The first thoughts that enter your mind each morning quietly set the tone for the rest of the day. Before a single word is spoken or a task begins, your thoughts decide whether you will face the hours ahead with peace or pressure. In Truth Crafted Truth Absolute, J.J. Lisio reminds readers that mornings are more than just a time to wake up. They are an opportunity to align your mind with God’s absolute truth. By starting your day with intention, reflection, and faith, you can build a routine that grounds your thoughts, calms your emotions, and strengthens your focus.
Lisio blends biblical wisdom with neuroscience to explain why mornings matter so much. The brain is most receptive in the first hour after waking; what we think about during this time often shapes how we feel and respond throughout the day. Negative thoughts trigger stress chemicals like cortisol, while calm, truth-filled thoughts release serotonin, which helps create balance and clarity. In other words, how you start your day determines how your brain and body experience it. The solution, Lisio teaches, is to begin each morning anchored in scripture and guided by reflection tools, such as the Thought Journal and the Truth-Crafting Matrix.
Step 01: Begin with Stillness and Scripture
Before checking messages or rushing through breakfast, take a few quiet moments to read a verse or two from the Bible. Choose passages that center your heart on truth, such as Psalm 118:24: “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Reading scripture first thing helps redirect your attention from distractions to God’s promises. As Lisio notes, this small act rewires the brain for calm focus, creating the foundation for a peaceful start.
Step 02: Reflect with the Thought Journal
Next, take five minutes to write down your first thoughts of the day. Are you feeling grateful? Worried? Tired? Writing helps you recognize mental patterns and emotions before they control you. Lisio’s Thought Journal encourages this practice as a way to see what’s occupying your mind. Once you’ve written your thoughts, compare them with scripture. If a thought contradicts God’s truth, such as “I can’t handle this,” replace it with a promise like Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Step 03: Apply the Truth-Crafting Matrix
The Truth-Crafting Matrix, one of Lisio’s most practical tools, helps turn reflection into transformation. Create three columns:
- The first for your thought or belief.
- The second for how it makes you feel.
- The third for the truth that counters it.
For example: - Thought: “I’m behind again.”
- Feeling: Frustration, anxiety.
- Truth: “God’s grace renews each morning” (Lamentations 3:23).
This short exercise aligns the mind with peace and focus, guiding your attitude and actions before the day begins.
Step 4: Pray with Intention
End your routine with a short, focused prayer. Ask God to help you live out the truths you’ve written, to guard your thoughts, and to use your words for good. Prayer reinforces what you’ve learned and allows God’s presence to carry that calm into your day.
Lisio’s approach in Truth Crafted Truth Absolute is both spiritual and scientific. It teaches that mornings are not a race to productivity. They are a sacred pause to shape your thoughts before the world does. When you make space for scripture, reflection, and truth each morning, you train your mind to recognize peace as the day’s default setting.
If you’re searching for a simple yet powerful way to start your days with clarity and purpose, J.J. Lisio’s Truth Crafted Truth Absolute offers a clear path. This book demonstrates that when you begin your mornings rooted in God’s truth, your entire day, and ultimately your life, begins to align with His peace.
Read this book now, available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FGKS935H.