Recognizing old thought patterns is an important step, but awareness alone doesn’t create freedom. Anyone who has tried to change ingrained thinking knows this: the mind doesn’t stop returning to old grooves just because we’ve identified them.
Scripture is honest about this. Transformation doesn’t happen by willpower alone, it happens through intentional renewal.
“We capture rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5, NLT)
That word capture matters. It implies effort, repetition, and training.
If the mind is like a record player, then retraining it means learning how to lift the needle, again and again — and place it somewhere new. At first, it feels awkward. The old groove is familiar. The new one feels uncertain. But over time, what once felt forced becomes natural.
Here’s what this looks like in real life.
First, name the loop. “This is the old record playing.” Naming it removes its authority.
Second, interrupt it with truth. Not vague positivity, but specific Scripture. Spoken truth has power the mind recognizes.
Third, replace it intentionally. Freedom isn’t created by empty space. It’s formed by new truth repeated over time.
“Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right…” (Philippians 4:8, NLT)
This isn’t denial. It’s discipleship.
Retraining the mind doesn’t mean you’ll never hear the old song again. It means you won’t let it play on repeat. Each time you choose truth, you cut a deeper groove, one that leads toward freedom.
Running free isn’t about speed. It’s about direction.
And every time you lift the needle, you’re learning to run the race the way God designed you to run — unburdened, focused, and free.
S. Courtney Lawson
Writer and speaker Sandy Lawson recently hit two Amazon.com best-seller lists with the new business book, "Transform," co-authored with best-selling author and speaker Brian Tracy.
Sandy Lawson serves as a Care Pastor at Element Church, in Wentzville Missouri, one of the fastest growing churches America. Sandy recently joined noted business development expert, best-selling author and speaker, Brian Tracy, along with a select group of the world's leading experts, to co-author the book titled, Transform: The World's Leading Entrepreneurs and Professionals Get to the Heart and Soul of Transforming your Life, Business & Health. The book was released on September 18, 2014 by CelebrityPress™ - a leading business book publisher.
On the day of release, Transform reached best-seller status in two Amazon.com categories - reaching as high as #6 in the "Direct Marketing" category. The book also reached best-seller status in the "Marketing and Small Business" category. Sandy contributed a chapter titled, "The Relationship Transformation...Taking Relationships From Terminal to Transformed."
Sandy Lawson has over 30 years of experience partnering with her husband, Kip, in family ministry and outreach. She's had the privilege of serving on staff at three mega churches prior to Element Church. In addition, she and her husband also had the honor of building the bus ministry of the Oneighty Youth Group at Church on the Move in Tulsa, Oklahoma from 400 riders weekly to nearly 1,500 riders each week.
Her biggest joy is coaching people in their personal relationships and helping them reach their God-given potential. She and her husband have helped hundreds of couples turn failing marriages into happily-ever-afters, as well as assisting parents in their quest to create healthy thriving families. In their career, Sandy and her husband have been a major influence in the lives of thousands of children, teens, and adults around the world. Sandy is the mother of three, and the grandmother of eight wonderful grandkids. She and her husband have been married over 46 years.
She is the author of a parenting book, "Parenting Through the Mirror" which explores the concept that great parenting must begin with personal transformation. She is also the author and illustrator of a children's geology book, "Iggy and the Volcano" that teaches kids the cycle of igneous rocks. Sandy is a freelance writer, speaker, blogger and was a major contributor to an internationally distributed children's curriculum.
After such a successful release, Sandy Lawson will once again be recognized by The National Academy of Best-Selling Authors™, an organization that honors authors from many of the leading independent best-seller lists.
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