Thinking- New Colors Bright Findings

Demons inside my head
Recycle continually
Controlling where I'm led
Darkening habitually

One day I wrote them down
Scattered about my feet
On black paper though still around
I've now a panorama- sweet

Thinking of how I act...
Replaying old behaviors
Those sinful patterns I attract
I wrote on yellowed papers

Then... thinking of each friend in turn
The ones that faded away
After leaving me to burn
I wrote them off...in grey

Which sheets can I replace today
As in new ways I think and do?
Adding colors that shine away
Making steps for a life that's new

First...I start before a mirror
And play out who I want to be
Chucking what's been inferior
I dress the part...of my new me

Where chaos had been my friend
I now have much more space
Freedom...with time to spend
Finding sheets of golden lace

Still, I wonder...Is this but a quick fix?
As I have set down my history
No...with the weight dropped, brightness clicks
Flooding hope's light for victory

Back to the mirror...I take out a big pen
And draw a hand before my eyes
Out stretched, inviting... open
Reminding me of Christ

A perfect friend, I've found at last
His truths are beauty to my mind
As now I'm thankful for the past
For contrast to the new colors I find

Verse 1] Demons inside my head, recycle continually Controlling where I'm led, darkening habitually One day I wrote them down, scattered about my feet On black paper, though still around, I've a panorama sweet [Verse 2] Thinking of how I act, replaying old behaviors Those sinful patterns I attract, I wrote on yellowed papers Then thinking of each friend in turn, the ones that faded away After leaving me to burn, I wrote them off in grey [Pre-Chorus] Which sheets can I replace today? As in new ways I think and do Adding colors that shine away Making steps for a life that's new [Chorus] First, I start before a mirror And play out who I want to be Chucking what's been inferior I dress the part of my new me Where chaos had been my friend I now have much more space Freedom with time to spend Finding sheets of golden lace [Verse 3] Still, I wonder, is this but a quick fix? As I have set down my history No, with the weight dropped, brightness clicks Flooding hope's light for victory [Bridge] Back to the mirror, I take out a big pen And draw a hand before my eyes Outstretched, inviting, open Reminding me of Christ [Final Chorus] A perfect friend, I've found at last His truths are beauty to my mind As now I'm thankful for the past For contrast to the new colors I find First, I start before a mirror And play out who I want to be Chucking what's been inferior I dress the part of my new me [Outro] New colors I find New colors I find

thoughts from reading
Transcript "Christ-Centered Healing from
Depression and Low Self-Worth
Carrie Maxwell Wrigley, LCSW
BYU Education Week, Aug 15, 2005

The Hardest Work There is to Do

The hardest work for me to do
Lies within the walls of my own home
Thus I invite the spirit anew
That of love and purpose I am shown

The minute that I'm overwhelmed
I know I'm more than teary
Such that a converse is welcomed
With God above who guides me dearly

I can focus on tasks at hand
When I know it is God's will
For He helps me understand
How to meet demands and fulfill

For thinking is so hard for me
With all the struggles found in life
Thus, I study and I seek
To be a better Saint and wife



CES Fireside 2009 - President Thomas S. Monson Thinking is the hardest work any one can do—which is probably the reason why we have so few thinkers. ..... ed., Best-Loved Poems of the LDS People, (1996), 255–56. ...

LDS Church News - 'A love story, a drama, a miracle': Funeral 89 ...But men will work hardest of all when they are dedicated to a cause. ... President Monson

LDS.org - Ensign Article - The Call of Duty Men will work harder for other men. But men will work hardest of all when they are ... He took my hand in his and asked, “Bishop Monson, do you remember me? ...

The Ability to Think Straight

The ability to think straight
Is a principle of success
We need to develop this trait
For the common sense we'll access

We need to think until it hurts
And accurately listen too
With trained ears we hear those alerts
To activate an instinctive tool

It's important to act slowly
And to understand all the facts
Stimulated thoughts require growing
There to consider all the impacts

Thinking is a process of worrying
That a solution might come about
Then as a bank account we're carrying
Stored up processes providing clout

Sloppy inconclusive thinking
Is developed through bad habits
We're well-grounded or soon sinking
To know success, one must grasp this

As the mind becomes more trained
The subconscious aids in what to do
Through this apparatus that's ingrained
We learn to discern truths in all matters too

All aspects of life need to be sized
To find the equilibrium desired
For if only the mind's exercised
Health, church, and family become expired

To be good at management takes experience
And the ability to have vision and insight
It takes humble petitions and obedience
For then God will reveal if the course is right

There will be failures despite all the pain stakes
With lessons therein to be learned and then heeded
For, then the belief in oneself all anew re awakes
Unto a second opportunity that arises to be seeded

There are many ways to fund a common sense bank
The most essential is inquiring of God in prayer
But, even then one might speedily tank
If we're inconsistent in application and in care

Those who think straight don't have moral problems
Nor do they struggle with the word of wisdom or tithing
As they are consistently working on their blems
And, by the promptings of spirit they're abiding


M. Russell Ballard
Let us Think Straight
29 November 1983
BYU Lecture Series