Dear Ones,
Hope you have a great weekend! We had a fun Birthday party here yesterday. Today I plan to clean and do food prep and walk the trail. Still trying to lose the weight I gained in N.C.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Jesus spoke on the sermon on the Mount that we be not anxious about anything (Matt. 6:25-34), and yet today there are so many plagued with anxiety and depression. Even if we aren’t suffering ourselves, we have loved ones who are. I am reading a book by J.P. Moreland who is a professor of at Talbot school of theology and has himself suffered two nervous breakdowns. He is very vulnerable in his writing to give help on how to find peace and wholeness through counseling, meditation, prayer and medication. Since he has suffered, he is not giving superficial answers but shares how to not only survive but to thrive and give hope to others.
Mooreland himself has a genetic predisposition to anxiety from his mother’s side of the family. That in itself doesn’t determine one’s behavior but makes anxiety more common than some without the predisposition. Anxiety and depression are different but often occur together. He uses a Christian approach and also other helpful truths that are in line with scripture. It is important to train our minds because it affects our feelings. We learn that if we entertain fearful or negative thoughts it may affect our emotional faculty by creating anxiety. But there is hope, for our brains can be trained to think good thoughts and as it says in Prov. 2:7, “For as he thinks within himself, so is he.” As we take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (II Cor. 10:5), we will find that our brain can get retrained and those negative thoughts will be replaced by good ones. It takes about 2-6 months for the brain to do that.
The Lord wants to transform our minds and replace those negative, anxious thoughts. Mooreland’s four-step solution is: 1. Relabel our thoughts that have no connection to reality. 2. Reframe them and call them what they are in cooperation with the Holy Spirit. 3. Refocus your attention on something that distracts you and helps you move on, like going for a walk, listening to music, checking e-mails, etc. 4. Revaluing by reflection on how you did on steps 1-3. Think of what you did that seemed to work, etc.
If you want to know more, I suggest you get the book “Finding Quiet,” and also meditate on specific scriptures to help you think on what is right, pure, true, lovely, etc. (Phil. 4:8)
Challenge for today: If anxious thoughts come to mind, replace them with new thinking habits and positive self-talk.
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy