Showing posts with label sick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sick. Show all posts

Thursday, June 01, 2017

Agreement With a Diagnosis

God just revealed to me that I was in agreement with a diagnosis of anxiety from twenty years ago, still. Despite my powerful experience with becoming healed of the migraines, I did not realize there was still this diagnosis and it had become a part of my identity.

What does it look like to be in agreement? To agree with a diagnosis means looking at life through this different lens. What do you say about yourself to others (in reference to the diagnosis)? For instance, for twenty years now I have said, "I am an anxious person." Or "I don't sleep well." The diagnosis had become a part of who I was which now affected sleep and the way I viewed life. By taking on the diagnosis as a part of my identity, it's power grew. I was actually speaking over myself and making it more intensified by saying things like, "I probably will wake up worrying about this." etc.

I didn't realize I was still identifying with this. I no longer took medication for anxiety, but by just having this as a core part of my identity, it has really been affecting my life subtly.

What are you in agreement with? Perhaps a generational issue like "my family has always had trouble with losing their temper"? Or have you been giving a medical diagnosis that has reshaped your entire life? Have you ever found yourself saying something like, "Well, that's just the way I am."

The first step is awareness. Begin to listen to yourself. When you talk (or think) about yourself is there something that you are in agreement with? Jot it down. Pray about it. Ask God what He wants you to know about that.

God wants you to live in ultimate freedom. He can do so much more with you free rather than bound up in sickness and old patterns. He has never had a bad thought about you. It is not His will for you to be sick, but rather in ultimate freedom.

Understand who you are in Christ. Don't know? Check out some verses here. Or just get out your journal and ask God, "What do you want me to know about you? What do you want me to know about me?"

I will write more about strategies to undo old patterns, mindsets, and yuck. I just took the time to do this for myself and feel way different than I did an hour ago. God is awesome! He loves us! Praise the Lord!




Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Agree and Do Not Doubt!

I used to wonder why my prayers for healing seemed ineffectual. Then I learned it is not just what we pray, but the belief behind what we pray.
I used to pray for the migraines to leave, while thinking in my head two things: 1)Maybe I deserve these migraines because I have failed God; 2) Praying is nice, but it has never worked before to relieve the pain.
Do you see what was underneath the prayers I prayed? I agreed with the migraines because I thought I had disappointed God. (I didn't know, at that time, that God has never had a bad thought about me.
I also doubted my prayers had any power.
What would happen if you changed the way you thought while you prayed? What if when you prayed (or even declare with authority)you knew what you prayed would come to pass? How would your prayer life change?
What about the passing "I'll pray for you" you state to someone who is sick. What if you really prayed knowing that it is never God's will for us to be sick and prayed with authority?
Can you think about what your thoughts are while you pray? Be in agreement and do not doubt.

Sunday, September 13, 2015

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!

Wednesday, July 02, 2014

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, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 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. 


Monday, February 17, 2014

I've Prayed Powerfully, But I Don't Feel Any Better...

So, you have watched the Curry Blake videos here and you have prayed powerfully for yourself in the name of Jesus knowing that the power that resurrected Jesus lives within you. Perhaps you felt your pain or something shift when you prayed, but you have woken up today feeling just as sick.

DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED!

Do you remember the Isaiah 53:5?

But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.

Do you see? "…by His stripes we are healed." Look at the tense of that verse. 
In the normal Christian church, we are taught that it may be God's will for us to us to be sick. This is just NOT true. It is always His will for us to be free and healthy! He took those stripes for you and me so we could know that we ARE healed. 

What does that mean? Remember our God is always about free will choice. 
You have a choice. You can walk in sickness or in health knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are healed.

Let me give you an example. I used to have really debilitating back pain. My back would hurt after about 5 minutes of walking. When I first learned about how to pray powerfully and in the spirit, I would pray for my back. I used to touch my back and pray something like "I bring health into this back, in the name of Jesus. By your stripes this back is completely well." Remember, it is not really what we say, but it is the belief of knowing it is Jesus doing the healing and not some personal superpower or whatever. Anyway, after praying I might notice the back pain leave completely or sometimes it would move. It might get hot or cold. All of these things are signs that the pain is on the move. What do you do then? You BLAST that pain with prayer. You may need to pray for it every 5 minutes for a certain period of time. Just walk in faith knowing this is completely unacceptable and you refuse to have pain because God wants you to be free.

Another important part is to renew your mind. You see, when one is in chronic pain or has an illness, you start to make accommodations in life. I know I was. I would think, "I cannot walk the dog because my back pain is so bad" or "If I go to Walmart, I am going to have to find some places to sit down because my back will hurt after walking for a few minutes." You get the idea. When I would have these thoughts, I was actually WELCOMING the pain back in.

Kind of crazy, right? I know it sounds weird, but being sick can be provide reasons to not go to work, attend social gatherings we might rather skip, take extra naps, and the list goes on. So, if you are going to pray powerfully for healing in your body, then you must renew your mind and begin to think differently.

What if your back didn't hurt all the time? What would you do that you have not been able to do forever? What if you didn't have cancer or some kind of disease? What would be different? Take some time. Ask God what you have changed because of your pain/sickness. What parts of the true you that God created you to be could return?

For me, one of the true parts of me was to dance again. With the daily migraines, back pain, and foot pain this really seemed like an impossibility to me. But, I began to walk in faith knowing that soon I would return to Jazzercise. The first day I went, it was scary. Part of me really felt I couldn't do it. 2-3 times during the sessions for the first month or so, I would have to go into the bathroom and pray in the name of Jesus for whatever part of my body was suddenly hurting again. I refused to give up this true part of me. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this is one of the things God wanted me to do. Nothing was going to keep me from reaching God's goal for me!

You might also have to retrain family members. They are used to your sickness and pain. I had many people asking me all the time about how bad my headaches had been recently or trying to make accommodations for me knowing I could not walk far. Tell them you have realized God doesn't want you to be sick. Stop talking about those aches and pains. Ask God to show you when you think about them (the thought patterns you have) and break those in the name of Jesus.

I think another thing that also really helped is to kind of pray aggressively when pain would come around. Especially when I was alone in my car, I raise my voice and speak directly to that pain in the name of Jesus. I tell it that it is absolutely not allowed. I know who I am in God. I agree with who God says I am. I refuse to allow that pain/sickness to keep me from doing what God wants me to do. Somehow for me, speaking in almost an angry voice helps to remind me that it is not by Katherine's power that these things have to go, but it is by the amazing power of Jesus that lives in me.

Finally, one other thing I would like to mention. Sometimes I will still have just a terrible headache. I pray fervently in the spirit and it seems to have a vice on me. In that situation, it is important to have someone who knows how to pray powerfully and have them pray for you. What if you do not have anyone? In that case, please contact me via email. Give me your phone number, what is ailing you, and best time to call. I will call and we will get you feeling better. 

Once you start walking in freedom and health, share your newfound knowledge. See that person walking on a cane on the street? Go over and ask if you can pray for them. Almost always they will say yes. Pray for them (maybe several times until they feel better or put down that cane). Then share the gospel (if they do not already have a relationship with God). By taking this leap of faith, you will have changed a life and you will feel even healthier because praying for others in this way will dramatically increase your faith! Praise God!
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In this blog I have used material I learned at:
 Wind and Fire Mission Base Wind and Fire Mission Base, 3243 Wind and Fire Dr. Marion, IA 52302
John G. Lake Ministries - Curry Blake DHT Training2

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Is God Disappointed in You? Is God Punishing You?


I became a Christian as a teenager and grew up knowing Jesus loved me because "the Bible told me so." But, I didn't really think He could love me?  I mean, look at the sins I had committed. I knew that I was forgiven, but really didn't I deserve to be punished? 
Certainly I deserved to have daily migraines because I had really let God down. He was really disappointed in me, right??
It was not until last year, when I was told a life changing message --
GOD HAS NEVER HAD A BAD THOUGHT ABOUT YOU!
I mean, meditate on that statement. All the times you have put yourself down for not meeting man's standards about reading the Bible for such and such amount of time daily or whether or not you prayed hard enough for the people on your prayer list, etc. All of those times I thought God was disappointed in my lack of christianity. 
Just because you have bad thoughts about you or the devil puts negative ideas into your head about who you are, this is NOT what God is thinking about you. 
What does God think about you? Have you asked Him? Why not spend some time alone with God (I like being outside if I can be) and just ask him "What do you want to tell me about me, God?" Then, sit and wait - be still and silent before God. He will give you a word, phrase, vision, or dream. 
Also, look at the word of God. Did you know that He loves you with an everlasting love? ()Jeremiah 31:3). Think about that His love for your is unending. Now, begin to agree with that idea simply by saying it aloud and saying something like, "I agree with how God loves me with an everlasting love."
When a negative thought about yourself suddenly pops up into your head, stop and say, "Thought you leave in the name of Jesus. You are not true. You are not real. God has never had a bad thought about me. I agree with how He loves me forever."
Begin to walk in freedom and remember what God really thinks about you - agree with Him and find true joy!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------In this blog I have used material I learned at Wind and Fire Mission Base.
 Wind and Fire Mission Base, 3243 Wind and Fire Dr. Marion, IA 5230230