EP 103 Be Anxious About Nothing...

Worship is, it really, it transports me out of my troubles. Because when you're in the presence of God, there's no trouble in the presence of God because He's the answer to every problem that I've ever had. God didn't take stripes on His back just for physical healing. That's for emotional healing. Maybe the answers could be found just in being heard and being seen and finding someone else that understands. I was seeing God's hand in the prayers that I was praying for other people. When you are not focused on yourself, it frees you to actually be part of a miracle in somebody else's life. Welcome to iRefresh, where we talk about the power of prayer and God's Word. Very good. Okay. Well, almost like a popcorn thing of let's find out ways that we can, in practical, we've talked about practical ways that we can reach out to help someone. I personally am not always creative, and when I offer to help someone, I don't always necessarily know... what I should be offering. I'm willing and able to pick something up, go do a errand for someone, but I don't always have a creative mind. What is it we could do to help someone that we know might be facing something where it is anxiety or there is a lot of stress in their life? You know, one thing that really helped me was a friend of ours was sharing her own testimony in the healing. And she said something that really stuck with me. She said something that meant more to her than someone saying, what can I do? Because that required her to give you an answer. Her friends that would call her and say, I left some flowers on your porch. She didn't have to dress, she didn't have to be presentable, but she had flowers waiting on her and it was a pleasant surprise. And I thought like you, that's something that I could do and I'm willing, I'm able, but I don't always think about what would work. And I love that suggestion. Very creative. Very creative. Mm-hmm. I've started sending cards. It's a lost art. Right. I was looking at my Christmas cards this year, and thank you for your faithfulness with that. But very few Christmas cards. There are fewer and fewer every year. And, you know, going to your mailbox and you expect your bills, your ads from the different things or whatever— But if you find a card that you weren't expecting, it's not your birthday, it's not something you're expecting, it really can brighten your day. And so I may not be able to send flowers, but I could send a card. And the words to think someone thought of me, and you can put that scripture in there that you're praying for them and their need. I love that idea. It's more personable than just a text. Yeah, I like that. More effort was. A little bit more effort. Yeah, they can keep it. That's really good. And Pam, did you have some ideas even of how you can reach out to help someone who's walking through it? I was thinking in my own life, the thing that ministered to me most was having someone just sit with me. Not really doing, and there was a dozen in my family, and actually it was Caitlin's mother came over, and she just stayed all day and didn't ask me what I wanted, didn't ask me what I needed, just sat beside me. And it was a real, I didn't even know I needed that. I didn't even know I needed someone to be with me because I've never required that really in my own mind that I needed someone. And she spent the whole day with me, just sat with me. That's precious. Yeah, it's powerful. You don't even have to talk. And sometimes it doesn't. Yeah, and the thing is sometimes we don't need conversation. I think I was going through a phase of being exhausted, and Christy and I got together, but we did some stuff. But some of the time, I think we were just taking in where we were at, and we'd do some walking. But part of it was nice is to be peaceful and not feel like I have to engage myself. Because it takes energy, but we could just side by side. Like you said, like walking is you don't have to have a conversation, but it helps to alleviate some of whatever you're walking through. If you're feeling weary or just you're spent, it was such a great thing of you can take in the surroundings and not have a conversation and be okay with it. That was good. Anybody else? Other ideas? Okay. So, Pam, you had a story, though, in talking about the anxiety that you walked through when we were having our fresh gatherings. Why don't you share that? Yeah. Okay. So I work all day and it was my turn to bring something. And these women are so very talented and so... very good at how they portray their food. And I was slinging mine in the back of the car. So when I brought my tray, it was like all slashy. It looked like a disaster. And one day, all of a sudden, I thought, I don't have to do it like this. And I went to Chili's and I bought their bag of chips and their salsa. And I thought, many times we compare ourselves to other people. And I'll tell you, the people that were eating that food were picking up my chips and salsa, just like they were picking up the beautiful fruit and cheese trays. But I think sometimes we put ourselves in an anxious situation by comparing ourselves ourselves. to what everybody else was doing. And they wouldn't really want me to drag around a fruit and cheese tray for eight hours in the sun. I mean, that wouldn't have been good. So I think a lot of times we are hard on ourselves when we don't need to be. We don't need to be comparing ourselves to someone else. Just be authentic and be who you are. You're going to get Chili's chips and queso from me. That's good. Keep it simple. Yes. That's good. All right. So any other ones? You know, one of the scriptures I know we talk about, which is really our theme, and this really helps us in a place of anxiety. What is our theme of our scripture? It's an axe in times of refreshing. Yeah, it's in the presence of the Lord in times of refreshing. And that's wonderful. Even if we're present with other people, we can be praying quietly. And that's one thing I think is great. Again, we're going to give an example of Laura who's not present with us. Being around her mother-in-law is when she would come and pray along with us or pray for us, I know when she prayed over me, there was very little verbiage was going on. However, she had the presence of the Lord all over her when she came, that it was part of doing something within me and causing my heart to look upward to the Lord and just receive from the Lord. It wasn't about anything magical that she was doing. It is she allowed herself to be in God's presence, in a place of peace. So that anointing, I was able to receive that. And I know, Veronica, you have been talking about that when we come to pray and prepare for it. How do you say it? I've always been taught that when you come to prayer, you bring your supply, your supply of the Holy Spirit. So you spend time with Him, you prepare before you come, so then you have a supply, and that's what you're bringing with you. And so when you pray over others, then that's what's coming out of you. It's what have you filled up with that day. And it's a choice that we make, but it also helps us to be prepared, and to be ready for whatever the Lord wants to do. That's so good. So, you know, we've brought up several different ways of kind of helping with anxiety. But, Christy, you also have some other practical things, some ways that we reduce our anxiety. Can you share those? It's going to be fun. Wait, are you talking the song one? Yeah. Oh, good. Okay. So everyone has a song that they don't like. It could be Baby Shark. Baby Shark. Pam, come on, sing it with me. Baby shark. Okay. It's an earworm. And what that is, is it gets in your ear and it goes around and around your brain over and over and over again. And you have a song that you're like, I can't stand that song, but I can't get it out of my mind. And it can be that or it could be any other song or whatever. And so you have to change what you're thinking and you have to speak something or sing something different. Because if you just go, oh, I gotta quit thinking about this, it's gonna keep going. So if you engage and you start singing another song, Holy Spirit, you're welcome here, or something, you know, whatever you want to sing, you're thinking it, you're speaking it, you're hearing it, and it's changing your thought patterns. And so it's so important if you get a negative thought in your mind, to speak the Word of God, to speak the truth of God. And not so you're reading it, you're getting it in so many of your senses. You're seeing it, you're hearing it, you're speaking it, and it just gets it in there. I always say if you're going to memorize the Word of God, you need to be speaking it as well so that you can hear yourself because you're with yourself all the time. And so Cheryl can say, Christy, you are anointed and called of God. You're a child of the most high. And I love being encouraged, but I have to encourage myself. Just like David encouraged himself in the Lord, I have to encourage myself in the Lord. That's so good because when you're alone, all you have is your thoughts. Yes. So it's good to take action. You know, you're taking action when you're deciding to change that tune. Yeah. Get rid of the baby sharks. Yeah. And Pam, I had a quote from you. Yes. Would you like me to tell you my quote? Yes. Yes. Anxiety happens when there's a shortage of the Holy Spirit in your life. Because where the Spirit of the Lord is, there's liberty, there's freedom. Where there's darkness, where there's light, there is no darkness. And so if you're really seeking the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of the Lord, you're not going to have anxiety. It dissipates. That's so good. Yeah, Stacey, you also, you've lived out a life of very purposeful... in helping other women and you're mentoring women. And what are some of the things that you even speak to them that wouldn't really even be practical for how to help us in kind of re-changing our thought process and overcoming the anxieties? The first thing that I always encourage women that I mentor is to be in God's Word on a daily basis. I always encourage them to do it the first thing in the morning. That doesn't work for everybody. But I just feel like, especially for me personally, it's just better to start my day on that note so that my thought process is already where it needs to be. If I'm struggling with anxiety and I wake up, and the first thing I do is turn on the news, that's just going to amp up my anxiety. As opposed to if I get up first thing in the morning and I put on a worship song, I go to the Lord in prayer and open up God's Word, then I'm replacing that. What we've been talking about, I'm changing my thought process to focus on what does God say as opposed to what are the thoughts in my head. That's good. Okay, I'm going to pitch then to Rhonda the same thing with the Word. What about somebody who has not made a practice of that? Where would they begin to get into the Word every day? Is there just one thing that you can... And if you all think about it, where would you have somebody begin if they really not made a practice of it? Well, I think for me it started with... lists of scriptures that our church handed out so many years ago that helped us to understand who we are in Christ. And for years I spoke those words and then I had a list of scriptures to pray over my children. And what someone said, I think it was Christy, I'm not sure who, but one of the best ways to memorize Scripture is by speaking it. That's how I've memorized Scripture, by just picking up those lists of Scriptures. I remember one group, they were the I Am Scriptures. Well, we know that He is the great I Am, but it was more, in this case, saying, I Am. the righteousness of God in Christ. I am a child of God. And what the scripture said. And I remember years ago when I was at Rhema, Brother Hagin has a book called In Him, and talks about how there are scriptures throughout the word that talk about who we are in Christ, in Him. And so that was a beginning of it. So this has been something over many, many years in my life, but I think it started with just simply Someone handed me a list and say, you need to speak the word. And now my response to situations, and I won't say it's always my very first response. Sometimes I have to capture those thoughts like you were talking about. But my response is to say, what does the word say? And if I don't know right off, then I've got to go and dig and I've got to find out what the word says, because I believe God's word is the standard for my life. And I want to be patterning my life after what he says, not what the world says, not what the news says, not what my thoughts may say, not what Facebook may say. I want to pattern my life after the Word. And so if I don't know the Scripture, I have to go dig it, because I have to know what He says about something so that I can move forward. Can I ask a question? Yes. How do you dig? Yes. Well, and that's, yeah, I was thinking that as well. So if you start with some basic things, like the in-him or some of these lists and things, and I know we've got the scriptures on our website, which is a great place that people can start if they're looking for scriptures about a certain topic. But a lot of times when you're reading, there will be notes in your Bible that will take you to some other thing. So if you can find a jumping off place, sometimes that will take you somewhere else. There's also, of course, now we all use the digital library. Bibles on our phones, and you can search, and you can search for topics. You can search for, if you know one word of a scripture, you can search and find those things. Back in the old days, we had the big thick concordance, and I still have one of those. And so you can open that up, and at the back of most brick and mortar Bibles, there's a concordance, and you can look there for what it is you need to obtain from God. And, you know, we talked about healing a little earlier. I like to see what he has to say about certain body parts. What does he have to say about my eyes? What does he have to say about my knees? What does he have to say about, you know, whatever part of the body we may be trusting him to heal? I was thinking, because as a new believer many, many years ago, even though I knew how to use the concordance, sometimes it was a little clunky. But there are some amazing books, just like on our website. We do have those amazing lists. But if you want a great starting point, Jermaine Copeland has a book called Prayers that Avail Much. And it is... divided into categories. So if you're praying for a child, if you're praying for your marriage, different things. Stormy Amardian, Prayers That Avail Much... I'm sorry, Power of a Praying Wife, Power of a Praying Mother, Power of Power, Power, Power, and so many books. And I mean, mine are tattered from praying prayers over my family and believing God for things. And... you don't always have to reinvent the wheel. If you have time to dig, dig. But if not, you can go to a Christian bookstore and ask them. And a lot of people have done that work for you. So, I would say if you're in need, go ahead and do that. There's promise books. One of my stuff I used to sell, promise books, like those really nice little editions, and they have all the different topics too. So there's always resources. We've referred to YouVersion. YouVersion where you can do searches and do studies on whatever you're looking for. There's... A plethora of them. So I think we've hit that a lot. The other thing too is when, because we're all about prayer, is how do you practically describe to someone, and maybe Caitlin, what would you tell someone like, how I pray to overcome or bring down my level of anxiety? How would you begin to tell someone? Prayer to me is relationship with God. And so as I present what's in my heart to the Lord, and I say, Lord, this is what's in here, what's in my heart, this is how I feel, what is on your heart, what do you want me to do with this? And as I give it to Him, as I talk it out to Him in my alone time in that secret place, I feel that release. And so I think talking with people with anxiety would be like, just go to that quiet place with the Lord and just give it to Him. I mean, He has seen, I mean, He created the world. He knows beginning to the end. Like, He's seen everything underneath the sun. Like, nothing's going to shock Him or surprise Him. So you can get, I mean, I've gone mad and be like, Lord, I am frustrated. I am mad about this situation. And I don't feel condemned when I give Him that. But I feel like he replaces that with hope or love. And so I don't want anyone to be afraid to just blurt out what they have in their heart to the Lord, because he's there. He's already seen it. He's already walking through. That's good. And, you know, I'm going to pitch to you, Pam. When she's talking about that and praying, how do you, when you know you've dealt with people, like even the suicide hotline, you're trying to bring them down, their anxiety down, And even if they are believers or whatever is even in how do you walk them down into a place where they're quieted in their spirit? I think the first thing you can do to help anybody be quieted in their spirit is to listen to them. And so that would be my first thing I would listen to everything that's on their heart. and then break it down from that. I think that we've forgotten how to listen to people. You know, and you look through the Old Testament, God cries out those words to his people. He said, hear me, O Israel, hear me, O. And I read that one day and I thought, I have to hear. I have to hear first and then break it down. But I was missing the listening. So just really listening and asking the Holy Spirit, what is really happening here? Because a lot of times it's not the problem that's delivered to you that's the problem at all. Well, what is it we can say when you're listening, when you know someone's listening? How do you know someone's listening or they're looking at you? Well, here's how you know they're not. And on the podcast, Christy is thumbing through her phone, looking at something. It's upside down, so I'm actually not doing it. But that's very frustrating, particularly if you're going through something and you're finally opening up to someone to share, and they get a text message and they pick it up and they start looking and you're like, wait a minute, I just shared this intimate detail of my life and you couldn't give me. And what I'm hearing you say, too, is they need to look at you. A lot of listening is looking at you and paying attention, not reading something like a phone, looking at your watch. Right, fully present, right? Not looking past them at what's going on in the hallway, but giving them your full attention, right, Rhonda? That's really good. And just in closing in this section too is we've talked about the idea of worship. How does that worship in your life help to bring down the anxiety? Given the presence of the Lord. Last Friday, a few of us had the opportunity to go to hear Brandon Lake sing at a women's conference and I will be honest, last week was rough and I did not want to go to the conference. All I wanted to do was go home and put on my pajamas, eat some Ben and Jerry's and read a good book, truthfully, and pet my dog. And the Lord, of course, wouldn't let me do that. And the speakers were great. Everything was great. But when we got to worship, it was like things from the week fell off of me. Because as I lifted my hands, you can't hold heavy things and lift your hands up to the Father. And I realized, I mean, I just had my hands straight up in the air just worshiping, and you can't hold on to the stuff if you're fully engaged in worship. And it was cleansing, to be frank with you. It was a cleansing opportunity so that I could then receive what He wanted me to receive that night. It was beautiful. Well, I know the Bible says in Psalm 32, 7, that you are my hiding place. You, Lord, protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs and shouts of deliverance. And I just love that verse. And I love how you were describing. I don't think I'd ever heard that. When you're lifting your hands, you can't lift heavy things. So when you're lifting your hands to the Lord, that is a release. And I know for me, worship is, it really, it transports me out of my troubles. Because when you're in the presence of God, there's no trouble in the presence of God. Because He's the answer to every problem that I've ever had. And so when I am in his presence and I am just like we were talking about with in a conversation with other people, when I am fully present before the Lord and he is all I'm thinking about, then nothing else exists. You know, Scripture says we put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. And for me, worship is an act of faith because I'm giving everything to the Lord at that time and just putting my complete and total trust in Him. And I really believe that that is where we release those things to the Lord and allow Him to work in our lives. And trust him that he is at work. And something I've started doing during that time is calling out whatever that anxiety is or whatever that is troubling me, calling it out by name during that time. You know, and trading that out at the foot of the cross for his peace. You know, one of the scriptures that I like on that same topic is the Lord inhabits the praises of His people. And so I visualize during praise and worship Him entering into the room and standing next to me. And that takes away all those things that you think are earth-shattering and causing anxiety. They just seem to no longer be important. And so I really, that to me is one of the benefits of praise and worship is separating and just saying, you know what, Lord, I welcome you in this place. And I know that you inhabit the praises of your people. So I'm looking for you. That's really good. I think we're going to wrap this section up. And I want us to each take a part of highlighting some of the things that we have found today. that are fruitful in helping us to overcome anxiety. So Pam, I'm going to have you start of how do you see some of the practical things that help to dissolve anxiety in your life? I'm gentle with myself because I serve a gentle God when it comes to something that's going on that's problematic for me. I've learned to be really gentle with myself and not harsh and to listen for the Holy Spirit. So I put on gentleness and meekness instead of this is a battle I'm going to fight. That's really good. I'd like to piggyback on that. Pam, it's interesting that you said that because I thought about giving myself grace. earlier we were talking and I thought, you know, when a child is learning to walk, if they fall down, we don't go, oh, you're a bad child. You'll never walk, you know. Instead, we cheerlead them and we encourage them. We pick them up. We dust them off. We kiss their boo-boos. You can do this. Mommy's so proud of you. And I'm learning how to dust myself off. pick myself back up and say, you can do this, Christy. You can do this. And give myself some grace if I do mess up. Excellent. Stacey, how would you? For me, I feel like I come at it completely differently. I have been a Christian for years, but I walked away from the Lord for most of my life and have only really started walking with Him in the last... eight years of my life. And so I've just been, I feel like I have a lot of time to make up for. And so when I feel myself beginning to go into a place of anxiety or any negative emotion, it's like I feel the Holy Spirit saying to me, Stacy, we ain't got time for that. Well, you've got to be about my father's business. And so, because I'm very intentional that I want to keep moving forward in my walk with the Lord. Because when I decide, you know, and like we've talked about, we are all going to have situations in our life where, yes, we are going to feel, you know, there's a problem in our life and we are going to feel anxious. But I have a choice in that moment to recognize it and to replace it with the Word of God or to set a tent there and sit there in it and really marinate in it. And I don't always make the right choice, but the Lord is teaching me that that's not what I want to do. And so when I start to get anxious, I replace it with the Word of God. And the Bible says in John 14, 1, Don't let your heart be troubled. Trust in God and trust also in me. And when I read that verse, I feel like he's putting the ball in my court because he's already done everything that he is going to do. And so I have the choice whether I can choose to let my heart be troubled. And so he's not going to tell me to do something and then not give me the ability to do it because that's not the God I serve. And so that just reminds me that I always have a choice. And sometimes it takes me longer to get there. But I know that I know that I know that I always will because I'm in control of what I choose to believe in that moment. That's good. Rhonda? Well, to kind of piggyback off of that, we do have a choice. And I think for me, a lot of what I have to watch is, what am I saying? We've talked about speaking the word, but sometimes I think we give too much air time to whatever's going on. in our lives. And the more time and energy we give to the problem and the situation, the more power it has in our lives. And so I find that, yes, while I do use my mouth to speak the word, typically the thing that we are strong in is also the thing we can be weak in. And so I have to watch my mouth. I have to watch what I'm saying about the situation and about, you know, the things that are going on and keep that focused on what I'm trusting God for. And I think that, you know, to ask the Lord to set a watch over my lips and to help me to let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart to be acceptable in His sign. That's great. Caitlin. Just casting my cares upon the Lord. That he's there with me going through... my walk. And so as the anxiety or the challenges, the situations come, always reminding to give it to Him because His burden is slight. He doesn't put a heavy burden on us. And so as we give it to Him, He replaces it. He replaces with joy and love and hope and excitement for what's coming. And so just reminding myself, that he's there, that we're locked arms together, and that he's going to take it. That's awesome. Brandy? I love that visual of locking arms with him. I'm similar to Stacy. I walked away from the Lord in my early 20s and didn't... didn't serve him until probably 10 years ago now. And so I feel a lot like you, as far as there's no time to waste anymore. I wasted so many years in the dark, you know, and here I am, and now I have a little girl who I have to train and raise up and my kids. And, you know, I don't want to waste any time. All I want to do is dive deeper in my walk with the Lord. And that's actually my one word for the year is deeper. And so, and again, it goes back to what you're saying as well. as far as watching what you speak, because the power of your tongue is life and death, or death. And so I want to speak life into my kids, but I have to believe it first. Good. Veronica? I think, you know, I like what Caitlin said. I think of that scripture a lot. Cast my cares onto the Lord for he cares for me. But another scripture that I really like is the one where he says, Be anxious for nothing, but in everything come to him with thanksgiving and bring your petitions before him. So I like to choose what are those things that I'm anxious about and what does God's word say about that thing? And that's what I'm thankful for. So instead of, you know, the definition of anxiousness is dread. So instead of dreading something, I'm now giving him Thanksgiving for the opposite, for what he's doing. And then I have something to look forward to. You know, there's a great thing about stress, and we're going to talk about the upside of stress. And Pam, you had a great story to really show the benefits. Yeah, you know, stress isn't always bad. I think we have categorized it as a terrible thing. In some sequences, it is. But there is an upside of stress. And stress. I like to think of a rubber band around a group of pencils. Now, if that rubber band wasn't around a group of pencils, they would all file and we wouldn't be able to catch them all. But that rubber band, that stress around them provides a boundary, provides something to keep it cohesively together. And sometimes the stress... that we're feeling is a boundary that keeps us just where God wants us to be. That's really great. Now, one of the scriptures too, I think Rhonda, and we're talking about this, the greatness of God's strength in us is in second Thessalonians. Can you share that with us? Yes. This is from the voice translation, 2 Thessalonians 2.2, that you don't let your minds get quickly rattled or become anxious because of someone else's so-called spiritual revelation or because someone gave you a message or claimed to know of a letter allegedly from us reporting that the day of the Lord has already come. And it is good. And this, to me, speaks to not only the spiritual, but the natural. And what are we listening to? And who are we listening to? And what are we allowing ourselves to believe that people may be saying around us? And that the news today. The news is a big one. I know that we need to be informed. We need to be wise. But I believe that feeding on any news too long is unhealthy because they love to focus on the negatives. They love to focus on the drama in the world, and there's plenty to focus on. And so... I would encourage anyone who's a news junkie that's experiencing anxiety to turn it off and have maybe a sabbatical from it and take a little hiatus and see if your anxiety will decrease because it can get anyone stirred up hearing all that's going on in our world today. Because it does appear to be hopeless the way they show it to us. But God. But God. And turn those thoughts around. When you do hear those things that could cause anxious thoughts, you're going to turn those into what we call prayer points. So it becomes, well, I'm going to use that now. I'm going to take it before the Lord and I'm going to cast those cares, as Caitlin's talked about before, casting the cares on the Lord Because we know that only He can take those things. So it's a great way for us, really, when you think about when life is a lot of stress. I don't know about you, but it really makes me dive deep into I can only do it if God helps me. And I feel like I draw closer to the Lord more so when life is just, you know, I don't know when that's been. The last time it would seem like things were not so stressful. You don't find that you're going to the Lord like you would when you're really desperate. What are some other things that you might apply, like the upswing and the good things of when you're dealing with anxiety? Well, just going through recently, going back to school, and there was stress taking my national counselor exam. There was stress. you know, preparing for it. But had I not had the anxiety of what would happen if I didn't pass, perhaps I would not have studied as hard as I did. So there are some healthy anxieties. There are some healthy stresses. because it makes you perform. There's also healthy fear. We want our children to be fearful of a truck blowing down the street. There are things that we don't want them to touch. Don't put your finger in the little socket, Johnny. We don't want them to, you know, do certain things. And it goes back to boundaries. You mentioned boundaries. Boundaries are healthy. Brandy and Rhonda and I heard someone speak this weekend that talked about the parameters and the boundaries that we have in our life are there for a purpose. Because in those boundaries, you can move safely. And you can go about your business without boundaries. fear or concern. And so when we do feel the anxiety coming in our life, perhaps we've stepped out of a boundary. Perhaps it's the Holy Spirit warning us that we're somewhere we shouldn't be, perhaps doing something we shouldn't be doing. And it is a way for us to evaluate what are we doing that's causing the anxiety. And we can turn and fix that situation quickly if we're quick to That's good. But, you know, Pam, you've got an idea, too, that even just things that are signals, like a tornado warning, that's going to trigger off some anxiety. That triggers anxiety, something we've experienced before. But I was thinking before you said that, Cheryl, when Christie was talking, I said, I thought, how many of us, we know that we have an enemy and our enemy lies. How many of you have experienced an amount of stress before there's been a major victory or a major miracle? Thinking that something was so hopeless, it was never going to get better. What were you going to do? Oh, woe is me. I'm trying to have faith. And then... all of a sudden you have complete breakthrough. And that was just something that was thrown before you to see if you would follow and agree with the anxiety that you were experiencing. Has anybody ever had that happen? Yes. When you were saying that, I don't know, this might sound strange, but I was thinking about going to the dentist and, And sometimes if I'm going to have some work done, I can have anxiety before I ever go. And so I think it's important to train myself to pre-decide before I ever go that that I'm going to have an attitude of I'm going to get through this. It's not going to be that bad. I can be brave for an hour, you know, and just change the way I'm thinking about going to the dentist so that eventually I believe that I will actually get to a place that I don't have anxiety about going to the dentist anymore. So I can retrain the way I think about going to the dentist. That's good. Now, my mother used to say, too, when life was really challenging, she always would say, this too shall pass. And, you know, they turned into a song, which, you know, one of my favorite singers, this too shall pass. And I'm like, that gives you hope of knowing it's a temporary thing. And, you know, we get to watch God show up and do his work and protecting us, keeping us safe and helping us to overcome. And knowing we're going to grow through that. Right. So, I mean, I think, you know, can you not think that a trial causes growth on the other side of it? Absolutely. Right. Well, I liked Caitlin's example of when she said that she was battling depression, and the Lord led her to be grateful and to be thankful. And what happened was she took what the enemy intended to destroy her, and she was able to grow in the Lord with the instruction of being grateful and being thankful and thankful. looking for the Lord. And I think, you know, without that insight, it would have been very easy for you to pull in and continue in that dark place. But the Lord brought you out by saying, hey, look up here, look at me. And I love that example. I thought it was such a great way of turning around what the enemy intended to cause you to get in a dark place. And see, now the direction, when you're talking, that direction is not on me. The direction is on the Lord, and it's looking upward versus like what Pam was saying, woe is me. So what a great reflection of what God's causing us to do is to look to him. His scripture says to fix our eyes on my problem. What's the scripture say? On him. Fix him on him. Yeah, fix him on him. Because then it helps us to know we can trust in him. Like when you think about a child, you know, a mother or father is trying to get the child maybe to walk or whatever. They're getting their eyes to look at them. Because if you look down at their feet, they're not going to have balance, right? When they're first trying to walk, it is to fix your eyes forward and walk towards them. And what is a mom and a dad always going to do? They're going to reach their hands outward. So what a beautiful display of what God wants us to do. that he has got an answer for those problems. Really good. And is there any other ideas that we have as far as the benefits that you've seen walking through it? I think that there are many attributes of God, and we only come to know those attributes. You don't need a doctor unless you're sick. And so I think that when we go through anxiety, I come to know God in such a personal way that He is a God of peace, that maybe somebody that doesn't struggle with anxiety, they don't. recognize him as strongly in that way because they haven't had to rely on that aspect of who he is. So it gives me a fuller picture of who God is, and that's a positive. Oh, yes. That's really good. That's really good to see the different characters of God. And I only see them when I'm in need of that area. That's good. Where we lack, he's able to give us something we're lacking. Really good. And it's a good reminder. It is. Like, I guess I need that refined in my life. Whoa. That's why we don't pray for patience. That's a refining that will continue on and on and on. Amen. And you know, the one hope that we talked about before is that it's a temporary thing. When you're walking through, a lot of these things are temporary. And we need to keep that in mind is... if we will trust in Him and lean on Him. And sometimes, you know, I think we've talked about before, what happens when you're trying to rely on Him, but those thoughts are just barreling in. What are some just quick things that you do to stop and retrain yourself? Because really you have to be proactive, right? Because when the storms come, you're not preparing always for a storm. You know, it's like our weathermen. They do try to give us a good warning sign of what's going to happen, but sometimes they're not quite right. How can we proactively anticipate what's ahead? Because we're promised, the enemy is around waiting to devour us. Worship. Worship is good. Always. Right. Prayer. And prayer. I think the daily time in the Word. For me, a Bible plan is very helpful so that I'm daily reading and storing up the Word in my heart and mind and, And, you know, that's another way that we memorize is by just storing it up. And then it's there when we need it. You know, we talked earlier about how do you begin? Well, start reading and just start. What does the word say? And to me, I just feel like I'm storing it up. And storing it up for the future may not be for that day. But what about next week when you need it? Oh, I read that just last week, you know, and then you get that that digging out that we talked about is a little bit easier because you've been storing it up. Rhonda, that's really good because Pastor Billy Joe Doherty used to say the time to memorize scripture and to read the word is now, not when you're in crisis. Because when you're in crisis, you're not capable of functioning at the same level as you are on a day-to-day basis. And so it's so important for us to hide God's Word in our heart. And it's so important for us to begin to really know our way around and have what we're standing for because things are going to happen. But I'm also going to say if those things happen and that you don't have that in your heart yet— reach out to someone who does. Reach out to a fellow believer and say, I need help, I'm too weak. I remember when I was pregnant with my first child. He was a large baby, it was a very difficult pregnancy. I was... ill every day, we'll just say, from before I knew I was pregnant all the way through the delivery room every day. It was awful. And I was so weak. I was hospitalized a couple times. And I remember I couldn't even pray for myself because I just physically felt didn't have the nutrients. I wasn't sleeping. All I was doing was growing a child inside and and it took everything out of me. And sometimes I just thought I just need someone to pray for me because I can't even do it for myself. So sometimes we have to humble ourselves. And when you're already feeling anxious about things, they might think less of you. But I think when we humble ourselves and reach out to someone and say, Cheryl, I'm going through a hard time and I don't know what to pray. I don't know how to pray for this, but I need help. Will you pray for me? I'm always amazed at the beautiful reactions that, Yes, I would love to. Or the Lord, Christy, the Lord's already had me praying for you. I'm so glad you said something because I had this scripture for you last week, but I didn't know what it meant. You can't outdo God. And we just sometimes have to reach out for help. whether that's a friend, maybe a therapist, you might need to seek counsel. So I just want to encourage you, if you're feeling those anxious thoughts and they're coming frequently, perhaps you do need to reach out for help. Brandi, you also even said something about how you can personalize a scripture and speak that over your life. Yeah, I... You just have to really be honest with yourself and identify what you're battling, whatever your, whatever it's, if it's anxiety, depression, what have you, be honest with yourself, identify and call it out by name, admit it. And then, like Joshua 1.9, it says, Have I not commanded you, be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified or dismayed. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. You can personalize it. Put your name in there. So if you have a fear of public speaking, which... Yes, I do. And you're doing great, by the way. You know what, Brandy, I will be strong and courageous. I will not be afraid of public speaking in front of cameras, you know, nor will I be discouraged. And so that helps even if you're praying for your kids, put your kids in there, personalize it. And I also just kind of wanted to go back to what you said, reading, in the morning or just reading the Word, if you're fairly new like a baby Christian, just start. Just start. And if you don't have a Bible, if you happen to have a kid's Bible, like I did when I rededicated my life, I read a children's Bible until I went and bought... A big kid's Bible. You know, I'm here 27 years old, I'm like, I don't have a Bible. But I had my kid's Bible when I was little. So just start, you know. God knows your heart. So... You know, one of the things we don't want to take away from the seriousness of it, you know, some anxiety is incredibly dangerous. And we don't want to take that lightly. And so the Word is powerful. We're dealing with spiritual activity. Like you said, if you're a baby Christian or we're not fully aware of how to handle things, catastrophes can happen and be overwhelmed, you know, God also provides resources. And one of the things we wanted to also make a note of is Pam and Christy with your profession, you have some resources to help for those things that are really like a lot of mental health issues that do need extra care. So, you know, one of the things that I learned going to Oral Roberts University is Oral talked about, you know, you bring prayer and medicine together. And you're working hand in hand. And it's trusting God, but you're using direction from the Lord to help you to define how you're going to receive the health and healing that he wants to give to you. So, Christy and Pamela, why don't you share... what you would do and some things that are a little bit more serious than our everyday life. There are several hotlines and places for you to get help. There are resource centers that can give you information about things that you can... that are in your area. There are 800 numbers. And the Anxiety and Depression Association of America is a very good resource if you feel like you need additional help. I'll give you the number. It's 240-485-1001. And you can find that number in our show notes also. And the National Alliance on Mental Illness is a place that you can call and get a counselor in your area that's licensed. 800-950-6264. Or you can text NAMI, N-A-M-I, to 741-741. If you're in a situation where you are a friend has suicidal ideations because it's just too much, then you may call 800-273-8255, the Suicide Prevention Hotline. And we are finding out now that we are having a lot more veterans that have anxiety that are dealing with that, especially exacerbated since COVID happened. And that veteran crisis line, and they're very good about helping someone in your family, any kind of veteran or if you're a veteran, 800-272-7222. 8255 or text 838255. And those numbers, even though they're United States numbers, they can identify people that are very near to you and even help arrange rides for you if you don't have a way to get extra help. Another great resource, if you're looking for a therapist or a counselor, you'll find licensed therapists and licensed social workers on psychologytoday.com. Yeah. You go on there, you type in your city, your state, your zip code, and then you can look at specifics. Like, I want a Christian counselor. I want a couples counselor. I would like family therapy. You can put in the different areas that you're needing help with, and they will give you a list of therapists that you can go find. um, and contact. And it is a great way you can read their bios, look and see what they believe. They should have statements of what they, how they practice, whether it's cognitive behavior therapy or solution-based or, you know, all the different things. So do a little research if you want to before you get on there, but we'll have that in the show notes as well. And it's a great way for you to find a therapist in your area. Yeah. That was really helpful. So I don't know if there's any other highlights or things we want to point people to between the two of you, Pam and Christy. Well, we just have to say, you know, there are a lot of prayer lines that are available as a resource for you too. And don't shy away from that. You don't have to be an expert in the Word of God to ask for prayer. I would encourage you to do that any chance you feel like the need is there. That's great. We're so grateful for you to just to join us and each one of us around the table and remotely. We're grateful for just the opportunity just to share our own personal experiences and from experts of resources that are available to you. Our hope for you is, like Pam said, too, is prayer. We're all about prayer. We love to pray. And if you desire prayer, connect with us, info at irrefresh.net. And we would love to arrange for a time where we can do it through a Zoom call or if it's here in the Tulsa area, we will be glad to arrange that for you. So thank you for your listening, and be sure to actually share this. If you know someone who's walking through this, I highly recommend that you learn to share the podcast, or if it's in a video form, share that with someone, because it really can make a difference in their life and turn things around for good. No, it's not here, it's not here.