So I'm learning about declarations.
I know some of you who love me dearly will hand-palm your foreheads. Yes, you have been trying to teach me about the power of my words for...idk...like YEARS...
Well, it's FINALLY sinking in.
If you're unfamiliar, with declarations, you can check out this website. Steve and Wendy taught at my school a few times this past year, my Revival Group Pastor interned for them, as did a woman I'm doing some work for this summer. Their work is largely based on changing your life by changing your words.
Now I know others of you who know me and read this are going to be uncomfortable with that statement, but bear with me. Words are powerful, everyone knows that. Most of us also realize that the way we speak directly influences how we think, and how we think influences how we act, and how we act determines our destiny.
I ran around for a very long time, trying to find out God's will for me. Thanks to many wise people in my life, I was given very practical advice. (Having trustworthy, wise friends is essential to living life well...that's a story for another day...)
Right. Yes. Advice.
The Bible says to be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so you may be able to understand what God's good, pleasing and perfect will actually is, (Romans 12:2). Wonderful...so how do we renew our minds?
...you guessed it! By changing our words. Brilliant.
(...it's in my bio on this blog...my mind is a transitional neighborhood. I've invited you, the reader, to be part of that process...fun, huh?!)
My job of late has been changing the way I speak about myself and my circumstances. Things have not been easy for me during school. Going after your dreams isn't supposed to be easy, and often, when you're going in the right direction, there is a LOT of resistance-- take rip tides for example. If you go with the flow, you'll probably die. Best swim against the tide, I think.
...but I digress...sort of. I'm definitely swimming against the tide in regard to changing my words about myself. I'm on a negativity fast. No. Negative. Words. (...funny, they really aren't necessary...)
I'm learning to declare the truth about myself and about my circumstances. The website has more details, but I'm definitely declaring truth over myself and my life. It's challenging, but very, very helpful and necessary.
If you're facing opposition in an area of your life, or just feel stuck, you can declare the truth, which is usually the opposite of the situation. For instance, if you've screwed up, instead of "I'm such and idiot," you can say things like, "Mistakes are permissible, and they help me grow." If you're feeling stuck, you can declare, "...there is always a solution!"
One of my favorite declarations was written my kids at my church. I've included it below, because hearing kids declare this is SO AWESOME. It so makes me wish I had believed these things about myself when I was a child. Read them. Can you imagine?!?
"I am powerful, and what I believe changes the world! So today I declare:
God is in a good mood.
He loves me all the time.
Nothing can separate me from His love.
Jesus' blood paid for everything.
I will tell nations of what He has done.
I am important.
How He made me is amazing.
I was designed for worship.
My mouth establishes praise to silence the enemy.
Everywhere I go becomes a perfect health zone.
And...with God
Nothing is impossible!"
So here's to changing our minds...
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
I'm sitting in Starbucks, trying to be inspired.
My favorite coffee house just had a power outage, so I'm in Starbucks.
Starbucks is fine in Chicago when it's summer and you can sit outside and people-watch, or in New York, where you need your coffee on the way to wherever, and need it in a timely manner. It's also worth planning your cross-country drive around Starbucks, (i.e. civilization): flashback to me in a casino in West Wendover, Nevada, having stayed the night in the $40-per-night-circa-1985-televisionless hotel room, just for the Starbucks in the lobby...that's a story for another day...
Starbucks is fine when you're in a hurry or want to blend in, or when you are driving across Wyoming and are desperate for civilization...and it's probably fine in a foreign country...it's rather like an embassy of sorts.
But in Redding, the coffee culture is very different. Nowhere will you receive a well-crafted cup of coffee in under 5 minutes, except maybe at Brew. Most certainly not at Starbucks. (...believe me, the first time I had to wait for my almond milk cafe au lait, I nearly tore my hair out. I quickly learned-- from vowing never to go back there again-- only to experience the same phenomenon at the next establishment, and the next...and the next, that the pace of life is different here.
It's very slow. And don't even get me started on the driving. No. I'm on a negativity fast. It's only an observation. I am not allowed to rant.
So yes. It's slow. But it's also amaze-balls.
In Redding, though it takes no less than 5 minutes, sometimes 10, I can order single-origin-organic-fair-trade-waterprocessed-decaf-hemp-milk-flat-whites without anyone batting an eye, or saying "...I'm sorry, what milk?"
I also now have a favorite coffee house. It is new, and it has quickly become the see-and-be-seen place, but not as much as the other, older, see-and-be-seen place, where most of my favorite musicians work. (listen here) Or more specifically, are employed; the other day, one of my other favorite singer/songwriters came in to my primary favorite coffee house to work...like write undisturbed, while I tried my best to my best "NBD, your-song-just-changed-my- life" face, and not pee my pants. (listen to that song here).
Anyway, I'm sitting here trying to be inspired, and maybe I am. I am definitely happy, and my favorite place will be open tomorrow, although, if it's 108F for a third day in a row, the power may go out again, and I may have to seek refuge at Starbucks again. We'll see...
My favorite coffee house just had a power outage, so I'm in Starbucks.
Starbucks is fine in Chicago when it's summer and you can sit outside and people-watch, or in New York, where you need your coffee on the way to wherever, and need it in a timely manner. It's also worth planning your cross-country drive around Starbucks, (i.e. civilization): flashback to me in a casino in West Wendover, Nevada, having stayed the night in the $40-per-night-circa-1985-televisionless hotel room, just for the Starbucks in the lobby...that's a story for another day...
Starbucks is fine when you're in a hurry or want to blend in, or when you are driving across Wyoming and are desperate for civilization...and it's probably fine in a foreign country...it's rather like an embassy of sorts.
But in Redding, the coffee culture is very different. Nowhere will you receive a well-crafted cup of coffee in under 5 minutes, except maybe at Brew. Most certainly not at Starbucks. (...believe me, the first time I had to wait for my almond milk cafe au lait, I nearly tore my hair out. I quickly learned-- from vowing never to go back there again-- only to experience the same phenomenon at the next establishment, and the next...and the next, that the pace of life is different here.
It's very slow. And don't even get me started on the driving. No. I'm on a negativity fast. It's only an observation. I am not allowed to rant.
So yes. It's slow. But it's also amaze-balls.
In Redding, though it takes no less than 5 minutes, sometimes 10, I can order single-origin-organic-fair-trade-waterprocessed-decaf-hemp-milk-flat-whites without anyone batting an eye, or saying "...I'm sorry, what milk?"
I also now have a favorite coffee house. It is new, and it has quickly become the see-and-be-seen place, but not as much as the other, older, see-and-be-seen place, where most of my favorite musicians work. (listen here) Or more specifically, are employed; the other day, one of my other favorite singer/songwriters came in to my primary favorite coffee house to work...like write undisturbed, while I tried my best to my best "NBD, your-song-just-changed-my- life" face, and not pee my pants. (listen to that song here).
Anyway, I'm sitting here trying to be inspired, and maybe I am. I am definitely happy, and my favorite place will be open tomorrow, although, if it's 108F for a third day in a row, the power may go out again, and I may have to seek refuge at Starbucks again. We'll see...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)