YES to GOD study: Ch. 1: Not So Well With My Soul

IF YOU HAVE ALREADY VISITED...SCROLL DOWN FOR THE NEW PART.

Okay ladies, today is the day.

The day for our new YES to GOD study to start. I am soooooo excited!!

God has directed us to do Jennifer Rothschild's book

Self Talk, Soul Talk.

I am believing Him to just show Himself off to us in this study. To take us to a new level with Him. The Bible tells us that when we draw near to Him...He draws near to us.

Oh how we need to be closer to Him don't we? If you want to join us, get the book and join in anytime. The depth of your involvement is up to you!

Last night I received an e-mail from a leader of a group of 11 single mom's that started meeting together last October. She shared how they decided to also do this study and guess what? Today is also the day they begin their study!! They will be silently participating with us so if God ever lays anything on your heart to share specifically for them please do so. I have a special place in my heart for single Mom's as I was once one and my teenage daughter is one so I am blessed at the thought of you. Please join me in praying that they will allow God to do what He wants to do in their group and that when we close this book that not one of us will be the same woman that opened the book.

Hallelujah!

This past weekend I took Alivia and my granddaughter Amiyah to Kansas City to visit my dear friend Kelley and her family. It was so much fun and we laughed so much. I'll share some pictures with you this weekend. For now though I have to show you what I discovered when I returned home on Sunday.

My husband Gene was left alone for 48 hours and I'm not so sure if next time I leave I should take him with me or take my kitchen utensils. Before I took off on my Girls' weekend getaway he had broken the scraper while making scrambled eggs and I told him to just throw it away.

Driving down the highway to see my friend I never dreamed I left behind a self-proclaimed handyman who decided to fix it instead of tossing it.

Sunday night I opened the utensil drawer to grab a spatula to find the broken scraper duck taped.

I was quite surprised to say the least. I must admit that I momentarily thought of keeping the salvaged scraper because my guy used purple duck tape instead of the blah gray tape and the purple matched the pink rubber part. Awww so pretty...

I quickly came back to my senses, snapped a picture, held it up and said..."Honey, you know I'm blogging on this" and then threw it in the garbage where it should have been all weekend. He laughed and asked "what?".

Oh my, at least he didn't break the microwave or something.

Let's get started...anything in blue is a quote from the book.

CHAPTER 1: NOT SO WELL WITH MY SOUL

This is the first book I've read by Jennifer Rothschild and I love her style of writing out what God lays on and in her heart. I'm an under liner and highlighter when something speaks to me in a book so chapter one is very colorful as I could relate to much of what she said. Like this...

By the time I'd traveled through the decades of my twenties and thirties, I was swimming in a virtual ocean of accumulated self talk.

and this...

A battle was being waged in my mind, and I never even realized its impact at the time.

The truth is, our self talk actually begins to shape the life we live, affecting our very destiny. What you think and say to yourself will impact the texture, color, and music of your life.

Words spoken over someone can change the way they see themselves. When I was in my young twenties, I lived a life so far from God that looking back on it just scares me from my boldness. I lived a life of "looking for love in all the wrong places" and it was very empty. I would go out to the bars with my girlfriends and we'd just have the "best" of times. To me, I was young and just having a good time. Then I was called a name. The behaviors I was acting out deserved to be called this name but hearing it come out of the mouth of someone I love changed the way I saw myself in the mirror. The self-talk became worse. I was called a "slut" and I believed in every letter of that word. That is a name I would call myself for years.

I am a strong believer too that our self-talk shapes our lives. I believed that a "slut" was who I was and I lived out that very lifestyle to the fullest. Now hear me here....the person that called me this was frustrated and my disrespect was at its highest and in no way is this person responsible for my choices. Truth was spoken to me and instead of allowing it to be a wake-up call, it became part of the daily dialogue in my head.

Knowing what to say to your soul is one of the most reliable ways to make sure it remains well. Words are extremely powerful---even the ones you speak to yourself.

Oh yes...the words we speak and the words we hear hold much power in them.

I really loved the section titled My Thought Closet. I've never thought of my mind having a closet where I store all the stuff that isn't good. Jennifer says its the shelves and racks and bins full of hidden thoughts, secret insecurities, lies, illusions, and reminders of former failures.

My husband was recruited to play football at Nebraska back in the early 80's and awarded a full scholarship. After finishing a successful high school career, high hopes followed him from Florida to the Midwest until he was injured and had to be put on a medical scholarship. For many years Gene would cringe when asked how he got to Nebraska from Orlando. He would reach into his thought closet and remind himself of his buddies that made it to the NFL or are known still for what they accomplished as a Husker. It was years before he accepted the fact that God never intended him to be this big name Husker or get drafted to the NFL. Football is what God used to get him here. Now, instead of being ashamed of not having success in Big Red Country, he lets God use football to open doors and give his testimony. It was a matter of him allowing God to clean his thought closet out and stock the shelves with different thoughts and words.

Here are a few other things I have underlined in my book from Jennifer:

The thoughts that run through our minds become the inventory we store away in our closets.

Our words are powerful. Especially the words we say to ourselves.

We must speak truth to our souls because we seldom forget what we have stored away.

You are a reflection of what you think.

What you hang in your closet is what you will clothe yourself with.

Your self talk will affect who you are.

When you speak truth to your soul, you'll live out the truth.

WOW! I am so excited about this study.

Ladies...we have a King that is crazy about for us and it's time we believe what HE says about us.

If you'd like to answer this question from the end of the chapter in the comments section below:

What does the soundtrack of your self talk most often sound like---

condemning, encouraging, or neutral?

Mine used to be only condemning, but now is neutral. I'm trying hard to believe what my Savior thinks of me over what my enemy calls me, but some days are just tougher than others.

It's time to change my Soul Talk for good!

Okay...if you have more to share on your own blog please sign up under Mr. Linky so we can visit you. Thanks again for your patience today.

Next Tuesday: Chapter 2: Renewing Your Thought Closet.

Oh, and if you're in the neighborhood, stop back by on Friday to read an awesome story by a special "guest blogger" named Alivia to see what God did in her life over Christmas!

~Many Blessings~