Agree with God - You are Amazing and of Great Worth!

Did you grow up in a home where perfectionism was valued? Do you sometimes boast to others that you are "driven." 
What happens when perfectionism is not met? What happens if you do not do everything right the way you "should." 
You fail.
This is a black and white philosophy or a  Pass/Fail Mindset. 
But, what does God think about all of this? Is he upset with you or angry if you make a mistake?
No! Actually God has never had a bad thought about you.
God want you to love yourself aggressively the way he does. Did you know that he really loves you with an everlasting love? (Jeremiah 31:3)
I was stuck for a long time in the Pass/Fail Mindset. I would get upset with myself every time I failed - which was all the time, because I was rarely able to do everything perfect. All of this negativity weighed me down and kept me from agreeing with who God says I am 
One of my favorite quotes of Ric Lumbard is "Minimum: Agree with what God says about you; Maximum: Feel what He feels about you."
I decided to believe that he had never had a bad thought about me and to agree and feel what he feels about me. 
This type of agreement leads to a powerful stance of understanding who I am in God. I am able to love others powerfully because of agreement with God's powerful love. I become a conduit for his love and I breathe out his love over all I encounter.
Could you step away from perfectionism? Can you relinquish control of your circumstances to God's powerful hands? Can you agree with the fact that you are truly amazing and absolutely precious to God? 
If this is a new concept to you, consider writing some of these ideas on post-its around your house. Or put a reminder on your phone to buzz and tell you something powerful like "God has never had a bad thought about me."
Old mindsets can be changed, but it takes determination, agreement with God, and renewing of the mind.
#changeyourmindsets #loveyourselfpowerfully #agreewithgod

Can You Control the Tightrope? Or Do You Fall into the Abyss?

In life, there is a tightrope we walk. A rope of faith and hope where below us there is an abyss of worry and fear. You might feel wobbly in your faith (unsure of what is coming next - which is doubt). You might feel unsteady and try to step backwards into the past looking only at "what worked before" rather than stepping forward into the unknown in faith. Or you can free fall into the abyss of worry and fear, always falling, but never, ever reaching the steady ground. The choice is yours.

The phrase "Fear not" is mentioned 365 times in the Bible. Think of the beauty of that in God's word. He has given you a "Fear not" for each day of your year. He wants you to remember daily to release fear and trust. "But," you might say to me, "You do not understand what I am going through."
I may not, but God does.

My main question to you is this, "Have you given control of this fear or worry to God?"  I find in my own life, I often hold on tight to the biggest concerns or fears. I kinda pray about them, but mostly I try to solve it on my own (searching the internet for answers and researching; asking multiple people for their opinions; etc). Do you see how in this situation it is I who is trying to control the situation? I'm sure you can all imagine how well this goes when I follow this philosophy. Needless to say, I am not walking in faith when I do this and I worry more and rest less. In addition, my way is NEVER better than when I release it to God.

Let's go back to the tightrope analogy. In life, daily, you have choices. You choose what to think, what to wear, what to eat, what to say. You have a choice about walking in faith or falling into the abyss of fear. You can try to control your stance and balance on that tightrope all on your own will or you release the worry and truly trust God to keep your footing steady and solid. Doesn't He already know everything? Can't you think of a time when He truly protected you? Doesn't He have absolutely your best interests at heart? Doesn't He love you more deeply than the ocean?

Why can we not, together, walk forward and trust? Take your right hand and put it in front of you. Now, put that worry or fear into your hand. Say with me, "God, I trust you. You have never left my side. I give this to you. If I start to think about it or worry, I will hand it back to you. I give up the control and I walk forward in faith powerfully, boldly and with Your great love. AMEN."

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. Isaiah 43:1b-2 

How to Live in a State of Joy, Peace, and Love

Life, people, circumstances, the words of others, work... so many things can pull us from the natural state God wants us to be in - a state of peace, joy, and love. 

Last night God wanted to remind me of 1 John 4:18, "Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love." (NLT)

I find that I tend to slide into worrying (which is a state of fear). This tendency displays a mindset of wanting to control or "handle" the issues that arise. Perhaps as a child you were taught to solve your own problems, for instance.

But, is that God's view of life and what does all of this have to do with his perfect love? 

Do you understand how deep and wide and full is the love that God has for you?

At one point in my thirties, I read that verse "I have loved you with an everlasting love;Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you and continued My faithfulness to you."(Jeremiah 31:3, AMP). I suddenly understood God really does love me no matter what I have thought, said, or done. 

What does it look like to not only understand this with head knowledge, but to truly embrace it? 

The bottom line is, you matter to God. YOU do! You are not worthy WHEN. You are worthy NOW.

That, in itself, can be a hard concept to grasp and agree with - especially if you have always seen yourself as a driven person. 

Now, let's return to the initial topic. What is running your life right now? What is running your brain? Could it be fear or worry? Could it be to provide the perfect life for your kids or have your house looking the way it "should"?

What would happen if just chose to stop thinking that way. It isn't easy. Your mind is a battlefield, but what you choose to meditate on really does alter your state of peace, joy, and love. When a thought or something comes up, instead of trying to solve the problem yourself, could you take a deep breath and just ask God for the next step? Or if it is an unfounded worry (such as something the could happen in the future, but is not true or real) could you take any Bible verse you know and say it to yourself instead? Replace the yuck with truth. 

Take a step forward with me to choose joy, peace, and love over worry and control. #renewyourmind #changeyourmindsets #youareworthit

Don't Let Your Do Define Your Who

What is the lens you see life through? Have you ever had anxiety or felt depressed? Life through this type of lens affects everything. If someone at work says hello, the anxiety lens might overanalyze the body language/tone of voice reading into the action something that was never there. Whereas, when one is chronically depressed if someone makes a positive comment, through the lens of depression one might doubt the sincerity of the compliment or even negate the words by saying something like, "Well, you have never seen me when I wake up in the morning."

This filter also directly affects what you think God thinks about you. Is your relationship with the father are you bound by this lens or are you free to run and able to truly hear/believe what He says about you?

In addition, society tells us success is based in performance -- that your worth is seen by what you do. But, don't let your do define your who.

The truth is what we do doesn’t affect the fact that we are God’s children and that He absolutely loves us with an everlasting love. The father is your biggest fan no matter your works.

So, take a minute and ask God if you are looking at Him through some sort of lens. He sees you-- it's about time you really see Him and understand how deep his love is for you!

Mindsets -- "I HAVE TO exercise today" or "I GET TO exercise today" - which do you embrace?

Many will say, "I HAVE to exercise" or "I SHOULD exercise."
This approach is a guilt-based mindset. It can lead to exercise, but never to the true joy God meant for us to feel when we exercise.

What if one was to shift away from looking at exercise as a MUST (condemning) and see it rather as a GET TO (joyful, free). Therefore, what about shifting into saying, "Today I get to exercise!"

Applying this mindset shift can be for people who: do not exercise; feel they are in a rut and do the same type of exercise frequently -- feeling bored; and those exercise a lot, but do not feel true joy (exercising out of a sense of duty or routine).

Okay, now how do you change your mindset about exercise?

1. Think about what you used to love to play or do when you were about 10 years old. What types of active activities did you love?
2. Now take one (or more) and think of how to apply them into adult exercise opportunities. For instance, I used to love dancing around in my living room when I was 10. I began by doing low impact dancing (Jazzercise), Aqua Zumba (dancing in the water) and worked my way up to a high intensity dance class (BodyJam).
3. Pray about it. Are you fearful? Do you wonder if you can even do 5 minutes of sustained exercise because you do not feel good or have not exercised recently? Why not just do 5 minutes of exercise? When I first started at Jazzercise, I would go for the first song or two and then leave. That was all I could do. There are many places that are very encouraging and will support you wherever you are at. Look at if from God's perspective -- there is no condemnation in Christ. He is certainly not upset with you. Remember He has never had a bad thought about you and you are His most important. Trust Him to lead you in the journey. Perhaps you are fearful of others seeing you when exercising? Pray and ask God for peace. I find gyms quite accepting of all types. I belong to several right now and do not feel any judgment coming from others. However, you may choose to exercise on your own. Maybe you are able to be self-motivated using a walking app or using a DVD at home to guide you to exercise.
4. As you begin some sort of exercise that reflects your childhood interests, ask yourself, "Am I feeling true joy in your heart as I exercise?" If you are, this is where God wants you to be. If you are not in true joy, then try a different area of interest. Keep trying until you find the one that makes your heart happy!
5. Finally, I just want to speak to the idea that some of us are social exercisers. That means, we love to visit and socialize - exercise becomes a fun way to make friends and interact with others. If you are this type of person (I am), but you feel lost about what type of class would be the best to begin with - please email me. I can help you.

Exercise is God's natural high. To relieve stress, to relax you, to help you feel peace - exercise is a great, great strategy. Also, you will feel more powerful in Christ as you get stronger and improve your endurance!! Happy exercising!

Self Pity - Binds You to the Past

As hard as it is to admit, we all had "pity parties" about different things. For me, it was often about the daily migraines I used to have. 

Self-pity is a tool of the enemy. By dwelling in a self-pitying mindset, I believed I would always have migraines and never get better. Does this sound like a truth from God or a message from the enemy? It is never God's will for us to be sick.

However, I will admit, I got something from having my pity parties. I would complain about the pain getting sympathy (mostly from my mom). In addition, I also had a legitimate reason to take naps after work, watch extra TV, or to skip social outings. Yet, truly I was miserable. I was stuck. I didn't know I could be well. I thought I deserved the headaches as punishment and that God was disappointed in me.

Self-pity is the glue that binds us to the past. Binding us to past: sicknesses/conditions, sins, failures, family issues/traumas, etc.

The past, then, creates your future. By living your future in your past you are not able to experience the present as God has it before you. 

Philippians 3:13-14 says, "Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

It is not God's will for us to focus on the past. He doesn't -- why should we? We have the mind of Christ. Let's agree with Him and run the race looking forward.

It is not God's will for you to be stuck. Stepping away from self-pity means a need to renew your mind. It may need to be renewed hourly. 

It is okay to find yourself feeling sadness about your current situation. Your Heavenly Father is very compassionate and wants to comfort you! 

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 states, "3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." 

God wants to break the chains of the bondage that is keeping you stuck, sick, or out of commission. 

When you find yourself feeling sad - reach out to the best counselor in the universe - God! Ask Him what he wants you to know about you and about the situation you are in. Cry out to Him for comfort or relief. Don't give up!!

Just catch yourself. If you start to dwell in the sadness or hear yourself complaining to someone about the situation - you might be falling into self-pity. No problem. Stop and take 5 minutes with God. Ask for forgiveness and then ask for guidance on how to proceed with the next step. 

[Not sure how to hear God when you pray? Try being still before Him.]

Self-pity ties us to the past. Let's break those chains! Allow God to provide freedom and hope.