In this last episode of Dr. Paula McDonald's series on Toxic Offenders, we come to what could be the most important category, the top toxic offenders of the mind. Unlike the previous categories we've covered - food, beverage, lifestyle products and home poducts - the most threatening toxin to our mind actually comes from within. It's what Dr. Paula calls our "stinkin' thinkin!" Seriously,,your mind is a mighty force. It's a powerful tool. And what goes into your mind and comes out of it impacts every part of your body and ultimately, your health. Tune in now to hear this last, and ever-important, episode in the Toxic Offenders series.

To learn more or to connect with Dr. Paula, visit drpaulamcdonald.com today. Dr. Paula welcomes notes from her listeners directly!

Hi there.

I'm Dr.

Paula McDonald, and I welcome you to my podcast Live Today.

It's here that together we'll explore the concept of balance as God designed to it to be for us, his children.

Balance of the mind, the body, and the spirit.

And it's what I've named Theosynthesis.

And it's here waiting for you.

Hello, everyone.

It's Dr.

Paula McDonald.

And today we're on podcast number 70, the top five toxic offenders of Stinkin Thinkin.

And so now we have covered the top five toxic offenders of food items, the things that you drink, the everyday products you use, household offenders.

And now today, what you think, and as strange as this fifth and final category of the top five toxic offenders, so hard to say may sound, stay with me.

Because your mind is a mighty force.

It's a powerful tool.

And what goes into your mind and comes out of it impacts every part of your body.

And therefore, we have got to understand the damaging effects of what I call stinkin thinking.

And so what is stinkin thinking, you ask? Well, quite simply, this happens when anyone becomes engulfed in negative mindsets or they have self deprecating thoughts.

They stay in a state of anger, or maybe they're constantly jealous of others and they worry about everything.

And none of these mindsets is a healthy one, especially when we remain in those mindsets.

And so today, we're going to visit each one of these to help us recognize the patterns that we can easily fall into and how to replace these mindsets with the freedom that we find from God, who does not cause these mindsets, nor does he want us to remain in them.

So offender number one is negativity.

How many of you know the person who is always the negative one? I call them the Negative Nellies.

No matter what, they are always bringing into any conversation the negative side of things.

And now certainly, there are times when we do need to consider the opposite side of things.

But what I'm talking about today are those people who just continually spew negativity.

They will not give it up.

And you know, this type of person, for me, as much as I want to help them, I just want to run from them.

And so I don't watch too much TV these days.

But there's one daytime show in particular which features four or five women that is a prime example of the Negative Nellies.

I'm not going to name that show, but I'm sure you might know who I'm talking about.

And these women love to discuss controversial topics, and they love to bash anyone who has a conservative value.

They bash men, Christian values, and anything basically that goes against their own doctrine.

I mean, it is just a negative negative show.

I just have refused to watch it and spend my time and energy on that.

But sadly, shows like this, along with the negative media, negative social media bashing has created this society that's actually embracing this thinking.

Thinking it has become an epidemic.

And none of this is biblical behavior, nor does God condone it.

So if you are constantly listening and watching the negative rhetoric, you are filling your mind with a negative toxic soup.

And therefore, if that is what fills your mind, most likely that is what's going to come out of it.

And so let's take a look at some verses from Scripture regarding this topic.

Proverbs 1513 a glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed.

Proverbs 1722 a cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

So basically when you stay outside of the word of God and you just get sucked into the negative stinking thinking, you are not being the person that God created you to be.

And I want to include this quote from Max Lukado.

He says two types of voices command your attention today.

Negative ones fill your mind with doubt, bitterness and fear.

Positive ones pervade hope and strength.

Which one will you choose to heed? People may have spoken negative things over you, but the good news is people don't determine your future.

God does.

Now, those are some great words of wisdom.

So evaluate your daily thoughts and work to catch yourself in order to not fall into this trap.

And the enemy so wants your mind.

And when you begin to allow the stinking thinking to control it, then you have allowed the enemy to win.

Begin today praying for God to open your mind to identify what you need to release, what things do you need to turn off? Stop reading and quit listening to.

And then determine what you will replace any of these negative actions with.

Get into your Bible on a daily basis, journal your thoughts, your struggles and your challenges and then begin writing down all of the things that you are grateful for.

When you begin to focus on what is good in your life, it is so hard to stay in the negative.

And an attitude of gratitude will soon replace the magnitude of a sour mood.

Offender number two in our stinkin thinking are selfdeprecating thoughts.

And there seems to be a trend in which people tend to easily bash themselves.

And what this means is they're just constantly putting themselves down.

And many will mask this through comedy by saying negative things about themselves in a comedic manner.

And while this can be funny at first, after a while it becomes detrimental.

And here is why I say this.

Have you noticed how many sitcoms and commercials bash men, white men especially? It's almost as if this is the only people group they believe is okay to condemn and they are made to look silly and stupid.

And the actors themselves are constantly degrading themselves and making fun of themselves.

And as a mother of boys, I find this trend disturbing.

I don't want my boys feeling inadequate.

And these feelings are not of God for sure.

We are all created in the image of God.

And when we consistently selfdeprecate, we are basically telling God that he did not get us right.

We are living in a society that demands that we look a certain way.

What clothes we must have, homes we must have, cars to drive, on and on and on.

And when we begin to compare ourselves to others, we can easily fall into the trap of believing that we are not enough.

And the other danger of remaining in a selfdeprecating mindset is that you truly begin to believe that you are not enough, that you can't achieve certain things, or that you don't deserve things.

All of these thought processes are damaging to yourself.

So the first thing you need to do is to identify these thoughts and catch yourself.

When you find yourself doing this, ask a trusted friend or family member to help you.

And trust me, they have no doubt heard you say these things and often they can be your best offense in helping you overcome this habit.

Because guess what? You are enough.

God does not make mistakes and you are not a mistake.

He created you exactly as he desired.

It is up to you to overcome the challenges in life, and there are many.

And to use the gifts and talents that you do possess to live the life that he created for you alone.

And when you truly embrace this fact, your life will change.

And again, let's go look at some Bible scriptures for some sound verses on this topic.

One john four four little children, you are formed from God and have overcome all of these things.

For he who is with you and he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

Acts 1728 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have said.

For we are indeed his offspring.

One Samuel 16 Seven but the Lord said to Samuel, do not look on his appearance or on the height of his statue, because I have rejected Him.

For the Lord sees not as man sees.

Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.

Oh, my friends, I deeply pray that you will recognize and release the negative thoughts you have about yourself.

You are a gift from God and he has a mighty plan for you.

Do not allow the evil of this world to rob you of your Godgiven path.

OK, our third toxic offender of stinkin thinking is anger.

Well, I don't like this one.

Anger is such a dangerous mindset because once we allow ourselves to remain in this state, there are chemicals that are released during episodes of anger that are damaging to our bodies.

And now, don't get me wrong, there are times for anger.

But what I am discussing today are those people who choose to remain in a state of anger.

Scientifically, we know that anger causes blood pressure to rise, cortisol levels to increase, and a whole other myriad of body responses that are not good for us.

Remaining in a state of anger causes your body to become a big, hot, toxic soup mess.

And as humans, we must learn to recognize this anger and know when it is time to let something go.

And anger can be triggered by many things, and people all respond to anger differently.

And so, most importantly, if you are overly tired and stressed or hungry, you may snap at yourself or others more easily.

And so this is another reason that it is imperative to keep yourself in top condition, with adequate rest, nutritious foods and exercise.

When your body is at its optimal health, you are in a much better position in dealing with the difficulties in life when they come.

Ephesians 426 through 27 reminds us in your anger, do not sin, do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

And also from Ephesians 431 get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice, because when we allow ourselves to rage out of control, now we have given up a part of ourselves for the enemy to use.

The devil gets a foothold.

So we must learn to control our anger.

We need to learn methods to get over things quickly, we need to learn to forgive ourselves and others.

And we must give our troubles to the only one who can truly help us, and that is our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our fourth toxic, stinkinthinkin offender is jealousy.

Jealous people are toxic.

These people remain in a state of judging others, condemning them, all the while trying to convince themselves that they are more righteous than others.

And jealousy also comes in many forms envy, slander, ambition and selfish desires.

So Proverbs 1430 says a heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rotts the bones.

James 314 through 16 but if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don't brag and deny the truth.

Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

For where envy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every kind of evil.

One corinthians, one, three, four.

Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

And jealousy will eat away at your relationships and will actually cause you to behave in a manner that is not pleasing to God or to others.

And as believers, we must learn to appreciate the gifts that others possess while learning to be content with what we have.

If there is something you want to achieve, by all means go to the Lord and ask him to direct you, and then get busy becoming bogged down with the energy that it takes to be jealous of others is causing you to utilize this good energy on someone else rather than on yourself.

And when you learn to build others up, you will benefit from sharing kind words, encouragement to others, and you will find life to be a much better place to be.

And now on to our fifth and final toxic stinking thinking, and that is worry.

Everyone knows this one for sure.

It's this topic is so monumental right now with all of the nonsense that we've gone through with the pandemic, the political mess, food shortages, rising costs, and on and on.

And if you stay tuned in to the mainstream media, you will no doubt believe, like Chicken Little did, that the sky is falling.

The media loves to sensationalize everything.

And what this does to those who remain glued to these news stories is to keep themselves in a constant state of worry.

And we know the Bible does have many scriptures on this topic.

Luke 1222 then Jesus said to his disciples, therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body or what you will wear.

Now, faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Matthew 634 therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.

Each day has enough trouble of its own.

And finally, from Philippians four six, do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

You guys, you know, life is difficult, and it's going to continue to be difficult.

None of us were promised a life free from challenges.

But as believers, we do have another way.

We have the love of Christ.

And as we daily become more and more sanctified in Him, the more we learn to let go and let God.

More than ever, we need to dig into God's word as we navigate these difficult times.

And when we do, we allow Him to be our guide for Him, to help us see a bigger picture than our own and to allow Him to take away our fears and worries.

So may you release the bondage of worry today and give it to our Almighty Father.

You will discover a beautiful release when you allow Him to take the wheel of your life.

So this topic completes my series about the toxic offenders in your life.

I pray that you have benefited from these shows and that you are learning to live in abundance with Christ.

And when you are living in his abundance, he can and will do great things in your life.

I am so honored that you follow and listen to the show.

Thank you for allowing me to come into your life and share this time with you.

And don't forget to reach out at my website.

Dr.

Paula mcdonald.com there's lots of resources and things for you.

And also the second podcast that I have exhale Bible discovery, which is an indepth chapter by chapter word of God study in a really new and fresh approach.

I hope you'll join me so God created you to live in abundance with Him.

May you fully live today.

Thank you for joining me, friend.