The Science of Rejoicing

I love reading books about the brain and body (i.e. the mind/body connection) because I always learn something about why God tells us to do what he does.  Look at this (see below for the reference to the book I'm quoting)...

"Any form of negative rumination - for example, worrying about your financial future or health - will stimulate the release of destructive neurochemicals." (p25)

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?... Matthew 6:25-34

"Human brains like to ruminate on negative fantasies, and they're also odd in another way: they respond to positive and negative fantasies as if they were real." (p27)

"There is mounting evidence that strongly negative terms can interrupt the normal expression of genes that regulate one of the most important language centers of the brain, Wernicke's area.  This is where we learn how to interpret the meaning of words.  Hostile language also appears to disrupt specific genes that are instrumental in the production of neurochemicals that protect us from physiological stress, and if we are exposed to it during childhood, it can undermine our ability to fend off anxiety, depression, and fear." (p33)

In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.  But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Colossians 3:7-8

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 1 John 4:18

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7

"But imagination is a two-way street. If you intensely focus on a word like "peace" or "love," the emotional centers in the brain calm down... This is the neurological power of positive thinking, and to date it has been supported by hundreds of well-designed studies." (p27)

"Certain words - like 'peace' and 'love' - may actually have the power to alter the expression of genes throughout the brain and body." (p28)

And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in you hearts. to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Colossians 3:14

"According to Sonja Lyubomirsky, one of the world's leading researchers on happiness, if you want to develop lifelong satisfaction you should regularly engage in positive thinking about yourself, share your happiest events with others and savor every positive experience in your life." (p31)

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice... Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:4-7


"...Concentrating and meditating on positive thoughts, feelings, and outcomes can be more powerful than any drug in the world, especially when it comes to changing old habits, behaviors, and beliefs." (p35)

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Colossians 3:2


And, the definition of some of God's favorite words:

Rejoice - to feel joy or great delight
Delight - to take great pleasure
Joy - the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune, or by the prospect of possessing what one desires

When I know the reason why something should be done, it is so much easier for me to carry it out(which is great motivation for me to try to dig down to find out WHY God wants me to conduct my life a certain way!).  After ingesting all of the above information, I realized that rejoicing is a lot easier than I have ever thought it was.  In this case, the reason God wants us to manage our thoughts is because of how they can so dramatically affect our entire life.  His wanting us to think positively and trust him instead of worrying is clear proof to me that he wants us to be peaceful and healthy.  

When we dwell on and enjoy the well being that we have (especially our spiritual well being, since that is more real and lasting than any other form of health), it changes our perspective and heals us, as scientific research is now able to spell out in black and white.  

It is easy to enjoy life if we choose to fixate on every good thing that happens to us, and every kind thing that God and Jesus Christ have done and will do for us.  In the past couple of months, I have been able to experience this joy first hand as have finally started learning how to focus on good things and let go of unpleasant events, and my personal need to be upset, worried, afraid, etc.

I love how good science proves God every time!

Excerpts from:
Words Can Change Your Brain 
by Andrew Newberg, M.D. and Mark Robert Waldman
Copyright 2012 Hudson Street Press

"In My Distress"

I have a tendency to think that because I've messed something up with my own sin or even just my own silly mistakes, I shouldn't or can't go to God for help.  But as I was reading this verse...:

"In my distress I called to the LORD,
and he answered me."
Psalm 120:1 ESV

...I realized that much of my distress in life is caused by my own bad attitudes, mistakes or wrong reactions (etc) to things, more so than the things themselves that happen to me.  For example, somebody wrongs me and I start feeling really badly for myself, and the pity turns into more distress than the wrong that was done to me to begin with.  When that happens, I feel it is my own responsibility to "get over" my problems since they seem to be my fault to begin with.

But a good parent wouldn't leave their young child to untangle their own mess - they would lovingly step in when possible.  They would understand that a child can't be perfect, and is still learning and figuring out boundaries, etc.  And when problems arise, as they are sure to, a child really isn't capable of saying "Oh, I know exactly what went wrong - I can handle this no problem now."  Rather, they will be upset from whatever happened, and will need extra support.

So, even when I think my distress is my own fault, I can and should try to turn away from what I know is wrong, and most importantly, ask for help!  God is willing.

Set Apart Living

I recently read a book called "Set Apart Femininity" by Leslie Ludy.  It is about giving our whole lives to the Lord, and not just sprinkling him in to our lives here and there.  I loved the book.  I agree with her message - it's so easy to give God and Christ only the attention that is convenient for us, and to treat them like consultants rather than like they are actually in charge of our lives as they ought to be.

Since reading it in July, I have been going back and forth with questions about how it should look to give my life completely to the Lord and to really put him in charge of it.  Leslie gives the impression that living completely for Christ will mean doing something absolutely world shaking and abnormal.  She uses women like Corrie Ten Boom, Amy Carmichael, Jackie Pullinger, and Sabina Wurmbrand as examples of "set apart femininity" - women who sacrificed absolutely everything most of us hold dear (a "normal" life, a home, marriage, their homeland, children, etc) for the cause of bringing glory to God and loving people.

There is nothing at all wrong with doing mind-blowing things in service to Jesus, but she makes it sound like being an upstanding woman in your community and serving the Lord on a small scale is not important in the Lord's eyes.  I am trying to decide if I believe whether, in totally giving up ones own will to the Lord, he might direct a person to simply serve their own family in some way (for example, caring for a dying parent or a child with a special condition could be all-consuming).  I believe smaller things can be just as radical, and just as important to the Lord, because I believe that he thinks that one person is just as important as many people.

I will be looking into scripture to see what I think, because I have this nagging feeling that one can live radically in a "normal" setting.  Any thoughts??

Jesus, My Hero

I think I have been seriously overlooking something very important.  Another moment of re-learning!  

My Lord Jesus is powerful!  If anything is standing between me and him, he is able to get rid of the obstacle, or help me to do it. He is able to help me with anything!  ...Anything!  

He cannot be treated like just a friend to vent to.  He can't be looked at as simply a comforter or a back-patter, sitting by sympathetically.  He rises up on behalf of us if we ask him to.  He fights for us in the heavenlies!  We don't have to helplessly wonder why our relationship with him is not what it could be.  We can just ask him to do what needs to be done to help us enjoy a hindrance-free relationship with him.  

He is bigger than the distractions that seem to constantly plague me, and I am asking him to bulldoze them.  I have tried and tried to do it myself, and it is painfully tiring and frustrating.  It has been like running repeatedly into a locked heavy metal door in an attempt to knock it down.  But what joy it gives me to imagine Jesus using his pinkie to effortlessly tear the door off it's hinges, toss it aside, and smile at me, now ready for intimate fellowship.

Please don't skip the scripture!  Try to read it like you have never seen it before:

16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,
18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might
20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,
21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

Ephesians 1:16-21 ESV (I added some emphasis!)


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Re-Learning... Again

It has been far too long!

Sometimes I feel like one of the most dense humans on the planet, because I seem to need to relearn things over and over and over.  Or maybe it's just that I have known things in my head for a long time, but the facts haven't traveled to my heart because my head hasn't fully accepted them yet.  Either way, I am glad the Lord is so patient, because if I were him, I'd probably be pulling my hair out over me by now!

I am also glad that I am "relearning" these things.  I'll share a brief overview of the truths that I have known forever, but have recently come to understand a bit deeper in my heart, in a way that I can apply to myself:

1. God and Jesus love me no matter what.  I started understanding what this means when I thought about my favorite person, the one I love most unconditionally.  I thought about how I feel toward them despite all their flaws and shortcomings, what I want for them, how I would treat them in the face of them doing something wrong or disappointing, etc... and I came to the conclusion that if I can feel so tenderly toward somebody, and if God tells me to always forgive and always love and always treat well, then he certainly does nothing less for me.  (I recommend doing the same mental exercise of thinking about somebody you just absolutely adore, and preferably know very well - it might open your eyes, too, if you have been in the same boat as I have)

2. Relationship is the most important thing to God.  That's why he made humans and why he sent Jesus.

3. But relationship with God is only fully experienced through obedience to him.  That way there is not only no guilt in blocking the way between me and God, but I can also be assured that when I obey, I am much more safe and protected.  God can only do so much for me, for example, when I decide to go against him and get in a fist fight with someone who has made me angry.  Additionally, when we obey, God's goodness is showcased to the world in an extremely powerful way because it so confounds and confuses the ways of the enemy.

4. I don't need to be perfect!  I can't be perfect!  The Lord does not EXPECT me to be perfect!  And, I will NEVER BE PERFECT!  And!  That is OK!  Good gracious.  Needless to say, I'll be relearning this one again next month. 

Anybody learning anything out there?  What a privilege to be able to encourage each other in all of our learning about our marvelous Lord Jesus and our Father God :)