emotionalsuffering

As the holiday season approaches, we wanted to address a topic that is important yet often overlooked – how holidays can trigger trauma reactions. In our latest episode of Flourish-Meant, host Tina Yeager sits down with expert guest Dr. Barbara Lowe to explore this crucial issue.

Dr. Barbara Lowe, a licensed psychologist and founder of Greenleaf psychological and support services, sheds light on why trauma is something we should be aware of during the holiday season. She explains how being around our families can bring up unmet needs and traumas, reminding us of the brokenness of this world.

Even in the best of circumstances, we all carry some form of trauma due to the fallen nature of our world and the unseen enemy that seeks to disrupt our lives.

During the episode, Dr. Barbara Lowe shares powerful insights into the impact of triggers during holidays. She discusses different scenarios, such as encountering familiar scents, tastes, or music that transport us back to past experiences.

Additionally, being around certain family members or revisiting places of suffering and trauma can bring up intense emotions. Dr. Barbara Lowe provides practical advice on how to navigate these triggers effectively.

Tina and Dr. Barbara Lowe emphasize the importance of seeking the Lord during these challenging moments. Turning towards Him provides a safe attachment and a source of strength. Additionally, they discuss the concept of self-parenting or developing self-momming skills, where we offer ourselves the love, acceptance, and support we may have lacked in our past.

Dr. Barbara Lowe introduces her book, "Healing Encounters with Jesus in Psychology," which offers a comprehensive guide to healing trauma and satisfying unmet needs. Connect with Dr. Barbara at drbarbaraministries.org. 

To book Tina as a speaker, connect with her life coaching services, and more, visit her website: https://tinayeager.com/

Get inspired now and get Tina Yeager's newest release, Upcycled: Crafted for a Purpose! The book is available on Amazon, Bold Vision Books, or wherever books are sold. Visit Tina's website for craft videos and more at https://www.tinayeager.com/upcycled/

Follow Tina on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Tina-Yeager-M.A./e/B06Y4T4TMG/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Upcycled: Crafted for a Purpose (Bold Vision site)

Beautiful Warrior: Finding Victory Over the Lies Formed Against You (publisher site): https://www.newhopepublishers.com/shop/beautiful-warrior/

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Do all things work together for our good? Today's guest, attorney, author, and entrepreneur Gina G. Parker, helps us discover how all things can work to bless us even when we face life's trials.

Gina G. Parker is an attorney and a successful businesswoman as well as an author and speaker for churches and women’s groups.  Gina and her staff view the law practice as a ministry and share the love of Christ with those who enter the doors of her business.

Realizing a lifetime dream of owning a manufacturing company, Ms. Parker in 2001 founded Dental Creations, a dental manufacturing company, while continuing her general law practice. The company was founded with a vision to support missions, help women in crisis, and give second chances to criminal defendants through employment. Ms. Parker has voluntarily donated her legal services to help families and churches in crisis. She speaks at Sexual Abuse Recovery Seminars and has served as a board member for the Waco Family Abuse Center. Currently, she leads Hands of Hope International ministry. She and her family helped to purchase a Hungarian television station that reaches approximately 5 million homes with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Gina how she endured many personal crises, including infertility. She shares how scripture passages offered her the hope she needed to persevere. Parker notes that many people abandon their faith when facing hardships. She offers hope and encouragement to her legal clients. But she also noticed their suffering and challenges, so she took action and established a business to help provide jobs and second chances for those in need.

When circumstances get overwhelming, Parker offers the following advice:

• Separate the important from the unimportant.
• Spend time in prayer and scriptural study.
• Dwell in God's presence and turn stress over to him.

We discuss the difference between all things working out as we hoped and all things working for good. Gina outlines how to cope with the unexpected by defining the path as an alternate plan instead of an end. She states that God still has a plan even when things don't turn out as we expected. We can find peace, joy, and purpose in our relationship with Jesus, not in success or circumstances.

Parker acknowledges the pain of our tragedies is real. We discuss walking through the reality of struggle. She states that it is hard to persevere and "count it all joy." 

Gina recommends holding onto scriptures like 1 Thessalonians 5:17, which advises us to pray without ceasing. She also offers the following strategies to get through life's storms:

• Realize that God is both good and faithful.
• Acknowledge the world is broken. God is still good. God is love.
• Recognize the enemy's plan to deceive and destroy us.
• Declare your trust in God aloud.
• Denounce Satan's lies.
• Hang onto life-giving core beliefs that honor God.
• Recognize the enemy uses fear to assault our minds.
• Renew your mind at the onset of and during life's trials.
• Post encouraging verses where you'll see them.

Parker states, "Truth is the greatest defender in the face of tragedy."

We discuss how to recognize when we've misplaced our trust and believed a lie. Gina shares her personal story of overcoming sexual abuse by partnering with God's truth instead of shame lies.

Gina shares some of her favorite scriptures, including Romans 8. She notes the power of speaking the truth over yourself aloud.

We discuss how to handle difficult people. Parker explains that anger does not work for our benefit. She states that our best responses to those who won't listen are silence and prayer. Changing the mindset of someone with an obstinate heart is unlikely to happen with words. Prayer can change us for the better even if the situation doesn't change.

Parker shares about her upcoming mission trip to Hungary, where she helped purchase a Christian television station to bring the message of hope to millions.

Check out The 828 Journey and Hush Little Baby, Don’t Say a Word, invite Ms. Parker as a speaker, or get more information about her ministry at www.ginagparker.com.

Get inspired now and get Tina Yeager's newest release, Upcycled: Crafted for a Purpose! The book is available on Amazon, Bold Vision Books, or wherever books are sold. Visit Tina's website for craft videos and more at https://www.tinayeager.com/upcycled/

How do we prepare for life's storms?

Pastor Andy Clapp joins us today to reveal ways we can prepare before crises strike. Andy Clapp is the Senior Pastor at Mt. Zion Baptist Church and an award-winning author of a novel entitled Midnight, Springtime for Your Spirit (a devotional co-authored with Michelle Medlock Adams) and his new devotional, In the Eye of the Storm.

We discuss similarities between the experiences we face during a severe weather threat and personal crises. Pastor Clapp notes how we can be tempted to procrastinate instead of preparing for potential problems. He recommends taking time to listen in prayer and apply deep scripture meditation to our lives as advance preparation.

When troubles hit us, anxiety and chaos complicate our efforts to make the best decisions. Trusting Christ ahead of a storm helps us avoid the mindset trap of "what am I going to do" when crisis strikes.

Andy recommends increased prayer time and wise Christian counsel as essentials to prepare our souls ahead of a crisis. We need to maintain consistent growth. He also advises us to pay attention to how we make decisions. Our immediate instinct to rely on our own efforts can make situations worse. If we make a habit of seeking God, then we are more likely to turn to him for strength and direction when we need it the most.

We discuss the issue of misplaced hope. Hoping in the Lord instead of outcomes helps anchor us when struggles hit us. Andy shares his own suffering when his family lost a 13-year-old boy. He relates the crushing sorrow of this unexpected grief while highlighting the ways God demonstrated his loving presence throughout the painful experience of loss.

Pastor Clapp emphasizes how God is always at work, even in the storms that bring us painful outcomes. He describes the ways Christ's presence blesses us when we mourn and suffer.

We discuss how the Lord weeps for us when we are hurting. Andy notes how Jesus understands our emotional pain and suffering.

Clapp encourages us to pray for wisdom and discernment often. Some storms can be avoided. He recommends examining our lives to discover weak spots where the enemy could target us. If we turn those vulnerable areas over to the Lord, he can strengthen us. Intentional prayer, meditating on scripture, and listening to life-giving podcasts and messages can help us prepare.

Andy urges us to examine all the areas where the enemy can tempt or influence our lives and block his means of attack. He concludes with the advice to remain centered in Christ.

Connect with Andy Clapp at andyclapp.org, on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Check out his books on Amazon.

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How to Help

You can’t convince, argue, preach or shame someone out of self-destructive behavior or emotional dysfunction. You have to engage their heart.

That’s why it’s so frustrating when logic doesn’t make a difference and nothing you say seems to help the suffering people you care about.

Today’s podcast is about building an alliance of healing with anyone who is suffering. It provides a prayer to help you connect with their heart as well as a prayer to engage God to start the healing.

In His peace,

John and Beth Murphy

P.S. Let us know what’s on your mind for a podcast. Thanks for listening and spreading the word about Rock House podcasts.

"There is a crisis in human affairs. This must be viewed in terms of opportunity and not in terms of cataclysm or catastrophe." DISCIPLESHIP IN THE NEW AGE VOLUME ONE by Alice Bailey