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What Is Soul Care & Why You Need It Now

Newscasters are telling us. Social media influencers are telling us. Our doctors are telling us.

SELF-CARE
SELF-CARE
SELF-CARE

 

But these days it seems as if self-care has been reduced to temporary, quick fixes. Perhaps a mani/pedi, massage, glass of wine, night with the crew will invoke happy feelings, but in and of themselves they are short lived. While spa visits and whoosah moments are a sweet reprieve from the constant chatter of the world, in and of themselves they will not satisfy your soul’s need for care. This is why we must extend beyond self-care and embrace SOUL CARE.

 

Your soul is your mind, your will and your emotions. And God has given you a soul as a means of connecting with the natural world. But if you are not careful, you begin to live more out of our soul than out of our spirit. You are 1st a spirit being, don’t forget that.

 

Why do you need to care for your soul? Our life experiences directly influence the health of our souls. And when we are subject to hurts, disappoints, other trauma we end up with soul wounds. But there is good news. God has the balm to soothe and heal our wounded souls. But that requires us to present ourselves to Him. We must surrender completely to Him. So let us look at the three areas that comprise the soul.

 

MIND

 

Day by day, moment by moment we must renew our minds. We are bombarded by so much information that infiltrates our minds and much of it is untrue. Which is why we have to constantly feed ourselves the TRUTH of God’s word.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

 

With all that we are experiencing in our world today: pandemic, civil unrest, unemployment, under-employment, health crises and more, it is easy to succumb under the weight of all that pressure.
It is critical that we employ practices that support our mental health. Turning to the truth of God’s word is an effective strategy for managing our thought life. And I have created this resource to support you in calming the mind when everything around you is raging. In Solace In The Storm, my latest devotional, I unlock the promises of Psalm 46, strengthening your resolve that even in the midst of troubles, God’s peace will prevail. I pray that the mind that was in Christ Jesus is also in you (Philippians 2:5) as you keep your mind stayed on Him.

 

WILL

 

Jesus is our example for living. And He emphatically stated that He lived to DO the will of the Father (JOHN 4:34). Our will and God’s will tend to be diametrically opposed. We are naturally inclined to do what we want, when we want, how we want. But this is not God’s desire for us.

Through reading God’s word, prayer and times of solitude, God’s will, will become apparent to us. The onus is then on us to bring our will into alignment with His. And by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in you, you have divine enablement to do this.  For He works in you both to will and to do according to His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).

 

EMOTIONS

 

God’s gift of emotions is a beautiful treasure but if mishandled becomes problematic. When we are self-centered and self-focused only we can easily allow our emotions to dictate our behavior. But when we are Christ-centered and Christ-focused, we allow the Holy Spirit at work in us to lead and He empowers us to manage our emotions through the spirit.

 

Your range of emotions is not a bad thing. In fact, emotions are a great tool for letting us know what we are sensing and experiencing at any given moment. Without emotions we would not know joy overflowing and abounding love. The key is to acknowledge the emotion we are feeling, to consider its source or root and to surrender it to the Lord. Your flesh and all its longing are crucified and it is Christ that lives in you (Galatians 2:20), empowering you to manage your emotions.

 

Even the food you eat directly impacts  your emotions. If you eat foods that are processed, full of chemicals and additives it’s going to come out in your attitude! Be sure to choose food & beverages that support your peace and well-being. Adaptogens such as reishi mushroom, rosemary and ashwagandha, support feelings of calm and well-being.

 

Here is a simple, nutritious way to start your day. Instead of a sugary carb loaded breakfast, pair this granola with some fruit to start your day.

NUTTY SEED GRANOLA

 

When you spend time strengthening your inner man, you abide in the spirit, you walk in the spirit, and are led of the spirit. In that manner, your spirit takes precedence and enables you to master your soul.

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!

 

 

 

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The Release Of The Spirit

At the grocery store checkout through a pack of gum?!

It’s amazing the ways God chooses to speak to His people. So yes, God did communicated a powerful truth through a pack of gum. And it’s not the 1st time He’s spoken to me in an unusual fashion. He’s spoken to me by vigorously waving tree branches on a still windless day. I’ve even heard His booming voice from heaven audibly call my name. And that happened while I was new in the faith so it was quite unnerving.

 

On my weekly trip to the grocery store, as I stood in the checkout line I glanced over at the gum, My eyes landed right on Mentos Pure Fresh. Mentos Pure Fresh Gum has three layers.   A hard candy outer shell, a chewy, gummy layers then a cool liquid center. And you and I are like the Mentos gum. We are three layered persons. Our hard shell represents our outer most physical body, the gum layer being our mind, will and emotions and the center our spirit. To release the liquid center of the gum, we must get through two tough layers. And the same can be said for releasing our spirit. Let’s journey through the layers.

 

HARD SHELL

Oh how we long to satisfy the desires of the flesh.

 

When angry, we want to holler or play the power move of being passive aggressive.

 

When hurt or sad we may turn to food or other external sources for comfort.

 

That hard outer shell of the gum, the tough, rebellious outer layer of our person, the flesh, MUST crucify its longings to get to the next layer. That outer shell like the outer shell of an M&M can be cracked. Will we embrace being cracked? Do we see the value and benefit of being broken before God?

 

Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. John 12:24

 

CHEWY GUM

When the flesh and its longings have been bought under subjection, we can then reach the next layer of ourselves and that is our mind, will and emotions. And like chewing gum, they are malleable. Just like our teeth and tongue crush, squeeze, fold and turn gum, God takes our mind, will and emotions and turns and squeezes them so that are bought to the obedience of Christ.

 

Therefore do not lose heart, even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:16

 

While there are many well meaning, good intentions we may have, unless they are in alignment with the will of the Lord, they are for naught. It is not OUR will but HIS will that must be done.

 

LIQUID CENTER

Now I find there are three camps people fall into when eating layered candies like M&M’s and this gum. Some lick each layer. Some nibble each layer. And the last just bite through the whole thing. Whatever the strategy, each layer is enjoyed yet the center holds the promise, like getting to the center of a Tootsie Pop lollipop.

 

It behooves us to remain aware and sensitive so that we don’t miss Him. Now every time I SEE the Mentos gum, think about the Mentos gum, or even smell minty gum, I am reminded that Jesus is the center and I have to remain centered in Him.

 

In the case of the Mentos, the outer layer seems to hold the most intense flavor. The mint is strong and fills the nostrils. The mint is cool yet fiery. And when eating the gum, one wants that minty outer layer to last forever. And we can be like that, wanting to satisfy our desires forever. But do you not know there is even more intense flavor inside waiting to be released? For the liquid center inside the gum is even more intense, even more pungent. And the same can be said for your spirit. Your spirit man is capable of producing MORE fruit than your flesh ever could.

 

And this is the work of the Lord. Day by day He puts us in situations where we will be challenged to crack the hard outer shell of our bodily desires, where we will have to stretch and squeeze the longings of our will so that our spirit man will be released to flow freely and fly right in line with the Lord.

 

This is His desire for you. This is His desire for me, that we would be broken before Him so that our spirits can commune with Him and with other like-minded spirits to expedite the work of building the Kingdom here on earth. This is truly living. Doing the work that we were purposed and placed here for from the beginning of time.

 

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The Words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” John 6:63

 

Last year I asked the Lord to move my relationship with Him from my head to my heart. My head knows plenty about the Lord; I have memorized His word, I have seen His work, I have heard and continue to hear Him speak. The first two layers of ME know plenty about Him. Oh but I desire more than just head knowledge about Him. I long to know Him intimately. I long to commune with Him. I pine for the opportunity to hang out with Him and learn from Him. So He simply beckoned me to “COME!” And when I walked toward Him, the desires of my first two layers, my body and my will HAD to fall away. To sit with Him and hear from Him required me to respond. And to respond appropriately, obediently required me to deny myself so that my spirit could receive and act accordingly.

 

In his book The Release Of The Spirit, Watchman Nee says, “Our spirit is released according to the degree of our brokenness. The one who has accepted the most discipline is the one who can best serve. The more one is broken, the more sensitive he can be.” He goes on to say it is, “Through the Spirit’s discipline, that the outer man is broken. And, through the Spirit’s revelation, the powers of the outer man are completely divided from the spirit.”

 

Therefore, through disciplining ourselves and by divine revelation of the Holy Spirit, our inner man, our spirit man is released and is FREE.

 

In what ways are you being broken?

Can you see blessing in brokenness?

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!
Happy to connect with these friends spreading the Good News Purposeful Faith

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I Surrender

“Yes”

 

“My Heart Says Yes”

 

“Yes To Your Will”

 

“I Surrender”

 

“I Surrender All”

 

“I Give Myself Away”

 

“Withholding Nothing”

 

These are the titles to songs I’ve sung time and time again. But as is the case with many songs we sing, we enjoy the melody, but do we allow the TRUTH of the lyrics to resonate in our hearts?

 

Do we ‘live out’ the words we sing?

 

In my heart and mind I’ve truly purposed to surrender ALL to God, withholding nothing. In my heart and in my mind I delightfully obey God. Yet I find myself in situations from time to time where my surrender has been usurped by MY wishes, MY desires, and MY selfishness.

 

I invite you all into my VERY private space for a moment. Please don’t judge your girl, just pray for me as I illustrate how I can vacillate with this issue of surrender. I am currently the mother of 5 children ages 11 and under. When I got married I planned to have one or two children, my husband and my career. After the birth of my second child, the Lord gave me CLEAR revelation that my body is not my own and was bought at a price therefore I ought to glorify Him in my body and that included my womb. So surrender my womb to Him. That means that I do not have control over my fertility, reproduction, etc. He does. When people ask, “Are you planning to have more {children}?” my answer is, “I don’t know. His will be done”.

 

While I’ve surrendered my womb to Him, there are days when I literally tell the Lord, “Dude, 5 is good. You hear me? Five is good”. Those moments when I can’t even pee in peace without the two year old barging into the bathroom, while I hear the 4 year old climbing the shelves of the pantry and the 9 & 11 year olds are arguing all the while a pot is burning on the stove. All I want to do is pee in peace. Lord help me, 5 is good.

 

Yet I look affectionately at the cute pregnant lady walking past me in the grocery store and I feel the emptiness of my womb and wonder, “Will there be another?” My children declare almost daily their longing for a baby sister. They’ve already named her and have a bed ready for her. Each month that I get my cycle is fraught with emotions of relief mixed with a twinge of disappointment. Then if the cycle is a day or two late, I may get anxious with thoughts of how it could really work. How would I manage? Do we have enough money for another baby? I’d need a new car. What about this business I am trying to grow? And on and on.

 

So you see, even after placing my womb on the altar many years ago, I’m prone every now and again to want to try to run back to the altar and pick it up and run as fast and far as I can in the opposite direction. Even if I don’t pick it up, I may stare longingly, devising plans on how to retrieve it, or trying to negotiate with God on partial surrender (which by the way isn’t surrender). As I said, pray for your girl.

 

How then do we ‘train’ ourselves to obey? How do we surrender?

 

We hold fast to the TRUTH.

We meditate on the truth.

And what is the truth?

 

Jesus is the WAY, THE TRUTH and THE LIFE

His WORD is TRUTH

 

When the feelings of “5 is good” come up I tell myself the truth saying:

~If I keep my mind on You, You will keep me in perfect peace

~Every good and perfect gift comes from You

~Children are a blessing and the fruit of the womb is a reward

~I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken nor His seed begging bread

~You will supply ALL my needs according to your riches in glory

 

Then Jesus gently whispers,

“If you love Me, keep My commandments.” John 14:15

 

He also reminds me that when I do what He says, He will make my way prosperous and I will have good success. In this, He knows I may be weak, fearful and uncertain so He reassures me not to be afraid but to be strong and courageous.

 

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:8-9

 

 

So I cry out to Him in prayer:

 

You Lord are the Grand Weaver. You see all the strands and intricately weave them together to fashion my story. You pull the tapestry taut as you skillfully make me a new creation. You shed, pick and beat-up as you let off and take up so that I shine without spot or wrinkle. I am weak God. The current of life pulls me in and out. But you Oh God are my anchor. I surrender what I am, to become who you created me to be. I thank you for never leaving nor forsaking me. I thank you that you will be with me until the end of the age. Lord I’m feeling squeezed on every side but I turn my pressure into praise. I thank you for ministering grace and for moving your truth from my head to my heart. Now Lord grant me your peace as I walk out the path you’ve set before me.

 

To be who He created me to be requires a daily dying to myself. As a disciple, I take up my cross daily and follow Him. And in my everyday life that translates to delightfully obeying Him with a heart of surrender. I surrender. As in the above example, while the thought of a new baby is all at once thrilling and scary, I redirect my attention back to His word.

 

A few years ago, the Lord impressed upon my heart, “True disciples…OBEY”.

 

If you are a disciple, a close follower of Christ, do what He tells you to do. Though it may be difficult, He duly equips you. He doesn’t just say, “Follow Me” then runs off and leaves you. NO. He says “Follow Me” then He leads you in paths of righteousness, His rod and staff comfort you, He teaches you along the way, He orders your steps, He knows your uprising and your going down. When you purpose in your heart, Lord YOUR WILL be done, He sends ministering angels to strengthen you.

 

He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. Luke 22:41-43

 

For me it’s an undisclosed number of children. For you it may be your job, your marriage, your mind, your ministry, your health, your children.

 

In what area(s) is He calling you to surrender?
In what area(s) is He calling you to obey?

 

I want to join you in prayer so write your thing in the comment section below. Once you admit it, then surrender it, you can move forward in delightfully obeying Him.

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!

 
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Happy to be connecting with friends at:

Mama Moments Mondays Mom 2 Mom Purposeful Faith Front Porch Inspired Equipping Godly Women Dance With Jesus

 

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