This episode is part of the Finisher series. We originally recorded these teachings inside our Christian Book Academy Facebook group as live videos. However, we wanted to also encourage you in the writing, publishing, and marketing of your books.
Today's topic is: Finding Calm in the Chaos: How to Thrive During Crisis with M&M’s
Scriptures:
- “This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust Him.” Psalms 91:2 NLT
- “The Lord says, ‘I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them.’” Psalms 91:14-15 NLT
Are you a person that feels deeply? If so, it's easy to let our emotions control how we feel.
I know because this has been me.
For much of my life, my emotions have been in control. But, God is helping me change this slowly over time.
Today we felt led to share a few of the things that we have seen make the biggest difference for us.
God is our refuge and place of safety, Amen?
We need to be proactive during this time. We need to care for our souls.
A few things that have helped us:
1. Movement
Get out for a walk or turn on some music and get up and dance!
When watching our online church service this past weekend, I got up and danced around our dining room during worship. If you would have seen me, you might have thought I went crazy. LOL! But, it helped shift my mood!
I feel a difference when I get out and run. For you, it may be a walk. Just get up and move. It makes a difference.
2. Music
Worship music can shift my mood faster than almost anything else. Turn on a playlist and let it change the atmosphere of your home.
“...be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.” - Ephesians 5:18-19 NLT
If you want a playlist to listen to, here's my worship playlist: https://open.spotify.com/…/2uUmxltudwdO…
3. Managing Your Media
In mid-January, I felt God lead me to take an indefinite break from social media (except my paid groups). I'm a redeemed social media addict so I understand how easy it is to scroll and scroll and scroll. No judgment here. I get it and have been there myself.
I've had so much peace during this time because I haven't been exposed 24/7 to the media. I still check in occasionally, but I don't get caught up in it.
Ask God right now what you need to do to manage the media you consume. News, social media, etc. I highly encourage you to limit your intake in some way.
“We can demolish every deceptive fantasy that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God. We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One.” - 2 Corinthians 10:5 TPT
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” - Proverbs 4:23 NLT
“Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night fasting. He refused his usual entertainment and couldn’t sleep at all that night.” - Daniel 6:18 NLT
Are we willing to fast from our “usual entertainment” for a day in order to seek the Lord?
4. Meditation
In February I finally started a consistent habit of meditating for at least 20 minutes a day. And already I can see how it's changing my brain for the better.
I don't recommend jumping in and trying to start with 20 minutes right away.
Start with one minute.
In fact, John Eldredge created a free app called the Pause app that leads you in a one-minute meditation. You can also gradually work up to 3, 5, 10 minutes, but start with one minute every day and see what happens.
Get started here: https://www.pauseapp.com/
Yesterday I could tell something was off in me and so I spent more time in meditation throughout the day.
“I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.” - Psalms 119:15 ESV
Meditate = “siyach” in Hebrew. Found over 20 times in the Old Testament. “To muse, study, ponder, consider, put forth thoughts .”
Lectio Divina is a form of prayer that also involves meditating on Scripture. We will be walking you through the steps with scripture in next week’s Celebration Party.
5.Mindfulness
If you have trouble quieting your mind, another form of meditation is mindfulness.
It’s not a weird thing. It simply means being fully present at the moment instead of dwelling on the past or worrying about the future.
I’ve been a worrier and this has helped me.
Definition of mindfulness: a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations.
I’ve heard someone say it’s like removing the residue in a bathtub.
Currently, the Balance app is offering a one-year subscription for free. I have found it helpful so far. It’s not a Christian app but stays neutral focusing on teaching you breathing and other mindfulness techniques that can help.
Mindfulness can also be achieved through coloring. Yes, coloring!!
There is a lot of research that shows that coloring can actually have the power to change our brains. This is fascinating to me.
That’s why we are launching a new membership called, “Living Colors,” where each month you will receive 4 Scripture coloring pages and 4 prayer journals guiding you through the process of Lectio Divina.
We hope to launch it in the next couple of weeks at www.livingcolorsonline.com so stay tuned!
We hope this episode encourages and inspires you in your writing.
Instrumental music used with permission: “My Loving Kindness” by Tammy Sorenson. Find out more at http://tammysorenson.com
We have a free gift for you.
One of the most common things we see with new writers is that they are confused about how publishing works and the steps required.
Therefore, I drew out a visual Publishing Map to help explain and simplify the process. And the members in our academy for writers LOVE it!
It helps eliminate the overwhelm and shows you the exact steps you need to take next. Therefore, we wanted to share it with you too.
Just click the link below to watch my short video explaining the Publishing Map and be able to download a copy for yourself: http://www.trainingauthors.com/publishing-map/
This series is sponsored by Christian Book Academy where we help you give birth to your books. We invite you to join our community of Kingdom Writers here: http://christianbookacademy.com