Emotional Wholeness, in the BIBLE?

There are three qualities that each person needs to be emotionally whole. I will talk about each of them in the next several blogs. Rather like Nancy Alcorn, I’m not one to merely talk about things.  “I don’t have a lot of patience for talking about a problem without solving it. The apostle Paul said ‘The kingdom of God is not in talk but in power.’ (I Cor. 4:20) I believe that 100%.”

 I’m speaking in terms of self-talk: what we say to ourselves. That’s where the rubber meets the road. Of course we all battle these, as each of us has to struggle with “stinkin’ thinkin’” throughout our lives. The question is, which one will win?

Recognizing them can help us. Tremendously.

The first is Gratitude.  Here are some of the things a grateful person says to themselves.

                Everything is a gift!

                I don’t have it as bad as some.

                I’m NOT the center of the universe. (try that one with your kids)

                I appreciate whatever I get. (it doesn’t matter what I hoped I’d get)

                God is SO good to me!

An ungrateful person struggles with self-importance  (pride). We need to cultivate thankfulness with humility and grace.

All too often, we engage in Self-Pity.

                Poor me!

                Life sucks!

    The world owes me. (entitlement, anyone?)

    It’s never enough to make me happy.

    I am worthless.

I have 5 Scriptures for those of you interested in looking them up. Eph. 5:15-20, Col. 3:15-17, Ps. 92:1, Rom. 1:21, Ja. 4:1-3,6. All of them exhort a person to be thankful, not entitled or see themselves as a victim.

So work on this one for a few weeks.Copy the self talk statements and the Scriptures down, and put them up by your mirror. Let yourself think of them, and say them regularly. 

 Next time I’ll write about the second quality…

Ditch the Baggage, Change Your Life

Ditch the Baggage, Change Your Life

The title caught my eye.  I’d heard great things about the organization, first hand from someone who had been there. So, I bought the book. 


Wow! 


The 7 Keys to Lasting Freedom that it describes are really good. I found myself wanting to make copies of every chapter for my clients to read: this one chapter 4, these folks chapter 6, etc. Oh wait, I can’t do that, it states it on the copyright page.  Darn. 


I would have to agree with Pastor John Burns, who says “This book is the best, clearest , and most complete explanation of where lasting freedom comes from and exactly how that can be sorted out in your own life.” And I’ve been at this for 35 years or more! 

Sprinkled liberally with first-hand accounts of people who applied these principles and found victory, Nancy Alcorn gently and confidently leads us into what we long for. Freedom. She is the founder of Mercy Multiplied (formerly Mercy Ministries), and has 30 years experience seeing people set free. 

Freedom from what? Here’s a partial list:

            A high need to control situations and people.

            Anger over little things

Anxiety about money and relationships

Weight consciousness

Concerns about reputation

Self-hatred

Lying

Lack of care and concern for others

Critical attitudes

Violent reactions

High walls and the inability to make lasting friends

A distrust of authority

Substance reliance

And the list goes on and on.   “You were born to live free,” asserts the author, Nancy Alcorn. “I don’t have a lot of patience for talking about a problem without solving it. The apostle Paul said the kingdom of God is not in talk but in power (I Cor. 4:20). I believe that 100%.”


Mental health care focuses on changing behavior, which is temporary and gives superficial results. Even the clients that I really help benefit most from a transformation of hearts.  Jesus does that to people that are willing, and this book that I am touting show us the way. 


I will list the 7 keys to freedom, but let me say that they don’t sound earth shaking on their own. Read the book! Even part of it would be beneficial.

Key #1 Total Commitment to Freedom

Key #2 Healing Life’s Hurts

Key #3 Getting God’s Perspective on Your Life

Key #4 Choosing to Forgive

Key #5 Breaking Your Family’s Generational Patterns

Key #6 The Power to Choose Freedom over Oppression

Key #7 How to Maintain Lifelong Freedom


In the Appendix, a list of verses that show who we are in Christ is given. (How very valuable these are!) And then a lot of common “baggage beliefs” (also known as “misbeliefs” or “lies”), along with the thoughts and verses to replace them. 


We can get victory over our thoughts and habits that hold us in bondage! 


What a life-changing book…because the principles are life-changing.