I would say my most difficult chapter in life was when I was diagnosed with bladder cancer.
The media bombards us with flashes of death in stories and graphic pictures of vehicle accidents, murders, and wars, but we block them out of our minds. We feel as though we are safe and protected. We accept death of war heroes and old people, but we tend to reject the idea of it happening to us. We focus on guarding and enjoying our lives and distance ourselves from thoughts about death.
When I was diagnosed with cancer and the possibility of death, I was forced to accept this reality. I swung back and forth between fear and hope, and the emotions that came with that diagnosis – disparity, anxiety. A whole array of emotions took over, and a whole lot of questions – did I do everything I wanted to do? Did I fulfill my purpose on earth? Was I ready to leave my children and my husband? To every question, the answer was no.
I wondered whether I should fight or give up. As you can see by reading this, I chose to fight. It was the hardest fight of my life. And I don’t think I could have done it if my faith in God were weak. My faith and hope brought me peace and clarity in the middle of the pain and distress.
I cannot honestly say any fiction books deserve sequels, because I usually read non-fiction books. But I have been reading Jonathan Cahns books for years. He writes about ancient mysteries to current events.
Recently his book “The Dragon’s Prophecy” came out as a movie. And his latest book is the “The Avatar.” His next book will be the “Alter of Pergamon” coming out in September of this year.
Self talk is our continuous internal dialogue, shaping how we perceive ourselves and the world. Mastering it can rewrite neutral pathways, significantly reduce stress, boost confidence, and even enhance our resilience.
It can serve as a tool to regulate our emotions, improve our focus as well as promoting a proactive approach to the challenges we face in life.
King David used self-talk to encourage himself. A perfect example is Psalm 42:5, when he told himself, “Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God! For I shall still praise Him for the saving help of His presence.”
There is science behind having an inner dialogue:
Neuro–plasticity: Engaging in positive self talk repeatedly forges new neutral pathways in our brains, favoring optimism and resilience over time.
Emotional Regulation: Speaking to yourself using your own name or third person pronouns creates something called psychological distance.’ This helps us process emotions objectively and reduces rumination.
Physical & Mental Health: According to the “Mayo Clinic,” shifting from negative to positive self-talk is linked to a wider array of benefits, including better cardiovascular health, reduced rates of depression, and improved coping skills during hardships.
There is a danger of negative patterns. If left unchecked, negative self talk manifests as self-criticisms, doubt, and catastrophizing.
Common traps to this are:
Imposter syndrome: Telling ourselves, that we don’t belong here, everyone else is smarter than us.
Overgenrailzation: Thinking, ‘I messed up the presentation, so I’m a complete failure.”
Fear of Failure: When we conclude, “I will never be able to pull this off, so I shouldn’t ever try.”
There are some actionable strategies that you can do that can help us change.
We can actively reshape our inner voices through conscious habit-building:
Catch: When we notice our thoughts drift into criticism or defeat.
Check: As can ask ourselves, ‘Is this thought actually true, or is it an exaggerated fear?’
Change: We can reframe our statement. For example, instead of saying ‘I can’t do this.’ The objective would be third-person encouragement, such as ‘I have the ability to figure this out if I take this one step at a time.
“Be careful how you are talking to yourself because you are listening.”
If you have read the book or watched the popular movie series of “Harry Potter.” One of the plot twists was that Professor Severus Snape posed as a cruel Death Eater throughout the series. Still, he was a deeply devoted double agent who protected Harry Potter from the shadows out of his love for Harry’s mother, Lily Potter.
The writer of the Book of Hebrews still remains a mystery today. But that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from it.
The writer gives four anchors to help us secure our faith: don’t drift, see Jesus, follow Jesus, and trust Jesus. Jesus entered our humanity, tasted death for us, and now calls us brothers and sisters. He is our “trailblazer” who leads many of us to glory. Even when we feel overwhelmed by questions or disappointment.
Hebrews warns us against drifting so far that we lose sight of Jesus Himself. We can remain anchored to Jesus even when our faith feels fragile. Jesus still stands as the anchor who frees us from fear and strengthens our faith with every storm we face.
I would like to focus on the key takeaways we can learn from Hebrews:
Don’t Drift: Pay close attention to Jesus. Faith weakens us gradually when we neglect what we’ve heard.
See Jesus: Fix your eyes on the One who became human and tasted death for us
Follow Jesus: He is the One who goes before us and builds faith, not a bunch of rules.
Trust Jesus: Through His death and resurrection, He breaks the power of fear and the hold of death.
Jesus Understands: Because He suffered and was tempted, He is able to help those who struggle with doubt and temptation.
If I could live anywhere, it would be a beach house. Specially a beach house with few people. Because I’ve lived in mountainous areas all my life. I would want a change of scenery. We seem to always want something we don’t have, due o to our quirky brains and the psychological craving for novelty and a desire to reinvent ourselves.
In reality I would love to have both, the beach house and the mountains. But this doesn’t seem possible. So I will be content where ever I live and be grateful I have shelter, food, and a family who supports me in whatever I do, along with all the blessings from God I have.
Simon the Sorcerer captivated Samaria with flashy magic until Phillips gospel brought real power, exposing a heart more interested in spectacle than salvation. When Simon tried to buy the Holy Spirit’s gift, Peter’s rebuke revealed a faith that was all show and no substance.
The account of Simon the Sorcerer in Acts is a perfect example of God seeing our intentions and not the mask.
Simon was a new believer who had forsaken his old way of life and had recently been baptized. He was amazed at the powerful work of God he was seeing in his town. Most amazing of all, Simon watched as people received the Holy Spirit when the apostles laid their hands on them. He had practiced magic most of his life, but he had never seen anything like this before, and he wanted in on the action.
In Acts 8:18, Simon says, “Now when Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the emissaries’ hands, he offered them money.”
The apostles were doing a good work and Simon wanted to be involved.
Well, it seems that Simon desires were a good thing, we see other wise in Peter’s response. He states, “May your silver perish with you, because you though you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part not lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God…for I see that you are in the Gail of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” (Acts 8:20-23 summarized).
Simon was mistaken to believe that he could purchase this gift for money. Peter was guided by the Holy Spirit that His heart was not right with his request. While Simon outwardly desired a good gift, his heart motivations were wrong and deep down he was filled with bitterness and equity. But, the Lord rebukes him through Peter.
As humans, we naturally view the world through what we see with our eyes. Someone might have certain outward actions that are commendable, but scripture teaches that God doesn’t look merely at the outward action, he examined the motives of our hearts. Doing good things for all the wrong reasons does not police God.
Scripture often remind us that God cares about our heart and our motivations instead of just the external work we do.
There are many scriptures that tells us God looks at our intentions:
Proverbs 16:2 tells us, “All the ways of a person are clean in his own sight, but the Lord examines the motives.
In 1 Samuel 16:7, God said, “Samuel, Do not look on his face or the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For I don’t se as man sees. For man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.“
Jeremiah 17:10, “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.
Genesis 6:5, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was continually only evil.”
This doesn’t mean our external actions don’t matter, they certainly do. God sees what we do and why we do it and take both into account. Outward obedience is widely important, but it’s not all that is needed.
It’s important not to be like the Pharisees who work so please with their outward works, they never examine their motivations. Their self righteousness didn’t lead to life, it kept them from true healing and grace. The good news is that we can evaluate ourselves truly and honestly because we need not fear condemnation.
I believe we need to ask ourselves some time to time whether our motivations lineup with God standard. We can repent our sin and confess. We can plead with God to continue to work. He began in our heart and mow our thoughts and desires to look more like Him.
There is grace when we are honest about our motivations and plead for mercy and for the power of the Holy Spirit to bring change. Only He can bring internal change that is visible through our external actions.
The real growth in life comes during times of chaos. We often equate a growth mindset with optimism, resilience, or learning from our failures and while I think that’s part of it. The real work begins in the chaos.
We can’t appreciate the good times, if we don’t see a little chaos from time to time.
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone perish” -John 10:27-28
Hearing God is one of the most essential factors in developing a personal relationship with Him. There are no special requirements that qualify any of us to hear from God. According to Jesus, we need to be one of His sheep. In other words, only one thing is required to hear God, and that is being born again.
Many of us have more confidence in other people – like their pastor, father, husband, or spiritual mentor to hear God for them. They depend on others to hear God for them and this keeps us a baby Christians that hinders our growth in Jesus. Hearing God’s voice personally is a wonderful gift. I have received tremendous insight and encouragement given to me over the years. I do not rely on what anyone says is God’s word for me. I pray and listen for God’s voice myself.
I am His sheep. I can hear His voice as I seek Him. I spend extra time in His Word and pray when I need Him to shine light on my path.
In Psalm 119:105, David says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet. And a light to my path.” More often than not, as I am reading the Word, a knowing comes into my spirit about what to do when I need His direction.
He doesn’t speak to me in a specific way, like an audible voice, or an angel coming to me, or a word from someone else. It’s a check in my spirit or a dream that suddenly wakes me up with a sense of urgency or an inward desire. And times through an “Rhema” word. One that is personally applied to my situation.
John 10:4-5 says, “And when He brings out His own sheep, He goes before them, and the sheep follow Him for they know His voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
From my study of His Word, I have learned God’s character. When I hear something contrary to His character, I ask myself three things, “Does this line up with His character and nature? Does this produce peace or confusion in my heart? Does this produce liberty or bondage.”
The more I know God through His Word, the easier it becomes to distinguish His voice from my emotions.
You can hear His voice and recognize it if you take the time to check what you are hearing against His Word and godly counsel from others who know God, and He will shine light on the path of your life.
I don’t have a favorite blogger because I enjoy reading a lot of them. I usually make a point to go to renner.org a couple of times a week because he is an amazing Bible teacher.
“Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen” -Hebrews 11:1
In a world full of challenges, uncertainties, and adversities, life can be taxing. It’s easy to feel discouraged and even lost in the storms in our lives.
The Bible reminds us that faith gives us a solid foundation on which we can stand, even when we feel alone.
Following Jesus does not exempt us from challenges. In fact, sometimes it seems that we faced more difficulties than those who do not follow Jesus. However, it is precisely during those times of difficulties that our faith is tested and strengthened. Faith is not only believing in God when everything is going well, but also trusting in Him when everything is falling apart around us.
A good example in the Bible would be Joseph in Genesis. The account of Joseph’s journey from being his father’s favorite son to being sold into slavery in Egypt by his brothers., his rise to power, and his eventual reunion with his brothers. Threw it all Joseph up, never lost faith.
In times of difficulty, it’s crucial to remember that God controls all things. Even when we do not understand the reason for our trouble, we can trust that God has a greater plan in motion. Even when we make choices that cause ourselves difficulties. God still has a greater plan.
Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
Prayer always plays a fundamental rule, and our journey of faith. And times of difficulty, it is through prayer that we find strength, comfort, and direction. We can share our burdens with God, knowing that He hears us and responds according to His will.
Our journey through life can be full of challenges, but we can trust in God, persevere in prayer, and seek His will. We can keep our faith firm even in times of trouble. Faith truly is the solid foundation that sustains us, even when everything around us is in turmoil.
A lesson I learned while being a facilitator of a support group years ago. While it wasn’t recently, it’s a perspective sharing.
I seen first hand that someone else’s negative behavior is about them, and that their treatment of you is a reflection of their character, NOT YOUR WORTH.
So many times in life we personalize or internalize other people’s behavior. Whether it’s to seek approval, avoid conflict, or please others, or a learned behavior from childhood where they have a big sense of responsibility, or learned because of emotional neglect or codependency.
Regardless of the why, internalizing other people’s behavior is exhausting. Taking on someone else’s emotions gets us out of our own emotional development. We are not responsible for other people’s feelings, how they react to us or how they treat us. Learning this is important for our own emotional well-being and self-worth.
We are only responsible for our emotions, behaviors, and actions. Another’s behavior is a mirror of how they feel about themselves, perceive the world, or a demonstration of where they lack skills to cope.
