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[Poll]
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Baggage from the past--do daily devotions help you?
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| Yes--when I abide in the Lord I am emotionally healthy. |
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| Sort of--I am more emotionally healthy, but I still struggle. |
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| No--my issues are really bad no matter what I do. |
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| Other/not sure |
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Total Votes : 17
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(last vote on : 11/25/2008 8:53:24 AM)
(Poll will run till: -- )
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Baggage from the past--do daily devotions help you? - 11/19/2008 8:38:55 AM
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Consecrated2God
Posts: 5146
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From: Formerly Jesus Land
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This is something I was wondering from reading the threads on abuse.
I know for me personally, my present emotional well-being depends entirely on whether or not I've been abiding in the Lord. When I neglect to spend time with Him, I feel anxious. Even if everything is going fine I have sense of foreboding, as if the other shoe is going to drop, or a sense of apathy and deadness. If things aren't going fine I feel nearly sick to my stomach.
When I do spend time with the Lord on a daily basis, I feel joy even in tough circumstances. When bad things happen, I don't worry because I know things will turn out okay.
That's the way it works for me, but I was curious to know if it works that way for everyone. I guess I don't want to assume that those who are having a rough emotional time just aren't spending enough time with God--after all, some of you ladies have had a much tougher life than I have. I want to know from your heart whether or not these issues are still tough for you when you abide in the Lord.
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Bonky
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RE: Baggage from the past--do daily devotions help you? - 11/19/2008 9:32:50 AM
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jesuschick247
Posts: 2821
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YES! Devotions and spending the morning with my Lord always helps my day get off to a better start! It helps me to take my eyes off me and put them on Him!
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If your going to live for Jesus Christ...Live OUT LOUD!!!
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RE: Baggage from the past--do daily devotions help you? - 11/19/2008 11:27:24 AM
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danas_mom
Posts: 531
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I voted 'sort of' - but it's closer to a 'Yes' than 'No'.
I read my Bible several days a week - usually daily but sometimes I skip a day for whatever reason. Most of the time I am emotionally stable in the moment, but every once in a while something happens that sends me into either a short lived panic attack; or a time of really having to fight with the devil over the lies he's whispering into my ear.
On a purely observational level, it's interesting because the stuff that seems so TRUE and REAL for the moment, once I overcome the struggle I can see how truly absurd it is. And it feels like there's no way I'll ever believe it again (but then I do once the struggle begins again).
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I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing. ~ 2 Samuel 24:24
Spirit of Ashes Creations
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RE: Baggage from the past--do daily devotions help you? - 11/19/2008 3:12:29 PM
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Tinkerbell_
Posts: 8587
Joined: 1/25/2008
From: NeverNeverLand
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Consecrated2God
This is something I was wondering from reading the threads on abuse.
I know for me personally, my present emotional well-being depends entirely on whether or not I've been abiding in the Lord. When I neglect to spend time with Him, I feel anxious. Even if everything is going fine I have sense of foreboding, as if the other shoe is going to drop, or a sense of apathy and deadness. If things aren't going fine I feel nearly sick to my stomach.
When I do spend time with the Lord on a daily basis, I feel joy even in tough circumstances. When bad things happen, I don't worry because I know things will turn out okay.
That's the way it works for me, but I was curious to know if it works that way for everyone. I guess I don't want to assume that those who are having a rough emotional time just aren't spending enough time with God--after all, some of you ladies have had a much tougher life than I have. I want to know from your heart whether or not these issues are still tough for you when you abide in the Lord.
I never thought of it, but you hit the nail exactly on the head. I suppose that's an eye opener to keep on track if just for my emotional stability. *huggles*
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RE: Baggage from the past--do daily devotions help you? - 11/20/2008 3:51:15 AM
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Roberta_
Posts: 7418
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It depends on what you mean by devotions.
If you mean Bible reading and prayer and reflection on my own, yes.
If you mean a devotional book where someone cites a few passages of Scriptures and then regurgitates it for me, no..... for the most part.
About seven years ago I discovered 12-step type of Bibles that had devotions in them. They were great. The people who wrote those devotions had experienced a lot of the same things that I had and it was a comfort to know that I wasn't the only one who still continued to struggle after coming to Christ.
The eight years prior to that I had pretty much given up on devotionals. The ones aimed at women sounded more like something out of a '50s sitcom. "I was so worried that I didn't make enough zucchini bread for the Lady's Luncheon, then the Lord spoke to me....." Most of the devotions aimed at women were like that. I don't know if they still are or not. Maybe that is a genuine struggle for some women. It ain't my reality and it made me feel like there was something wrong with me.
So, LLisa, before I vote, what did you mean by devotions?
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RE: Baggage from the past--do daily devotions help you? - 11/20/2008 8:03:17 AM
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Consecrated2God
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I mean spending time with the Father in the secret place, as our district superintendent always says. I'm not a fan of daily devotional books, either. I've got a whole box of them next to me now that I mean to post on Freecylce--people keep giving them to me as gifts!
I'm surprised and a little disappointed that more people aren't posting. It seems that nearly everyone has suffered some sort of abuse at one point in their lives and that the after-effects are still with them from that. I'd love to talk about how to recover from that.
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Bonky
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RE: Baggage from the past--do daily devotions help you? - 11/20/2008 10:50:43 AM
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christsstar
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Consecrated2God
I mean spending time with the Father in the secret place, as our district superintendent always says. I'm not a fan of daily devotional books, either. I've got a whole box of them next to me now that I mean to post on Freecylce--people keep giving them to me as gifts!
I'm surprised and a little disappointed that more people aren't posting. It seems that nearly everyone has suffered some sort of abuse at one point in their lives and that the after-effects are still with them from that. I'd love to talk about how to recover from that.
I'm not a fan of devotional books in a private setting. I don't think daily books are wise, either. For starters, they are written by MAN, not God. Yes, they are hopefully written by someone who is walking with God and God may be talking to this person, but they are still not the bible. Daily devotions need to come out of the bible. They need to be you and God sitting down and talking. You dont' have a relationship with someone through a 3rd party, do you? Do you sit down with your husband and have his mom there telling you what he's saying? No. You talk to your husband personally. It's the best, most reliable, honest and direct information and conversation. I think daily devotional books are limiting and puts God in a box.
Now ... devotional books can be good in a group setting where you meet once/week to discuss a topic or book of the bible. They, however, are NOT a substitute for your daily walk with God by reading HIS word. And I think they need to be in a group. You need that interaction with other people and the ability to bounce ideas off of each other and discuss, agree, disagree, etc with what the book is saying. (I'm not sure I'm saying exactly what I want to say. I hope I'm making sense.)
At any rate ...
Lisa ... your question does not apply to me. I don't believe I've ever been a victim of abuse. But I do believe that the application of your question applies to me because I do have past baggage and things that I'm dealing with.
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 Christine
Avatar: "Now, why was I moving that lamp?"
Klutz Meets Pregnant Brain
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RE: Baggage from the past--do daily devotions help you? - 11/20/2008 8:07:42 PM
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MrsTracy72
Posts: 2056
Joined: 2/28/2007
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I put sort of because it does help to read my bible and pray sometimes, but there are other times where it seems so dark that no matter what, I am just there.
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RE: Baggage from the past--do daily devotions help you? - 11/20/2008 10:14:23 PM
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Roberta_
Posts: 7418
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From: East Bay Area
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Consecrated2God
I mean spending time with the Father in the secret place, as our district superintendent always says. I'm not a fan of daily devotional books, either. I've got a whole box of them next to me now that I mean to post on Freecylce--people keep giving them to me as gifts!
I'm surprised and a little disappointed that more people aren't posting. It seems that nearly everyone has suffered some sort of abuse at one point in their lives and that the after-effects are still with them from that. I'd love to talk about how to recover from that.
Thank you for defining what you meant.
I had to go with "sort of." Spending time with the Lord and in His Word certainly helps. However, I do still have emotional issues.
I have learned that my emotional issues are not because I'm a bad Christian. They are because sometimes He takes us around the storms and sometimes through the storms.
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RE: Baggage from the past--do daily devotions help you? - 11/21/2008 1:36:28 PM
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KatMack
Posts: 1074
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From: Along the Canopy Roads
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quote:
"I was so worried that I didn't make enough zucchini bread for the Lady's Luncheon, then the Lord spoke to me....."
This had me rolling on the floor laughing. It's sooooo true and sad!
I also voted sort of. The little cheesy devotional books don't help, but being involved in a deep time of Bible study (either free style or using a book like something by Beth Moore or Kay Arthur) really does help. When my study of the Word and prayer life become stale, the "issues" are much harder to handle. But even in the midst of the best study and prayer times, they're never completely gone. I'm hoping I'll get there one day though!
--Kat
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<-- My sweet blessings.
"God will do what God will do. What I'm responsible for is to believe he's all he says he is and obey what he tells me to do. " -magdaleine
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RE: Baggage from the past--do daily devotions help you? - 11/21/2008 3:00:06 PM
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Consecrated2God
Posts: 5146
Joined: 4/4/2005
From: Formerly Jesus Land
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quote:
The little cheesy devotional books don't help, but being involved in a deep time of Bible study (either free style or using a book like something by Beth Moore or Kay Arthur) really does help.
I've found that I have to actually take long enough in my time to actually connect with God. If I just breeze through it, I don't really feel like anything has happened. I've got to spend enough time that I feel like I've made a connection and not just done my duty. Sometimes it's hard if I've got other things on my mind and things I want or need to do. The more faithful I am about spending time with Him daily, the easier it is.
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Bonky
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RE: Baggage from the past--do daily devotions help you? - 11/22/2008 7:11:03 PM
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ofa23
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Doing devotions (they haven't been daily lately) and praying have done wonders for my emotional life. I look at things they way God sees them (other people, myself, society, etc) and what and how I think about things determines my emotional life. The bible is pretty clear on that when it says to think on lovely things. Devotions help me to think on lovely things instead of the negativity we are bombarded with daily from news sources, other people, etc.
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In essentials; Unity (The Nicene Creed)
In Non-Essentials; Liberty (Everything Else)
In all things; Charity
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RE: Baggage from the past--do daily devotions help you? - 11/22/2008 8:26:37 PM
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daughter_of_faith
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I tend to struggle with the holiday season since the abuse occurred. It's just something I have a hard time with and I am not really sure what else to say about it.
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RE: Baggage from the past--do daily devotions help you? - 11/23/2008 7:58:14 AM
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agapetos
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I put other.
I have bipolar and my mood can change pretty quickly, and so my emotional well-being. But how I feel emotionally is very different to the spiritual peace that I have.
As long as I keep in touch with God, I have spiritual peace. That is more important than emotional health. I do struggle very much with keeping in touch with God when emotionally things are bad, but I'm learning to adjust my expectations at these times.
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I could give up chocolate ~ but I'm no quitter!
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RE: Baggage from the past--do daily devotions help you? - 11/24/2008 8:11:18 PM
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Covaan_Meshuga
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Oh, I am one of those people who can get totally excited in the Bible. I just love to study it. So studying it will turn any day into one with five gold stars!
What isn't helping me right now is my decision to write my autobiography for my children and grandchildren, having to go through old diaries, notes, letters, and previous attempts at it, and culling out the stuff that they simply don't need to know. Once I get that done, I'll be in good shape again!! 
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Abiyah
"Ladies and gentlemen, there are things that you will only be able to learn by the weakest among us, and when you snuff them out, you are the one that loses." ~~Gianna Jesson, 1977 LA, CA, saline abortion survivor
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