Many Olympic athletes credit their success to the practice of mindfulness.<\/p>\n
But what exactly is it?<\/p>\n
Mindfulness is \u201cthe quality or state of being conscious or aware of something.\u201d (Oxford Dictionary, 2016).<\/p>\n
Creationists should be at the forefront of mindfulness.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I believe that Christians should be mindful people. No, I\u2019m not talking about attending meditation workshops that fill the mind with random things or empty the mind altogether. Some of the secular mindfulness exercises are downright weird and don\u2019t point to Jesus. But to say that mindfulness is \u201cbad\u201d is to say that it\u2019s wrong to be conscious or aware of something, and I\u2019m pretty sure there\u2019s nothing moral about being unconscious.<\/p>\n
As amazing as your brain is, it can only think about one thing at a time. At any given moment, your one conscious thought may be far removed from what it is that you\u2019re actually experiencing. One of the goals of the mindfulness movement is to connect human beings to the present moment.<\/p>\n
Mindful eating occurs when we slowly savor the flavor of our food, instead of swallowing it whole on the way to work. Mindful conversations happen when we set aside our cell phones, look someone in the eyes, and truly listen to what he or she is saying. Mindful time in nature requires that we slow down and actually engage our senses in the beauty around us.<\/p>\n
Creationists should be at the forefront of mindfulness. Why? Because our understanding of nature and of God infuses our present-moments with a beautiful meaning that far transcends any mindfulness that could exist in an evolutionary worldview. My favorite example of mindfulness meditation is found in Psalm 8:3-4:<\/p>\n
“When I consider your heavens,
\n<\/em>the work of your fingers,
\n<\/em>the moon and the stars,
\n<\/em>which you have set in place\u2026.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nKing David\u2019s senses are filled with the beauty of creation. As he mindfully savors its meaning, a question forms in his mind. It\u2019s the question that all mindfulness should lead us to.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo God, I\u2019m out here looking at the moon and the stars. I\u2019m thinking about the things that You\u2019ve made, and I can\u2019t help but wonder\u2026\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
“What is mankind that you are mindful <\/b>of them,
\nhuman beings that you care for them?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nDid you catch that? King David\u2019s mindfulness simply led him to the mindfulness of God. As he fixed his mind on the work of God\u2019s fingers, his heart was filled with the warmth of God\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n
Let your senses remind you of His sensational generosity.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\u201cWho am I, God, that you are mindful<\/i> of me? You care about me. I\u2019m<\/i> the one you\u2019re thinking about!\u201d A few Psalms later, David unpacks God\u2019s mindfulness even more: \u201cHow precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered. I can\u2019t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!\u201d (Psalm 139:17-18, NLT)<\/p>\n
Jesus is mindful of you. And He wants His artwork to be a constant reminder of the precious thoughts He has toward you.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018God is love\u2019 is written upon every opening bud, upon every spire of springing grass. The lovely birds making the air vocal with their happy songs, the delicately tinted flowers in their perfection perfuming the air, the lofty trees of the forest with their rich foliage of living green\u2014all testify to the tender, fatherly care of our God and to His desire to make His children happy” (Ellen White, Steps to Christ, p. 10).<\/em><\/p>\n
I\u2019d like to encourage you to join the mindfulness movement. You don\u2019t need to bow, chant, light a candle, or turn into a yogi (in fact, mindfulness will move you away <\/i>from mind-emptying meditations).\u00a0All you need to do is direct more thought and attention to God\u2019s good and perfect gifts. Let your senses remind you of His sensational generosity.<\/p>\n
As you slowly chew your food. What kind of God would create these amazing tastes?<\/i><\/p>\n
As you hold the hand of one you love. What does the gift of touch reveal about its Artist?<\/i><\/p>\n
As you look into a star-filled sky or feel the crunch of autumn leaves beneath your feet, pause for a mindful moment, and remember\u2026you\u2019re on His mind and He wants to be on yours.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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