Let's face it - we're all over here doing the best we can, figuring things out as we go. Some days (or weeks) are harder than others. It's called life, right? Thankfully, God isn't surprised when we mess up & He's not a "hands-off" kind of Father. He's always there, nudging us back to the path He wants us on. Sending us instructions and encouragement along the way. We just have to stay tender to His leading.
I'm so thankful for the faith growing tools I've added to my toolbox in the last few years. I mean, it's not like I didn't have a pretty good "toolbox" already. I've been a Christian since I was little. Went to a Christian school from Kindergarten through twelfth grade, went to a college that - at the time - still considered itself a Christian school (don't think it does anymore), and have been going to church more Sundays than not since I was born. My faith really started to grow when I became a Mom. Maybe it's becoming a parent that helps you realize you can't do this life without a strong foundation of faith. I am sure that was part of it for me. But we also were going to a church that had a really awesome weekly women's Bible study. I was able to take the kids, get free childcare, and then go dig into God's Word with a room full of women. Plus, a small group of fellow moms from church formed a Mom's Group where we got together in our homes twice a month for Bible study & prayer. It was amazing. Those were the years when I first started doing Beth Moore Bible studies. I credit her studies with re-igniting my love for Scripture. Even though I'd been memorizing Scripture and reading the Bible since elementary school, her studies made God's Word come to life for me like I'd never experienced before. I'm just SO incredibly thankful for that group of godly women that God blessed me with during the early years of raising kids. I don't see most of those women anymore, but I have nothing but awesome memories of those years.
As I look back on my faith journey over the last almost fifty years (😮), I see lots of mountains and valleys. Lots of times where I felt really close to Him and that I was growing my faith muscles, and (sadly) also lots of times where my faith wasn't as strong as it should have been. I am just so thankful for the ways God continues to challenge & stretch me. How awesome that He loves me enough not to let me get complacent in my faith!
So, what about when we're struggling? When we need some practical steps besides just prayer & Scripture? In the last three years, I've added three new tools that have been having huge impacts on my spiritual and emotional health. I want to give you a quick glimpse:
- CREATION CYCLE: This tool is one that Dr. Edie shares in her life coaching program (and I now share with my life coaching clients). It's based on the concept of Romans 12:2 (Be transformed by the renewal of your mind.) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Basically, it's the idea that WE have 100% control over OUR thoughts, OUR emotions, and OUR actions. Each one (T/F/A trio) work together to determine our results. In fact, they are our experience of our life! As we choose better thoughts, we in turn create better emotions, which means we take better actions - and, therefore, experience better results. I don't want to take time to dig deeper into this right now, but I'm here to tell you this one life coaching tool has been LIFE CHANGING. I mean, when I started implementing these tools in the summer of 2022, I started to see almost immediate changes in the way I was experiencing my life. Had my circumstances changed that fast? Nope. I just changed the way I was telling the story. I started paying attention to what I was thinking about, and choosing better thoughts. 🔥
- SPLANKNA THERAPY: If you are a person of faith and you want to experience a powerful form of therapy like nothing else, you should run to this website and see if you have a Splankna therapist near you: Splankna Therapy. I first heard of Splankna from Dr. Edie, and then last November at our LMS Coach Conference I saw a Splankna session in person. I was thrilled to find out there's a couple Splankna therapists in Grand Rapids! I wish I could explain it in a way to do it justice. You honestly can't understand it unless you've seen it or experienced it yourself. It's a type of therapy unlike anything you've ever seen. I'm going to just share this from their website: "At the Splankna Training Institute we offer training and certification for practitioners in a biblically-based, mind-body protocol for emotional freedom. Holistic healing. Honoring Jesus. Splankna work brings together the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of an issue all at once. This 'whole person' approach can often facilitate change at a deeper level than more traditional methods. When body, soul, and spirit work together, the potential for change is maximized. Splankna harnesses remarkable mechanisms created by God in the mind-body connection. We provide a highly effective procedure for quickly relieving a wide range of emotional symptoms." 💖
- EFT TAPPING: Just like Splankna is drastically different from "talk therapy", so is tapping. It's also a therapy that taps (pun intended 😉) into the mind-body connection. The beauty of tapping is that - once you learn it - you can do it all on your own, anywhere, any time. There's tons of info out there on tapping, so I won't share much here. Since emotions have to be processed in the body, tapping is a wonderful resource to use for that. I'm trying to make tapping one of my daily habits. It's becoming one of my favorite things!
One thing I know for sure: the enemy would love it if we all grew complacent in our faith. If he can't get us to ditch our faith all together, the next best thing for him is for us to be lukewarm. But I'm determined NOT to let that happen. As we go through the ups and downs of life, what a comfort to know we can't ever mess up so badly that God's plan for our lives can't be fulfilled. I guess it just comes down to (a) how fast do we want to get to where God's trying to lead us (remember the Israelites' 11-day journey that took 40 years because of their sin & unfaithfulness?) and (b) how big of an impact do we want to leave while we're here?!
I want to use the time I have left to make the BIGGEST impact possible. I hope my mess-ups are minimal...but I can't make any promises. 😁
Just remember: stay humble, stay teachable, and stay close to the Savior.
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