Our brains are hardwired with a wonderful God-given gift called selective screening.  I’ll show you what I mean.  Look around you.  Now count all the red things you can find in the next 5 seconds.

As you were counting the red items, how many purple things did you find?  If you answered, zero, then you’ve just experienced your ability to selectively screen. You see, the mind can only attend to one thing at a time. The good news is, you generally find what you’re looking for – in yourself, in others, in God, and in life.

How about taking inventory with me?  What have you been recently looking for in your kids?  Your spouse?  Your friends?  Your work?  Is your focus building you up or tearing you down?  Is it increasing your joy factor or stealing the smiles from your face? The greatest gift of all is that we get to choose what we magnify.

So what will you look for this week?

“…Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. . . Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.” Phil. 4:8,9 The Msg.