Nourishing Your Spirit

It was Christian meditation integrated with the scriptures that helped me overcome 4 years of a deep depression. I remember so clearly the day my healing began. I was waiting for my kids to get out of school.  I sat there in my green mini-van wrenched with emotional pain so thick you could cut it with a knife.  As I waited, I began to take deep breaths and with each exaltation I would mentally affirm, “I release pain.”

Within 10 minutes the pain was gone and I experience a peace that had alluded me for so long. As I dwelled in the quiet, the spirit of God spoke to my heart. In a still, small voice, he said, “Rhonda, the reason you are so depressed is because of the thoughts you are thinking.” Prior to this I wasn’t paying much attention to my thoughts, but now aware of them I listened. They came faster than a parading machine gun and they were destructive, debilitating, and down right mean. Every day, I was beating myself down. I was saying words to myself that I’d never let another person get away with. Yet they were able to sneak into my sub-conscious mind day after day. (more…)

          

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EFT is an acronym on for Emotional Freedom Technique. Occasionally, I am asked if EFT is something that Christians should avoid. I first became familiar with EFT about 10 years ago at a book signing event. At that time I had never heard of EFT, but participated in several tapping exercises to reducing sugar cravings. EFT is now taught and practiced world-wide. Just look on YouTube you will find 100s of EFT videos on reducing everything from stress and anxiety to losing weight and people swear by it.
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“Come unto to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.”- Matthew 11:28

I truly believe that depression is the result of internalized fear. Fear can take many forms such as anxiety, worry, guilt, regret, jealousy, and even anger. Usually we fear a loss or unwanted situation.  For example, fear of losing a loved one, wages, health, or even face can cause great anxiety. These situations, if not properly dealt with, steal our peace of mind and well-being.

As Christians, it’s important not to mask or deny our fears. Often we will try to cover our fears and insecurities with faith words. We often put on that Christian happy face and tell others we are blessed or everything is fine, even though there is deep pain in our heart.  In solitude, we may earnestly pray and ask God to take our pain away or sing songs of worship and praise, only for that heavy feeling to return again and again.

Though heartfelt, prayer and praise alone may not help in eliminating our negative emotions.  Instead of releasing them, they are buried further down into our subconscious mind, where they gnaw at us and weigh us down creating a perpetual dark cloud over our heads. 

If we look at this from a logical standpoint, if we focus only on the emotion, its like implementing solutions to a problem that has not been properly identified. In almost all cases, our negative emotions are not the problem but only a symptom of it. The presence of negative emotions is the indicator that something is wrong. Feelings of anxiety, depression, anger, fear, or sadness is our body’s way of saying we are out of alignment with God’s perfect plan for us or His spiritual well-being. If we stop only at the negative emotion or try to eliminate the emotion without going deeper, it’s like putting a band aid on cancer. (more…)

          

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Christmas Eve Traditions Make Memories

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Lately I have been practicing one of my meditation sessions a little differently.  Generally I try to meditate twice a day, one guided meditation (usually one of my Cds) and then a Centering Prayer meditation (a silent meditation using a sacred word to anchor my mind).  There are many benefits to meditation and meditating on God and His word. I believe one of the most important reasons is to quiet our mind so we can hear and build relationship with God on a spiritual level. I enjoy both types because they provide me with different experiences and results.

Well I kind of stumbled on a new way to meditate on God that is empowering me spirituality, renewing my mind, and increasing my joy and well-being. I wanted to share it with you. (more…)

          

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