"Stop...And Think" book to Teens

Stop…And Think



Entire book will be available for purchase in July.




STOP…AND THINK


“And so I plead with you to give your bodies (soul, body and spirit) to God. Let them be a living and faithful surrender. When you think of what He has done for you- is this too much to ask? Don’t copy the customs and behaviors of this world but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do and you will know how good and satisfying His spirit really is.”
Romans 12:1-2



INTRODUCTION

What is it that you think about? Guys, girls, life, love, or the lack thereof? Movies, TV shows, daydreaming that you were on a reality TV show? Life with mom and dad, or life without mom or dad? What is it that goes through your mind? If you are like me, you can have multiple things just pour through your mind at random times. (Often, I wish that noggin of mine would just slow down, ya know?) Other times I am like, “why didn’t I think of that?” The mind is most interesting thing and as they say, a terrible thing to waste.

Where do thoughts come from? How did the thoughts that are in your brain now get there? What is it that forms your thoughts? Your thoughts could have gotten in your head from listening to your parents, having certain friends, loving a certain style of music, or from that freaky movie you watched last week. But all thoughts do have an origin. And thoughts ranging in values come and go at different times.

Have you ever had the idea that there are wrong thoughts to dwell on and right thoughts to dwell on? You probably have. But have you ever considered that thoughts develop patterns of other thoughts? And that what begins to intrigue your mind begins to consume your mind, and then those thoughts develop patterns of actions that turn into lifestyles? And your lifestyle choices effect those around you? Did that hurt your brain? I am sorry, read it over if you have to. I will try my best to keep it simple but true.

Okay, here is the lowest common denominator: Your thoughts come from what goes through your eyes and into your ears. Emotions can stir up thoughts too but even they come from what enters your eyes and ears. We will talk about that one later. I want to help you understand why you think the way you do. Also, I want to help you change the way you think, not just how you look at things. You may ask, “what’s wrong with the way I am thinking now?” That is exactly what I want to show you. Not so much from the perspective of “your thinking is bad”, but rather deepening your understanding on how the mind works and creates lifestyles. Therefore you can provide for yourself a better future through the power of forethought and action plans. Yeah dog!

In this book I hope to explain that you must plan your life by design not live by default. When you are young you set your mind on a course of action. Those thoughts become patterns of life, patterns of life that will stick. I have even read some psychologist that claim a persons personality and who they are to become, is formed by age 3. Going against much research (I’m anti-conventional like that), I say the teen years are the most product forming. Heck, I feel that jr high age and just out of high school are the two most pivotal times of life. Its during the ages of 12-24, in my opinion, that set the course of life. Henceforth (I was waiting to use that word), that is why I wrote a book for specifically that age group. (But all can get a little somethin somethin from it ;).

The big deception is that you can sow your wild oats while you are young and have no ripple effects on your adult life. The reality is you must stop and think when you are young. To do something so simple every day like stopping and thinking, will promote mental and spiritual growth and health! There is a dude in the Bible named Haggai and he told people everywhere in his country to “consider your ways”. The people around him were neglecting doing anything for God, but only working their tails off for themselves. They were chasing the dollar and their efforts were in making themselves important. Sounds like a lot of America huh? Haggai told the governor and the others in high places, and even the priests, “think about how you are living!” Haggai knew you change your course of action by first changing your course of thinking.

And on a larger scale, the patterns of people become patterns of society. And that is another chapter in itself. Your thought patterns will determine your choices, and your choices determine your lifestyle. So how you think becomes who you are and translates into how you live. And I want teens all over this nation to think about that! I want to serve as the modern day Haggai (although I think my name is cooler), and say “consider your ways”, or Stop…And Think.

I also want to prove that there is a way to set positive patterns in motion through the power of stopping and thinking. I want to place a manual in the hands of teens everywhere. Stopping and thinking is the cure for impulsive behavior, which basically dominates adolescence. There is so much stuff to stop and think about that I had to write an entire book on it.

What if that teen stopped and really thought before he pulled that trigger? What if that young girl really stopped to think before she got that abortion? What if he really stopped and thought about it before he swallowed all those pills? What if that young couple really stopped to think about unprotected sex? What if that hurting teen was able to stop and think about not putting mom and dad against each other? What if that young lady could stop to think about her self esteem and how beautiful she really is? What if that guy really stopped and thought about it before he tried his first cigarette? What if that teen stopped to think about God?

See what I mean?

I have the largest flippin’ conviction inside my heart that I have a unique message to send to young people everywhere just like you. This book is not a lecture. It’s not reading that feels like someone is giving you a sermon. It’s just about life. It’s about walking through life and finding strength to do that. It’s so relatable. It’s raw. It has heart and depth. It’s uncensored in a spiritual sense.

We are gonna discuss all kinds of just sick stuff related to the previous paragraphs. Are you ready for a wild ride? Hold on tight and put your thinking cap on, you’ll be glad you did!



Chapter Titles with Summaries for Stop…And Think


Stop…And Think About-

1. The Mental Meltdown
This chapter talks about the desensitization process and dumbing down of American culture, as it relates to a loss of good judgment among teens. What used to be outlawed in pop culture now barely raises an eyebrow. In many ways, the entertainment industry (the stuff that’s in front of us the most) has helped to unravel the moral fiber of everyone from the baby boomers to the millennial’s. This chapter exposes that whole thing for what it is. Teens will come to really see the truth behind 2 Cor 4:4: “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

2. The Mental Metamorphosis
This chapter is the antidote for the mental meltdown. Chapter one is the “what” and this one is the “why” and “how”. Mostly, living for the moment characterizes being a teen. Through the power of stopping and thinking we can turn the tide of the “leave God after I leave high school syndrome”. Teens need the tools in their hands to get methodical about today and the rest of their lives. This chapter dives in head first with these topics, and shows teens how to start this process of the mental metamorphosis, or the mental turn around. The words of Haggai in chapter 1:5 echo to us today in a huge way: “consider your ways” or “stop…and think”.

3. Pimp My Mind
The way shows like Pimp My Ride overhaul cars are just flippin’ cool. You might wish they would come to your house and get your ride, huh? Or you could be reading this wishing you just had a ride. On the show, they replace old wheels with 21’s, put a multiple cd changer in, put in DVD’s, digital cameras, 20’ subs in the trunk, etc. But in talking about extreme makeovers, if anything needs to be made over or pimped out, it’s not our cars or homes, it’s our minds! We need to redo and recharge our thinker.
In this day and age of nip and tuck, Dr. 90210, six pack abs and cover models, societal pressures attempt to shape today’s self image of the teen. The fear of fitting in and altering your inside will also be topics of discussion in this chapter. The feelings of self come from what you think of yourself. The views of your person make up your personality and a lack of self worth will transfer into depression, anger, or jealousy. We gotta ingest more of what God says about us then what the world says! I use a plethora of scripture concerning this one. Proverbs says “as a man thinks so is he”.

4. For Freedom Sake!
This chapter expands your outlook and deepens your inlook.
Paul gives us a new way to think and he says the most freeing stuff. He says things like we are “justified by faith”, “be made new in the attitude of your mind”, “keep your mind renewed”, and “think about things above”. He makes mention that a false teacher is not just someone who teaches funky things about who Jesus is, but also someone who puts the Christian back under the law. Too many Christian teens feel like they have to get saved every week. For example: “Justified by faith” means that we are made right with God just because we believe we are, due to what Jesus did on the cross. I break Galatians 5 and Romans 7 down so religion can die and freedom can be released in your mind and heart.

5. Controlling Those Darn Impulses
Impulsive behavior has too much dominance in adolescence. How many pregnancies, abortions, car accidents, transferred STD’s, suicides and broken relationships could have been avoided if they would have just stopped to think? It’s time for real and raw discussion. Rational thought and control over impulses is possible as a teen. I share practical examples and steps to take for implantation in everyday life. We look at some examples from clinical phychology also.

More chapters summaries to follow....

(I just want to keep you coming back)...

In them meantime, post a response back with your thoughts on how chapter one. Has there been a mental meltdown?


You can email me at TrainwithLen@gmail.com