I had an amazing dinner last night with two of the most special people in my life. Driving home I just savored the thought of the blessings I have experienced just by knowing them. Then this morning happened. And it was rough. Really rough. The enemy does not like us to be grateful.
In that delicate space between recalling a dream and being fully awake and alert, I realized I was having thoughts I'd rather not have and I could not shake them, and let's just say that does not make for a "Rise and Shine" attitude from this young lady here. In fact, frustration turned to anger then to self-pity.
If everything is energy, that includes thoughts and feelings. Thoughts and feelings are energy, too.
She went on to explain that if you have a negative thought, jealousy, worry, or fear, that neurotransmitter will be created in it's likeness and it will be a negative energy. That chemical messenger will transmit into the cells in the body, and that is what turns our cells into pathogens.
So what do we do about these negative thoughts and feelings?
Before you get all Holy Ghost on me, I am not opening up a theological debate. Nor am I suggesting a "Name It and Claim It" deal.
In that delicate space between recalling a dream and being fully awake and alert, I realized I was having thoughts I'd rather not have and I could not shake them, and let's just say that does not make for a "Rise and Shine" attitude from this young lady here. In fact, frustration turned to anger then to self-pity.
I know I am blessed. I know I am loved. So why is this one thing bothering me? I have an amazing job, incredible friends I see every day, an outstanding family of faith and church where I can't wait until the next opportunity to attend or serve. Why, God, can't I just focus on the gifts you have given me and not this one stressful factor?
The same words went through my head with each emotion. Those words came out in a sigh of frustration, they came out in a shout of anger, and they came out in a cry of self-pity.
All before 6 am. I told y'all...it was rough.
Laying with my head under the covers, I went from trying to pray away those thoughts, to praying for a particular person, to moving the focus from myself by praying for other friends and family members, to begging God to fill this absence... because He's all I need, right?
Laying with my head under the covers, I went from trying to pray away those thoughts, to praying for a particular person, to moving the focus from myself by praying for other friends and family members, to begging God to fill this absence... because He's all I need, right?
When nothing seemed to make me feel better, I just got out of bed and decided to have a good day.
That was that. I needed to make a decision and act on it.
Because sometimes we try to take control back from God, but sometimes we use Him as a crutch and we pray for things that we are fully capable, through the power He has given us, of handling ourselves.
Decision made.
Shower. Makeup. Throw a few bobby pins into this lion's mane called hair. Grab a dress from the closet, because Praise Jehovah, it's gonna be 77 today! Rummage through the clothes on my "laundry chair" to find a cardigan I've probably worn no less than 3 times since the last wash.
Keep busy. Keep talking to God. Keep busy. Keep talking to God. Eventually the thoughts will go away.
Right as I was walking into my training location for today, I read the following post on afriend, mentor, brother's Facebook wall:
Oh...thank...you...Jesus. Thank you for sending that reminder that even when we need to just move, you still remember the cries of our hearts and answer those prayers.
I start reciting...I will be in the right place at the right time. I will meet the right people. They will be in the right place at the right time. There is nothing I have to do except follow the steps You have prepared for me. You have released Your power in me, and because of that, I am going to be in the right place at the right time to meet the right people...TODAY!
I stop reciting...because I look bat[crap] crazy talking to myself and I don't have a Bluetooth or headset to blame it on. But I walk into my classroom believing that I am going to be in the right place at the right time to meet the right people and I set up my training environment with a fresh perspective ready to take on the day.
One of my favorite students -- oh, I mean this lady I like a lot, since we "don't have favorites" -- was on the roster this morning. She's one of those people you work with and you think "we could definitely be friends outside of work." The kind that for every day since her first class last week, we hug at the end of class one day and remember to ask about the kid's birthday parties and friend's wedding plans at the beginning of the next class.
One of my other students joined us and I remembered teaching her a few months ago, and greeted her asking about her experience in her clinic so far. We discussed challenges and triumphs and then jumped into the material.
Who knew, we were in the right place...this was the right time...and she was the right person?
That was that. I needed to make a decision and act on it.
Because sometimes we try to take control back from God, but sometimes we use Him as a crutch and we pray for things that we are fully capable, through the power He has given us, of handling ourselves.
Decision made.
Shower. Makeup. Throw a few bobby pins into this lion's mane called hair. Grab a dress from the closet, because Praise Jehovah, it's gonna be 77 today! Rummage through the clothes on my "laundry chair" to find a cardigan I've probably worn no less than 3 times since the last wash.
Keep busy. Keep talking to God. Keep busy. Keep talking to God. Eventually the thoughts will go away.
Right as I was walking into my training location for today, I read the following post on a
God has released power in your life today.
Everything you need is within you.
God has placed the seeds of power, love, and peace in your heart,
and you're about to see what He's been planning for you all along.
Expect to be in the right place at the right time to meet the right people...TODAY!
I start reciting...I will be in the right place at the right time. I will meet the right people. They will be in the right place at the right time. There is nothing I have to do except follow the steps You have prepared for me. You have released Your power in me, and because of that, I am going to be in the right place at the right time to meet the right people...TODAY!
I stop reciting...because I look bat[crap] crazy talking to myself and I don't have a Bluetooth or headset to blame it on. But I walk into my classroom believing that I am going to be in the right place at the right time to meet the right people and I set up my training environment with a fresh perspective ready to take on the day.
One of my favorite students -- oh, I mean this lady I like a lot, since we "don't have favorites" -- was on the roster this morning. She's one of those people you work with and you think "we could definitely be friends outside of work." The kind that for every day since her first class last week, we hug at the end of class one day and remember to ask about the kid's birthday parties and friend's wedding plans at the beginning of the next class.
One of my other students joined us and I remembered teaching her a few months ago, and greeted her asking about her experience in her clinic so far. We discussed challenges and triumphs and then jumped into the material.
Who knew, we were in the right place...this was the right time...and she was the right person?
Well, Someone knew.
Somehow during one of the breaks, we started to talk about stress and it's effect on health and things of that nature.
And lo and behold, the student became the teacher.
Her passion for this topic that she is able to travel throughout our company and present to other departments, as well as travel throughout the nation to lecture on, just spilled over and you better believe I was right there wiping it all up.
Please understand that what I share next is extraordinarily paraphrased. I know nothing about the science behind this, so don't ask me any questions.
As she dove into her explanation about how thoughts are chemical and they are transmitted into energy, I was more than intrigued. I was enamored. It all made perfect sense, yet I had never learned it in this aspect before.
She asked if I felt if opposites attract?
I giggled, thinking of my experiences thus far, but she looked right at me and said, "No, I'm really asking you. What do you think?"
".....I don't even know," I stammered.
She then explained why the answer is {opposites do not attract.} She went into an illustration of placing a negative magnet and a positive magnet on a table and said "you call me when they come together, because you'll be sitting a long time."
"Thoughts are magnetic," she went on. "They only attract their likeness." The idea of opposites attract is null and void here. "So positive thoughts attract positivity, negative attracts negativity."
So you mean to tell me that my negative thoughts are not going to bring me positive energy?
Well, duh. I've heard this a million different ways, it just never clicked quite like this.
Somehow during one of the breaks, we started to talk about stress and it's effect on health and things of that nature.
And lo and behold, the student became the teacher.
Her passion for this topic that she is able to travel throughout our company and present to other departments, as well as travel throughout the nation to lecture on, just spilled over and you better believe I was right there wiping it all up.
Please understand that what I share next is extraordinarily paraphrased. I know nothing about the science behind this, so don't ask me any questions.
As she dove into her explanation about how thoughts are chemical and they are transmitted into energy, I was more than intrigued. I was enamored. It all made perfect sense, yet I had never learned it in this aspect before.
She asked if I felt if opposites attract?
I giggled, thinking of my experiences thus far, but she looked right at me and said, "No, I'm really asking you. What do you think?"
".....I don't even know," I stammered.
She then explained why the answer is {opposites do not attract.} She went into an illustration of placing a negative magnet and a positive magnet on a table and said "you call me when they come together, because you'll be sitting a long time."
"Thoughts are magnetic," she went on. "They only attract their likeness." The idea of opposites attract is null and void here. "So positive thoughts attract positivity, negative attracts negativity."
So you mean to tell me that my negative thoughts are not going to bring me positive energy?
Well, duh. I've heard this a million different ways, it just never clicked quite like this.
Just because I don't say my negative thoughts out loud doesn't mean they aren't festering inside, spreading to and taking over the positive thoughts like a cancer (really, like a cancer...we talked about the link between cancer and heart disease and thoughts and energies) causing decay.
If everything is energy, that includes thoughts and feelings. Thoughts and feelings are energy, too.
She went on to explain that if you have a negative thought, jealousy, worry, or fear, that neurotransmitter will be created in it's likeness and it will be a negative energy. That chemical messenger will transmit into the cells in the body, and that is what turns our cells into pathogens.
Fascinating. But again, don't ask me to expand on that explanation.
So what do we do about these negative thoughts and feelings?
What happens when we pray and pray and they don't seem to leave?
When we consciously tell ourselves, I know I am blessed and I have so much for which to be grateful, yet the thoughts still plague us?
Without me even asking the question out loud, she answered.
"The brain can't process no's and don't's, so when you have a negative thought, saying 'I don't want to think that' will not work. You just change it into a positive thought.
Her approach is not spiritual, but you can't dare tell me it doesn't apply.
Without me even asking the question out loud, she answered.
"The brain can't process no's and don't's, so when you have a negative thought, saying 'I don't want to think that' will not work. You just change it into a positive thought.
Her approach is not spiritual, but you can't dare tell me it doesn't apply.
"Set your mind on things above,
not on earthly things."
Colossians 3:2 (NLT)
Before you get all Holy Ghost on me, I am not opening up a theological debate. Nor am I suggesting a "Name It and Claim It" deal.
I am simply sharing what God opened my eyes to today in the event that someone else reading this had a vulnerable moment (or a few), too, and needs to remember that science and faith are not mutually exclusive and that God created us in such a way that the intricate details of our very existence all point to the very things we believe.
God's promises are in the Kingdom of Heaven. By His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53) may not be witnessed on this side of eternity, but it will happen. Does that mean we stop believing for it? Absolutely not!
God's promises are in the Kingdom of Heaven. By His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53) may not be witnessed on this side of eternity, but it will happen. Does that mean we stop believing for it? Absolutely not!
Harping on negativity does not please God. No, God is pleased when we believe His word, when our faith in Him multiplies because of His faithfulness to us, because of His love for us.
We often refer to the following verse in regards to the fear and power portion, but we often (at least I'll admit, I often) pay no attention to the last two words.
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear,
but of power and of love and of a sound mind."
2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV, emphasis added)
Let us forget no longer.
