Finding God in Our Pain

Spiritual Disciplines Can Heal and Transform, with Healey Ikerd

Lately I’ve taken a keen interest in finding ways, methods, tools for my listeners to not only pursue peace in their life but I also want to connect them with actual people who can make a difference in their pursuit for freedom in the mind/mental health, heart/emotional health and body/physical health. With that in mind, my guest today is Psychotherapist Healey Ikerd. As you listen in you’ll hear that she can definitely make a difference in those areas of your life. 

Together she and I want you to know, to have, to experience freedom in all the ways God meant for you to be free so that you can walk in your true identity in Christ and know the fullness of His plans for your life.

God is the only deity that I’m aware of who never asks you to act like something didn’t happen or to accept what happened or to distance yourself from your traumas. The God of the Holy Bible says give me your hand, I’m going to guide you through this valley and into healing. So God boldly walks us right through the middle of our personal valley of death. He takes pain and gives it purpose, redeems what we’ve lost and replaces it with better and He restores us to our right mind where fear does not reign. 

The more I talk about the transforming power of God’s word the more I realize that change starts with a simple decision that we want peace more than we want to live with what fear cultivates in our life. That decision is not enough though because we must take action with some discipline and intention. Among many things that Healey talked about she gave us a super simple way to start the process of changing the way we think and therefore changing the way we live.

Healey suggests that we take a situation or a lie based thought, such as I don’t like my smile, no one loves me, I can never do anything right,(fill in the blank with your personal fear or negative self-talk). Then find a scripture to replace the destructive nature of the words and beliefs you are currently using/thinking. Using scripture to replace destructive self-talk will begin to feed the creation of new neuropathways in the brain and starve the life based neuropathways that you previously created and used.  lie.  By not focusing on our lack but by speaking God’s truth into life starves the lie we believed. 

Scriptures such as Psalm 139:14, I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Or if fear is overwhelming, then turn to a full scripture such as Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you, do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” 

In short, every time your negative thought comes into your head, interrupt it with your phrase or wash your thoughts with scripture and rewrite the lies with God’s truth. I’d suggests you practice this discipline with intention for a minimum of 21 days because that’s the time it takes to rewrite a neuro pathway in your brain. Thirty days is even better!

Something else that Healey shared that was super simple and yet oh so powerful with regard to changing our language is to rephrase your I am statements and to I feel. 

She made the distinction that speaking I am statements over ourselves such as I am scared, I am lonely, I am weary, are statements of identity and yet we are not our emotions or our fears. So when we’re talking about emotions use the phase I feel scared, I feel lonely, I feel weary. 

I’d even suggest you include self defeating statements such as I am ugly, I am fat because there is an emotion/a fear behind these words and change them to I feel ugly, I feel fat. 

When we intentionally change the wording to I feel, this gives us control over our emotions and we move from labeling ourself as less than, to healing; in other words, restored to who God says we are. We’re no longer a victim of an emotion. We have emotions but it’s not who we are. 

That is just a few of the simple actions that we can take that will change the direction of our life!

Alright, let’s get into this informative and potentially life changing conversation with Healey Ikerd.

Live Loved and Thrive! @alifeofthrive.com

Connect with Healey:
Website:  https://writtenbyhealey.com/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/writtenbyhealey/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/WrittenbyHealey
Face your Fears Freebie - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fu_CGjKaGWXO3QapzQtyxV62EuTwIrfe2b2Br3Ii2zk/edit?usp=sharing

Bio:
Healey Ikerd is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the State of Arkansas and a Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor. 

She has also earned a Certificate in Ministry from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.  She is a U.S. Army Veteran and has worked in the mental health field for over 17 years. 

She owns her own private practice in Fayetteville, Arkansas called HopeLife Counseling and is the author of Changing Your Feeling – A Workbook for Anxiety and Worry From a Christian Perspective and a newly released children’s book called The Red Ball – A Story of Friendship and Forgiveness. 

Her passion is to help others excel in life and relationships through biblical principles. Healey is a mom and a new “Grammie”.  She and her husband live on a small farm in Northwest Arkansas. 

Additional Podcasts on Various Other Healing Ministries:
Theophostic Healing w/Frank Meadows: https://alifeofthrive.com/2024/04/10/theophostic-healing-prayer-with-frank-meadows/
Deliverance Ministry w/Karen King: https://alifeofthrive.com/2023/09/13/finding-freedom-through-the-deliverance-ministry/
Emotion Code w/Eileen Love: Part 1 - https://alifeofthrive.com/2023/06/07/emotion-code-therapy-part-1-with-eileen-love/ & Part 2 - https://alifeofthrive.com/2023/06/22/emotion-code-therapy-with-eileen-love-part-2/

After Abortion Care and Healing, with Serena Dyksen

You will be so encouraged to hear all that my guest, Serena Dyksen has to share. Serena is an author, speaker and she and her husband Bruce are the Chief Visionary Officers for the ministry, She Found His Grace. After Serena found healing for her abortion, she accepted God’s invitation to spearhead His plan to bring healing and restoration to others just like her.

Per their website SheFoundHisGrace.org, their mission is “For men and women to find forgiveness after abortion and be set free from shame, guilt and regret. Turning our pain into purpose.”                 

I’ll start with this statistic that Serena shared however, this episode does not shame or guilt anyone. You’ll hear Serena share her abortion experience at the age of 13 and how it impacted her life for many years, even in ways she didn’t connect with the abortion. We are discussing truths, facts, personal stories and examples but only encouragement for those who are hurting is what you’ll hear.

Serena shared that 63 million babies have been lost to abortion so that made me think about the ripple effect. If we want to look at, say a ballpark figur with regard to the level of pain that is present in our communities, our families, our churches we can’t forget that there is a set of parents. We need to remember that the abortion has affected 2 additional people (per baby) who will potentially live with guilt and shame.

She Found His Grace Ministry has a mission to provide post abortion healing so mothers and fathers can find forgiveness, purpose and redemption. Every hurting heart that connects with She Found His Grace is pointed to the only One who can do such a transformational work of the heart. Only God is the superior opponent for satan. God is the only reason we can know anything good in the reality of a broken world and an enemy who hates us.

God has the power and the authority to use the very thing that satan meant to destroy you with and give it purpose in your life. Victory over sin and shame is God’s expertise. How can we experience a come back from one of life’s most devastating choices? Jesus’ example on the cross and his resurrection is for us today and He offers us that same ability to rise again to new life in Him. Yes, we’ll know new life in eternity with Him but the God of the Holy Bible is alive and active in our life today and he offers us new life. New life to experience and to know it in the here and now.

I stress this because I want you to know that you can never go too far and that you are not alone in your pain and confusion. Throughout this podcast episode you’ll hear reason after reason to reinforce this truth.

Serena and I talked about so many things one of which was how the abortion pill has shifted the abortion clinic from an office environment into the personal home. This move shifts the responsibility and magnifies how the mom is even more isolated in her abortion experience. Something that Serena is hearing more and more is that when the so called “clump of cells” passes from the body looks more like a baby than the women were prepared for. The level of trauma is layers deep. What are they supposed to do under those circumstances because abortion clinics do not offer any after care even though they know how traumatizing it is for their customers.

Something that I wasn’t aware of and I don’t hear it being talked about AT ALL is the abortion pill reversal option. Serena shares some helpful and encouraging information and a beautiful testimony of a woman who regretted taking the abortion pill, took action within the required timeframe, received and took the reversal antidote pill and was able to deliver a healthy baby.

Here’s a perspective I never considered, on the She Found His Grace website there are personal stories from siblings who grieve the loss of the aborted baby and Serena shares that these are some of the most passionate supporters because they see the healing transformation their family experiences and they want that for other families too.

There is a lot of heartbreaking aspects about abortion but something Serena talked about was the various types of abuse experienced in abortion clinics. This caused me to wondered out loud how much worse it could get especially if the woman shows any indication that she may not get the abortion.

Something precious we talked about was the event Serena hosts and it’s when mothers and fathers give dignity to their children and part of that experience is to name their child. Serena almost had me in tears hearing how beautiful God is to not only make it okay to acknowledge the life of the child, but to give him/her an identity with a name and to create a family bond. That’s so God’s heart; family, relationship. Yet another reason why He wants more than anything for you to bring Him your pain. You’re His son or daughter and He wants to heal you.

After this conversation and getting a glimpse into Serena’s passion to facilitate healing for the men and women who have experienced abortion I was left with the lingering impression on my heart of the powerful impact that a once broken heart made whole in Jesus can realistically have on those around them.

Every healed heart becomes a voice and gives courage for other broken hearts to find healing as well…Think about how Serena herself found healing and gave God her yes in obedience and look at what He’s done with her transformed heart. If the gospel started with 12 transformed lives and has reached around the globe, I’m in awe to think what’s possible with each ripple affect that individual people will start and the contribution they’ll make for post abortion healing throughout the continents.

All the more reason to find healing for guilt, shame, condemnation because when you do, it flips the table on satan’s plans to destroy your life. Letting God rewrite the painful places with His extravagant love, forgiveness, restoration, grace, mercy and all the beautiful ways that He cares for us and heals us, that’s true victory.

Let’s listen in to hear all that Serena has to share. Not only is it very interesting and life changing but I love to hear the joy in her voice. God has done a good work because even her laughter is a testimony that with God it’ll all work out for our good and His glory.

Lived Loved and Thrive!

Connect with Serena:
serenadyksen.com
SheFoundHisGrace.org
Hotline: 574-400-5272
abortionpillreversal.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shefoundhisgrace
Instagram: Instagram.com/she_found_his_grace
Pinterest: Pinterest.com/sdyksen

Bio:
Serena Dyksen is a wife, mother, speaker, post-abortive, author and founder of the She Found His Grace Ministry. She is also a sidewalk counselor where she ministers to abortion-minded mothers and fathers. Serena shares her story to empower men and women to know their worth through the saving power of Jesus Christ. She currently serves on the board of Northern Indiana Adult and Teen Challenge along with her husband Bruce. When she’s not in the trenches of ministry, she enjoys spending time with her family, drinking coffee, traveling and enjoying the beach.

Getting Control of Your Emotions, with Cindy LaFavre Yorks

My guest Cindy LaFavre Yorks is on a mission to help people identify their emotions and press into the heart of God for both healing whenever needed and the ability to live in peace.

Cindy will help you get to the root cause of various emotions such as anxiety, worry, fear, overwhelm right down to the root cause. Once identified, any lie based thinking will be challenged and rewritten with the truth of God’s word. Doing this will deliver you into a place of freedom as you begin to interrupt thought patterns and belief systems that we’ve built on lies. This is where freedom is introduced into your life because dismantling lie based thinking will bring results that will be seen and felt in the quality of your life and your relationships not to mention the physical peace in your mind and body.

Cindy showed me a colorful wheel that has 6 core emotions and from there the wheel fans out into other possible underlying emotions. It looked intimidating but as she talked me through it I can see where it’s an effective tool that goes right to the heart of things. This pinpoints a starting place, an emotion to work with and begin your healing journey right away.

As I talked with Cindy I realized how tangled our emotions can be and gained a better appreciation on how important it is to take the time to sort them out. Cindy’s knowledge, the ability to ask the right questions, her tools, especially the emotion wheel partnered with the word of God, will give you the ability to take ownership of your emotions. Cindy equips you to actively move toward healthy emotions and healthy mental condition for the win. And the win is using God's truth to find freedom and peace.

We talk about personalities like those who stuff feelings down, those who don’t know what they really feel and would prefer to avoid having to confront them as well as those who explode saying exactly how they feel without a filter. 

In the middle of looking at these types of reactions that people have Cindy said something that stood out to me (among other things), she was talking about being embarrassed by forgetting to pay a friend for their services and how Satan can get a foothold with emotions such as embarrassment. This caused Cindy to want to avoid other friends who might know she failed to pay their mutual friend Then Cindy begin to isolate, which of course is satan’s playground of the mind. Cindy’s experience reminded her of the power of our emotions to cause chaos and anxiety until she was able to get back to her friend and make that payment. 

Just another reminder of why we need to pause and evaluate our emotions when they seem out of proportion to the situation, whenever they’re over the top or even concerning when the result is unhealthy (as a pattern for responding) such as isolating or avoidance. Because ultimately satan’s strategy is to separate us from our friends and especially separate us from God because He is the Fountain Head of truth. He’s the God of relationship and therefore satan will delight and work overtime to rob us of knowing freedom and thriving at life especially in these specific areas of our life.

I like that Cindy didn’t side step the fact that the way we process our emotions is a life-long challenge but that the gift you give yourself when learning to identify them is that you do so quicker. Being more efficient at identifying unproductive thinking helps us to resolve our emotions faster which returns us to a healthy mental condition even sooner and that is a beautiful thing if you ask me. 

This reminds me of being a Christian in the sense that It’s not that we’ll never sin again, it’s that we recognize our patterns faster. We begin to take immediate responsibility, we repent which keeps an ongoing, open communication relationship with God. Because satan is betting, hoping that we’ll hide ourselves form God (because of our sin). That way satan can work us over punishing us as he mentally beats us up about our sin.

Cindy shared so much more but I’ve said enough so let’s get into this most interesting topic that can pave the way for a whole new skill set by enabling you to maintain your peace and live in freedom from mental chaos and overwhelm.

Live Loved and Thrive! @alifeofthrive.com

Connect with Cindy:
Website: https://cindyyorks.com/
Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/your-emotional-rescue/id1527487292
Instagram: @_cindy_lafavre_yorks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cindylafavre.yorks?mibextid=LQQJ4d
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CindyLaFavreYorks
Published Trilogy: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Cindy-Yorks/author/B07L7GG8H3?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Bio:
Cindy LaFavre Yorks shares her gift of encouragement and passion for authenticity and emotional healing through a variety of artistic mediums. She is an award winning journalist, a speaker and the author of a devotion door trilogy available on Amazon (The Side Door: Welcoming God's Divine Detours (Book 1 of 3, Door Devotional Trilogy). Additionally, Cindy is a podcast host and her podcast “Your Emotional Rescue” debuted this spring (2024) and can be found on YouTube and a variety of other hosting sites.

Pet Loss and Grief, with Pet Loss Grief Companion, Rachel Shirley

My guest, Rachel Shirley is a Certified Professional Coach and Pet Loss Grief Companion and she’s here today to talk about her book, Pet Loss and Divine Healing - A compassionate Guide for navigating your Devastating Loss.

When Rachel and I were connected up I was so excited to learn that there is true support for those who are grieving the loss of a beloved pet. I love my pets but I’m also one who tries to just push through my grief possibly because I’ve bought into societies value system with regard to grading the level of importance when it comes to death. I don’t really know why I try very hard to push through the death of my pets

Every time I’ve lost a pet I am utterly heartbroken but I never take the time to grieve like I need to and with each passing pet loss my grief seems to get more difficult and more difficult. I had my 13 year old, little 5lb Yorkiepoo put down in March of 2023 and it broke. My. Heart.

So much so that I kept feeling like I wanted to cry the whole time I was talking with Rachel and even now tears are threatening to start but as usual I’m holding them back as I do this intro.

Something that is in the distance for me is that I currently have 2 senior dogs who are each 11 years old and a cat who is 7 years old. Flesh or fur we never get them as long as we want them so it is inevitable that I will have to lay them to rest some time in the near future. The thought of that causes me to struggle with whether or not I’ll get any more animals. I just don’t know if my heart can take it.So when I learned there is grief support I knew I wanted to share this with you, my listeners!

Rachel is someone who cares about your beloved fur baby and she can help you navigate this painful season. As soon as Rachel starts talking you’ll be able to tell that she’s comforting and kind, two wonderful traits that let you know you can trust her with your pain and that she’s genuinely there to help heal your broken heart. She knows your pain firsthand because she lost her beloved fur baby, Winston.

We delve into all the aspects of her book which, in my opinion cover the full scope of what someone will go through when they lose a pet. I can’t think of a topic in her book that she left out right down to the last chapter where it addressed the los of various professions that either care for dogs like veterinarians as well as dogs who serve their community both professionally and personally to include military, police, support animals. But she didn’t stop there, she brings these additional topics to the table…having to euthanize a pet due to financial or behavioral issues, a pet who died of a tragic accident.

She addresses people who do not have children and she wraps up her book by sharing first-hand stories from her clients.

Some of the topics that Rachel and I talked about were how does one process grief for a pet, the importance of a bond between human and pet, is there a right way or wrong way to grieve, honoring your precious fur baby and we didn’t side step the debate about pets going to heaven.

At one point Rachel and I talk about our pets being a gift form God and how much they embody His spirit of unconditional love, joy, and tangible affection. We refer to God reveling Himself through our pets…I even said that His spirit shows up in animals…but to be clear I’m not saying that God is a dog or is a specific animal I’m saying that God uses our pets and any animal he wants to speak to us….like the Balaam’s donkey in the book of Numbers 22:21-39 - not only did the donkey save Balaam’s life because God reveals Himself to the Donkey… but God also opens the donkeys mouth and he spoke truth, common sense to Balaam. So when/if you hear me say that God is like a dog or a cat etc. I’m not saying He is an animal but that He uses His creation to reveal His nature and give tangible ways that we can experience His character.

If you’re grieving the loss of a precious pet, I hope that what Rachel shares with you today will strengthen your heart for the grief journey because you’re not alone!

Let’s get into this most encouraging conversation and you can find all the links in the show notes.

Live Loved and Thrive! @alifeofthrive.com

Connect with Rachel:
Website: https://www.rachel-shirley.com/
Book: https://www.rachel-shirley.com/the-book-pet-loss-and-divine-healing
Purchase Rachel’s Book via Amazon

Bio:
As a mother of two incredible boxer boys, Spencer and Charley, my life is deeply enriched by their loving companionship. As a devoted wife and woman of faith, I've dedicated my life to helping those in need of comfort and care during the most painful seasons of their lives.
 
Many people ask me how I can walk so closely with others during their time of difficulty when losing a pet. I affectionately share with them that I could not imagine doing anything besides serving my fellow man and their beautiful pets in this loving way.  
 
Life is precious. Together, let's honor what we've been graciously blessed with…our pet's lives with whom we love so dearly.

Can I (or Anyone) Ruin God’s Plan for My Life?

The topic, or the question for today is, can God's plan for your life be ruined, specifically ruined by our own poor choices, or can it be ruined by the choices of other people by way of impacting our life? I wish that question was cut and dry, but the answer is yes and no. That's the best short answer I can provide, but we're going to use Scripture as our basis as we push out this topic.

There are tons of truth that will show you, no, God's plan for your life cannot be ruined, no matter the contributing force. However, near the end of this podcast, I talk about the one thing that can indeed block God's plan for your life, and I don't think you'll be surprised when you hear what it is. I do hope that you'll receive a fresh dose of encouragement and that you feel empowered to take the next step.

And here's how this topic came up and why I wanted to share it with you. I had the chance to speak at a Christian women's event, and Psalm 23 was the verse that their gathering was based on. I get excited about Psalm 23 (as many of you know this about me). Memorizing that particular Psalm has been such an incredible weapon for me, not only in my every day, ordinary life, but it's my lifeline when things are complicated and painful.

When I proclaim Psalm 23 over my life or the life of my loved ones, it infuses me with hope, encouragement, confidence, and it strengthens my faith muscle.

Allow me to tie this in really quick as another resource for Psalm 23. After I had a measure of grief healing, I could look back and see how God worked in my life in ways (at the time) that I did not discern, and I wanted to share how God showed up. And so, I did a stand-alone podcast episode titled Here's How Psalm 23 Showed Me God's Faithfulness. In this episode I gave tangible examples of what it meant for God to be faithful in the midst of my grief.

Currently it has over seven thousand six hundred downloads (I'll put the link in the show notes). I add that little bit of info because in this episode we're going to specifically build on Psalm 23:3 as our core scripture. With regard to the question, can God's plan for our life be ruined, the verse reads, "He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake."

The purpose of drawing the focus in on that specific verse is that I want to look at God's heart for restoration, as well as look at other examples of how the heart of God is to restore us to his paths of righteousness, who He created us to be for His name's sake. Think about how invested God is in us. We are His name sake.

If you're one of my faithful listeners, many of you know my story of unexpectedly losing my husband in early 2018. It was six years ago as of February 21st, 2024. He left our home at 8AM. Everything seemed fine. However, by lunchtime that same day, he had a massive heart attack and passed away. Something my boys and I never saw coming. Never.

Out of that pain a portion of my redemption is to encourage believers in the dark valleys of life, so I spend a lot of my time looking at the good God I profess through the lens of pain and suffering. I have the precious privilege of my guests allowing me into some of the most vulnerable moments they've ever known. It is an intimate space to be allowed into because I get a glimpse of how God enters into our pain and how he works in the privacy of someone's personal devastation.

When life no longer resembles anything we once knew, I think it's a fair request we make of God to put things back like they used to be. I too have pleaded with God. I had been with my husband for a little over 33 years. I repeatedly asked the Lord to give me back my normal, return things to how they used to be. Give me back my old life.

Struggling under the weight of pain and an internal fight to orient myself and to gain my footing, in my mind, it actually seemed possible that if I could just go back to the way things used to be, everything would be OK. Life would be good again.

If you've got some life under your belt, life experiences with some hard things, more than likely you've asked God to put things back like they used to be. And I've shared this with you before, this type of pain, loss, suffering is not exclusive to losing a loved one.

Anytime we struggle under an immense weight of pain, (no matter what it personally means to have your world flipped upside down), our brain is grasping at anything familiar. And yet, at the same time, panic is there because we know in the back of our mind, or maybe it's in the back of our heart, knowing that this shaking and shifting is actually exploding our life into tiny little pieces.

That's why it's so important to grieve when life takes unexpected twists and turns. After a life changing event, it will not return to how things used to be. It simply can't. And we need time for our head and our heart to catch up.

When life goes missing, the good news of the gospel isn't exclusive to our salvation. It is the reason that we can know anything good on this side of heaven.

There are times when we'll find ourselves in broken, painful consequences because of our own choices. And then there are times when we'll find ourselves in broken, painful consequences because of someone else's choices or simply because life happens, like with my husband. Either way, we're left with the aftermath of what feels like a head on collision.

In any of these situations, something that had been previously tethered to our heart, our life, our identity has been disrupted. And when it's broken, it's broken. Acting like it isn't broken only delays the suffering.

Whether we find ourselves in the position of needing God to restore us because of our own choices or the choices of others, we have two perfect biblical examples that are proof that we can know and experience God's hope, healing and restoration. The biblical proof that I'm going to share is something you are more than likely very familiar with but I want to look at these historical accounts, potentially/hopefully through the lens of a fresh new reminder.

For those of us who have made poor decisions (and I count myself among these precious people), whether we're living with lifelong consequences, maybe unforgiveness is eating at us, or shame and guilt stab us like a knife. Be encouraged by this beautiful example of God's power and authority to repurpose our poor decisions.

God's standard, His rules, His precepts, are for our safety. So, when he told Eve (and he told Adam too) eat from any tree in the garden except that one, the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, he did so as a loving father who wanted to protect his children.

And as we know, Eve decided to go outside the boundary that God had put in place because she had heard from the serpent that eating the fruit would make her like God so that couldn't be a bad thing, right? Eve loved God.

But what Eve didn't bargain for is that while she would indeed know something God knew, Eve did not have the authority and the sovereignty to handle or overcome this new knowledge. The reality of her choice came with consequences, and that's what God was trying to protect her from. He didn't want her to endure the consequences that he knew were attached to her choice. It was going to break his heart as he watched her struggle under the reality of this knowledge with no power against it.

I feel sure, because I'm a mama, that what broke his Fatherly heart the most, Eve was now separated from him. And He knew who was coming for her. The enemy and a constant battering on her mind and her heart and her body. Steal, kill, destroy, steal, kill, destroy.

Sean Covey said, “We are free to choose our paths, but we can't choose the consequences that come with them."

Eve's choice to do things on her own terms resulted in more than a lifelong consequence. We live under a generational curse because of Eve's choices.

The language of the culture today gives us so-called encouragement by telling us to handle things on our own. You see all the social media quotes and posts about being independent and strong and how you don't need to rely on anyone. You don't have to ask for help, you can do it yourself, and you're so strong but that my friend, is the world talking. Every single time without exception when I want to handle things in my own understanding and with my own discernment, I will create a coping skill or some sort of self protection method apart from God’s plan to heal and redeem.

If I don't take the thing straight to God and expose it, ask for his guidance, input and his wisdom, I end up struggling with something God never intended for me to endure. I end up in the negative, struggling with things that are detrimental to my well-being, less than God's best for me. The result of me doing things independent from God is that fear and anxiety show up. My emotions want to lean into depression. I start feeling disconnected, feeling like no one sees me or no one cares. I have a constant feeling of overwhelm. All these things have Satan's fingerprints on them. These types of steal, kill, destroy feelings.

So, Eve bites the apple, introduces sin to the world, and then God threw his hands up and proclaimed that his plan was ruined and that he didn't know what he was going to do now, right? No! Thank God, no!

Eve's choice, catastrophic as it was, did not overpower God's authority. God always has a plan of restoration. A plan that overwhelms the broken things of this life. God flips the script on the pain and suffering in this life and brings beauty from our ashes, both for our good and his glory.

For those who choose the finished work of the cross, the curse that Eve put on us is broken. Because of Christ's shed blood and resurrection, we have direct access to the heart of the Father. His heart for us that desires to save and restore.

And that, my sweet friend, is why your poor choices do not have the power to destroy the calling on your life. Can we temporarily derail the original path? Delay it? Cause added obstacles and complications where we show up with additional baggage than before we went off the rails? Yes, we can. But once we submit ourselves to God, when we repent and bring it into the light, His light, we get to watch him transform our situation and return us to His paths of righteousness.

In God's plan of redemption things like regret, shame, guilt, unforgiveness, and the like have been accounted for or planned for. God knew it was coming. He's not surprised by our humanity. He was not caught off guard and had to scramble to figure out how to manage this new revelation that we threw at him.

Sweet friend, he's made a way for you and I to lift our heads under the weight of our choices and even better, we don't have to wait for heaven. I think our biggest challenge is comprehending the truth of God's heart for restoration and stepping into it.

If we knew how true, how strong God's heart is for restoration, we would grab a hold of it in the here and now. We wouldn't delay for a single second. We don't have to pray for God to have a heart of mercy and restoration. We don't have to look for it, work for it, hope for it. That's who he is, with or without our acknowledgement. All we need to do is engage his heart. And how do we do that?

Cultivate a life of intimacy with our Father. Discovering who he really is versus who we want him to be, who we think he is or who we think he should be. Get to know his heart and who he says we are and watch your life be transformed.

For those of us who by no choice of our own, find our lives flipped upside down, that which was the atoning sacrifice to correct Eve's selfish decision is also perfect proof that despite the horrific tragedies in this life, abandonment, rejection, innocent blood, being misunderstood, lied about, betrayed, all the different ways that one human being can choose to assault another human being, the list is endless.

Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing is impossible for God. His plans are bigger, his power is sovereign, and his authority answers to no one. He has no rival and no equal.

And allow me to add this example of God's extensive power and authority. Hell, the lake of eternal fire, is the place God has ordained where people will spend eternity if they choose not to allow Jesus to pay their sin debt.

Hell is God's real estate. That's why God's word plainly tells us in Philippians 2:10-11, "Whether in, heaven, on the earth, or under the earth, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord."

From the very pit of hell, God will be acknowledged. In either eternity, (heaven or hell), we're on God's turf and we are on His Kingdom territory. And that is why I can guarantee you that God can bring good despite the devastation of this life. Hell answers to God.

With God having no rival and no equal, and because all things are under His authority, He ordained the death of His only Son as the acceptable atoning sacrifice that would break the curse of our sin penalty.

Yes, Christ's death was planned, but Jesus would not have the luxury of avoiding the human aspect of that suffering. He would suffer in every way that we do as humans.

Jesus's life, his horrific death, the burial, the victory of his resurrection, and ascension to the right hand of the Father would not be without deep pain. A soul aching, bone saturating submission that caused him to cry out to the Father to give him relief from the torment, anguish that brought blood out of Jesus's pores while in the garden of Gethsemane. And not just the physical suffering, but the very core of who God is.

Our God, the God of the Holy Bible is the God of relationship, and Father and Son would be separated. God would turn away from his son until our sin penalty was paid in full and the curse was broken. And what result does God bring about with his son's horrific death? Colossians 2:15 tells us in the NIV, "And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross."

And let's not forget Ephesians 6:12 that tells us the importance of disarming the powers and authorities, Ephesians 6:12 in the NIV tells us, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

Christ's death publicly put Satan to shame, both in the physical world as well as being acknowledged in the spiritual realm.

If you've had no choice about what happened to you, where does this leave you? What does Christ's death, burial, and resurrection mean regarding what you've lost? Ultimately, Jesus offers us hope, healing and restoration but it will take courage to heal. The dark valley you find yourself in…God knows the way through. He’s been there. He put to shame the evil that has been inflicted on you. You do not walk this journey alone. No valley is too dark nor is there one that is too deep for him to bring healing.

I do hope it's comforting to know that God fears nothing. Not our anger or our rage, not our ungodly questions, not the evil of this life.

There is simply nothing about our existence that God fears because he has the power and authority (the permission and ability) to take the very thing that Satan meant to destroy us with…and not necessarily destroy us, as in our physical death. Satan is content if he can destroy us with our thought life, hold us captive through our emotions, or keep trauma locked in our hearts. It's all the same to him. If it will silence us, make us bitter, isolate us, paralyze us, or separate us from God from his truth in any way, shape, or form, it's a payoff for Satan.

God isn't afraid, dismayed, overwhelmed or disconnected because no matter our situation, his solution is redemption for absolutely anything evil that this life can dish out. What we can't do in our own strength, the fact that we have no power or authority to change our circumstances, but God. God repurposes the reality of pain. Not that He immediately takes us out of it, but in His hands, we're guaranteed that our pain is never for no reason. He takes the evil pain inflicted upon you and turns it into purpose. That's a table prepared for you in the presence of your enemies.

I feel sure I've shared this with you before but allow me to share once again, something the Lord spoke into my spirit as I processed the death of my husband. I was telling God that I found no comfort in what people were saying to me, that God does not give you more than you can handle. I knew they were trying to be kind, and so I received it with grace, mainly because even I've said that before to people.

But now, standing on the receiving side, it's stung every time because I wanted to scream. Oh, yes, he does. I assure you he does. I am undone in every way. I did not choose this, and I don't want to be here.

So, I took all of that pain to the Lord. It was probably considered ungodly, and it was raw, but it was honest. And in the midst of my breakdown, the quiet, calm voice of the Holy Spirit downloaded something very precious into my heart, and it changed my perspective. It is something that I will always hold close to my heart, he said Sherrie, I don't allow anything I don't plan to redeem.

And that didn't mean that I was going to skip the grieving process or forget my husband. It simply meant that nothing touches his children that he does not have the power to use for our good in his glory. He always has a plan. God always has a plan that overwhelms our limitations, that rewrites the mental, emotional, and spiritual demise that Satan had planned for us.

So, my sweet friend, no matter the reason that you're struggling with the evil of this life, my encouragement for you today is rest. Rest your weary heart. Rest your mind and the constant running from one anxiety laden thought and memory to another.

Grab a hold of this lifeline Matthew 11:28 "And then Jesus said, come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."

Your heart can have complete confidence that God will take care of you to the degree that you allow Him. And here's where the Yes, God's plan for your life can be blocked. Because remember, He will never force himself on us. He doesn't push us into anything. He extends His hand and invites us to allow Him into our pain. He will gently, tenderly work in the places that we expose to him. To walk in our full calling is to engage God’s heart on an intimate level. In that intimacy we find healing, meaning, clarity, and our calling.

Plenty of people leave this life, never having fulfilled the calling on their life because they did not have the courage to allow God to heal them. And I'm not saying God can't work in your life on your behalf. I'm just saying that if you don't engage him, the benefits of your healing are limited, and you won't perceive what he's doing.

In the healing process, you discover things about God that solidifies your value and your worth. If you keep God at arm's length, you'll miss out on the secrets that He has that he only reveals in the darkest, most painful places of life. He responds to our authentic, honest, and transparent pain when we trust Him with it.

Whether we're a victim of our own bullying because we won't accept God's forgiveness, nor will we forgive ourselves, or we're a victim to someone else's choices and maybe there's some unforgiveness there that holds us hostage. I want you to remember this. In the fight between good and evil. Forgive, don't forgive. Heal, don’t heal. Rest, don't rest. Trust, don't trust. The push and the pull. Do you know what the prize is? Do you know why the fight is so intense?

It's your heart. Your heart is the prize. It’s the place where the fountain of your devotion, affections, love, commitment, are sheltered in. All that God placed in you when He knit you together, creating you in His image.

You get to choose who you give your heart to. Either one. Satan or Jesus. Because both are pursuing you, both have a plan for your life.

Let this truth settle deep into your heart. Amid such a savage battle for your heart and I say savage because we know that Satan is cruel, ruthless, and full of vile hatred for the things that bear the image of God, you. But God is savage in his extravagant, pure, selfless, uncompromising, unapologetic love for us.
In this every day battle for your heart, Satan sees your heart as a trophy with bragging rights. But God sees your heart as a priceless treasure that he longs to restore, right up until the moment you get to see him face to face.

Friend, let's embrace God's restoration. Let's have the courage to heal and fulfill God's plan for our lives.

Additional Resource: Another Podcast Episode You May Like
Episode Title: Here’s How Psalm 23 Showed Me God’s Faithfulness -
Website w/audio: https://alifeofthrive.com/2022/08/17/heres-how-psalm-23-showed-me-gods-faithfulness/
Audio Only: https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-mqbaw-1295c97

Theophostic Healing Prayer, with Frank Meadows

My guest today is the former Clinical Director of Christian Psychotherapy Services where he had been in practice since 1989 but then left that practice to become the Founder of the Meadows Healing Prayer Center. He is a mental health professional and a licensed clinical social worker. My guest is Frank Meadows and he has been counseling and ministering with Theophostic Healing Prayer and seeing countless people being healed and delivered.

This episode with Frank Meadows takes a very close look at the benefits of healing and deliverance. You’ll hear me press into this healing and deliverance a few times as I try to dig down for a deeper understanding.

Frank takes us back to his roots on why he would even become interested in the healing ministry and how it impacted his life. He does an incredible job of explaining healing and deliverance as he shares his practices, methods and overall goal when he’s working with a client.

What excites me the most about the deliverance ministry is that even though we’re Christians the fact remains that we still deal with trauma and with Theophostic Healing Prayer we have the ability to be set free. Which equates to peace for our minds and our hearts. 

Ever wonder why a Christian pastor can also be a slave to porn? Why would a Christian wife be unfaithful? Didn’t she make a vow to her husband in the presence of God? Wouldn’t you be shocked to find out that a highly respected Christian is prone to fits or rage and physically abuses his/her spouse and children? 

There’s been more than one Christian family dealing with wayward children struggling with drugs, alcohol, identity issues, same sex attraction. Why are believers still using curse words in their every day language? Why are we lying about things, cheating people or the business we work for? Especially if we know God’s word and walk in a deep relationship with him? And yet, that is exactly what can and does happen.

Ultimately, we know that becoming a Christian does not mean that we are instantly perfect. We were born into sin and our maturing process with God is done in layers as He washes off the residue of this life, transforming us into His likeness.

Could it be that believing what we read in the Bible or hear in church is not enough or more accurately our knowledge needs experience too? 

If our living God wants a living breathing relationship with us might He want to take us from believing what we read/hear to knowing by way of experiencing His benefits? I believe so because when we experience God it reinforces what we’ve read/heard/believed with our mind and now our heart has proof because of God’s peace and freedom that floods our life.

I’m not knocking traditional therapy, I’ve used it, it’s great but the difference that I have experienced between traditional therapy and Christian deliverance therapy has been hands down a level of sustained peace in my life that I have never known before. At the core of my heart, mind, body I am at peace. I’m not saying that situations/circumstances/people do not challenge that peace but I have a place of rest that I can continually return to or build on whenever I find myself using/trying to create self-protection/coping skills.

Because remember, as Christians we don’t need to go looking, begging, praying, wishing, hoping for God’s peace, healing, deliverance. It’s already there. We’re called to engage what is already available to us and live with the benefits in the here and now.

Let’s get into this episode because I want you to hear all the good stuff that my guest Frank Meadows has to share, let’s dive in and hear how our lie based thinking is how we stay trapped and how using Theophostic Healing Prayer to dismantle these barriers opens up a floodgate of freedom and peace; living water poured into our hearts, bodies, minds.

Live Loved and Thrive! @alifeofthrivie.com

 

Connect with Frank on his website: https://www.meadowshealingprayercenter.com/about-us/

 

Bio:
Frank is the founder of the Meadows Healing Prayer Center in Chesapeake, Va. For years,he has counseled and ministered healing prayer to many in the Hampton Roads, VA area. He has been utilizing Theophostic Healing Prayer with great results since 1999. Since that time many have come from across the United States to receive Franks’ ministry for extended times of intensive healing prayer. Since that time he has ministered over 17,000 hours using Theophostic Healing Prayer. Frank has taught and facilitated many Theophostic Basic Training Seminars and healing prayer training locally, nationally, and internationally.

Frank is a mental health professional and a licensed clinical social worker. He is also the clinical director of Christian Psychotherapy Services in Chesapeake, Virginia. He has been in practice there since 1989 ministering to clients and families with emotional, relational, spiritual and abuse trauma recover issues.

 

Soul Ties and How They Impact us, with Mary Beth Powers

My guest is Mary Beth Powers and we connected over the topic that we’re discussing today, unhealthy soul ties. Mary Beth is a long-time Bible teacher, a certified speaker, she currently serves as a connection Pastor at her church and we’ll be able to call her author as soon as her book is completed and published. Additionally, she leads a healing ministry called Freedom.

We talked about the impact that soul ties have on relationships, personal growth, and the importance of recognizing and breaking these ties through self-evaluation, Godly instruction, leaning into the heart of God and professional counseling with regard to trauma associated with some soul ties.

Mary Beth defined a soul tie and while it is not a biblical term she connected the dots for us with regard to how the Bible refers to uniting/joining/cleaving to someone as the same result of a soul tie.

I had a lot of curiosity about soul ties because it’s not something often spoken about in church and yet when they go undetected they rob us personally in countless ways, some of which are delaying our ability to fulfill the calling on our life, becoming a victim because of a lack of identity, staying stuck in trauma which cripples mentally, emotionally/physically. These are some of the possible results of staying attached to unhealthy soul ties. 

I asked some very pointed questions about pornography soul ties, how soul ties created in past sexual relationships impact current ones. We talked about abusive relationship soul ties. I even asked Mary Beth about unwanted soul ties that are forced upon us such as rape and she even included incest in that portion of the discussion. In short, it was a very I interesting topic for me. 

You may hear Mary Beth back on my show again because the book that she is in the process of writing is on generational curses and that is something else that I’m very interested in!

Let’s jump in and educate ourselves on soul ties, see if they apply to our life and if so, let’s break them off and walk in countless new levels of freedom!

Live Loved and Thrive! @alifeofthrive.com

Connect with Mary Beth:
Website marybethpowers.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/mary.b.powers
IG: girl.be.still

Bio:
Mary Beth is passionate about seeing women experience Jesus in a life-changing way.

She speaks authentically as a safe place for women to share their struggles. Whether one-on-one or from a podium in a room full of women, she loves to see women thriving in the fullness of Jesus!

Mary Beth is a certified speaker and long-time Bible teacher. She currently serves as a connection Pastor at her church. She is known for her infectious personality and caring for others. She has a deep devotion to her family. She is married to her forever crush, Mike, and they parent three children together. They live in North Alabama in a small but growing town called Hazel Green. They enjoy the empty-nest season, and together, they love to travel and try out new restaurants.

She loves exploring new coffee shops, but most days, you will find her curled up next to her Aussie, Hartlee, coffee in one hand and her journal in the other, finishing a book about God’s unfailing love.

But she has a new role that she finds her favorite: being a Nana to her 3 new grandsons!

Turning Chaos into Purpose, with Noah Asher

My guest, author Noah Asher has written a book titled Chaos, Overcoming the Overwhelming. Noah uses his personal experience with chaos and leads us through what I believe (after talking to Noah and hearing this examples) is our own journey into, through and out of what Jesus modeled on the cross.

Don’t get me wrong our pain and suffering do not fulfill the same purpose and plan as the crucifixion. It will never equate to the work He accomplished. My point in making the connection of the Easter weekend from Friday to Sunday is that Jesus took all of our suffering, anguish, shame, guilt, regret, trauma and nailed it to the cross. This is proof that He has the power to turn our chaos into purpose too!

Through the model that Jesus gave us on the cross of overcoming the evil of this life, when we experience heartbreaking seasons we have an example of what processing the pain of this life looks like: Friday can be the pain of the impact, the moment our life changed forever.  Saturday is the waiting season in-between Friday and Sunday. And then Sunday is the season of healing and restoration. 

Noah breaks down a season of chaos into 3 phases: 

*The Prepare Season - I really liked that Noah equips us to prepare for our own Friday moment.  I was really curious to know, how can someone actually prepare for their life to be interrupted with chaos because we all know it’s not an “if it happens” scenario it’s a “when it happens” reality and yet I don’t consciously prepare for bad things to happen. So his insight is very helpful to first recognize that you probably are preparing yourself you just didn’t recognize it and then to see other ways you can equip yourself. 

*The second season is In The Midst - Noah terms it as your Saturday season. You’re between the life changing event and the healing, restoration, redemption phase. Noah talked about how we can make this time as beneficial as possible, what value does this phase even have? What can you learn about God in (what I call the) the struggle season because it can be full of questions as we struggle to understand all that has been impacted. Questions like, "Why did you let this happen God?” "Why did this happen to me?” "What am I supposed to do with my life now?” "Who am I now?" 

*And the final season, the Aftermath which I now term as Sunday. This is a time of healing, restoration and redemption - but what does that even mean in an individual life? It means a lot of beautiful things. Discovering your purpose, receiving revelation of God’s heart for you as his son or daughter and Noah talks about several more. 

Noah did a fantastic job of making this topic of chaos very relatable and as you’ll hear he adds humor to what can be a very weighty topic. Not only does he back up his revelation and the real examples with Biblical truth, he also adds a little wit with references to characters such as The Lion Kin and Eeyore. 

I asked Noah if there was a difference between chaos and trauma, and we talked about grief and grace, perseverance on the journey and we used Joseph’s story (among other biblical examples) to look at how God repurposed everything that was done to Joseph to bring good out of despair, and not just good for Joseph but for many and of course that echos the work of the cross as well. When you think about the good that the cross produced for as many who will accept Jesus’ payment for our sin debt. 

Let’s listen in to find out how to navigate the 3 phases of chaos so that we might be prepared when our Friday arrives. If we’re prepared we know Who to turn to so that we can go from pain to purpose! We can have hope in a better tomorrow because we have the promise and the proof that Sunday is coming.

Live Loved and Thrive! @alifeofthrive.com

 

Connect with Noah:
Website: www.thenoahasher.com
IG: @TheNoahAsher on Instagram 
Email: chaosovercomer@gmail.com

Bio:
Noah Asher is an author, Chaos-survivor, business owner, and communicator. Noah helps people find purpose within their pain and their past. His new book, CHAOS: Overcoming the Overwhelming, is a guide on how to navigate through difficult times and come out stronger on the other side. Noah believes that everyone has a purpose, and he is dedicated to helping people find it.