anxiety

How to Beat Anxiety with 5 Simple Steps

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out? Learn how to beat the spirit of anxiety with five simple steps! Although it’s just the beginning of the year, do you feel sluggish? Has your new year high come to a halt? Can I be honest with you? This week I began feeling that way. Thoughts of unworthiness flowed through my mind, I felt far away from God, sleepy and inadequate.  After sharing my feelings with two of my spiritual sisters, here are the five simple steps they encouraged me to do and I would like to share them with you: How to Beat Anxiety with 5 Simple Steps   1. Seek God and start to fast 2. Get into prayer 3. Journal 4. Blast worship music 5. Be open and honest with God Taking heed to their words of encouragement, I decided to incorporate each task into my daily routine and sure enough, my feelings of disarray vanished. Step into the New Year As we step deeper into this new year, it is important for us to stay alert and remain on guard at all times. When feelings of anxiety or negativity come to mind, call them out, cast them down and everything else AGAINST the knowledge of God as Paul encourages us to do in 2 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 5. My friends, remember this is just the beginning. Feelings come and go, but we have power over them through our tongues (Proverbs 18:21). So, my challenge for you today is to simply speak out what you WILL do in 2021 that you avoided in 2020. Incorporate a few of the tasks mentioned above to give you a head start. Will it be easy? Not always, but it is worth it because God isn’t through with you yet. Are you up for the challenge? If so, reply to this message by commenting below and share what you will do. I’d love to hear it! ♥

How to Beat Anxiety with 5 Simple Steps Read More »

Christians Need Counseling Too!

“How are you?”  When was the last time somebody asked you this question?  Do you remember your response? If you are like me, your immediate response is usually, “I’m fine”. Yet, the real question for us all is, are we really just fine?   This year that question, roamed my thoughts heatedly. I needed answers. Curious about what I could observe about myself, I  began to pinpoint my reactions to different situations which included sudden outburst to people who genuinely cared for me, anxiety attacks and the feeling of failure. It was clear  I was not really okay. However, despite being aware of my reactions, I let religion take control.  I tried to deny my emotions and my frustrations because that’s what I assumed Christians were supposed to do. Paul in the book of Ephesians tells us we are to put on the whole armour of God. James even reiterates in his own epistle by saying  “count it ALL joy when we go through various trials because it will provide us with patience…”. So, to keep the peace,  I walked with a mask of happiness, but inside I was feeling hollow. My heart was heavy, and I was unsure how to release my emotions. I felt as if I would rain down anyone’s parade if I shared with them my feelings.  So, I glossed over them, in hopes that no one would notice exactly how I was feeling. In March, my best friend invited me to a counseling session. Not at all fazed by the invitation, I was prepared to decline her offer. However, all that changed when she informed me the session would be held at church. Counseling outside of traditional marriage counseling at church?? No way! So, I decided to give it a chance and boy I was glad I did. Although the session involved other people, it felt good to go into a room and not be looked upon as if something was wrong with me. Now, I am able to release my current emotions, what I’m feeling  and receive strategies on how to cope with my emotions outside of the famous line, “Just pray about it.” Now, don’t get me wrong, prayer is essential just as denouncing the lies the enemy attempts to feed to you. However, God wants us not only to be open and honest with Him, but to our brothers and sisters in Christ.    Final Thoughts: This month, I’ve been hearing the word “counseling” consistently. As I think about it, I believe it is God’s special way of nudging me to re-evaluate my immediate response of “I’m fine”.  Even with the current group counseling sessions I attend, I believe God is calling me to dig deeper into my roots and pull out what is hiding inside of me. This time though, I don’t believe He wants me to do it alone. If you’re reading this message, maybe God is asking you to dig deeper into your roots and release them as well. However, He doesn’t want you to release them alone. Do know that it is okay to not be okay. It is okay to share your feelings with others and if necessary, call for help outside of the four walls of your church. It’s time to release and let go.  What are some techniques you use to release your feelings? Do you attend counseling sessions? Jot them down in your journal? Draw? Share below!

Christians Need Counseling Too! Read More »

R E S T: What does it mean?

Do you know what it means to truly rest? Grab a cup of coffee, sit back, relax and find out below! Happy Monday and Memorial Day beautiful people! I know I’ve been M. I. A for the past few weeks in posting but wait, I’m not sure about you, but May for me has been full of family graduations. Kicking off the first week of the month, one of my cousins graduated from Howard University. Followed by another cousin of mine graduating from Westlake High School. Oh and how can I forget, last week wrapped up the end of the 2018-2019 academic school year. (S/O to my teachers! We did it!😊) After a series of events, I felt the need to rest, which brings me to the discussion of today’s post. Take a moment, gather your thoughts and share your comments below. When you think of the word rest, what comes to mind? A.) Sleep B.) Meditation C.)Woosah D.) Not Going to Happen If your response was A, B, or C, that’s great! However, if your response was D, no need to be bashful, you’re not alone. For the longest, my personal response was D.) Not Going to Happen. You see, it’s not that I didn’t want to rest, I simply felt because of the many tasks I needed to complete, there was no way I was going to be able to rest. Believe it or not, it wasn’t until last week, during a prayer session with my best friend Maya, God revealed to me the true definition of real rest and the importance of it. The Definition of REST In the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word rest is defined in four entries. One being to repose, another beginning to cease from action. However, the definition that stood out to me was entry one number four which states, rest is a piece of mind or spirit. Hmmm… a piece of mind. It’s something we all claim to have, but let’s be honest, at times we can get besides ourselves. As for myself, that’s exactly what God was revealing to me. He wanted me to sit down and get a piece of mind. Instead of worrying about my finances, my future and the next route to take, He wanted me to hand Him my worries and simply let go of all my anxieties, truly believe and trust in Him. Final Thoughts Alright so let’s be frank, what you’re reading is probably easier said than done right? Nevertheless, God has given you free will and it’s your choice to make the decision. As my Pastor Cornelious mentioned yesterday, it’s time to make up your mind. To help you get started to meditate on John 16:33. I pray it blesses you as it did me! Grace and peace!

R E S T: What does it mean? Read More »