Tag: Mind

Rise Above the Fog

- JaclynPalmer Leave a comment

In the midst of today we rise higher than we thought we could. Each day ending in confusion, defeat, frustration. Yet a new day begins, and we get up and we go. We get things accomplished, we assign tasks to others, we communicate, we achieve. Repeat.

Well done.

Truly, in the midst of today you are rising higher simply by your determination and character. You know you can quit. All the things. We always have the choice to leave. Leave home. Leave work. Leave life.

I’m proud of us.

In the midst of today we are here. We are standing with a determination to do another day. We may not express it with our words, but our faithful, redundant, familiar motions are screaming forth our determination.

Stand tall on that accomplishment.

And breathe.

Friend, you are not alone. Do you know this truth? Sure, there are times (days/seasons) that the feeling of being alone overwhelms our soul. But I ask you to rise above. In the smallest way, rise above. There is a person outside your home that needs your smile.

We think, “the people in my home need my smile.” And the overwhelmed loneliness washes over us once again.

This is why I am asking you to rise above. In the midst of your motions will you seek out a person outside your home? Share your smile with a person and when a smile is returned, receive it. There’s medicine there! A smile shared and received is medicine for our minds, for our emotions, and for our bodies.

Smile with a person.

Allow that smile to grow into a conversation. *be careful not to dump all your cards 😉 But lay down one statement and see if you can trust that friend with your truth. If you cannot then congratulations on your discernment and strength. Be proud of that. And smile.

Move forward.

Your end goal: find that person -that in their smile and conversation- will remind you of truths. Truths about that person/those people at home who need your smile. Allow this person to help you stand in the fog. Allow this person to walk with you as the fog lifts slowly, day by day. Allow this person to remind you of who you are and what Today is all about.

Life.

A friend is a powerhouse of strength and laughter. She is medicine for your soul.

There is truth to stand on and a smile waiting for your soul. Are you willing to rise above the fog and seek it out? I pray that you are.

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Truth to stand on: Jesus

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Freedom From Slavery

- JaclynPalmer Leave a comment

Freedom From Slavery ~ Week Five

Simple Truth

Chains only have an effect on us when we give them permission to remain.

We think of those bound in slavery and our hearts break. We pray, we give, we stand, we walk, we subscribe, we fight for the freedom of children and men and women that are forced to succumb to the reality of living in the existence of chains and slavery.

We think of our loved ones who have chosen the chains of bondage. Their chain being the substance that confines them to their own demise. We see “how easy” it is to receive freedom, but all we can do is sit and watch and wait.

Then we sit in our own thoughts. We see our own chains. We acknowledge that we have allowed ourselves to become enslaved by our chain. And we sit. And we hide. And we hurt ourselves -physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally. We pray without words and without depth and without faith and without hope. For we know that this chain is comfortable. This chain fits. There is security in this slavery.

Freedom from this slavery is out of your grasp; it is not out of His.

Consider: Chains of slavery are much like the weight discussed in Hebrews 12. These chains pull us down. They keep us from pressing forward to Life. They cause us to simply “remain” in our slavery. This week’s study ties these last four week’s together. How can you compare/contrast Psalm 139 (Free to be You study below) with your experience of slavery?

Challenge: Can you give your chain a name? Once you name it, will you share its name with one person? Often times, if we can name it and pronounce its name aloud, the bondage of that chain begins to set you free. Are you ready to receive this freedom?

Video Lesson

Watch Freedom From Slavery video lesson here:

YouTube Video Lesson

Scripture

~ Mark 5:1-20

He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. (V. 3-4)

Final Thought

Freedom from Slavery -from that sin that is craving your future- is an unwrapped present sitting on your lap. It is there. It is given freely to you. It is attainably yours. Will you receive it? Will you live in it? Will you give your sin permission to leave? 

We talked today about naming our sin.
We talked today about claiming the power of Jesus over your sin.
We talked about finding freedom from that sin.
We talked very openly about sin this week.

May we acknowledge our place in this personal battle with sin. May we see the effect it has on us within and without. Friend, you are not alone in this valley. It is brave to run and fall on your knees before Jesus (Mark 5:6). It is healing and freeing to give your sin a name. Verbally express the name of your sin in the presence of someone you trust (Mark 5:9-10). I testify, there is healing and freedom in expressing the name of your sin in the presence of someone you trust.

Jaclyn

Free To Be You
Freedom From Your Past
Freedom From Your Thoughts
Freedom From Your Weight

Freedom From Your Weight

- JaclynPalmer Leave a comment

Freedom From Your Weight ~ Week Four

Simple Truth

~ Weight pulls us down in the most unexpected ways. Have you ever noticed that? The timing in which our weight bothers us appears to be nonsensical. But is the timing of our struggle nonsensical? Or is it comfortable, assuming, programmed, expected, protective, _____________?

For some of us, our struggle with weight is deeply connected with sin. Sin thrown at us by another person. This sin, sweet friend, is not your weight to carry any longer. This sin is not your sin. It is not your identity. It is not you. There is freedom to be found in Christ from this weight of another person’s sin.

For some of us, our struggle with weight is rooted in the soil of this broken world in which we live. Expectations and “requirements” are handed to us by the ugliness of this world proclaiming that its answer is the identity of beauty. My friend, beauty is much brighter than the fruit grown from this earth’s soil.

May we unite together on this hillside. May we walk together in the desire to receive this gift of freedom already given us from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Consider: Our weight journey is a very personal journey for each of us, but we need a person to walk this journey with us. Sometimes we need more than a person to walk by our side. At times we need a team.

What is the first/next step you need to set your eyes on in order to press forward in what lies ahead? This is your life. This is your future. Live for you.

Challenge: Give your weight “issue” to Jesus by trusting a friend with your story. Allow her to speak life into the future of your story. Trust yourself to live for your future instead of looking toward the past.

Video Lesson

Watch Freedom From Your Weight Video Lesson here :

YouTube Video Lesson

Scripture

~ Hebrews 12:1-2

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Have you ever wanted freedom from the cyclical pull that comes with weight? Are you sighing, gritting your teeth, rolling your eyes, and eating a brownie as your response? Or is that just my response?! Weight is a topic, for sure. I think this is one topic we would rather keep under the table. Isn’t it?

For many women, to discuss the matter of attaining freedom from our weight, we have to talk about much more than digits. And when we talk deeper than digits, things tend to get real. My prayer is that we will refrain from caloric or scaled numbers, but will touch the root of our battles.

Jaclyn

🍁 Fall Outline 🍁
Week One: Free to be You
Week Two: Freedom from Your Past
Week Three: Freedom from Your Thoughts