Week 3: Chapter 2 — We Have a Choice

1.Allen insists that we actually have a choice about what we think — that we are not passive victims of our own minds. Does this feel true to your experience, or does it feel like wishful thinking? Explain.

2.She draws on Romans 8:5–6, which says those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on things of the Spirit. What is the connection between what we are (children of God, indwelt by the Spirit) and what we are capable of (controlling our thoughts)?

3.Allen acknowledges that choosing our thoughts is hard — it is a discipline, not a one-time decision. What disciplines or habits in your life have required repeated, unglamorous practice before they became natural? What does that teach you about the work of mental renewal?