“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. 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 NLT

Have you done an audit on your focus? What do you think about? Would the things you focus on fit into one of the categories Paul provided for us in the Bible?

Most of the news cycle does not focus on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and admirable. How much time are you giving to news? There is a difference between being informed (usually a good thing) and being consumed (usually a bad thing) when it comes to issues of news and culture.

One of the blessings of time spent in a retreat or program at Warm Beach Camp is the ability to refocus on what’s important in life. Here are a few good shifts-in-focus people experience at retreats and camps:

• Shift from a critical spirit to an encouraging spirit. This makes a big difference in relationships. People who deal with issues from a place of encouragement experience better results.
• Shift from rhetoric to honest and simple words that are true. It is helpful to be a person who speaks truth and resists unexamined rhetoric. Truth lifts up people to what is right.
• Shift from what is disgraceful to what is beautiful and pure. All one has to do is spend time watching a sunset, walking the trail on Port Susan Bay, or sit around the campfire with friends to be reminded that a life focused on beauty and purity is so much more satisfying than the ever present examples of broken trust and disgrace being paraded around our culture.

It is amazing to me that it is so hard to stay focused on the goodness of God. I have come to understand that having times of retreat and reflection are an important part of growing closer to God. My focus on life shifts to what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and admirable. My spirit is filled with praise to God. My focus is right.

Dear Jesus, thank You for these words from the Apostle Paul. They are as relevant today as they were when they were first penned into a letter. Thank You for helping us focus. Thank you for Warm Beach Camp, a place where people can renew and restore focus on the most important things in life. Thank You. In Jesus name, Amen.

-by Ed McDowell, Executive Director
Warm Beach Camp and Conference Center