- Jun 25, 2015
Have you ever experienced the draining effects of Negative Thoughts and Words? And we all said "YES"
Well this article is written so we can have a closer look at them, in relation to health.
But also the pleasing contrast of Healthy Thoughts and Words!
COME WITH ME
Our words can lift us up or weigh us down. So can the words of others – like second hand smoke. You're not the one smoking but you still get the effects of it.
Some of us know that the words of others can weigh you down but fail to realize the power of their own words. Good news.... they can lift you up just like a happy person can. Yes, you can cheer yourself with the words you speak if you choose them wisely.
The power of negative words on our health has now been discovered by Neuro-Psychologists. Even Neuroscientists have found that the words we speak can effect us physically for good and not so good. And just like the Bible (not religion, but a handbook for life) said the earth was round before Christopher Columbus discovered it, there was a bible proverb that says “we eat the fruit of our words”.....that is to say, from our negative words there is bitter fruit; from words of strong emotions there is sour fruit; from our healthy words there is sweet fruit. Yes, from the words we speak, there can be wholesome or luscious fruit_ just like the words of others to our hearing.
Have you ever found that negative or unhealthy words of someone over a length of time can wear you down – mentally, physically or emotionally, even all three? Yes, even to the point of 'burn out' a type of exhaustion or adrenal fatigue. Even words at the moment, can be upsetting or depressing. What impact does all this have on our health? Neuro-Psychologists and Neuroscientists say it does, just like our Creator said through His inspired Word.
So it is good to help ourselves to a good serving of fruit each day, with the words of ourselves and others and dispense of the not so good before it reaches our mouths or our ears. Sometimes this is not altogether possible with the words of others, so we need to 'guard our hearts' when they speak; set boundaries if we can or maybe limit the amount of how much we hear. It is good in these cases to compensate with the words we hear ourselves speaking; to meditate on happy and wholesome things and balance their company with more cheerful company. Sometimes we can change the course of conversation with someone and guide their thoughts with better words we can speak. Yes, we can make them happy instead of sad or show them that we like to engage in better conversation where the input is more positive.
Some people have an appetite for unhealthy conversation – even spreading it. For our health's sake, we need to avoid these people, like a restaurant that serves bad food. You would not go back there again, would you? Yet we put up with people so often in the name of good manners. On the other hand, many people are genuinely stressed these days and most of us have times where we are upset. So it's good to show compassion. When doing this, make sure that you've set guidelines for yourself how much you can take. This is good for the other person as well as yourself because we don't want to be helping them to dig a grave for themselves – so to speak – where they feel just as bad after confiding or even worse. Yes, when someone chooses to confide in you, it's good to know they feel better for it and you're not the worse for wear. It's good to have a listening ear, make sure this is beneficial and that you compensate for this afterwards. Don't by any means tolerate boundary violators_ they're not happy unless they get other people down. They need to learn a lesson.
There is a Bible character by the name of David who was referred to as “a man after God's heart” because he was closely acquainted with Him. David seldom confided in man but verbally confided in God's listening ears, leaving his cares and concerns to Him. When doing this, he would also verbally praise God and magnify Him as greater than his situation and able to meet his need. No wonder the name David means 'God's beloved' …..imagine how He would have loved his prayers!
David also used to “encourage himself in God”. He used to say to himself things like “I will praise God, I will bless His name” that is to speak well of and make Him feel good (while he did this his mind would not be on his problems) and many times he is recorded for saying “the steadfast Love of God endures forever......great is His unfailing Love......and.....His Loving Mercies are new every morning”. He would meditate on the wonders of creation and sing to God (and himself) of His excellent ways. One could rightly say that he knew the power of words and he most certainly practiced the power of choice.
We can also bring cheer to our spirit by making wise choices like this man......hey? There's some really good principles there that the life coaches of today don't teach us. I've practiced these myself by bouncing out of bed singing a joyful song when I woke up with something bothering me. So I know it works because my day was a brighter day. I have even changed a day mid-course (when something disturbed or upset me) this way. You can visit my inspirational websitewww.inspirationsforyou.net if you wish, that is filled with pleasant poems about nature and God and nature like Helen Steiner Rice wrote and some really good sayings by different writers. People love them! It gives them nice things to think about with lots of beautiful pictures.
I don't like to settle for “this is'nt my day” like we often do because that is like putting in your order for more. Don't concede defeat any time, why not make Him your friend?
We need to uncloak characters like these from religion and benefit from their example. Yes, I don't have any religious persuasion but I do have time for Jesus because I have found Him to be real.
Let family and friends know your comfort zone. There is nothing wrong with this. And we need to respect other's comfort zones. When was the last time our words were not beneficial?
I've written this article for you because I think that negative words have a lot to do with our mood levels, whether those by someone else or our ourselves and have found this to be true. Thank you for your input.
- Jun 24, 2015
We are not living in the best environment with the world around us and stressful situations. Then there is our inner-environment to consider.
How are you faring? Are you feeling steady or fretful for some reason?
How often do you sense the Presence of God, that brings Joy, Love and Peace?
Sometimes when we pray and we don’t sense The Lord’s presence, it is because of negativity – He is not located there, He is Light. So when you are praying, turn your face to the sun instead of the shadows. We do this with thoughts of cheerfulness, meditating on His Goodness and Loving Kindness. Yes, He is a Benevolent God, and sometimes negative things in life can affect our image of His Nature. It is helpful to think of good things He has done for us, and scriptures that speak of Him that way.
Sometimes when we are not sensing Him in our day or our lives, it can be for the same reason – negative thoughts are in our mind, and He does not dwell there, He dwells in Light. So let your thoughts be drawn to the light and you will find Him there – His presence will be with you as you focus on things pertaining to His Goodness; His Joy in Creation; His Benevolence; His Loving Kindness. Try not to limit this to times of prayer but through the day and evening as well. This is cultivating His Presence. And when this becomes your lifestyle, His blessings start to flow. Yes, don’t let the negative thoughts fill your mind – that is to give them permission. Over time, it can affect the way you think about Him.
In our walk on this earth, it is important to remember there is a difference between Conviction and Condemnation. One is positive, the other is negative. One is God given, the other is imposed by the enemy. So one is real and beneficial and the other is false and it is destructive. Conviction means ‘awareness that comes to you’ it actually brings release. If you have conviction from the Spirit of God, it will cause you to live at a deeper level of holiness. If you have condemnation, you will be frustrated and hide from Him or yearn for His presence…… you may even think that following God is too hard (under the weight of it). It is designed to affect us like that. But true conviction from the Holy Spirit lifts when awareness is brought to you. Condemnation sticks and won’t give you Peace. It also brings confusion and distorts your image of His True Nature and intentions. Conviction will cause you to ‘rise to the occasion’ (depending on how well you respond to Him).
Condemnation gets us no-where! Your heavenly Father does not want that – it’s counter-productive to His purposes for your life. So conviction is spiritually, mentally and emotionally productive – condemnation is not. Over time, it can actually drive you from the Presence of God, saying “it’s too hard” and Jesus said “all you who labor and are heavy laden, come to Me and I will give you Rest". Condemnation also comes with a religious mindset and it will cause you to labor your walk in God. That’s why Jesus went on to say “My yoke is easy and my burden is light” like a small bundle of clothing on an oxen’s back compared to a heavy sack. So remember that Conviction always has Hope but condemnation takes it away from you. He is the God of Hope who is interested in bringing out the best in us – ALWAYS – He desires the Best.
The Hope of the righteous brings Gladness of heart and soul (Proverbs 10:28) and the way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day (Proverbs 4:18) This is The Lord’s Will and Desire for us. “For the JOY that was set before Him – seeing us the other side – He endured the Cross”……..and He is a Joy Maker, not a Joy Breaker. Rejoice in The Lord always, again I say REJOICE – this is Our Victory!!!
So whatever is lovely, true, of a good report and praiseworthy – think of these things and the God of Peace will be with you. Rejoice always and the God of Gladness shall be with you – you can put on Joy, Love and Peace by choice. Yes, you can switch on your happy mode just like faith. This is a simple Act of Will – and watch the difference. I do this quite often. Start today and He will bless.
I WELCOME YOUR INPUT ON THIS POST. WHAT HELPS YOU WITH
NEGATIVE EMOTIONS AND EXPERIENCES?
IS THERE SOMETHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO SAY?
- Jun 22, 2015
Sometimes we need to know what faith is not to discover what faith is because there is so much misunderstanding. And we wonder why 'our prayers are not answered' Only God in His Wisdom knows all the answers but here in this article, I address the most common mistakes we make and how to avoid them.
Faith is a faculty of your spirit that responds to spirit. Jesus said “My Words are spirit and they are Life”. Feelings often get mistaken for faith. But feelings are a faculty of your senses, having to do with emotions. Reasoning is a faculty of our mind, given to us for relating with the world and logic that is working things out. It has to do with intellect whereas faith is spontaneous in nature but not to be mistaken with feelings. For feelings are often fickle……they have their highs and lows and often let us down. But faith can be strengthened by His Word in His Presence – it is more constant in nature and you can learn to tune into it.
Yes, feelings are changeable, faith is steady. Even though faith is spontaneous, it can hold on to something for longer than feelings once you find where it is. Feelings rely on sense knowledge, faith rests in God and He is Spirit – we worship Him in spirit and truth. Try not to depend on the faith of others, for that weakens your spirit – it is not exercising your faith. Remember the principle that faith and feelings respond differently. Yes faith has different stimuli than feelings. Faith is activated trust….. faith knows, feelings question…..faith accepts His Words as evidence, feelings reject them – they must see or hear first but faith does not.
So we see that feelings and reasoning have nothing to do with faith!
We have 5 senses that relate with sight and touch etc. Now faith is a 6th sense that relates with your spirit (separate to the others). For many years, our thoughts have been taught by sense knowledge pertaining to the world around us…..faith is resident in our spirit and relates to the knowledge of God and things pertaining to His Kingdom: His Promises and Blessings. Feelings and intellect depend on circumstances but faith rests in the promises. Feelings are restless, faith is calm. Faith defies logic – it would rather question circumstances than question God.
Faith rises when prayerfully reading His Word……it ignites in the Presence of Jesus…..
it is released in praise and worship…..during these times we can readily access faith. It also comes by hearing His Word in preaching – you could call this faith in response. To move in faith, we believe with our heart and confess (speak accordingly) with our mouth……this is a really good way to release our faith. Notice, this is a decision instead of a feeling? We will be closer to recognising it…..because it works like a light switch….. and with it, we can dismiss the darkness of negative thoughts, doubts and fears.
It’s good to remember this tip: when doubts surface we can believe anyway – rather than let them disturb us, we can allow faith free reign. Yes, practice this again and again you will be acquainted with the way it works. If we practice believing for something each day (great or small) faith will surface more often.
Remember, we have all been given a measure of faith – we can use it more or less than others – it’s there. And to Jesus, there is no faith like our faith. We don’t earn the blessings of God and He does not have favorites – all His blessings are by Grace and they come in receiving mode. That’s why Jesus said “believe that you have already received them” – He is a Good God, He is not stingy…..these things are being handed to you. They are yours. This is the Grace of God – His unpremerited favor, like when you found Him and He became your Savior.
ALL THE VERY BEST TO YOU!