Hi girl! How are you doing this week? I hope you were able to take a few moments to rest and spend some time outside in God's creation with Him! ☀️ How did it go? If it didn't happen last week, no worries! There's always today! 😄 I'm excited to share with you a second favorite tip for decreasing stress and increasing calm! One of the biggest things that I feel I've been learning over the past year is that praise and thankfulness to God are our weapons against fear and lies that breed anxiety. I've been working on and practicing the action of pausing when I am finding myself under stress or in a negative thought spiral, mentally stepping back from it to observe the thoughts rather than swirling in them, and asking myself a simple but powerful question: is this thought from Jesus? The truth is, if it isn't, then it has no place cycling through my mind another time. These specific verses and teachings from God have been really big on my mind recently: “…take every thought captive to obey Christ.” —2 Corinthians 10:5 (ESV) “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” —Romans 12:2 (ESV) “…whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” — Philippians 4:8 (ESV)
So, here is Tip #2 for decreasing anxiety + increasing calm: 🎶🧠 Listen to worship music or check out the Dwell app. 📖💡 I love the gift of worship music and think it's just incredible that God gave us song and the beauty of music! How amazing is He?! Did you know that singing actually stimulates your vagus nerve which signals to your nervous system that it can calm down? When we worship and sing to the Lord, it not only calms our hearts but also calms our bodies!! WOW! I just think that is the coolest thing, and also not surprising at all because God has designed us so thoughtfully and wonderfully! ✨ Even when I don't know exactly where to start, what to listen to, what to sing even without music, or what to read in my Bible, I always find that God meets me in those moments. Since we will be transformed by the renewing of our mind (Romans 12:2), I find that pressing play to a worship playlist or utilizing the Dwell audio bible app —a new personal favorite tool of mine— disrupts negative thought spirals and steers me back to the truth of God that brings me peace— peace that surpasses understanding and is deeper than feelings or circumstances. I purchased the Dwell app recently, and it has been a game-changer in helping me get more of God's word into my ears, mind, and heart throughout the day. I love their “Holy Ordinary” playlists that are curated for moments like waking up, cooking, driving, working, etc. and others that are curated by mood or attributes of God to meditate on. This email isn't sponsored by them! Haha, I just love this resource!! ☺️ Below are some screenshots of what those playlists look like! Dwell also has instrumentals or soothing nature sounds in the background of the Scripture that you can choose from which is fun! I usually will have guitar playing in the background during the morning and rain or a campfire sound at night which is really soothing. Or, you could also always download the YouVersion Bible app instead which is free and listen that way! I have listened in the car before which has been great! 🚙🎶
So, whether it's worship music or an audio Bible app, my encouragement is to incorporate listening to the Truth of God's word more so that it can deeper seep into our minds and penetrate our hearts, ridding anxiety. 💛
Cheering you on!
Heather
P.S. If you missed last week's email with Tip #1, you can read about it here on the blog! 🌸
Comentários