- Bible teaching, Encouragement, Faith, Fear, Focusing on Truth, God’s Love, Prayer, Pursuing health and wholeness
God’s Perfect Love Casts Out Fear.
Who needs to know today that you are loved perfectly, wonderfully, just as you are today, right now… with your imperfections, your failings, your strengths, your giftings, yourself. All that makes up you. God loves— YOU. God loves you before you have tried to impress Him, tried to earn love or do something to gain favor. God loved you before the foundation of the world. He already knew you and who you would be (being that He is eternal and outside time), and He loved you with His agape, full, perfect love. A love that is not predicated on what someone will do or not do. A love that can’t…
- Caregiving, Encouragement, Faith, Focusing on Truth, Life Battles, Matthew, Pursuing health and wholeness, sacrificial love
For the Caregiver: God Sees You, Strengthens You, & Helps You
For those who are weary today in their caregiving, no matter the battle or medical issue they are walking through, let me remind you— God sees you. God cares for you. He will give you renewed strength as you continue in the battle you are facing. Let me, now, share a truth the Lord gave to me as I considered all the caregiving I have done… Caregiving is not a reciprocal act. It is an act done in deep sacrificial love without expectation of return on the investment. To caregive is to be asked to love like Jesus did— love without return. Jesus does not expect anything back in return…
- Bible teaching, Encouragement, Faith, Fighting for Joy, Focusing on Truth, God’s Love, Hope in God, Life Battles, Prayer, Pursuing health and wholeness, Romans, Spiritual Transformation, spiritual warfare
Nothing Can Separate You From God’s Love. You Are Not Alone!
If you have been around the Bible for some time, you likely know that the Holy Spirit intercedes on your behalf and on my behalf. Romans 8:26 says “…the Spirit helps us in our weakness, We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” So— when we pray and don’t know even what to ask for, maybe due to the request being heavy or complicated or we are in anguish or feel in despair and, or maybe have given up some on our hope that the situation will change… If you don’t know how to put…
- Bible teaching, Encouragement, Faith, Fighting for Joy, Focusing on Truth, Hope in God, Life Battles, Psalms, Pursuing health and wholeness, Spiritual Transformation, spiritual warfare
In the Midst of Your Battle, God Sees You & Is Near
What battle are you struggling in friend? God knows it. And he cares about you. In the midst of whatever you are walking through. Whether anyone knows the pain you carry or the storm that you are in. God does. You are not alone. God is with you and will help you through the midst of it. Why do I know? How can I be sure? Well, friend, it’s because God carried me through deeply, painful and difficult seasons in my own life where I couldn’t see the end in sight, but God was there carrying me, guiding me, bringing peace to my heart day by day. God is the…
- Amygdala, anaphylaxis, calming techniques, Coping strategies, EMDR, faith and psychology, Fight or Flight Response, Focusing on Truth, food allergies, Mental Health, Overcome anxiety & worry, positive self-talk, Prayer, PTSD, Pursuing health and wholeness, Stress response, therapy, Trauma
Fight or Flight Response: Part 2- Assessing Danger, Triggers, & Advocating with An Anaphylactic Allergy Focus
If you’ve dealt with a stressful fight or flight response where your body is on edge, anxious, worried, extremely alert and ready for action, or ready to deal with something dangerous, then you know you don’t choose when to feel that way, it just occurs all of a sudden sometimes. It can be disconcerting and worrisome to have your body jump into a revved up state all of a sudden. So, how do you get control back? How do you begin to tell your body what is dangerous and what is not, How do you calm down that stress response? How do we approach a fight or flight response, a…
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Hope and Trust in God No Matter Your Life’s Storms
In what do you place your hope in friend? Is it something or someone that can shift and change, possibly letting you down. A close relationship with someone. Your money, your items, your own abilities or physical prowess, your ability to accomplish so much on your own? All of those things are blessings from the Lord— our abilities, our talents, our giftings, our finances. They could shift so quickly though. We are not in control of them fully. The only One who does not shift but instead stands firm is God. Read more to find out how!
- Amygdala, Coping strategies, EMDR, empathy, Encouragement, faith and psychology, Fight or Flight Response, Focusing on Truth, Mental Health, Overcome anxiety & worry, positive self-talk, PTSD, Pursuing health and wholeness, Stress response, therapy, Trauma
The Fight or Flight Response: Part 1- Steps to Take & How to Talk to Yourself During a Response
The fight or flight response. What actually happens when we are triggered and our amygdala takes over, in an instinctual way, to protect ourselves? What occurs and how can we help ourselves turn the dial down on the response when there is, in fact, no actual danger present? Read further on steps to take when a response occurs, how to talk to and interact with yourself when a response occurs, how to identify the reason you are having the revved up fight or flight responses, and ways to decrease the intensity of the response to “get back your life.”
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The Hard Things In Your Life
Don’t shy away from the hard realities of your life.Let me say that again— Don’t ignore, downplay, or dismiss the difficult realities of your life. By being honest with yourself and honest with trusted individuals in your life & with God, you take steps toward wholeness.It’s okay to not have the answers for your difficult circumstances when you do share. By sharing about those— painful and difficult things, the painful realities of your life— with trustworthy, empathetic, and kind people— You can take steps toward wholeness. You are not alone dealing with that reality. Your friend doesn’t have to have wise words or answers for your problems, but they do…
- emotional intelligence, Emotions, Encouragement, faith and psychology, Fight or Flight Response, Mental Health, Pursuing health and wholeness
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence. Dr. Alison Cook on The Best of You Podcast, Episode 70 delved into what it is and what it looks like to enter into a social setting having emotional intelligence vs. not having emotional intelligence (using coping strategies to avoid one’s emotions). She speaks on EQ, which is emotional intelligence, and other types of intelligence and gives strategies for interpersonal relationships— How to interact with your emotions and other people’s emotions to lead to a healthier more resilient life. She even mentions the fight or flight response which is what I talked about on my blog, 2 posts ago. Scroll to the end for the link to her…
- Amygdala, Encouragement, Fight or Flight Response, Focusing on Truth, Mental Health, PTSD, Pursuing health and wholeness, Trauma
Emotional Memory & the Amygdala
Did you know that the amygdala is the emotional response center and incredibly important? It processes and stores emotional information, emotional memory. Emotional memories can be tied to items, similar situations, or one of your 5 senses, such as a smell or a sound. Seeing an item may prompt you to have a feeling or emotion tied to it, based on a prior circumstance and moment that occurred in your life, whether positive or negative. The item can evoke negative feelings and maybe unrest or worry and the person won’t possibly even cognitively remember what occurred but will know that that item makes them feel uneasy, weird, nervous, upset. For…