Think about such things

"Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." - Philippians 4:8

Fix your thoughts on what is true...
Sometimes to figure out what is true, you also have to figure out what is false so you can combat that with truth. When the thought comes that is false I have to realize that it's false and then go find truth. And the truth is found in the bible. False: "I am not married yet because there must be something wrong with me.. there's something about me that is too much or not enough. I have to figure out what that is and I have to change who I am."  "Why haven't I gotten a better job yet or a job with more money? I am stuck, and God just doesn't feel like fixing it."
Truth:
"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
    and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
    Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
    as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed.
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
    They cannot be numbered!"
-Psalm 139:13-17

Honorable....
The version I learned when growing up used the word noble instead of honorable. The definition of noble: having or showing fine personal qualities or high moral principles and ideals. This one is a little bit complicated to me, as the definition of honor is to show respect, and both words seem more like actions instead of thoughts. To think about things that are honorable then, I guess would be having high morals, and not allowing yourself to indulge in thoughts of things otherwise. To stay away from thinking about having sex, even if you aren't actually doing it. To stay away from simmering in jealous thoughts, etc.

Right...
So don't think about things that are wrong. Haha. This covers a major spectrum of things, and to know the difference between right and wrong you must read the bible. The world has a different set of morals and rules, and it even differs between people, friends, and non-believers. So to think about things that are right, you must be putting the RIGHT stuff into your head. Not garbage. Not songs that are degrading women or talking about sex. Not movies, books, and tv shows where all morals are out the window.

Pure...
There are a lot of definitions for pure, and the one I think of most is: wholesome and untainted by immorality, especially that of a sexual nature. Easier said than done. I once heard it said that there's a difference between a thought that comes into your head that is inappropriate or bad and then changing your thought process or moving on, and letting it continue on and dwelling on it. They said it's like if a bird lands on your head, you shoo it off. But it's different if you let it stay and make a nest on your head. While thoughts can come without our wanting it to, that doesn't mean we have to let them suddenly take over. Another definition that I just saw though was this: without any extraneous and unnecessary elements; free of contamination. Ooh, contamination. Well that covers a gamut of things. But overall, the only way to purify our thoughts, is to constantly fight the battle. Praying and reading the bible are the way to do that. I have been in the middle of thinking about something bad and then said this verse above (Philippians 4:8) over and over in my head and prayed that God would help me.

Lovely...
Think about lovely things? Beautiful, pleasant, enjoyable are things that are used to define lovely. I think going over things I'm thankful for in my head would be considered lovely, and to think about events that have happened that I really enjoyed (like trips, time with friends, my mission trips to Kenya, etc). Like playing a movie back in my head, I can chose to think about things that God has done in my life and thank him for the beautiful things He has done, or I can think about things that have hurt me or that haven't been "fair," which puts me in bad mood and spirals into anger and a million other things.

Admirable...
This is another one I'm not totally clear on. It is a synonym of honorable; deserving respect and approval. Worthwhile is a synonym of admirable which is good... It's not worthwhile to worry and think about things that could go wrong, might go wrong, or even probably will go wrong.

Excellent...
Excellent is even better than good, it's like fantastic. If someone says, "How are you," and they say, "Excellent," then you know that things are going really, really well. I think this is close to lovely. Thanking him for things, and thinking about good things.

Worthy of praise...
Do I think about things that are worthy of praise? Not praise to me, like, "Hey, good job for thinking about that!" But me praising God. You know what is worthy of praise? The fact that God loves us and forgives us no matter how many times we sin. THAT is worthy of praise. Praise the Lord for His unending mercy and grace. Praise the Lord for His perfect timing. Praise the Lord for His guidance. Praise the Lord for Him saying no to the things we want that are not good for us, and saying yes to the things we need and are even better. These are things to think about and rejoice in!

All of the above is easier said than done at times! I think some people have an easier time at this than others. But one thing I've learned is that you can't just fight this battle every once in a while, you have to do it every day. You can't win a battle by fighting every once in a while, when the enemy is on the attack every single day. In the middle of a sermon - doesn't matter, satan can still attack. In the middle of reading the bible - doesn't matter, he can still attack. In the middle of listening to worship music - doesn't matter, he can't still attack. I've been amazed at how in the middle of reading the bible or listening to a worship song that I can completely stop and my thoughts are clouded with bad things, or I stop read or listening and go do something completely bogus. And then I'm like, "Woah, what? What just happened?"

It's a process. Since we have all fallen short of the glory of God, we will always face times when our thoughts are just way off from this verse. But I pray that God will show me more and more of how to fight this battle with an increasing amount of self-control.