Live Freely!

The Bible is filled with verses where God tells us to be strong and take courage in Him. Joshua 1 is just one place. Jesus tells us in a different way in John--"Do not let your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me." In Revelation, he says, "Do not be afraid." There are too many verses to count where we are told not to fear, but to trust in God.

 I fought agoraphobia after having panic attacks and could not make myself go to church until after I began getting back into the Word and having a daily quiet time with Him. I can still recall the day I did go back all by myself.  I drove to the church and parked in the parking lot, but I did not go in. I sat there a few minutes debating whether to go in or go home. My heart was in my throat. While I was telling myself  I couldn't do it, a song came on the cd I was playing--Be Strong and Take Courage. I knew it wasn't coincidence that that song played right then. I felt God was encouraging me to trust in Him and go in. So I did.

 As soon as I had taken about twelve steps, a good friend of mine, one I had not seen or spoken to in 2 years reached the door as I did. She had come from a different direction and I was focused on going in, I hadn't seen her.  We walked in together. She talked the whole time and by the time she left me, I was perfectly at ease. I knew God had arranged it. That's how much He cares about each one of us.

Comment (0) Read More...

i]I edited the web link. Works now.[/i]

Dr. Caroline Leaf is a renown brain researcher whose research has been incorporated into South Africa's educational system. She recently spent 3 days on Life Today discussing how our attitudes are a collection of thoughts in our minds. She discusses with visual aids what toxic emotions and thoughts do to our brains and shares helpful information about changing thoughts and emotions. You can see her here:

After watching, if you scroll down you will see the other two sessions she is in.

Comment (2) Read More...

Beth has begun a new teaching series on Life Today. The information she will be talking about is about the same she discussed in Breaking Free with the emphasis on beating the oppression of the enemy by praying God's Word. She is very open about being abused as a child and how it affected her life. She uses 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 as the foundation. I used this teaching material, found in Breaking Free, to pray Scripture and it renewed my mind and reduced my panic attacks down to zero in several weeks. I am thrilled she's putting this on Life Today so anyone can view it.
Here's the link:

http://lifetoday.org/video/praying-gods-word-part-1/

Comment (0)

 A couple of months back, I was having thyroid trouble and my medication was increased. I'd been on the same amount since 1998. Well, I have been experiencing insomnia, mood swings,  a racing heart in the afternoon and evening, and feeling overwhelmed since December. I haven't mentioned it in my blog because I wanted to be sure what was going on. I suspected it was my thyroid, and after a blood test on Friday, it turns out my thyroid med had been  increased too much in November (I believe it was in November). So we are now decreasing my thyroid medicine to somewhere inbetween where it used to be and what it is now. My doctor suggested I take a sedative for about 10 days so that I will be able to relax, get my bp down and my heart rate down and hopefully sleep. Last night I slept for about 6 hours.  It is amazing to me how much an overactive and an underactive thyroid can mess with you. But I praise God for medicine that can help regulate those hormones.  

Comment (1)

Dr. Caroline Leaf is a renown brain researcher whose research has been incorporated into South Africa's educational system. She recently spent 3 days on Life Today discussing how our attitudes are a collection of thoughts in our minds. She discusses with visual aids what toxic emotions and thoughts do to our brains and shares helpful information about changing thoughts and emotions. You can see her here .

 After watching, if you scroll down you will see the other two sessions she is in.

P.S. James Robinson talks a bit at the beginning about a health program he is offering but just hang in through it and listen to Dr. Leaf. You will be glad you did.

Comment (0)

Isaiah 7:9 "If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all."

God has been impressing the above verse on me today. Hammering it in, really. I have been sick every weekend since the 3rd weekend in December and so have missed going to church. Even now my right ear is beginning to hurt again. I recently finished a 2 week bout with an antibiotic that made me dizzy and nauseated and yesterday the back of my hands broke out in a rash. It seems since August I have been battling one kind of illness or another--insomnia, low thyroid, sinus infections, high blood pressure, or reactions to medications--sleeplessness, sleeping too much from sinus medications, fuzzy-headed, headaches. 

My hands were itching this morning so I put vaseline on them and thought, there is no way I can go to church with vaseline on my hands! Plus, I only slept from 9 pm to 2 am and was up the rest of the time, and had not slept much the night before, so I was tired. At 2 am, I had prayed to God to help me sleep because I wanted so badly to go to church and worship Him with my church family, but sleep did not come. I began thinking about Paul's writing of his troubles in 2 Corinthians 11:24, telling us he was flogged 5 times, beaten with rods 3 times, stoned almost to the point of death, shipwrecked 3 times, spent a night and a day in the open sea, been constantly on the move, in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from his own countrymen and Gentiles, in danger in the city, country, at sea, and from false brothers; he often gone without sleep, had known hunger and thirst, and had often gone without food, had been cold and naked, and faced the daily pressure of his concern for all the churches all the while.

Comment (0) Read More...

I originally posted this in 2007 in the Inspiration Forum, I think, and I  thought I would post it again in my blog. The Good Shepherd cares for His sheep. He knows us and we know His voice. He leads us out and goes before us. (John 10:3-16) That means nothing can get to us without going through Jesus first. If He allows it, then it is meant to strengthen our walk with Him and to change things in us that need changing before He can lead us to "higher ground".

In 2004, I embarked on a spiritual journey to know God and believe Him (Isaiah 43:10), and a year later, I discovered after completing Beth Moore's Believing God Bible study and Breaking Free Bible study how praying Scripture could stop my panic attacks and bring peace. I decided to write down the steps I took toward recovery in hopes that it might help someone else onto the path of freedom from panic and anxiety. By following these steps, I experienced God in a way I had never known before. I felt His Presence, His pleasure, His peace, His joy, His love. He proved Himself to me so many times during my journey through depression, panic, agoraphobia, and social anxiety. He still proves Himself to me. I still need my Lord every day. I cannot cope without Him. My personality is prone to negative and critical thinking as well as low self-esteem and insecurity. My flawed thinking was a major part of my problem that led to depression, anxiety, panic and social anxiety. My response to stress, sickness, confrontations, difficult situations, plus self-absorption and low self-esteem worked against me until I felt completely defeated and unable to cope. My human nature needs to die daily so I won't put up with negative self-talk or self-centeredness, so I'm still clinging to Jesus. He is my anchor-hold on my sanity. My Shelter from problems that are overwhelming to me. My very own Blessed Redeemer who rescues me from deceitful thinking and behaving. Most of what I'm about to post I learned through Beth Moore's studies, through Dr. Tim LaHaye's The Spirit-Controlled Temperament, and through my own spiritual walk with Jesus, the Lord of my life and my Good Shepherd.

Step 1 BELIEVE.

Comment (0) Read More...

I was just thinking today how my view of the Bible has changed since doing Beth Moore's Bible study, Believing God, in 2004. I used to not read the Bible for many different reasons, but the most important reason was because it hurt to read it. I would see how much I didn't measure up, and I would feel condemned and guilty. I knew in my heart I didn't have a close relationship with God, didn't know how to have a close relationship with Him, and that my heart was not right because I didn't feel all the things that people who loved God felt in the Bible.

As Beth Moore has said, people tend to act out their belief system-what they truly believe-despite what they "say" they believe.  I used to "say" I was a Christian and believed in God, but my daily actions showed something different. I found that no matter how loud I proclaimed, "I am a Christian," my actions spoke much louder. I didn't read my Bible, I didn't pray, I didn't do Bible studies, I had stopped going to church, I didn't have a close relationship with Jesus. I couldn't see the relevance of His Word to my life because I didn't know how to apply it to my life. The little I had known at one time had been eaten away by anxiety, doubts,  and fears due to unfortunate circumstances. It is fair to say that I had dropped my shield of faith. Without it, depression and panic set in.

Doing Believing God was a life-changing revelation to me. I saw just how little belief I had and how little I knew about Jesus, Who was my personal Savior and Lord. Personal? I didn't even call Him "my" Lord any more. He was just hanging out there somewhere-vague and unfamiliar. I rarely thought about Him or God. Over time, I had taken Jesus off the throne of my life. (I'm shaking my head right now because that is such a scary thought. True, but scary.)

Comment (4) Read More...

On January 1, 2010 I began reading the Bible through in one year using the New Living Translation's chronological Bible divided into15 minute daily reading segments--very do-able. December 30 I finished reading every God-breathed word! I was so excited I couldn't wait until Dec. 31 and I read ahead. I was really pumped that I had finally read the Bible through in one year--a goal I have set for myself over and over for several years. I have come close, but something always seemed to happen. This past year I was determined. Amazing what you can do when you are determined. :) Not that I retained everything I read--the Bible has too many wonderful things in it to remember all of it. You can read it over and over and discover something new every time.

One thing that I had never realized before was how truly long the Old Testament is. Reading it chronologically took almost 9 full months. The New Testament only took a little over 3 months. Something else that struck me was how much time really passed between events. Reading it in order gave me a better sense of the reality of time. The Bible covers a period of over 1, 500 years and there are 400 years between the Old Testament and the New.

Also, the answer to an age-old question, if God is so loving how can He send people to hell was answered for me. Some people are so evil and their deeds are so evil, and when given the opportunity, they will not turn from their wicked ways. And God gives them plenty of chances to turn.  The verse that says He is not willing that any should perish but that all should have eternal life is proved out when you see just how long God waits and how many opportunities God gives for repentance.

Comment (4) Read More...

I've been thinking about a Bible verse that can be the theme for my life for the New Year of 2011. I got this idea from Bible teacher, Beth Moore's, blog. I prayed about it and cannot decide between two, so I am choosing two verses. One I keep coming back to is Nehemiah 8:10-"The joy of the LORD is your strength." This verse reinforces what I need to remember when I feel lost, frightened, or helpless. When I think about the Lord and all He has done for me, how He proved His Presence in my life during times of great need and how I felt guided by Him when I began trusting Him and stepped out of the boat and onto the waves of my stormy seas, I am reminded of how much He loved me and still loves me and joy fills my heart. This deep-seated joy truly does strengthen me so that I feel refreshed and able to go on.

The second verse is Psalm 62:1: "My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him." I have proven to myself over and over that when I am anxious or upset or feeling overwhelmed, spending some time with the Lord in His Word quiets and restores me so that everything else falls into proper focus. I'm more loving, more giving, happier, more peaceful and more focused after having spent time with Him.

2010 has proved to me that I'm still learning what it means to be "redeemed and summoned by name" (Isaiah 43:1) and to take up my cross and follow Jesus. I'm still a work-in-progress and will be until He calls me Home. How grateful I am to my God. He is faithful, and when I turn to Him and stand on His Word, either circumstances change or I change for the better. He is my soul's resting place and the Joy of my life! I pray He makes His Presence known in my life and yours throughout 2011.

Comment (3) Read More...