Who do you think you are?

Ha! Indeed! Have you ever asked yourself that question?

I have many times. Usually, it was when I was about to do something that was way out of my comfort zone, something big I wanted to accomplish in life. It started before I became a life coach.

For most of my life, I wanted a college education so that I could teach. However, through a series of unfortunate events, most of my own making. I played safe by taking jobs that didn’t match my values, God-given gifts, and talents. Teaching required college education. 

Besides, I asked myself, “Who do you think you are?” 

That question came up out of old messages, the lies I believed about myself, and those pesky limiting beliefs that said,
 

I wasn’t going there. Instead, I forged ahead, seeking ways to make myself happy because I was so miserable. 

Of course, this didn’t work. It wasn’t going ever to work. Because I had to be someone I wasn’t to be okay; to survive. The image I conjured and worked so hard to promote—the false self—kept me in survivor mode, stuck in my thoughts, ambitious in the wrong direction, and always pretending that everything was okay. 

Until it wasn’t, my story of the spiral down is one for another day.

The good news is that I encountered a real, living Jesus. Over the days that followed, working with counselors, I began to discover how limited life had become. Preserving a false image takes a lot of hard work; it wears you out! You can read more in this blog post on abundant, authentic living. 

Getting real is hard work too! But it is so worth it. Your world changes when you are uniquely you, nobody else. That’s what authenticity is—real, not an imitation!
 

It took years to get there, but I finally earned two degrees at 50 and 54. There were times the voice would whisper, “Who do you think you are?”

And I had the answer!

I’ll be sharing the way to true life-transformation and the gift of being you. Find out how to get into the flow, loved and guided by an all-powerful, loving God over a summer of 75-minute virtual gatherings. Here are all the details.

 In His Love and Service,
 

 

If you haven’t yet joined  #takebackyourlife–a closed Facebook community–please come on in. I share video, posts, and resources to bring you to closer relationship to Jesus, yourself, and others!
 

    
In Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth, he gave explained how born-again believers in Jesus Christ could experience the joy of being free. He said in whatever situation the Corinthians found themselves in, they could experience being free no matter what. 
 

The Freedom message is for us today.

 While under house arrest, Paul wrote four epistles.* In them he detailed how we could live with freedom in our hearts and minds, letting go of what we couldn’t control and no matter what was going on in the world around us.

Here are just a few samples the ring true in these times:
         

• He encouraged us to stand in our faith no matter our situation or circumstance (Ephesians 6:13).
• He reminded us that no matter what, God would finish the work He started in each of us  (Phil 1:6)
• He said we could have joy in the circumstances (Phil 1:12-26)
• He told us we could make it through anything in God’s strength (Phil 4:13)

Jesus died and rose again to make us free from this world, and its’ trappings, not dependent on the politicians or the ever-changing culture rules of the day (1 Corinthians 7). We can rise above wherever we are today to higher ground. God shows us a freedom that can never be taken away.
         
This July 4th, remember that our freedom—as daughters of the living King—is not dependent on our political leaders or any other person or worldly entity. Our freedom comes from Christ Himself.
         
Magnify the Lord, not the present-day conditions, the violent, loud voices telling you what to think and believe, and find joy in the knowledge that whom He set free is free indeed (John 8:36).           

*The four epistles: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.
 

 

If you haven’t yet joined  #takebackyourlife–a closed Facebook community–please come on in. I share video, posts, and resources related to finding ultimate freedom for the life Jesus came to give you–abundantly!
 

It’s a different Father’s Day for many reasons. The recent pandemic may be affecting your ability to see and be with your fathers (biological and otherwise) this year. Whether it’s traveling or staying safe by staying away, it’s a difficult situation right now.

It reminded me how much has changed since February 2020. And it reminds me of how much I took for granted when my father was with us, and we could move about freely with no restrictions. I was always so busy with life and those so important endeavors that mean little now in the big scheme of life.

It always seemed like my work or the five-hour trip limited my trips to visit him. I’d push all of that aside and take that trip if he were here today.

In those days, we didn’t have virtual communications. My dad wasn’t into technology except for the wireless headsets that allowed him to watch television without everyone for a mile radius hearing it too. He was smart, but simple, and never bought into the next big thing.

So if we wanted to see him in person, we had to pick up the phone and tell him we were coming or just show up. He was always happy to see us and ready to feed us– six of us girls and our families.

The special occasions—his birthday, Father’s Day, Christmas—we didn’t miss a chance to celebrate with him.

Those times zipped by too fast. As a boomer today, older and wiser, I didn’t realize how quickly at the time.

Thinking about those having to stay away because of the imposed isolation makes me sad. I hope that they will find a way to stay close during this time.

I can’t imagine not being with my dad when he went into the hospital, not having my sister advocate for his care in person, and not being with him when there was nothing more to do, and he came home with hospice care. We sat with him for two days at home before we let him know it was okay to go, and he left us to be with His heavenly father.

I pray for those who can’t be with dad because of the isolation; I pray for those who may have lost their dad during this pandemic with all the restrictions—who may have not been able to have a proper funeral; I pray for those struggling to decide whether to be with him right now. We do the best we can in these difficult times.

I know what my dad would have wanted.

Sleep disturbances, chest pain, pounding heart, ruminating thoughts, upset stomach, and feeling like insanity is closing in on you. These are the reports I’ve received from women since the crisis came in and knocked us off our normal.

The crippling fear that leads to anxiety can leave us feeling hopeless, helpless, and overwhelmed by the inability to control daily life.

Anxiety is long-term chronic stress. The ongoing uncertainty of what is happening triggers fears that bring on somatic symptoms. It can cause or worsen serious health problems—physical and mental. Scripture tells us that anxiety causes depression in our heart (Proverbs 12:25).

I lived a lot of my life anxious and depressed. In my alcoholism, I only felt despair, self-pity, and fear—that fear of waiting for the other shoe to drop. I didn’t know that the fear was a spirit, leading me to destruction.

Worrying about my kids, finances, my job, and in a loveless, sad marriage, I allowed fear to manifest the pain I was trying to avoid, relationships and things I was trying to hang on to and a life I was trying to control.

It reminds me of where we can find ourselves today. We are in this place of uncertainty, feeling the squeeze of our worst fears being manifested right before our eyes.

Fear is a spirit, a spirit sent by the one who comes in to taunt you in your vulnerability. It’s a lot like the news media who work hard to get out the bad news because they know you will be riveted (and afraid). They want to stay in business.

They practice the same torment that the enemy uses to scare you into believing that we’re all doomed. (John 10:10) The anecdote to the fear that come into our minds, crushing our bodies with its heaviness calls us to lean in— by the day, by the hour—to God’s love that “casts out fear” (1 John 4:18)

Perfect love is God! And as followers of Jesus, we have been given the spirit of God; it is Him working in us through that love that drives out the fear!

The spirit of fear cannot live where there is faith in God. He has given us power to overcome the anxiety-producing fear that keeps us worried, stressed, and sometimes paralyzed. (1Timothy 1:7)

Get in the flow of His Love through His Truth. Today more than ever we have to lean on the Word. It is our biggest weapon against the onslaught on our minds.

The rest of Proverbs 12:25 tells us that “a good word makes our hearts glad.” Ditch the fears and get into His word. Have faith, not fear; God’s got this!

Growing up Catholic, the Lenten season, which started on Ash Wednesday, the 40 days before Easter Sunday, signified the days before Jesus’ death on the cross as a sacrifice of His love for us and His subsequent resurrection from the grave so that we could have a new life, today and eternally.

For some of us, it was a time of fasting, restricting or sacrificing something significant in our lives. Limited in my belief and so immature in my understanding, I would usually give up candy, soda, or something that gave me great comfort—I found it painful on so many levels. As I grew older, drinking alcohol was set aside for the 40 days. As I said, I gave up what comforted me.

Although I do not practice the Catholic faith anymore, Lent still means a time of reflection, sacrifice, and new beginnings.

It’s a time of gratitude for Jesus’ resurrection and the promise of abundant life (John 10:10) and on our never-ending need for God’s grace. It’s another chance to make a fresh start toward total health and spiritual renewal.

This season, I am practicing the difficult discipline of not reaching for that instant comfort when I am uncomfortable–anxious, overwhelmed or fearful. As a recovering alcoholic, it’s not about drinking bottles of wine to quell my anxiety—it’s about the food I use to get the same effect.

Knowing why I do what I do and not wanting to do it and doing it anyway –you know, what Paul said (Romans 7:15-20). 

Every spring and fall, I take time to check my progress in maintaining healthy numbers, begin a time of fasting off certain foods and activities that distract me from a closer relationship with God and others and myself. I bring other women into the journey of Right Size, Right Life. We spend five weeks together uncovering those areas that keep us from experiencing the abundant life.

I have discovered that until we get our thoughts aligned with God’s will, our minds renewed with the Word, and then knowing how to live it all out, we will struggle to achieve health–in our bodies and spirit. 

And health is an inside job—more than what you eat or your workouts.

It’s a season of new life and hope.
Take Back Your Life!

“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.”              (3 John 1:2 New King James Version)