Speak into Being

Only eight more days until Christmas! I can't believe it. It seems like it comes and goes faster year after year.

During this entire Christmas season I have been struggling.
And I mean really struggling.
I have slipped back into some old habits...not very productive ones I'm afraid to say.
But yesterday, as I was struggling with myself, I started talking to one of my friends.
He helped see things in a clearer perspective.
I was telling him what had happened the past few days and what was going on mentally and he had me do something that I've never done before.
I got out two pieces of paper and a pencil.
On the first piece of paper I wrote down ten things that I was thankful for. And on the other piece I wrote down ten things that I was struggling with. After I was done I pinned up the piece of paper with the ten things I was thankful for on my bulletin board. And then I prayed over my list of struggling things and tore it up and threw it away.
Now let me just tell you something, it wasn't a light little prayer saying "thank you Jesus for dieing for me and for loving me. I know that you are handling my life with care...etc."
No. I PRAYED! For fifteen minutes I cried, and beseeched, and sat in stillness, and begged, and declared, and listened.
And I was heard. I told the Lord what I was expecting in my life.
I declared that I was free. That I was whole. That I was loved. That I was worth something. That I was forgiven. That I can forgive. That I am full of joy. That I have power over my emotions.
And it was absolutely amazing.
I felt 100% genuinely better.

I want to ask you a question. When you are going through a hard time what do you do?
Did you know that you have power over your emotions?
God created emotions for a reason. But that reason wasn't so that you could be ruled by them. We were created to rule. And our emotions were not.
Right now I'm reading "Managing your Emotions Instead of Your Emotions Managing You" by Joyce Meyer. AMAZING!
It is by far the best book, besides the Bible, that I have ever read. I highly recommend that you read it.
I'm only on chapter four and I've already learned so much.
For example, today I decided to do something different.
I took out a piece of paper and wrote at the top "Who God is to Me:"
And I started to write out who He is to Me.
This is what it looked like:
"God is wonderful, beautiful, glorious. God is everlasting. He is merciful. He will always forgive me. God loves me. God redeems me. He picks me up when I have fallen. God is my savior, my deliverer. He is forever. He is magnificent and steadfast. God loves me. God died for me. God is my advocate. He is my healer. He will never leave me. He is my constant support. God is my father. He is my peace and my ever-present joy. God is my all in all. I love Him. God is my one true love. I am His. He holds me in His hands. He is my protector."

I could go on and on and on.
I filled up a whole page. And I am going to do this as often as I can.
I am going to speak this every day. I am going to remind myself, my spirit man, who God is to me.
It's good to remind ourselves of that every day.

Another great habit I'm learning is to write out who God is me, and then pray. Pray that over your life. Then wait. Listen for God's voice.
After I've done both those things I find a word. Today it was peace.
I have been in inner turmoil. But not anymore. Earlier this evening I was praying and that word came to my mind. I looked in the back of my Bible and found verses with the word peace in them. One popped out to me.
Isaiah 26:3-4
"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal."
I read that whole chapter. I was crying by the end of it.
God is our Rock.
He is our eternal.
Why must we always try to fix ourselves?
If we will just trust in him then we can rest in sweet sleep. For the Lord grants sleep to those He loves.
After I read those verses I wrote them out and put them on my wall next to my One Direction poster. Now the first thing I see is that I can have everlasting peace, and then the five faces of my beloveds ;)

I encourage you to try doing what I did today. I'm going to do it everyday. I have finally found a system that speaks to me, that works with my creativity. And God's word.
Find a verse to meditate on. For me right now, it's Isaiah 26:3-4
Whatever verse the Lord drops in your heart, don't lose it. Hold on to it with both hands; tightly! The devil will do whatever he can to try and pry those words away from you. But don't you let him! You are worth more than you think you are. Give yourself more credit than that. The Bible is God's love letter to you and me. Let it speak to you.

I pray that you have an amazing Christmas!!
Love,
Miriam