We are in the middle of a series called, “The Fill My Empty Cup Series.”

In Week One, we discussed – How to Be More Useful for the Kingdom of God

Week Two was called – The Most Important Pause of the Day

Today, we are moving on to talk about how to fill up with the good while getting rid of the bad.

Author Dave Ramsey tells the most intriguing story about his wife’s regular practices after she runs.

Her name is Sharon.

As an avid runner, Sharon has a schedule that she keeps and some habits that she follows. One of these habits is to drink a healthy smoothie after each of her runs.

Dave shares that these healthy smoothies look horrible, filled with all sorts of vitamins, nutrients, fruits, and veggies. When mixed together, they form a greenish-brown color that looks terrible.

Once Sharon completes her smoothie, she does the strangest thing…

How to Load Up on the Good and Get Rid of the Bad

Once Sharon completes her smoothie, she does the strangest thing… she puts the empty smoothie cup down in the sink, turns on some fresh water, and leaves the water running into the cup of leftover smoothie gunk.

Recently, Dave stood and watched the water run into the smoothie cup and out into the sink.

At first, it was a real mess.

But, in time, the clean water from the faucet began to lift off the smoothie gunk and move it down into the drain.

Within just a few moments, the smoothie cup was clean and filled with fresh water from the tap.

Dave then made this point,

“Just like this smoothie cup that can be cleaned with fresh water from the tap, we also need to be pouring fresh stuff into our lives.

We need to be reading good books, listening to great messages and podcasts, and thinking about good things because there is so much gunk out there that fills our lives.

To flush out the bad stuff, we just fill our lives, our hearts, and our minds with good stuff.”

How to Flush out the Bad and Soak up the Good

How do we do this? 

What does it look like to flush out the bad and soak up the good? 

I’d like to suggest some very powerful ways that you and I can fill our lives with more of the good and rid our lives of more of the bad.

In Psalm 19:7, we read, “The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul.”

Would you like for your soul to be refreshed this week?

Here are 7 ways to allow God’s Word to flush out the bad and fill you up with what is good:

First, start your day with the Word of God.

Whether you read one verse, one passage, or one chapter, there is something so sweet about opening the Bible as you start your day. Dig in long enough to find a nugget or a truth you can take with you all day.

Start by reading a Psalm or a Proverb a day.

Read one small section of scripture at a time. Start with a short book like Philippians, and tackle just a few verses a day.

Or, turn to the concordance in the back of your Bible and do word studies. Choose a word and find all of the instances of this word as used in the Bible. You can look at one instance each morning. For example, you might choose the word “hope.”

Second, write a verse (and the things that you learn) in a notebook or journal.

When you write things down while reading the Bible, you will learn and remember more.

And, writing helps you to keep your mind focused on what you are reading and studying.

One famous Chinese proverb reminds us, “The faintest ink is more powerful than the strongest memory.”

Third, take your verse with you on a notecard or on your phone.

Get some notecards and jot down your verse or type it into an app on your phone.

We all need reminders we can look to throughout the day.

Fourth, text the verse to yourself.

Send yourself a text with your verse. We all like to get messages.

Why not send one to yourself!

Fifth, text your verse to someone else.

Or, share it with someone at work, school, or at lunch.

Share the good stuff with a friend or family member. And, sharing will not only encourage a friend, but it will also help you to learn the verse.

Sixth, pause and go back to your verse during the day.

Take a moment and look back at your journal, Bible, or phone.

Be refreshed by what you read.

Seven, before you go to bed, read over your verse one more time.

Let your last thoughts of the day be on the scriptures.

Focus your complete attention on your verse one more time.

Then, go to sleep allowing the Bible to restore, renew, and refresh your heart.

A Closing Example

This past week, my verse was Matthew 11:28. Over and over, I rolled this verse around in my mind, read it, repeated it, and focused on its message.

Filling my mind with the words of Matthew pushed out a lot of gunk in my world. This one verse encouraged me and kept me going throughout this past week.

I truly believe that this practice will do the same for you.

So, put your cup down in the sink and turn on the faucet.

It’s time to start flushing and re-filling!

How about you?

How do you flush out the bad and bring in the good?

What suggestions do you have?

Want more refreshing?

3 Lies We Are Tempted to Believe by Gretchen Fleming

Protecting Yourself from Self-Defeating Thoughts by Lori Shumaker

What Does it Mean to be Kept by God? by Amy Elaine

How to Overcome Anxiety and Depression by Susan Mcilmoil

When You Need to Take a Leap of Faith by Pam Blosser

When Our Ideal Isn’t Real by Christy Mobley

Set Your Table, Set Your Mind by Sue Donaldson

20 Things to Do When Life is Wearing You Out by Zee Dean

Encouraged by what you read?

Would you share this article with a friend, co-worker, or family member?

Maybe you can send it to a friend or family member?

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