A Still and Quiet Mind: Twelve Strategies for Changing Unwanted Thoughts

by Esther Smith

Overview

For some people, unwanted thoughts are a nagging discomfort. Others experience them as a brutal and invisible form of torture. Are you distracted by racing or anxious thoughts? Distressed by intrusive or irrational thoughts? Struggling with sinful or untrue thoughts? You may feel trapped in your own head, but God has given you many different ways to calm your mind and live at peace. In this practical and sympathetic guidebook, biblical counselor Esther Smith lays out twelve powerful strategies for addressing unwanted thoughts. You will learn which thoughts to fight and take captive—and which thoughts to slow down, set aside, sit with, and more. As you get to know your thoughts, observing them rather than being swept away by them, you will learn how to bring them into God’s presence in an intentional, life-giving way. A variety of simple and effective exercises in each chapter give you the tools you need to start changing your thoughts today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781629959214
Publisher:	Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing
Publication date:	06/22/2022
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	417,388
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Esther Smith (MA in Counseling, Liberty University; Certificate from Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation) is a licensed counselor who specializes in helping people who experience trauma, anxiety, and physical illness. She is the author of A Still and Quiet Mind and Chronic Illness (31-Day Devotionals for Life) and coauthor of The Whole Life. Esther Smith (Maestría en Consejería, Liberty University, Certificada de la Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation) es una consejera profesional que se especializa en ayudar a las personas que experimentan traumas, ansiedad y enfermedades físicas.

Table of Contents

Introduction: A Loud and Restless Mind 9

Part 1 General Approaches for Changing Thoughts

1 Know Your Thoughts 23

2 Pray Your Thoughts 35

3 Rest Your Thoughts 45

4 Disentangle Your Thoughts 57

Part 2 Holistic Approaches for Changing Thoughts

5 Focus Your Thoughts 71

6 Capture Your Thoughts 79

7 Calm Your Thoughts 93

8 Repair Your Thoughts 105

Part 3 Specialized Approaches for Changing Thoughts

9 Set Aside Your Thoughts 119

10 Dismiss Your Thoughts 133

11 Medicate Your Thoughts 147

12 Sit with Your Thoughts 159

Acknowledgments 165

Notes 167

Editorial Reviews

Thoughts can be mysterious. Determining where they come from and what they mean often triggers more distress than comfort. If you struggle with unwanted thoughts and don’t know what to do, this book is your answer. Every page arms readers with strategies that are both powerful and biblical and provides realistic direction that is grounded in the promises of the Lord’s care.

Eliza Huie

Esther Smith’s creative and careful new book, A Still and Quiet Mind, directs believers to use Scripture to speak truth to their unwanted and intrusive thoughts. Many of my counselees wrestle with untrue thoughts about themselves, the world, and the Lord. Esther has written a comprehensive and compassionate resource that they can engage as a workbook to reorient their hearts to God’s precious truths.

Darby A. Strickland

Esther Smith has written the most practical and biblically faithful book on navigating unwanted thoughts that we have ever encountered. Her combination of compassion and creativity makes it feel as though she is stepping from the pages of the book, putting her arms around the reader, and leading them personally through exercises toward real change.

David and Krista Dunham

It’s like she's in my head! She really gets me!” That’s the thought that came to mind as I read and pored over this wonderful gem from Esther Smith. Taking the insights from countless hours of her counseling experience, Esther puts words to the inner workings of our minds in a way that allows us to think about our thoughts and bring them to the Lord. Esther’s book brims with compassion and empathy and is full of practical exercises you will immediately want to implement.

Jonathan D. Holmes

In A Still and Quiet Mind, Esther Smith skillfully describes the art of biblically processing unwanted thoughts. This book offers you a multifaceted approach to changing your thoughts by giving you biblically saturated strategies that you can immediately put into practice. Esther offers hope as she shares her own personal story and provides biblical narratives that show how the power of God’s Word can transform your thinking.

Shannon Kay McCoy

Esther Smith has written the most practical and Biblically faithful book on navigating unwanted thoughts that we have ever encountered. She combines compassion and creativity in a way that makes it feel as if she steps from the pages of the book, puts her arms around the reader, and leads them personally through exercises towards real change.

David & Krista Dunham