So, it's been a bit and I thought I'd go ahead with a quick update.
In August, I was blessed to attend the Oregon Christian Writer's Conference here in Portland. I met many interesting people, learned a ton, and am quite thankful for having had the experience. I met with a mentor and an editor, attended numerous classes, and got to re-connect with a former boss.
I also finished up and have the first three edits done on my first full-length manuscript, a novel titled Edward's Heart, and began two more books during the month. One is book two in the same series as Edward's Heart, which seems like it will be five, possibly six books in length.
I've been busy, to say the least. For aside from writing and getting in a lot of reading and some Pinterest-ing, I've also done much genealogical research, including finding some information people have been seeking for over 50 years, much to my delight.
It has been intense; it has been a thrill; it has been exhausting, but it has been worth it.
I hope to get back to Coaching Tips soon. :)
Blessings,
Harmony
Jul 26, 2013
On Campmeeting, or Not...
So, sometimes we, as people, even followers of Christ - perhaps especially as His followers - have difficult decisions to make. Should I go to this event, or sponsor that one? Should I give here, there, or the other place, or possible all three? Where will my time be spent most wisely? What about my finances, my talents, and other resources?
For those in the Pacific NW, and part of the Church of God (Anderson, IN) movement, this week was Campmeeting, held over at my own alma mater, Warner Pacific College. And over the years, the meetings have changed, shifted, morphed some; we've been three or four different grounds since I began attending even before I was born (though I was close!).
This year, I had to make one of those coach-y decisions: work on researching and writing the book I've begun, go to Campmeeting, or try for some happy medium of the two.
While my aim was this third angle - to research and write but also attend some of the conferences, I found that I was getting more out of what I was researching - related to Christianity and history - than most of the conferences sounded than they would. For the first time ever, I only attended two, and I am thankful for those.
On Monday, I went to hear the man I had known as school chaplain, as well as a ministry partner of his, on a discussion on unity. And today, I had the privilege of listening to, for the first time, listen to a fantastic speaker and theologian on the topic of holiness, and more specifically, as it went on, Wesleyan Holiness, of which this movement is a part.
For me, these two topics are the laces keeping the shoe on, or as some would say, the girdle set. Unity, and Holiness. We really can't have one without the other, can we? Not if we are Wesleyan, and not if we believe that God set us apart to be holy as He is holy.
This week, I set myself apart. I worked on my book - more than a hundred pages of it - and I interacted with others through the process, spending time in conversations, not only about the book, but the movement, about holiness, unity, life. This week was like a full-length examen that didn't stop, and it was wonderful.
So, while this may be the last time Campmeeting is the way I will remember it from the time I was a child, and though they may change the name aside from the format, I will remember this week. I will remember the unity, and the holiness, the fellowship, the writing and research accomplished, and I will remember the faces of loved ones, new and old, who have walked the path of examen with me; the path of life.
To all of you out there, I hope it was a blessed week...
For those in the Pacific NW, and part of the Church of God (Anderson, IN) movement, this week was Campmeeting, held over at my own alma mater, Warner Pacific College. And over the years, the meetings have changed, shifted, morphed some; we've been three or four different grounds since I began attending even before I was born (though I was close!).
This year, I had to make one of those coach-y decisions: work on researching and writing the book I've begun, go to Campmeeting, or try for some happy medium of the two.
While my aim was this third angle - to research and write but also attend some of the conferences, I found that I was getting more out of what I was researching - related to Christianity and history - than most of the conferences sounded than they would. For the first time ever, I only attended two, and I am thankful for those.
On Monday, I went to hear the man I had known as school chaplain, as well as a ministry partner of his, on a discussion on unity. And today, I had the privilege of listening to, for the first time, listen to a fantastic speaker and theologian on the topic of holiness, and more specifically, as it went on, Wesleyan Holiness, of which this movement is a part.
For me, these two topics are the laces keeping the shoe on, or as some would say, the girdle set. Unity, and Holiness. We really can't have one without the other, can we? Not if we are Wesleyan, and not if we believe that God set us apart to be holy as He is holy.
This week, I set myself apart. I worked on my book - more than a hundred pages of it - and I interacted with others through the process, spending time in conversations, not only about the book, but the movement, about holiness, unity, life. This week was like a full-length examen that didn't stop, and it was wonderful.
So, while this may be the last time Campmeeting is the way I will remember it from the time I was a child, and though they may change the name aside from the format, I will remember this week. I will remember the unity, and the holiness, the fellowship, the writing and research accomplished, and I will remember the faces of loved ones, new and old, who have walked the path of examen with me; the path of life.
To all of you out there, I hope it was a blessed week...
Jul 23, 2013
Jul 16, 2013
Coaching Query Time
Hello there! How are you coming along with your goals? I hope you have found encouragement here and been walking toward a better life these past weeks! If not it's not too late to go and look at earlier posts for Coaching Query Time and work your way through the list to begin a journey toward better fulfillment in life and a deeper walk with the Lord and a way to get to know yourself more fully.
Today I want to talk about something a little different. I want to discuss LIBERATION with you!
Not only do we all have things we tolerate in life, we also have times or things where we just plain get STUCK!! Don't we?
Maybe we get stuck on a goal. Maybe on getting freed from a toleration, or from something we've been holding on to for too long. Possibly, we've gotten stuck in the mire of other people's stuff... So, here are a few things to think about and consider:
Where does your life feel stuck?
What have you done so far to get UNstuck?
If the situation seems impossible, what change in beliefs would help make it believable that you CAN get unstuck? What shift in paradigm do you need?
Make a list of the options open to you in ONE area where you feel stuck.
Now, look at your list and ask yourself, which option seems the most feasible? Which am I most drawn to? Is it helpful, or will it hinder?
Then, if it's a helpful option, aim to spend TEN minutes a day working toward that action. Begin NOW!
Today I want to talk about something a little different. I want to discuss LIBERATION with you!
Not only do we all have things we tolerate in life, we also have times or things where we just plain get STUCK!! Don't we?
Maybe we get stuck on a goal. Maybe on getting freed from a toleration, or from something we've been holding on to for too long. Possibly, we've gotten stuck in the mire of other people's stuff... So, here are a few things to think about and consider:
Where does your life feel stuck?
What have you done so far to get UNstuck?
If the situation seems impossible, what change in beliefs would help make it believable that you CAN get unstuck? What shift in paradigm do you need?
Make a list of the options open to you in ONE area where you feel stuck.
Now, look at your list and ask yourself, which option seems the most feasible? Which am I most drawn to? Is it helpful, or will it hinder?
Then, if it's a helpful option, aim to spend TEN minutes a day working toward that action. Begin NOW!
Jul 12, 2013
More on Prophetic Artistry Coaching and Prayer Mapping
So, there is one aspect of overlap between Prophetic Artistry Coaching and Prayer Mapping, and that is the world of dreams and visions. As such, I invite you to come check out the dreams tabs on both of my other blogs, The Color of Faith, and Honeylis Dreaming. I'm sure there are other things of interest for you to check out there, too! Happy reading, and happy learning. :)
Jul 9, 2013
Coaching Query Time
We've been talking about goals and tolerations these last weeks...
Going back to the goals you've set... I have two questions for you today!
The first is, what resources do you ALREADY have to help you achieve your goal? (These can be people, qualities, skills, tools, etc)
The second is like it, but asks, what resources do you still NEED in order to achieve that goal?
I challenge you to make a list for each question. Looking at your lists, and knowing your tolerations, which do you think you can do something about TODAY? Which can you do something about before the end of the week? Give yourself a deadline for each item that still has NEED attached to it, even if the deadline i toward a baby step. This way, you are that many steps closer to your goal!
Use your imagination; think outside of the box. What can you do? Where do you need confidence to walk into filing those needs in an appropriate manner, where possible?
Going back to the goals you've set... I have two questions for you today!
The first is, what resources do you ALREADY have to help you achieve your goal? (These can be people, qualities, skills, tools, etc)
The second is like it, but asks, what resources do you still NEED in order to achieve that goal?
I challenge you to make a list for each question. Looking at your lists, and knowing your tolerations, which do you think you can do something about TODAY? Which can you do something about before the end of the week? Give yourself a deadline for each item that still has NEED attached to it, even if the deadline i toward a baby step. This way, you are that many steps closer to your goal!
Use your imagination; think outside of the box. What can you do? Where do you need confidence to walk into filing those needs in an appropriate manner, where possible?
Jul 5, 2013
Books I Recommend... for Coaching Clients
The following shortlist of books are recommended for those who are considering signing up for coaching, or Prayer Mapping, through Kura Kimanna.
Unless otherwise noted, the book covers shown here are from GoodReads.
Gifts Differing. This book is good for those who have already taken the MBTI test, which can be found in varying forms, including free ones, online and in person. It is a guide to help you understand your personality better, and the personalities of those around you. Keep in mind that with the MBTI, you might have a frame of reference, but this is by no means a "box" to put you in. What I really like about the Myers-Briggs is that there is always room for change, but those changes generally stay within the same basic personality.
This text is good for anyone looking to better understand who you are, and if you know the MBTIs of others, it will help you in relationships, if you are working with rather than against them. Relationship Coaching, Self Image and Esteem Coaching, Time Management Coaching (most especially!), and even Prophetic Artistry Coaching and Prayer Mapping, will benefit you more with this understanding.
Dr. Caroline Leaf's great little book, The Gift in You, is packed with insights into how we all think and how toxic thinking, emotions, dreams, behaviors, etc. affect who we are and how we interact with others. On top of this, it looks at how we, individually, think. Within the book is a test that looks at which order someone's thoughts are processed, and therefore with this realization, the reader is better able to understand how or why they do certain things or think in varying ways. Like Gifts Differing, it can be utilized to not only help ourselves but better understand those around us.
I highly recommend this book for Self Image and Esteem Coaching, Time Management Coaching, Prophetic Artistry Coaching, Prayer Mapping, and Creativity Coaching and Consulting clients!
Who doesn't love Randy Alcorn's books that's read them? This is a short text, and it is packed with insights on how we are to balance being full of truth, and full of grace, as that is what Jesus modeled for us in His walk here on earth. This would be good for those seeking Relationship Coaching, Prophetic Artistry Coaching, and/or Prayer Mapping.
Good for Time Management Coaching clients, as well as anyone who is just plain busy, Too Busy to Live: the Addiction America Applauds looks at how people have become more busy than is good for them. With Time Management Coaching through Kura Kimanna, there is no emphasis on MORE to do... there is an emphasis on looking at what the highest and best use of our time is... and this text looks into why we don't always think that way.
Mark Batterson's The Circle Maker is a definite read for those coming in for Prayer Mapping or Prophetic Artistry Coaching. While Beni Johnson's book focuses on intercession, Pastor Batterson looks at prayer in general, and the emphasis, in some ways, is on how individual prayer affects the corporate world around us... the corporate church, the government, and more. But it is more than that... it looks at how our prayers affect our own lives.
Beginning with a story of Honi the circle maker, who prayed down ran in the midst of a drought, Batterson looks at how we can use the same principles to hep build our prayer lives and challenges us to get OUT of the box we've been living in. Great book!
What have you been called to do that you've never stepped into? What have you allowed fear to keep you from doing?
That is the basic premise, the question posed with The Risk Factor, by Kevin Dedmon and his son, Chad Dedmon. What will it take to get YOU to step over the chicken line and into you destiny?
A must-read for those coming to Kura Kimanna for Prayer Mapping, for Prophetic Artistry Coaching, and for Creativity Coaching and Consulting!
Just as in the natural world we have seasons, we all have different seasons of life according to the spirit world. Mark Buchanan's Spiritual Rhythm is a must-read for those coming in for Prayer Mapping or Prophetic Artistry Coaching.
Prayer: More Than Words, by Leroy Eims, is great for those looking to gain a better understanding of prayer in general. For those coming in for Prayer Mapping or Prophetic artistry Coaching, this is a highly recommended read.
God calls us to trust Him. In Charles Swindoll's Perfect Trust, there are insights to helping us learn to trust in God more and more. A must-read for those coming in for any of the services here at Kura Kimanna!
Thank you for taking the time to come check this list out! I really appreciate it. And of course, these recommendations are good for anyone, not just potential clients. :)
Unless otherwise noted, the book covers shown here are from GoodReads.
Deepen YOUR intercessory prayer life with some context from Beni Johnson's wonderful little book, The Happy Intercessor! Insightful and inspiring, Beni gives some examples of how intercessory prayer has worked in her life and impacted the places God has drawn her to pray for. This book is recommended for those who already know they have been called to intercession, or those looking to gain a better undertanding of the gift.
Hosting the Presence, by Pastor Bill Johnson of Bethel Church, Redding, California, is one of the most profoundly simple and illustrative books I have found on how to interact with the Holy Spirit of God in an appropriate fashion and to yeild to God's plans for our lives, and that of the world. Recommended for both Prayer Mapping clients and those looking for Prophetic Artistry Coaching. May also be great for those seeking Self Image and Esteem or Relationship Coaching.
This text is good for anyone looking to better understand who you are, and if you know the MBTIs of others, it will help you in relationships, if you are working with rather than against them. Relationship Coaching, Self Image and Esteem Coaching, Time Management Coaching (most especially!), and even Prophetic Artistry Coaching and Prayer Mapping, will benefit you more with this understanding.
Dr. Caroline Leaf's great little book, The Gift in You, is packed with insights into how we all think and how toxic thinking, emotions, dreams, behaviors, etc. affect who we are and how we interact with others. On top of this, it looks at how we, individually, think. Within the book is a test that looks at which order someone's thoughts are processed, and therefore with this realization, the reader is better able to understand how or why they do certain things or think in varying ways. Like Gifts Differing, it can be utilized to not only help ourselves but better understand those around us.
I highly recommend this book for Self Image and Esteem Coaching, Time Management Coaching, Prophetic Artistry Coaching, Prayer Mapping, and Creativity Coaching and Consulting clients!
Style Statement: Live by your own design, by Carrie McCarthy and Danielle LaPorte is one of those "extras" that helps for some people when it comes to further defining who you are as a person. While it is primarily geared to women, there are examples of men in the book who have also been helped with this process. And the book is definitely a PROCESS. lol
I've actually gone through this process more than once, just to be sure I came up with what is most "me". This book is good for those going through the Self Image and Esteem Coaching, Prayer Mapping, and/or Creativity Coaching and Consulting.
Geared specifically to women, Bradley Bayou's The Science of Sexy is more of a reference guide than anything else. If you can find it at the library, that's great. You take a few measurements, do a little math, and find where to look according to how the guide is set up. This is really helpful even for someone who, like me, is between two different sizes that the book is categorized by.
This is good for Self Image and Esteem Coaching clients, and may be helpful for Relationship Coaching or Creativity Coaching and Consulting, depending upon the goals you have in mind.
Who doesn't love Randy Alcorn's books that's read them? This is a short text, and it is packed with insights on how we are to balance being full of truth, and full of grace, as that is what Jesus modeled for us in His walk here on earth. This would be good for those seeking Relationship Coaching, Prophetic Artistry Coaching, and/or Prayer Mapping.
Good for Time Management Coaching clients, as well as anyone who is just plain busy, Too Busy to Live: the Addiction America Applauds looks at how people have become more busy than is good for them. With Time Management Coaching through Kura Kimanna, there is no emphasis on MORE to do... there is an emphasis on looking at what the highest and best use of our time is... and this text looks into why we don't always think that way.
Mark Batterson's The Circle Maker is a definite read for those coming in for Prayer Mapping or Prophetic Artistry Coaching. While Beni Johnson's book focuses on intercession, Pastor Batterson looks at prayer in general, and the emphasis, in some ways, is on how individual prayer affects the corporate world around us... the corporate church, the government, and more. But it is more than that... it looks at how our prayers affect our own lives.
Beginning with a story of Honi the circle maker, who prayed down ran in the midst of a drought, Batterson looks at how we can use the same principles to hep build our prayer lives and challenges us to get OUT of the box we've been living in. Great book!
What have you been called to do that you've never stepped into? What have you allowed fear to keep you from doing?
That is the basic premise, the question posed with The Risk Factor, by Kevin Dedmon and his son, Chad Dedmon. What will it take to get YOU to step over the chicken line and into you destiny?
A must-read for those coming to Kura Kimanna for Prayer Mapping, for Prophetic Artistry Coaching, and for Creativity Coaching and Consulting!
Just as in the natural world we have seasons, we all have different seasons of life according to the spirit world. Mark Buchanan's Spiritual Rhythm is a must-read for those coming in for Prayer Mapping or Prophetic Artistry Coaching.
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| This photo from amazon.com since goodreads didn't have one. |
God calls us to trust Him. In Charles Swindoll's Perfect Trust, there are insights to helping us learn to trust in God more and more. A must-read for those coming in for any of the services here at Kura Kimanna!
Thank you for taking the time to come check this list out! I really appreciate it. And of course, these recommendations are good for anyone, not just potential clients. :)
Jul 4, 2013
Happy Independence Day!
It's time once more to sing Happy Birthday to the United States of America!
So many people have risked their lives for this country, and we own them our gratitude. What's more, God blesses us so much on a daily basis. The least of us here in the US is much wealthier than much of the rest of the world, and we should be thankful that we have, at this time, access to many freedoms that are taken for granted at times.
Thank you to the warriors of the land; thank you to those who have fought with the US when it counted, too. For all who have sacrificed, thank you!!!
Happy 4th of July, everyone!!
So many people have risked their lives for this country, and we own them our gratitude. What's more, God blesses us so much on a daily basis. The least of us here in the US is much wealthier than much of the rest of the world, and we should be thankful that we have, at this time, access to many freedoms that are taken for granted at times.
Thank you to the warriors of the land; thank you to those who have fought with the US when it counted, too. For all who have sacrificed, thank you!!!
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| WeHeartIt.com Thank you to those who have served! |
Happy 4th of July, everyone!!
Jul 2, 2013
Coaching Query Time
There are goals we all have in life.
Think about your ultimate goal.
What does it look like? How does it feel, taste, smell? How believable is the goal's intended outcome to your heart? Do you know internally that it will be for the best?
How will you know that you have achieved it?
Sometimes, we take our goals and chunk them into pieces that are too big, or too small. What are you doing TODAY to work toward your goal?
Think about your ultimate goal.
What does it look like? How does it feel, taste, smell? How believable is the goal's intended outcome to your heart? Do you know internally that it will be for the best?
How will you know that you have achieved it?
Sometimes, we take our goals and chunk them into pieces that are too big, or too small. What are you doing TODAY to work toward your goal?
Services: Prayer Mapping
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to experience a deeper walk with Christ, where you had confidence that God heard your every prayer?
While Beni Johnson, intercessory minister for Bethel Church, Redding, sees Prayer Mapping as research for a prayer journey, I look at it in a broader sense. And this broader sense is what Kura Kimanna offers as a service to help guide you into a deeper sense of who you are in Christ, a deeper knowing of Whose you are, and a strategy... a set of tools... to help you in this walk called Christianity.
Kura Kimanna's Prayer Mapping is multidimensional, in that it is the only service offered that requires in person, as well as offering e-mail, hone, or both. This is because of how deeply the work is to affect one's life!
If you're looking for an intense, paradigm-shifting, Heaven-drawing change in your life... if you are up for the challenge to walk on a higher level with Christ... if you are looking for something so different that it has to be uniquely tailored to YOUR needs and GOD's dreams for your life... if you are looking to really dig deep for the gold inside of you and therefore learn to see it in others... then Kura Kimanna's Prayer Mapping is a journey you MUST consider, and take action on!
On top of that, Prayer Mapping is usually only a 3-month process with Kura Kimanna, and at a much lower hourly rate than coaching, is among the most affordable services.*
Leave me a message of interest, and we will talk! Thanks. :)
*Aside from any travel and accommodations necessary.
While Beni Johnson, intercessory minister for Bethel Church, Redding, sees Prayer Mapping as research for a prayer journey, I look at it in a broader sense. And this broader sense is what Kura Kimanna offers as a service to help guide you into a deeper sense of who you are in Christ, a deeper knowing of Whose you are, and a strategy... a set of tools... to help you in this walk called Christianity.
Kura Kimanna's Prayer Mapping is multidimensional, in that it is the only service offered that requires in person, as well as offering e-mail, hone, or both. This is because of how deeply the work is to affect one's life!
If you're looking for an intense, paradigm-shifting, Heaven-drawing change in your life... if you are up for the challenge to walk on a higher level with Christ... if you are looking for something so different that it has to be uniquely tailored to YOUR needs and GOD's dreams for your life... if you are looking to really dig deep for the gold inside of you and therefore learn to see it in others... then Kura Kimanna's Prayer Mapping is a journey you MUST consider, and take action on!
On top of that, Prayer Mapping is usually only a 3-month process with Kura Kimanna, and at a much lower hourly rate than coaching, is among the most affordable services.*
Leave me a message of interest, and we will talk! Thanks. :)
*Aside from any travel and accommodations necessary.
Jun 30, 2013
Services: Prophetic Artistry Coaching
Good afternoon!
Do you ever wonder if your creativity can be raised to new levels, and in ways that really glorify God at the same time?
Have you ever been in a room with a painting that "spoke" to you in ways that drew you closer to God?
Prophetic Artistry Coaching through Kura Kimanna is a good option for you to integrate your faith with your heart for creative living! Through the process of weekly e-coaching sessions, gain insights that will help unleash your imagination, draw you closer to Christ, better understand your personal symbology and how it relates to the language of God, and more!
As with all coaching through Kura Kimanna, there are multiple options available. For those who decide on e-coaching, 3, 6, 9, 12-month options are available to choose from, with rolling contracts only upon mutual agreement.
Prophetic Artistry Coaching also has an in-person, intensive option. Parameters apply for agreement with this option, and a separate query is necessary after 3 or more months of e-coaching.
For further information, leave a message for me, and I'll get back with you!
Here's to a bright and glorious future in Christ! Here's to the courage it takes to dream, to allow the Holy spirit to have His way, and to grow in Him!
Do you ever wonder if your creativity can be raised to new levels, and in ways that really glorify God at the same time?
Have you ever been in a room with a painting that "spoke" to you in ways that drew you closer to God?
Prophetic Artistry Coaching through Kura Kimanna is a good option for you to integrate your faith with your heart for creative living! Through the process of weekly e-coaching sessions, gain insights that will help unleash your imagination, draw you closer to Christ, better understand your personal symbology and how it relates to the language of God, and more!
As with all coaching through Kura Kimanna, there are multiple options available. For those who decide on e-coaching, 3, 6, 9, 12-month options are available to choose from, with rolling contracts only upon mutual agreement.
Prophetic Artistry Coaching also has an in-person, intensive option. Parameters apply for agreement with this option, and a separate query is necessary after 3 or more months of e-coaching.
For further information, leave a message for me, and I'll get back with you!
Here's to a bright and glorious future in Christ! Here's to the courage it takes to dream, to allow the Holy spirit to have His way, and to grow in Him!
Jun 28, 2013
Supplemental Services: Blogging-related
As part of the writing and editing I do by contract, setting up blogs here on blogger is one of the services I offer and it is one of the most affordable services available through Kura Kimanna! The most recent blog I helped out with was basically set-up and creativity consulting in the same session set.
While I will not write your blog for you, I can certainly get the basic (though somewhat customized) set-up ready for you to go! For non-profits, there is a set fee, and for for-profits, there is an hourly fee. If the set-up is for an individual, it is also an hourly fee.
Feel free to leave questions in the comments! I look forward to hearing from you. :)
While I will not write your blog for you, I can certainly get the basic (though somewhat customized) set-up ready for you to go! For non-profits, there is a set fee, and for for-profits, there is an hourly fee. If the set-up is for an individual, it is also an hourly fee.
Feel free to leave questions in the comments! I look forward to hearing from you. :)
Jun 27, 2013
From Caterpillar to Butterfly
We all grow.
If we didn't, we'd be stagnant, and that's not a good thing.
Just think of a stagnant pool of water. What does it attract? life, but what kind? Scum, and then the creatures that are attracted to that, right?
I don't know about you, but 'd rather have a vibrant life that flourishes, no matter what may come. I'd like to be more like a caterpillar because they can transfom into a butterfly.
Does a caterpillar know its' end from its' beginning? Like us, likely not.
But a caterpillar, like us, must TRANSFORM in order to become something above it's initial existence. In terms of people, this transformation can occur most truly, authentically, and fully to those who EMBRACE a life of believing in and following Jesus Christ.
In Christ, every day truly IS a new day. As we embrace Him, we also embrace kindness, hope, grace, love, and compassion and add them to our way of life. Neuroplastic researcher and author, Dr. Caroline Leaf, talks about the way our thoughts are attached to emotions, and then to attitudes, and from there, the very DNA within us changes and so does our behavior. For each thought, a pattern is created by what we CHOOSE to do with it, and that goes toward wither health or illness, depending on what we ACCEPT and ALLOW to remain within our persons. It has been proven that all emotions stem from either LOVE or FEAR, and that those things we choose to keep within us either create health, or build up a toxic waste dump inside of us... in our minds, hearts, bodies, spirits, and more.
Just LOOK at that dump!!
When we allow toxins to build within us, or allow toxic people a place in our lives, this is basically what it looks like inside our heads, and then our bodies, hearts, and spirits. YUCK!!! I don't know about you, but I don't want ANY of that inside of me, taking up room, causing foul smells and attitudes.
According to Dr. Leaf and many other researchers like her, it has been shown that people are NOT either left or right-brained, as once taught. The left and right sides work in conjunction with one another: one thinks in detail toward the big picture, and the other side from big picture to the details.
The picture above is basically what we were taught, but this isn't quite the case!! There is analysis on both sides, and the whole is also creative. They just come to conclusions in different ways, and when we make a decision, it is based in part on that culmination.
It is also based on what memories and experiences we have retained within us.
As many of you know, it has been shown that not only does the brain store memory, but so does the body. This is further evidence of what Dr. Leaf writes in both of her texts on the way we think. GOD gave us brains that compute over 800,000 things a second while we can only comprehend 2,0000 of them at a time. he also created us all in such a way that every single brain is unique, and therefore each person is unique if for no other reason that that.
What does this have to do with butterflies and caterpillars, though, Harmony?
Well, the Word tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We read in Romans 12:1-2, Amplified, the following:
I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.
If we didn't, we'd be stagnant, and that's not a good thing.
Just think of a stagnant pool of water. What does it attract? life, but what kind? Scum, and then the creatures that are attracted to that, right?
I don't know about you, but 'd rather have a vibrant life that flourishes, no matter what may come. I'd like to be more like a caterpillar because they can transfom into a butterfly.
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| images from WeHeartIt.com |
Does a caterpillar know its' end from its' beginning? Like us, likely not.
But a caterpillar, like us, must TRANSFORM in order to become something above it's initial existence. In terms of people, this transformation can occur most truly, authentically, and fully to those who EMBRACE a life of believing in and following Jesus Christ.
In Christ, every day truly IS a new day. As we embrace Him, we also embrace kindness, hope, grace, love, and compassion and add them to our way of life. Neuroplastic researcher and author, Dr. Caroline Leaf, talks about the way our thoughts are attached to emotions, and then to attitudes, and from there, the very DNA within us changes and so does our behavior. For each thought, a pattern is created by what we CHOOSE to do with it, and that goes toward wither health or illness, depending on what we ACCEPT and ALLOW to remain within our persons. It has been proven that all emotions stem from either LOVE or FEAR, and that those things we choose to keep within us either create health, or build up a toxic waste dump inside of us... in our minds, hearts, bodies, spirits, and more.
Just LOOK at that dump!!
When we allow toxins to build within us, or allow toxic people a place in our lives, this is basically what it looks like inside our heads, and then our bodies, hearts, and spirits. YUCK!!! I don't know about you, but I don't want ANY of that inside of me, taking up room, causing foul smells and attitudes.
According to Dr. Leaf and many other researchers like her, it has been shown that people are NOT either left or right-brained, as once taught. The left and right sides work in conjunction with one another: one thinks in detail toward the big picture, and the other side from big picture to the details.
The picture above is basically what we were taught, but this isn't quite the case!! There is analysis on both sides, and the whole is also creative. They just come to conclusions in different ways, and when we make a decision, it is based in part on that culmination.
It is also based on what memories and experiences we have retained within us.
As many of you know, it has been shown that not only does the brain store memory, but so does the body. This is further evidence of what Dr. Leaf writes in both of her texts on the way we think. GOD gave us brains that compute over 800,000 things a second while we can only comprehend 2,0000 of them at a time. he also created us all in such a way that every single brain is unique, and therefore each person is unique if for no other reason that that.
What does this have to do with butterflies and caterpillars, though, Harmony?
Well, the Word tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We read in Romans 12:1-2, Amplified, the following:
I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.
Do
not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted
to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by
the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new
attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and
acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].
Science concurs with God's Word, written thousands of years ago, that the mind CAN and DOES renew itself, and that we have a choice about it. We always have had!
The true follower of Christ truly HAS gone into the cocoon of the Holy Spirit and come out, not a caterpillar any longer (the old man), but a wondrous butterfly (the new man)!
In the words of Richard Bach, “What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.”
Supplemental Services: Research
At Kura Kimanna, research is certainly something that is consistent with the other services provided. While accepting a project will depend on the topic of research, be certain that, once a topic is agreed upon, all efforts will be done to do due diligence to the research queried about.
Due to time constraints, there may be times that I will not be able to accommodate requests for researching topics, considering that my intent is to write a report of the most helpful information learned about each topic I agree upon.
If research help is something that is of interest to you, please leave a comment for me below. Thanks!
Due to time constraints, there may be times that I will not be able to accommodate requests for researching topics, considering that my intent is to write a report of the most helpful information learned about each topic I agree upon.
If research help is something that is of interest to you, please leave a comment for me below. Thanks!
Jun 26, 2013
Supplemental Services: Photography
As with my writing and editing, I do photography under the umbrella of Kura Kimanna, too. For the most part, this is nature photography, though I have branched out a bit into other arenas.
As such, selling photos or doing nature-related photo sessions for contract are options I am certainly open to. feel free to leave a comment if you have questions or are interested in this particular service. Thank you!
As such, selling photos or doing nature-related photo sessions for contract are options I am certainly open to. feel free to leave a comment if you have questions or are interested in this particular service. Thank you!
Jun 25, 2013
Coaching Query Time
What are you tolerating?
What can you do about it?
Sometimes, the things we are tolerating just need to be fixed, and other times, we need to shift our perspectives in order to accept them. Each toleration will depend on the circumstance of its self. We can change by choice.
Is the toleration something within yourself? Is it something as simple as a button that needs sewn back on, or a leaky faucet? Or is it something about another person?
In these instances, the first two are your responsibility, should you so choose, to do something about. The third is not. Maybe you can talk to someone about a behavior, but ultimately that is up to them. If their answer is NO, I will not change, then it is time to shift our paradigms to include this as a fact, at least for the moment, and something we will no longer allow ourselves frustration over.
What can you do about it?
Sometimes, the things we are tolerating just need to be fixed, and other times, we need to shift our perspectives in order to accept them. Each toleration will depend on the circumstance of its self. We can change by choice.
Is the toleration something within yourself? Is it something as simple as a button that needs sewn back on, or a leaky faucet? Or is it something about another person?
In these instances, the first two are your responsibility, should you so choose, to do something about. The third is not. Maybe you can talk to someone about a behavior, but ultimately that is up to them. If their answer is NO, I will not change, then it is time to shift our paradigms to include this as a fact, at least for the moment, and something we will no longer allow ourselves frustration over.
Supplemental Services: Writing and Editing
While I do Writing and Editing under the umbrella of Kura Kimanna that is my own, there are times when I am willing to also contract out these services. Currently, I am only looking for corporate contracts in this area, related to topics that I have an understanding of.
For the most part, writing and editing is on a contracted basis and all parties must agree to a consistent rate and to the extent of work required/ offered.
If you would like more information, leave me a comment! thank you kindly. )
For the most part, writing and editing is on a contracted basis and all parties must agree to a consistent rate and to the extent of work required/ offered.
If you would like more information, leave me a comment! thank you kindly. )
Services: Relationship Coaching
Do you have trouble seeing eye to eye with a loved one or co-worker?
Do you see areas of your life that are hindering your everyday relationships, or even potential relationships in the future?
Well, then, Kura Kimanna's Relationship Coaching may be just for you! Available in 3, 6, and 12 month options, which are renewable upon mutual agreement. All coaching through Kura Kimanna begins over email, and after 3 months, phone coaching is an additional possibility.
Why not email me today to find out more!
Do you see areas of your life that are hindering your everyday relationships, or even potential relationships in the future?
Well, then, Kura Kimanna's Relationship Coaching may be just for you! Available in 3, 6, and 12 month options, which are renewable upon mutual agreement. All coaching through Kura Kimanna begins over email, and after 3 months, phone coaching is an additional possibility.
Why not email me today to find out more!
Jun 24, 2013
Services: Time Management Coaching
Do you always feel like time is against you?
Does time never seem to be on your side, or have you looked back on your day to ask yourself where the time went?
Sometimes we use time in ways that are not consistent with our goals, or with what we desire for our lives to look like and become. With Kura Kimanna's Time Management Coaching, by e-mail or in person only, you can better understand your own modes of time management, what your time traps have been, and more!
If you choose the e-mail option, I will send you queries and things to ponder, as well as challenges. This happens once a week, on a set day, and the response also has a set day to reply by. This is what is called Coaching Homework, which happens no matter which type of coaching you utilize. And the homework is the key to unlocking your potential. The more open and authentic and concise, the more you will distill what it is you need to know and learn about yourself and therefore, you will experience the paradigm shifts necessary to become a better you!
In person coaching is for intensives only at this time. To learn more, query here...
Does time never seem to be on your side, or have you looked back on your day to ask yourself where the time went?
Sometimes we use time in ways that are not consistent with our goals, or with what we desire for our lives to look like and become. With Kura Kimanna's Time Management Coaching, by e-mail or in person only, you can better understand your own modes of time management, what your time traps have been, and more!
If you choose the e-mail option, I will send you queries and things to ponder, as well as challenges. This happens once a week, on a set day, and the response also has a set day to reply by. This is what is called Coaching Homework, which happens no matter which type of coaching you utilize. And the homework is the key to unlocking your potential. The more open and authentic and concise, the more you will distill what it is you need to know and learn about yourself and therefore, you will experience the paradigm shifts necessary to become a better you!
In person coaching is for intensives only at this time. To learn more, query here...
Jun 22, 2013
Services: Self Image and Esteem Coaching
Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you just had more courage, a better self image or more self esteem?
Have you struggled with things about yourself that you just can't figure out, and it has led to believing what the world and others say about you more than what God says about you?
Perhaps Kura Kimanna's Self Image and Esteem Coaching is just what is needed! By taking a step to help yourself today, you are taking a leap of faith and building your self esteem! Why not send me a note of inquiry so that we can get your free consultation going and see if we would be a good match, and if you are a good candidate for this type of coaching!
With the coaching services of Kura Kimanna, there is always a free consult!
Self Image and Esteem Coaching is available for e-mail or phone in 3, 6, and 12-month options, so there is enough flexibility to help meet your needs! Rolling contracts are an option when both parties agree on it.
Have you struggled with things about yourself that you just can't figure out, and it has led to believing what the world and others say about you more than what God says about you?
Perhaps Kura Kimanna's Self Image and Esteem Coaching is just what is needed! By taking a step to help yourself today, you are taking a leap of faith and building your self esteem! Why not send me a note of inquiry so that we can get your free consultation going and see if we would be a good match, and if you are a good candidate for this type of coaching!
With the coaching services of Kura Kimanna, there is always a free consult!
Self Image and Esteem Coaching is available for e-mail or phone in 3, 6, and 12-month options, so there is enough flexibility to help meet your needs! Rolling contracts are an option when both parties agree on it.
Jun 19, 2013
Services: Creativity Coaching and Consulting
Have you lost interest in the creative side of life, or noticed that you just aren't as creative as you wished you could be?
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be creative?
Does your everyday 9-to-5 lack a creative outlet, and you really need to find one that will work within your means and interests?
Do you think creative thinking is only reserved for certain "types" of people, and that you just aren't one of them?
Kura Kimanna's Creativity Coaching, and/or Consulting is just the service for you!
With Coaching, I will work with you on how to find your creative spark, and get the fire going again. This is an ongoing, weekly e-mail session that, in time, may lead to phone sessions or in person sessions as needed. I will send you queries, and you send me back the answers, which I then Consult with you on to help you build a plan for lighting the creative spark into your life once more.
For phone sessions, there is one hour set aside a week to work with you on anything that isn't able to be covered via email.
Creativity Coaching and Consulting is available for email or phone in 3, 6, and 12-month options, so there is enough flexibility to help meet your needs!
For in-person consulting and coaching, there is usually a separate agreement due to travel costs, where applicable.
To find out more, query here...
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be creative?
Does your everyday 9-to-5 lack a creative outlet, and you really need to find one that will work within your means and interests?
Do you think creative thinking is only reserved for certain "types" of people, and that you just aren't one of them?
Kura Kimanna's Creativity Coaching, and/or Consulting is just the service for you!
With Coaching, I will work with you on how to find your creative spark, and get the fire going again. This is an ongoing, weekly e-mail session that, in time, may lead to phone sessions or in person sessions as needed. I will send you queries, and you send me back the answers, which I then Consult with you on to help you build a plan for lighting the creative spark into your life once more.
For phone sessions, there is one hour set aside a week to work with you on anything that isn't able to be covered via email.
Creativity Coaching and Consulting is available for email or phone in 3, 6, and 12-month options, so there is enough flexibility to help meet your needs!
For in-person consulting and coaching, there is usually a separate agreement due to travel costs, where applicable.
To find out more, query here...
Kura Kimanna's Services
Over these next few days, I will be fleshing out some of the services that are provided through Kura Kimanna!
Stay tuned for this exciting update series! We will cover the following:
Seeking a Deeper Walk with Christ? You might enjoy...
Prophetic Artistry Coaching
Thank you. :)
Stay tuned for this exciting update series! We will cover the following:
Creativity Coaching and Consulting
Self Image and Esteem Coaching
Time Management Coaching
Relationship Coaching
Writing and Editing
Photography
Research
Blogging
Seeking a Deeper Walk with Christ? You might enjoy...
Prophetic Artistry Coaching
Prayer Mapping
*Free e-consult always available for serious potential coaching clients.
Thank you. :)
Jun 18, 2013
Coaching Query Time
Where do you need to grow? In what area of your life or personality?
What are five steps you can take in the next MONTH toward the growth you know, intuitively, you are in need of? See yourself accomplishing them, and then create an action plan for follow-through.
How realistic are your steps, and how realistic is follow-through? Where is the buy-in?
What are five steps you can take in the next MONTH toward the growth you know, intuitively, you are in need of? See yourself accomplishing them, and then create an action plan for follow-through.
How realistic are your steps, and how realistic is follow-through? Where is the buy-in?
Coaching Query Time
As a coach, one of the most powerful things I can do is help you realize your fullest potential. As a Christian, that is also my goal, though there is a nuance shift here: in what way can I help you not only realize your best potential, but then use it to user in God's work in your life so that you can then impact others for Christ?
This new series is specifically for that reason. So, grab a cup of tea and take time to truly PONDER what your intuition, and the Holy Spirit, are telling you with each question that is posed.
These questions are meant not as means to an end, but as jumping off points for you. It is up to YOU, dear readers and clients, to decide on where to go from here, and what you will do with the information you glean in your thought processes.
That said, Coaching Query Time begins...
Our first question to consider is:
If there were NOTHING stopping you (from inside yourself or outside in the world), what would you do with your life, and what would it look like?
This new series is specifically for that reason. So, grab a cup of tea and take time to truly PONDER what your intuition, and the Holy Spirit, are telling you with each question that is posed.
These questions are meant not as means to an end, but as jumping off points for you. It is up to YOU, dear readers and clients, to decide on where to go from here, and what you will do with the information you glean in your thought processes.
That said, Coaching Query Time begins...
Our first question to consider is:
If there were NOTHING stopping you (from inside yourself or outside in the world), what would you do with your life, and what would it look like?
Jun 13, 2013
Broken and Unplugged
In my mother's kitchen, there is a microwave that is beautiful. It's silver, and I love silver...
There's only one small problem with it: the sign on it that tells all within reading distance, Broken and Unplugged. Do Not Use!
The microwave looks whole. It seems to have no real flaws, and yet... Broken and Unplugged! What a bummer!
How much of our lives do we walk around with areas of our hearts carrying signs that tell people, Broken and Unplugged. Do Not Use!
How often do people really listen to those signs? Some abuse them in order to use them more, knowing they have some need of repair, while others steer clear but admire the silver. And unlike the microwave, our hearts CAN be repaired, for while they may be broken, the Master Potter of our lives, the Creator Who made us, can use silver cast in the fire to put our hearts back together again.
Hearts that have been hurt; hearts that feel broken... they may sometimes feel like they need repair work. And therapies can be helpful with this, given the right connection and commitment between ourselves and someone we feel we can trust to have on our side. And a PRAYING therapist is all the better!
God is the Great Physician, though, and even with therapy as a resource, the true healing comes from Him.
Somewhere along the line, if we are in the right place at the right time, we will learn the truth about ourselves, though! And this is a truth that only the Holy Spirit can move from our heads to our hearts: the truth that sets us free is that we are NOT BROKEN even if we have unplugged from the world. We have been hurt; we have been heartbroken; we have been through sorrows and shed tears, but if we are still here, we have NOT been broken. God has a purpose for us, evidenced by the fact that we are STILL here, and we still feel things with depth of emotion, even when we ignore those feelings. Even when they frighten us...
And once we learn the truth: we are WHOLE, we are truly WHOLE and unbroken... perhaps there are cracks that God has kept together with the liquid silver of lessons learned, but we are indeed whole, in body, soul, mind, heart... we are whole, even if we have unplugged ourselves from the great wall of life. God can still use us, and sometimes that means interacting with other people...
To plug back in means that we are risking something. It takes courage, but we can do it.
To plug back in not only takes courage, it gives us a connection once more to the great Power Source, the Holy Spirit! The Dunamis of God... the wind, the breath of God Himself, Who moves in mysterious ways and speaks to our hearts in whispers; Who comforts us and who guides us from one step to another in life.
God uses a lot of different tools and means to help us get plugged back in. For some, it is the shifting of a single paradigm from thinking we are BROKEN to understanding that we are really WHOLE. For others, it is the relationship we have with a therapist, and for others still, with a life coach.
As a coach, I have been blessed with all three of these at different points of my life.
Some people think, if that person is a life coach, they must have it all together!
Let me let you in on a little secret: no single person on the planet ever has everything all together. All of us have had struggles, and all of us had times of weakness, but we have the ability to overcome, allowing God to use what has been seen of as weak in the eyes of the world to create areas of strength... people of strength. In this way, God uses the things that seem foolish and weak to the world to help build the reality of the Kingdom of God in the earth, one step at a time.
We can be pretty, like that silver microwave, and yet be unplugged from the world and God and even our own intuition. We can be blind to the signs that point to our WHOLENESS and our God-created world and personhood... but if we plug in, unlike that broken microwave, we can realize there is NOTHING WRONG with us. God made each of us the way we are for a reason!
Admittedly, the places where we have been broken in heart or spirit have been painful to go through... and usually this is a result of actions we or others have taken in this imperfect life. Every action has some consequence... good, bad, or a mixture of the two... and there is no escaping that...
But the Good News is that we have a Creator Who restores all things to new!!! Unlike that microwave, we will not be replaced with a newer, unbroken" model. We just need to plug into the SOURCE!
There's only one small problem with it: the sign on it that tells all within reading distance, Broken and Unplugged. Do Not Use!
| Cookworks Silver Touch Microwave... found at yahoo ImagesThis is not the broken microwave! |
The microwave looks whole. It seems to have no real flaws, and yet... Broken and Unplugged! What a bummer!
How much of our lives do we walk around with areas of our hearts carrying signs that tell people, Broken and Unplugged. Do Not Use!
How often do people really listen to those signs? Some abuse them in order to use them more, knowing they have some need of repair, while others steer clear but admire the silver. And unlike the microwave, our hearts CAN be repaired, for while they may be broken, the Master Potter of our lives, the Creator Who made us, can use silver cast in the fire to put our hearts back together again.
Hearts that have been hurt; hearts that feel broken... they may sometimes feel like they need repair work. And therapies can be helpful with this, given the right connection and commitment between ourselves and someone we feel we can trust to have on our side. And a PRAYING therapist is all the better!
God is the Great Physician, though, and even with therapy as a resource, the true healing comes from Him.
Somewhere along the line, if we are in the right place at the right time, we will learn the truth about ourselves, though! And this is a truth that only the Holy Spirit can move from our heads to our hearts: the truth that sets us free is that we are NOT BROKEN even if we have unplugged from the world. We have been hurt; we have been heartbroken; we have been through sorrows and shed tears, but if we are still here, we have NOT been broken. God has a purpose for us, evidenced by the fact that we are STILL here, and we still feel things with depth of emotion, even when we ignore those feelings. Even when they frighten us...
And once we learn the truth: we are WHOLE, we are truly WHOLE and unbroken... perhaps there are cracks that God has kept together with the liquid silver of lessons learned, but we are indeed whole, in body, soul, mind, heart... we are whole, even if we have unplugged ourselves from the great wall of life. God can still use us, and sometimes that means interacting with other people...
To plug back in means that we are risking something. It takes courage, but we can do it.
To plug back in not only takes courage, it gives us a connection once more to the great Power Source, the Holy Spirit! The Dunamis of God... the wind, the breath of God Himself, Who moves in mysterious ways and speaks to our hearts in whispers; Who comforts us and who guides us from one step to another in life.
God uses a lot of different tools and means to help us get plugged back in. For some, it is the shifting of a single paradigm from thinking we are BROKEN to understanding that we are really WHOLE. For others, it is the relationship we have with a therapist, and for others still, with a life coach.
As a coach, I have been blessed with all three of these at different points of my life.
Some people think, if that person is a life coach, they must have it all together!
Let me let you in on a little secret: no single person on the planet ever has everything all together. All of us have had struggles, and all of us had times of weakness, but we have the ability to overcome, allowing God to use what has been seen of as weak in the eyes of the world to create areas of strength... people of strength. In this way, God uses the things that seem foolish and weak to the world to help build the reality of the Kingdom of God in the earth, one step at a time.
We can be pretty, like that silver microwave, and yet be unplugged from the world and God and even our own intuition. We can be blind to the signs that point to our WHOLENESS and our God-created world and personhood... but if we plug in, unlike that broken microwave, we can realize there is NOTHING WRONG with us. God made each of us the way we are for a reason!
Admittedly, the places where we have been broken in heart or spirit have been painful to go through... and usually this is a result of actions we or others have taken in this imperfect life. Every action has some consequence... good, bad, or a mixture of the two... and there is no escaping that...
But the Good News is that we have a Creator Who restores all things to new!!! Unlike that microwave, we will not be replaced with a newer, unbroken" model. We just need to plug into the SOURCE!
Jun 5, 2013
Joy
You know, sometimes there is a topic near to our hearts because a loved one is struggling with something that we aren't necessarily wanting to share with the world. Lately, some of those I love most dearly have been struggling with JOY. Jesus is to BE our Joy, and yet, it is also a characteristic of the Christ-walk we are called to as His followers. It can be a true struggle for many of us sometimes.
I know I have struggled with the concept and reality of joy more than I sometimes wish to admit, but it is the truth: there have been days where I had to nearly FORCE myself into a state of happiness when I was around others, knowing full well that happiness is NOT the same as JOY.
Happiness comes from the outside, while joy comes from within. Joy is a part of who we ARE. Happiness is circumstantial. Joy is from the Lord, while happiness can be from anything, really, including that which others are saddened about.
So let's take a brief look at what God says about joy:
In the Bible we see a lot of Scriptures about joy. We are told that the joy of the Lord is our strength, that it is one of the fruit of the Spirit, and also that we are to call it up into ourselves, as it were... David speaks sometimes of choosing joy in praise, which is a clue as to how we clothe ourselves with it. A few Scriptures are as follows... what are YOUR thoughts?
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth and sing for joy, yes, sing praises! - Psalm 98:4
Let the saints be joyful in the glory and beauty [which God confers upon them]; let them sing for joy upon their beds. - Psalm 149:5
If you keep My commandments [if you continue to obey My instructions], you will abide in My love and live on in it, just as I have obeyed My Father’s commandments and live on in His love. I have told you these things, that My joy and delight may be in you, and that your joy and gladness may be of full measure and complete and overflowing. This is My commandment: that you love one another [just] as I have loved you. - John 15:10-12
The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy. - Proverbs 14:10
They who sow in tears shall reap in joy and singing. - Psalm 126:5
A man has joy in making an apt answer, and a word spoken at the right moment—how good it is! - Proverbs 15:23
Deceit is in the hearts of those who devise evil, but for the counselors of peace there is joy. - Proverbs 12:20
Light is sown for the [uncompromisingly] righteous and strewn along their pathway, and joy for the upright in heart [the irrepressible joy which comes from consciousness of His favor and protection]. - Psalm 97:11
Rejoice with those who rejoice [sharing others’ joy], and weep with those who weep [sharing others’ grief]. - Romans 12:15
Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean [ceremonially]; wash me, and I shall [in reality] be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness and be satisfied; let the bones which You have broken rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my guilt and iniquities. - Psalm 51:7-9
In every prayer of mine I always make my entreaty and petition for you all with joy (delight). - Philippians 1:4
My lips shall shout for joy when I sing praises to You, and my inner being, which You have redeemed. - Psalm 71:23
Webster's New World Dictionary defines joy as being equated with and synonymous of the words "happy," "glad," and "cheerful." A thesaurus relates it to "exultation," "rapture," "satisfaction" and "pleasure." Webster's specifically defines it as "a very glad feeling; happiness; great pleasure; delight." It also points out the way to being the source or cause of delight.
Psalm 4:5-8 tells us to "Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD. There are many who say, "Who will show us any good?" LORD, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us. You have put gladness in my heart, more than in the season that their grain and wine increased. I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety."
While this particular version of the Scripture doesn't use the word JOY specifically, it certainly points the way to it. Righteousness; trusting God; gladness of heart, which we are instructed to PUT ON as a garment, and allowing His peace to rule and reign in our lives. Other versions of the text say to clothe ourselves with JOY.
Isn't that a lovely word picture? Imagine that you're getting dressed for the day. what do you add to your attire? accessories as well as clothes qualify as part of the dressing routine, right? Well, now close your eyes and imagine each piece of clothes as a characteristic, or fruit, of the Spirit of God. Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV) tells us that "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."
Joy is but ONE fruit of the Spirit, but all of the fruit come from the same place: the Holy Spirit working within the believer. And in the reference from John, where Jesus was speaking of the interrelation to our joy with His, and of joy with love. These do not become unentangled; the fruit of the Spirit is like a fishtail braid... each part is needed for there to be a good effect. Our JOY comes with the willingness to spend time with the Lord!
One last thing: There is a great article, 10 Characteristics of Joy, that may be another wonderful source for your understanding to further be built. It is written by fiction author Cynthia Herron.
I know I have struggled with the concept and reality of joy more than I sometimes wish to admit, but it is the truth: there have been days where I had to nearly FORCE myself into a state of happiness when I was around others, knowing full well that happiness is NOT the same as JOY.
Happiness comes from the outside, while joy comes from within. Joy is a part of who we ARE. Happiness is circumstantial. Joy is from the Lord, while happiness can be from anything, really, including that which others are saddened about.
So let's take a brief look at what God says about joy:
In the Bible we see a lot of Scriptures about joy. We are told that the joy of the Lord is our strength, that it is one of the fruit of the Spirit, and also that we are to call it up into ourselves, as it were... David speaks sometimes of choosing joy in praise, which is a clue as to how we clothe ourselves with it. A few Scriptures are as follows... what are YOUR thoughts?
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth and sing for joy, yes, sing praises! - Psalm 98:4
Let the saints be joyful in the glory and beauty [which God confers upon them]; let them sing for joy upon their beds. - Psalm 149:5
If you keep My commandments [if you continue to obey My instructions], you will abide in My love and live on in it, just as I have obeyed My Father’s commandments and live on in His love. I have told you these things, that My joy and delight may be in you, and that your joy and gladness may be of full measure and complete and overflowing. This is My commandment: that you love one another [just] as I have loved you. - John 15:10-12
The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy. - Proverbs 14:10
They who sow in tears shall reap in joy and singing. - Psalm 126:5
A man has joy in making an apt answer, and a word spoken at the right moment—how good it is! - Proverbs 15:23
Deceit is in the hearts of those who devise evil, but for the counselors of peace there is joy. - Proverbs 12:20
Light is sown for the [uncompromisingly] righteous and strewn along their pathway, and joy for the upright in heart [the irrepressible joy which comes from consciousness of His favor and protection]. - Psalm 97:11
Rejoice with those who rejoice [sharing others’ joy], and weep with those who weep [sharing others’ grief]. - Romans 12:15
Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean [ceremonially]; wash me, and I shall [in reality] be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness and be satisfied; let the bones which You have broken rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my guilt and iniquities. - Psalm 51:7-9
In every prayer of mine I always make my entreaty and petition for you all with joy (delight). - Philippians 1:4
My lips shall shout for joy when I sing praises to You, and my inner being, which You have redeemed. - Psalm 71:23
Webster's New World Dictionary defines joy as being equated with and synonymous of the words "happy," "glad," and "cheerful." A thesaurus relates it to "exultation," "rapture," "satisfaction" and "pleasure." Webster's specifically defines it as "a very glad feeling; happiness; great pleasure; delight." It also points out the way to being the source or cause of delight.
Psalm 4:5-8 tells us to "Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD. There are many who say, "Who will show us any good?" LORD, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us. You have put gladness in my heart, more than in the season that their grain and wine increased. I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety."
While this particular version of the Scripture doesn't use the word JOY specifically, it certainly points the way to it. Righteousness; trusting God; gladness of heart, which we are instructed to PUT ON as a garment, and allowing His peace to rule and reign in our lives. Other versions of the text say to clothe ourselves with JOY.
Isn't that a lovely word picture? Imagine that you're getting dressed for the day. what do you add to your attire? accessories as well as clothes qualify as part of the dressing routine, right? Well, now close your eyes and imagine each piece of clothes as a characteristic, or fruit, of the Spirit of God. Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV) tells us that "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."
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| From dailyjesusnow.blogspot.com |
One last thing: There is a great article, 10 Characteristics of Joy, that may be another wonderful source for your understanding to further be built. It is written by fiction author Cynthia Herron.
Jun 4, 2013
Truth or Dare!
Hello there, readers! I hope you've been having a wonderful week!
Today, I wanted to discuss with you the concept of Truth or Dare.
As
a child, or even a teenager, a lot of people here in the United States
grew up either playing or hearing about who played this time-worn and
habitual game. I, for one, never played Truth or Dare much as a kid,
because I always figured I'd end up with Dare because I'm so quiet and
reserved and private that I wouldn't want to tell people my business. At
the same time, I didn't really want to do anything gross or scary as a
kid, either. I was ruled by fears and therefore didn't see the "fun" of
the game that others saw.
These
days, I know that I have nothing to hide, but at the same time, the
concept of Truth or Dare hinges on whether or not we allow others to
BREAK our boundaries! It also hinges, in the Dare category, on what we
are willing to do to KEEP our Truth hidden! either way, our boundaries
are broken.
"Tell me the truth, or else."
"If you omit anything from the story, that is a lie just as much as if you told one."
I
don't know about you, but I grew up with these types of statements from
a few people in my life. Well-meaning people, I'm sure, but these kinds
of comments tell us that one, we don't know what truth is, and two,
that to keep anything to ourselves that is private is not okay. In
essence, they teach us that it's alright for others to have boundaries,
but not us.
No, this isn't intentional, usually. But it happens.
Truth
or Dare. Tell me, or else. Don't tell Mom, or else. Do things MY way,
or else. You can't trust your gut, trust what I tell you. Don't do as I
do, do as I say.
Aren't
these ALL mixed messages? Messages that tell us that our privacy has no
value, our opinions have no value, our intuition has no value and is
wrong, not to trust our feelings or senses, and that others are exceptions to the rule, but we aren't...
The
TRUTH is, though, that your privacy matters. It's OKAY to have
boundaries as long as the secrets we keep are HEALTHY. If we say "Don't
tell so and so" and it's something about what we have been going
through, that is one thing. It's fine to share our testimony with
someone but not want the whole world, or specific people, to know what
it is that we have been through. Not everyone needs to know everything
about us!
If
we say, "I cut myself," "I have suicidal thoughts" or other harmful
things... those DO need to be shared. Those are unhealthy things that we
need help with, and asking for help is essential to receiving it in
cases where there may be harm to ourselves or others! If you or someone
you know has thoughts, has said something, or displayed actions that
lead you to think there may be danger to ANYONE, tell someone in
authority that you trust. If there isn't anyone who is human that you
trust, ASK GOD FOR HELP. Seriously! Ask Him to guide you to the right
people for help who will be trustworthy, and ask Him to help you trust
them!!
Our
opinions matter, too. Again, this is dependent somewhat on context, as
privacy is. An opinion that is harmful or disparaging and unhealthy that
crosses into another person's boundaries is not OK, but opinions on
what you do or don't prefer are perfectly fine. It's alright that your
friend adores lemon ice cream, but you prefer chocolate. There is NO
need to change who you are or pretend you like lemon if chocolate is
what works for you. And if you prefer your mate to have certain
characteristics, what do other people's opinions count toward that?
My
point about opinions is this: don't Settle for less than what you
desire, as long as it is a HEALTHY, or at least, harm-free desire! So
what if your neighbor doesn't like your husband's haircut, or your
mother doesn't like your dress? If it is truly not hurting YOU, and it
isn't hurting ANYONE ELSE, you are the one who lives with it, right? At
the same time, this goes for spouses, also... if your significant other
has a preference that you are not comfortable, and that preference is
ABOUT YOU... speak up! If you don't believe you can speak up without
negative consequences, if you speak up from a place of love and looking
to have peace, then perhaps there is something within the relationship
that ALSO needs adjusting.
I've
been there with the last situation. I get it, the not wanting to always
speak up. And to your parent? Sometimes that's even harder than to a
spouse! Yet, in order to set yourself FREE from what you might see as
the tyranny of others "telling you what to do," if you go with your OWN
gut, listen to the Holy Spirit, and step out in courage, and say, "I
appreciate that this is your opinion on my ______, but I will have to
agree to disagree with you on this area. This is how I see it...." The
Bible tells us that the Son will set us free because He is Truth, and
when we know the Truth, the Truth will set us free! In order to HAVE
that truth settle in our hearts, e must allow the Holy Spirit to reveal
the truth to us, even as He revealed Jesus, the TRUTH, to us!
Our
intuition, also, has its place. People sometimes tell us not to feel,
not to think, not to act in certain ways that we sense or intuit we
should. Sometimes this is ingrained behavior in disguise, and sometimes
it really IS intuition speaking. More importantly, sometimes the Holy
Spirit SPEAKS to us THROUGH our intuition. We don't always know at the
time which voice is speaking; it takes practice to know if the intuition
we have received is coming from within us, as flesh, or within us, as
the Spirit of God Who resides there, if we are followers of Christ. We
can ask Him to help us realize the difference; to discern which is
which. And if intuition says one thing, and the Spirit of God another,
ALWAYS go with the Spirit! Other people's OPINIONS about what we
"should" think, feel, sense, or intuit aren't to be our concern, and
aren't what we need to follow. The CHIEF THING is God. What does GOD
think about what we are thinking, feeling, sensing, how we are acting,
what we are intuiting? Is what we have intuited in LINE with the Word of
God? Are we getting a sense that the Holy Spirit may be trying to tell
us something through our intuitive faculties, or our feelings? We know
that sometimes He also speaks to our thoughts... but how do we know the
difference?
One way to tell the difference between whether or not something is from the Holy Spirit i to ask, "Who's the father?"
You
might be saying, "OK, Harmony... now you've gone off the deep end?
Who's the father? What are you talking about? This isn't a paternity
test here... it's about where my thoughts, feelings, actions,
intuitions, or whatever are coming from."
Exactly. To which I say again, "Who's the father?"
Let me explain!
I
was recently reminded that the word DESIRE can be interpreted as OF THE
FATHER. and so, one way to have a better understanding of what is
happening within us is to say, WHO is the father of this thought? Who is
the father of this action, or this intuition? Where is this desire
coming from? Who's the father? Is it the devil, or is it the flesh, or
is it God the Father?
Am I living from the flesh, and listening to that?
Am I living for God, really and truly, and following what He tells me?
Am
I saying one thing, but listening to a little voice inside that tells
me to do something else, something that isn't as nice or good or worthy
of praise?
Who's the father?
I dare you to find the truth in that!
Jun 3, 2013
To Abide
I was writing a letter the other day in response to one of my very dearest friends, and it got me thinking more and more about what it really is to ABIDE in Christ. While that wasn't the primary topic of our discussion, it was an important one. I was talking about the connection between the Promised Land, which is the fulfillment of God's promises in our lives for His glory, and our abiding in Christ as His words abide in us. This is all a give and take; it all flows together and works as a single unit by faith, but also by walking in LOVE to God, ourselves, and one another.
Part of what I wrote her said,
"So,
as Jesus said if His words abide in us and we abide in Him, we must
remember this includes YES, commandments to LOVE GOD first, ourselves,
then others, but others equally... it includes YES, being TEACHABLE as
His true DISCIPLES, who follow in His footsteps and as "sheep," know His
voice... but it ALSO includes His PROMISES, which are
inherently CONTINGENT on following Him and trusting Him and loving Him....as long as we are doing all we can for Him
in EXCELLENCE, there is NO SUCH THING as failure!!! If a dream comes to
pass, then to God be the glory, but we must ALSO be willing to say, if
it doesn't it wasn't that God didn't want it to happen, and it isn't
because we failed, but that everyone involved... EVERYONE involved in
any given promise has free will.... God makes Himself VULNERABLE
to us, and in doing so, shows us His love all the more!!! He decided
from the get-go to include humanity in co-creating the world, and one
way we do so is with our SPOKEN words, but another is the words of our
MINDS and HEARTS. Sometimes, God says one thing but the people involved
don't all line up with what He said. I believe
GOD ALWAYS sees the BEST END FROM THE BEGINNING when He gives us a
word, and it is up to us to do our part, but it is also for us to
forgive those who might not do THEIRS. And SOMETIMES it looks, sounds,
or feels like someone isn't doing their part, and then as soon as we
GIVE IT TO GOD because, in reality, we have been trying to PILOT THE
DREAM OURSELVES into existence, He truly CAN take over and fulfill the
promise He gave us in the beginning in spite of ourselves, and there we
are, walking into the Promised Land!!"
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| Thank you to WeHeartIt.com for today's images. |
If we willingly follow Jesus' teachings and lifestyle, we do so in loving obedience. And to this we are called: to not only FOLLOW, but to ABIDE in and with Him. To abide is to last a long time; to endure. It is to continue on together without changing course, like a ship on a mission from one port to another. The storms may come, but He is to be our CAPTAIN!
In the storm, Jesus is not only our CAPTAIN, but our PEACE! We are called not to fear, doubts, and worries, but to FAITH, to love, to grace, to peace and to joy!
There is NO NEED to hold on to the baggage of worries and fears. There is a time to hold things, and a time to let go. And there is something Good to hold to, and something Harmful. A quote from Jan Glidewell reminds us, "You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present." How true is that? Pretty true! And more importantly, if we are holding onto the past, what about the future, and what about the Savior?
To abide in Christ is to CLING TO HIM instead of anything else. Nothing else compares to the LOVE HE has shed abroad in our hearts, and the love that He demonstrated through His life and death and resurrection, and continues to show in His eternal life as He sits at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us because He loves us that much!
And HOW are we to abide in Christ? What can I DO to embrace the Messiah? "I've tried; I've failed," you might say. "And sometimes, I've given up..."
Here is the secret... the MYSTERY of abiding and the FULFILLING OF IT is to allow the Holy Spirit in. Don't grieve Him or block Him from the role that He is to play in your heart and life. He is to be an interceder on our behalf, as well as our Comforter, and He is to be our GUIDE into ALL LOVE and TRUTH, and if Jesus Christ is TRUTH and LOVE HIMSELF, then doesn't it stand to reason that the Spirit's presence is necessary in order to commune with the Father and therefore glorify the SON?
Hakuna Matata! No worries. Just TRUST GOD and believe that He is doing His part. If you are reading this still, that's a good sigh, indeed. It means that the Holy Spirit is speaking to you, even now, in your secret heart, and helping you along the way toward your ultimate destiny. There is a REASON you are reading this!
I hope this has been a blessing to you today, as much as I have been blessed mulling over it and meditating on it. We are to ABIDE with and in Christ, and He promises to abide in us in return. Isn't that a WONDERFUL challenge, and a graciously awesome gift?!
If you don't know Jesus as your Lord and Savior today, why not give Him a shot? I tell you what... if you will make the decision to trust Him to be faithful through thick and thin, I can assure you He will always be there for you and do all He can and desires to bless you, in each area of your life. The MORE of your life you surrender to Him, the more He will be glorified through your life and bless you in return!
While we don't believe in Him BECAUSE of what He will do for us, it's a lovely thought to know that because He loves us SO MUCH, all we need is to step toward Him at any given point and He will be there, proving His love once more.
May 28, 2013
Lean Into the Pain
Most of us aren't big fans of
pain, are we? Even when it is "good" pain, sometimes we shrink back from
it because it is either the unknown, or all too familiar and we just
don't want to go there. But one thing I've learned is that, no matter
what "kind" of pain we are in - emotionally, spiritually, mentally,
physically, relationally - sometimes things get better if we LEAN INTO
it instead of trying to avoid it.
We
all have things we fear. And fears in a way are a type of pain. If we
choose to face our fears with courage, wisdom, and a renewed mind that
knows deep down we will not REALLY be hurt by what we are afraid of, we
are leaning into the pain, learning from it, growing, and gaining
confidence all at once. For EACH time we overcome the urge to run or
hide from fears, it becomes easier not to do it. Pretty soon, it will
become second nature to be courageous and walk toward what w were once
so afraid of. We have leaned in, and we have WON that battle... for each
and every fear faced.
Does
this mean we will never be afraid again, even of what we once feared?
Not necessarily, but it will put things in perspective; it will shift
our paradigms and cause us to continue growing.
Another
example of leaning into the pain is when it is time to say goodbye to a
loved on, for whatever reason. Perhaps we know the reason, but perhaps
we don't. Perhaps we were blindsided by the loss, and we have decided to
act like the person wasn't ever rely there, or didn't really care.
Personally, I believe that once we have TRULY cared about someone, we
always will. We may not always be happy with them, or in their lives; we
may not always like their actions, or their attitudes. But once we have
chosen to care, we will ALWAYS care, and so whether loss has come from
death, divorce, losing touch over time, or other reason, there is a
grieving that must occur. And that grieving is a leaning into the pain.
Does
that mean the loss will always hurt? No. But it also doesn't guarantee
it will stop hurting once we have finished grieving, either. Life and
love are intertwined and therefore each relationship we have experienced
changes us in ways we might not even truly comprehend until much later,
if ever.
What about those who are runners? They, too, lean into the pain.
As long as they are not physically HURT, the pain is a good thing to
the degree that they keep their breathing and pace adjusted.
Where
are you being challenged to lean INTO the pain? Where are you sensing
God tell you it's time to STRETCH, to GROW, to LEAN IN and courageously
take the next step you've been called into? Is it a big step, where
things can be broken down into tiny ones, or is it something small and
tangible; within your reach, if only you LEANED IN for it?
It takes courage and sometimes it takes some extra effort to lean IN instead of OUT...
but in time, leaning IN to the pain, taking the next step, you will
arrive at your appointed destination. Trust God, and trust the journey.
He has GOD-SIZED DREAMS in store for you to fulfill, if you just choose
to continue to LEAN IN, despite whatever the circumstances sound, look,
or feel like; no matter the opinion of others, or the manuals you've
read that say their way is the only one.. If you trust GOD to help you
LEAN IN with courage... soon you realize the sheer joy that comes from
the run of your life, and that, in spite - or perhaps because - of your pain, you are more fulfilled because you know you ran with COURAGE.
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