We miss so much of life due to overwhelming busyness.
When we learn to live in the moment, and to pay attention to God's still, small
voice and His many hugs, blessings and directions throughout the day, we are
much more successful.
To help us to live in the moment, we can develop new
lifestyle habits that aid us in this process. We can change our mindset about
those irritating, draining daily chores such as childcare, yard work, dish washing
and pet care.
As we focus on the Lord during these times, He helps us
to feel thankful for a home in which to live, a supportive and loving family and
pets to enjoy. We sit quietly in His presence and praise Him for who He is, not
just for what He does for us.
Most of us never take time to enjoy the simple pleasures
of life. Dinner with friends, sipping a cup of warm tea on a cold day,
attending worship services with our church family, taking time to pet our pets,
walking in the sunshine, dancing in the rain, planting new flowers each spring,
etc. will all add to our soul's enjoyment of life.
Constant connection to emails, texts and phone calls
often run us ragged. We can turn off all electronics for a block of time each
day and use it to hear from God, to study His Word and to connect with other
people as well as our own soul.
Paying attention to our dreams will help us to discover
what our soul is most concerned about. Then we can pray about healing for our
soul, or God's direction for the issues bothering us on a subconscious level.
An easy process to clear our soul of negative emotions is
to jot them down in a journal or individual sheets of paper. We write about
anything at all that is causing us stress, grief, worry, irritability, etc. As
they come to our mind, or infiltrate our dreams, we also recount painful
experiences of the past that impacted our life in a major way.
Once we write out our version of the incident, we can put
it in a left over metal can and set the paper on fire. Watching the smoke rise
as a prayer to God, and seeing the charred paper when the fire burns out, often
helps to remove those clogged emotions from our soul.
Negative emotions such as anxiety, unforgiveness,
resentment, anger, etc are released from our soul and our body calms and heals
more quickly. Our connection to God is more sure when we relinquish these pesky
issues into His care.
Prayer:
Father God, remind us that we can prosper only as our
soul prospers (3 John 1:2). If we are sick mentally or emotionally, this
affects our body as well. We are often ashamed to admit we have mental or
emotional issues. We think that people will make fun of us or judge us harshly;
yet our body often fails to provide us with the chemicals we need to have a
balanced mental and emotional support system.
Remind us that our brain is a physical organ and often
needs vitamins, minerals and chemicals to function optimally. Move on us to
care for our soul by exercising our thoughts and emotions, and feeding our soul
just like we exercise and feed our body. Both are necessary for our total
well-being. Remove the stigma in our own mind of admitting that our soul needs
help and lead us to Christian counselors and appropriate herbs and books that
can help us to balance this part of our existence.
Thought for the Day:
Psychosomatic illnesses are very real and cause physical issues that can negatively impact our health; with a healthy body and soul we can serve God with all of our might.
Psychosomatic illnesses are very real and cause physical issues that can negatively impact our health; with a healthy body and soul we can serve God with all of our might.
