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When life gets hard, does what we think we believe hold us up, or does it crumble under the weight of doubt? I'm your host, Dr. Lee Warren- I'm a brain surgeon, author, and a person who's seen some stuff and wondered where God is in all this mess. This is The Spiritual Brain Surgery podcast, where we'll take a hard look at what we believe, why we believe it, and the neuroscience behind how our minds and our brains can smash together with faith to help us become healthier, feel better, and be happier so we can find the hope to withstand anything life throws at us. You've got questions, and we're going to do the hard work to find the answers, but you can't change your life until you change your mind, and it's gonna take some spiritual-brain surgery to get it done. So let's get after it.
Good morning, my friend. I hope you're doing well. It is November 1st.
The day I want to tell you about something we're going to do as a theme for
the whole month of November.
We're going to call it New Thing November. Okay, New Thing November.
And the theme for the month is going to come out of Scripture.
There's lots of things that I do come from Scripture. Isaiah 43, verse 19.
See, this is God speaking. See, I am doing a new thing.
Now it springs up. Do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.
See, God says he wants to do something good. In the verse before this,
verse 18, he says, forget the former things.
Do not dwell on the past.
He's saying, don't look back, look forward. Don't look backwards,
look forward. I'm doing something new in your life. Now it springs up.
Do you not perceive it? I'm making a way in the wilderness.
Listen, friends, sometimes our lives start to feel like we're wandering through
the desert. They're dry and they're thirsty.
And we're wondering why God's not coming through, we need some water.
We need something to help us, right? If you're struggling with thought processes
and negative thinking and things that happen in your brain that you just can't
seem to quite break, or some habit,
or some problem in a relationship, or some issue that you can't seem to put
behind you, or you've been praying forever for a breakthrough,
for something, for some physical issue that you're dealing with,
or for some financial problem, or you've been praying and praying,
and it seems like God isn't there, He's not listening and you're wondering why
he won't do the new thing that you've been begging him to do or that he seems
to have promised that he would do. You're wondering why.
Friend, I'm always telling you, you can't change your life until you change your mind.
Today, just for a couple of minutes, we're going to have a little quiet time
thought process about just being a new month. It's time for a new thing.
It's time to put aside the old things and stop looking back and dwelling on
the past and it's time to go forward.
And as a secondary theme, November is my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving.
This year, we're going to get to be with all our kids and grandkids in the same
place at the same time, which is getting harder as they get older and move around
the country. But we're grateful for that.
And so as a kind of an arching theme towards Thanksgiving Day,
we're going to focus, my heart, I want to be focused on gratitude and the things
that I can give thanks for.
And so combining those two ideas, New Thing November and the idea of gratitude
and thankfulness and all of it, so good for your neurochemistry and so good for your heart.
We're going to talk a little bit today about some reasons why it's smart and
reasons why it's helpful to have kind of a grateful heart.
And then we're going to have a new Tommy Walker song. My friend Tommy Walker
and his amazing band, including his daughter Eileen, have been doing this soulful
scripture song album, which I love.
And they've got a new song out called Help Us Be Kind. So maybe one of the new
things that you could focus on for November if you're having trouble is just
to try to develop a little more kindness towards other people.
Sometimes focusing on other people's needs helps you to solve some of your own
issues that are in your way. And so we're going to have that song, Help Us Be Kind.
We're going to talk just for a few minutes about how if we learn to change our
minds, God can change our lives. And it's time for a new thing.
It's a new month. It's a new day.
It's time to stop looking back. And the good news is, as Lisa always tells us,
it's time to start today.
Hey, are you ready to change your life? If the answer is yes,
there's only one rule. You have to change your mind first.
And my friend, there's a place where the neuroscience of how your mind works
smashes together with faith and everything starts to make sense.
That place is called self-brain surgery. You can learn it and it will help you
become healthier, feel better, and be happier.
And the good news is you can start today.
Thanks, Lisa. Hey, so glad to have you listening today. Hey, I'm Dr.
Lee Warren, and I live in Nebraska in the United States of America with my incredible
wife, Lisa, my father-in-law, Tata, and the super pups, Harvey and Lewis.
I'm a neurosurgeon and an author, and I'm here to help you harness neuroscience,
the power of your brain, faith, the power of your spirit, and good old common
sense to help you lead a healthier, better, happier life.
Listen, friends, you can't change your life until you change your mind,
and I'm here to help you learn the art of self-frame surgery to get it done.
If you like the show, please subscribe so you never miss an episode and tell
your friends about it. If you tell two or three friends this podcast was helpful
to you, imagine how much good we can all do around the world together.
I'm Dr. Lee Warren, and I'm here to help you change your mind so you can change
your life. Let's get after it.
All right, so I'm sitting here having a cup of coffee, drinking black silk from Folgers.
It's just a simple, it's not a fancy coffee, but it's my favorite.
Okay, let's go to our theme verse for November. It's New Thing November.
Isaiah 43, let's start in 18. Forget the former things. Do not dwell on the
past. See, I am doing a new thing.
Now it springs up. Do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland. Listen, I've been thinking a lot about this.
And for the last few days since Lisa and I talked about it and
decided we were going to do this new thing in November and I realized one
of the reasons that well let me back up a step first I
read a book Pete Gregg G-R-I-E-G wrote this incredible book called God on Mute
if you push the mute button and God on Mute is about these times when it seems
like our prayers aren't answered when it seems like God is quiet when there's
something going on in our life and God just doesn't seem to be present in the moment.
And he uses the example of the Holy Week, Thursday, and then Good Friday,
and then there's Silent Saturday.
There's this Saturday when everything seems lost and the Savior is in the tomb
and everybody thinks that the battle is over and that we lost. And God's quiet.
He doesn't do anything that day. He doesn't say anything that day.
He doesn't show up and answer prayers. Why did this happen, God?
What's gonna happen, God?
What now, God? He doesn't answer. But then Sunday, everything gets better, right?
The Savior rises and all is not lost after all. And it seemed the whole day
Saturday, it seemed like everything was wrong.
But the fact is God was just working behind the scenes and he was preparing
for this big thing that was coming when Christ was going to be resurrected and
our sins were going to be left in the grave, right?
So anyway, this great book by Pete Gregg, God on Mute, it just points out that
sometimes when God is quiet, it's not because he's not listening.
It's because he's doing something and it's not time yet. It's just time to wait, right?
So it dawned on me as we were talking about this new thing, November idea,
it dawned on me that God won't do something new in your life until you stop
doing the old stuff in your life that's holding you back.
If you think about this, like sometimes we forget that sin and bad attitudes
and holding on to high places,
as Tata talked about, Sometimes holding on to something that God says no to
will keep us from getting something that God wants to say yes to.
We keep dabbling in our flesh and we want to have God and something else.
We want to have a little bit of this and Jesus.
And he says, no, he says, wait, just forget about the past and let me do this new thing for you.
You keep doing your own thing and it feels, you feel thirsty and you keep doing
your own thing and you feel hungry and you won't let me make a way for you.
You won't get, let me make a stream in the desert of living water that'll really
fill you up and quench your thirst and fill your hunger.
Just stop and do a new thing.
But God won't do the new thing until you get rid of the old thing.
So maybe part of New Thing November could be that you search out your heart
and find some things that have been in your way.
Like, you know, Hebrews 12 says, cast off everything that hinders and the sin
that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out before us, right?
So sometimes the race is hard because we're holding on to things that are slowing
us down and holding back.
So think through some things. Maybe write some things down.
Is there some habit that you have that's holding you back? Are you smoking?
Are you drinking too much? Are you doing something that's hurting your physical
body and you're wondering why you can't get in shape?
I see it all the time with patients. They've got a back problem.
They need a spinal fusion. And we say, you got to quit smoking first because
you're not going to fuse.
And therefore, the insurance company is not going to pay for your surgery.
And they show up for surgery.
We do a nicotine test and they still have nicotine and we have to send them
home. and they can't have the surgery that they need until they get rid of the
thing that's hindering them.
You have to cast it off. Maybe, let's use the example of alcohol, for example.
Maybe you're drinking and it's hindering your life. It's keeping you from sleeping.
It's making you gain weight. It's costing you money. It's hurting your relationships.
It's damaging your heart. It's causing you osteoporosis or whatever it is.
You got this problem with alcohol and you need to get rid of it.
And maybe it's just a minor issue.
Maybe it's a big issue. but instead of holding on to it and wondering why God's
not coming through maybe this is no sip November for you maybe it's no alcohol November.
Maybe if you are anxious and stressed and worried and you won't stop tossing
things over in your mind and looking back, maybe it's no sweat in November.
Maybe you need to stop sweating stuff that's been hurting you in the past and
focus hard on something that God wants to do in the future.
Maybe it's time to set that stuff aside. Maybe if you have a problem with overspending
and you're wondering why God isn't coming through financially for you,
you need to go through and find all the places that you have automatically subscribed
to something that are siphoning off your money.
Maybe you need to rethink some of the choices you're making around what you
wear and what you spend and what you drive and how much stuff you buy.
Maybe you need to disable one-click shopping on Amazon and make a deal with
yourself that for no spend, November, you're going to think and pray through
every purchase you make instead of automating them.
Maybe you're going to not hit one-click anymore. Maybe you're going to make
yourself have to go to the shopping cart and put your credit card number in
and do all that stuff so you have a little bit of space in there to think about
what you're spending instead of making it so easy, right?
It's so easy if you automate your spending, you make a one-click purchase thing,
or you put your credit card number in a website so you don't have to re-enter
it every time, then it becomes super easy to just spend that money.
But if that's a problem for you, maybe instead of praying and praying that God
will give you a financial breakthrough this month, maybe he's already saying, dude, friend.
Stop spending so much and then you'll have more and I'll give you the breakthrough
by you just following the principles I've already laid out for you.
Maybe you don't need a miracle. Maybe you just need to stop doing silly things.
Or maybe he does want to give you a miracle, but he reminds you of the parable
where he said, if you're not faithful with small things, you won't be faithful with big things.
So I can't give you big things until you get yourself squared away.
So maybe no spend November is relevant for you.
Maybe you're irritated easily and you're mean to your spouse or maybe you're nitpicky.
You're frustrated with one part of your life so you're taking it out on your
kids or you're kicking the dog or you're being grumpy at work.
Maybe you need to learn to be more kind.
Maybe if you focus on the needs of others that you would have an easier time
being more kind and that'll clear out some space in your brain and make you
feel a little bit happier and give you room to work on the things that are really
causing your trouble inside.
So maybe it's no grouch November. Remember, maybe you just need to be a little more kind.
We're going to have Tommy Walker play that song for us in a few minutes, okay?
And then in a few days and in a few weeks, we're going to get to Thanksgiving.
And at Thanksgiving, we're going to spend one day the whole year acting like
we're thankful. And for many of us, it just turns into a big party or a big
meal and we eat too much and all that.
But it ought to be a time where you can really reflect and maybe make a decision
that you're going to change your whole life to be more grateful. And I found a great blog.
There's a website called lisaapello.com. It's a woman, Lisa Apello.
I don't know much about her. She's a recent widow, a single mom to seven children,
and she just has a great kind of grateful blog.
I'm not sure when she wrote this. There's not a date on the article,
but it's a good article called The Power of Gratitude, 12 Benefits of Giving God Thanks.
I'll include it. She just put some scriptures down about why it's good to give
thanks. One of them is gratitude glorifies God.
2 Corinthians 4.15 says, And as God's grace reaches more and more people,
there will be great thanksgiving and God will receive more and more glory.
And then gratitude helps us to see God. James 1, 16 and 17.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers, for every good and perfect gift is
from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.
When you recognize that if you have something good in your life,
it came from God, that gets rid of this idea that you're responsible for making
everything good happen in your own life.
And gratitude puts us squarely in God's will. 1 Thessalonians 5.18 says,
Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
God wants you to be grateful. Now, why? I'm always telling you,
Jesus is the neurosurgeon of Nazareth.
He's the first self-brain surgeon, and he created all of this neuroscience stuff
that I'm always talking about.
And the fact is, we know now, without any doubt from functional imaging studies,
gratitude is good for your brain chemistry. Being thankful clears away all the
toxicity and gives you clear eyes to see so you can make a better plan. You can be more hopeful.
You can be more diligent and more effective. You make better synapses and your
brain gets healthier when you're grateful.
And that's why number four on Elisa Apolo's list, gratitude brings peace.
Philippians 4, by the way, is the self-brain surgery chapter of the Bible.
It's going to be the theme of my book on self-brain surgery that I'm working on now.
After Hope is the First Dose, the next book is going to be self-brain surgery.
And Philippians 4 is the theme chapter for that whole book. But listen to what
he says, Philippians 4, 6, and 7.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Listen to this.
You can't be anxious and grateful at the same time.
You can't be because gratitude clears away anxiety.
So understand this. What he's saying here is not just don't be anxious, but pray.
He's not just saying that. He's saying pray with thanksgiving and that will help you have peace.
One, but think about it for just a second. If you say in your prayer and you're
desperate and you're worried and you're stressed and you can't sleep and you
say, God, please help me with this situation. I can't deal with it anymore.
I'm falling apart. Everything's going wrong.
Nothing's going to be right. The biopsy is going to be bad. She's going to leave.
The money's going to run out. But you're not really praying.
You're just crying out all the things you're worried about, right? What if you said, God.
This situation is really hard, and I don't know what's going to happen.
The doctor's got bad news, but you know what? You've gotten me through lots of things before.
And that time when my mom was sick and we prayed and you came through for us,
and in that time that this happened, you came through.
In that time that happened, you came through, and I was so thankful.
And God, I remember that.
And I know you can do this because I've seen you do it before,
and I'm so thankful that you've gotten me this far,
and I'm so grateful that you gave me that good team of doctors,
And I'm so thankful that you've created modern medicine so that when I do get
this diagnosis, there's going to be some options. And I'm so thankful for that.
And so you see what I'm saying? You take the command of the battlefield and
that gratitude gives you something to latch on to that leads you to hope.
Right? It leads you to hope again. It helps you to not be so afraid.
That's why David says, I sought the Lord and he answered me and he saved me
from everything that made me so afraid. That's Psalm 34.
Everything that made me so afraid, he was there. And finally,
another one is gratitude draws us to God.
Luke 17, 17 through 9, Jesus asked, where were not all 10 cleansed?
Where are the other nine?
Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner? Remember the story?
Jesus healed 10 lepers and they all ran off
so grateful so happy that they were cured the
one of them stopped and turned back and came back to Jesus and
said thank you and Pete Gregg's book God on Muti tells this story again and
he says nine people got cured they got their prayers answered and they went
on their way happy that they got their prayer answered but what they miss out
on they missed out on the relationship with the healer they focused on the miracle
and not the maker of the miracle.
And the one guy came back and he was thankful and he had both.
He had a cured body, but he also had a healed heart and he had a relationship
with the doctor who saved him.
So gratitude draws you back to God. When you're grateful, you get closer to God.
And Jesus said, rise up. Your faith has made you well.
And gratitude brings contentment. 1 Timothy 6, 6-8, godliness with contentment is great gain.
For we brought nothing into the world and neither can we carry anything out.
But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.
He's saying you can learn because you are godly. You can learn to be content
in whatever situation you have.
So if you give thanks for what you do have, then God may start opening doors and giving you more.
If you look at your house and say, I hate this tiny house, then you're going
to get grumpy and your neurochemistry is going to get bad. And God's going to say, you know what?
At least you have a house. You're not living in a mud hut like our son Josh
did for a year in Africa when he was with Pioneer Bible Translators,
you at least have a house.
And then you say, God, why can't I have a better house? And he's saying,
be thankful for the one that you do.
And then maybe I'll give you a better one, right? Gratitude is the key to contentment.
Gratitude deepens your faith, Psalm 136. One, give thanks to the Lord for he
is good. His love endures forever.
When you clear away that toxicity, you can hold on to something good.
Gratitude leads to joy, Psalm 126, one through three. Gratitude defeats Satan's lies, Psalm 84, 11.
Gratitude guards against envy, Psalm 138. One, you can't be jealous and grateful
at the same time. You can't.
Gratitude helps you live in the moment, live in the present.
Ecclesiastes 7.10 says this, Say not, why were the former days better than these?
For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.
Jesus says, God says here, it's unwise to say I was happier back then.
It's unwise to say I had it better back then.
It's unwise to say, why was it always so easy back then and it's so hard now?
The truth is it wasn't. Back then, you weren't happier.
You weren't really better off than you are now. You're just,
you're memorializing the past because you think it's better than now, but it's really not.
It's not wise, he says, to do that. And that's why.
In our theme verse for this month, he says, forget the former things.
Don't dwell in the past. See, I'm doing a new thing. He's trying to do something new for you, my friend.
But you got to get rid of the old things first. And finally,
Lisa Pello's blog says, gratitude is a testimony.
Psalm 105.1, give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness,
let the whole world know what he's done.
You can't be an effective witness for God if you're grumpy and ungrateful and
unforgiving and unkind and sad and dour and mean. You're not a good witness.
This is a great little article from Lisa Pella. I'll include it so you can read
her words with each of these verses.
And I just thought that would be a great way to get our minds on the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.
Listen, God says, Isaiah 43, 18 and 19, See, I'm doing, sorry,
forget the former things.
Do not dwell on the past. See, I'm doing a new thing.
Now it springs up. Do you not perceive it? I'm making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland. Listen, friend, it's new thing November.
And in order to grasp that fully, you got to get old things out of your way
that are holding you back. Here's my friend, Tommy Walker.
Let us be kind. Maybe it's no
mean November for you. Maybe this is a new thing. Be a little more kind.
Whatever it is, think about it, focus on it, pray about it, ask God to bless
you with it. We're praying for you.
Got an amazing Friday conversation coming up this week. I'm so excited.
I've been working on the episode this morning.
Tomorrow, we're gonna have something else fun and new for you.
But today, let's just think about new thing November.
You think about what it is that you need to help you change your life and change
your mind. Remember, you can't change your life until you change your mind.
And the good news is, you can start today. I'm Dr. Lee Warren.
I'll talk to you soon. God bless you, friend. Have a great day.