Girl On A Hill

Today we begin our new series- where each week we’ll take a closer look at one of our emotions. Today we dive headfirst into sadness. We push our sadness away - doing our best to stuff it, hide it, and distract ourselves from feeling it- but today we look at the role of sadness in our lives and the importance of working through our sadness instead of pretending it isn’t there. We talk about the things lurking beneath our sadness and attempt to combat the lie that feeling sad is weak and shameful. Everyone gets sad. But there IS a way through and it’s ok to feel this way. We wrap it up today by sharing ways to feel our sadness so we can heal.

This week we look back on our Spring Cleaning of the Heart and Mind Series. I take some time to briefly review each of the 8 topics covered, share some of the commonalities between each of these struggles, and share a few tips universal to the challenge of working towards personal growth. We wrap it up with a few wise words from Paul about refocusing our thoughts to the good and the true.

Today we wrap up our Spring Cleaning of the Heart and Mind series by getting real about the negative habit of taking things personally. We talk about the truth of our self-centeredness and the way our negative self-talk leads us to make hurtful assumptions. We acknowledge the importance of recognizing that like us, everyone else is hurting and healing - and everyone’s pain affects their mindset and behavior. We’re identifying triggers, fact-checking our thoughts, and working to view our offenders through eyes that see with compassion.

We continue our Spring Cleaning of the Heart and Mind series by diving into the destructive habit of future predicting. While we’re not pulling out a crystal ball, many of us escape our present and actively anticipate future worries - most of which will never happen. We’re afraid, desperately want control, and are wildly comfortable with uncertainty. We confront all of this today with some powerful (and yes, slightly painful) truths acknowledging both our lack of control AND the hope and freedom available to us when we’re willing to accept what comes as it comes and trust God’s plans for our future.

We continue our Spring Cleaning of the Heart and Mind series today by getting honest about blame-shifting. Why do we avoid owning up to our mistakes? What makes accepting responsibility so hard? We confront these questions head on as we get honest about our fears and insecurities. We talk about the inevitability of making mistakes and share how owning them allows us to grow. We’re sharing tips, truths, and the freedom that comes when we’re willing to humble ourselves and ask forgiveness for the wrong things we have done.

Why does everything always happen to me? Life isn’t fair! Everything is terrible! We all have these thoughts from time to time, but when we allow them to persist, our pity parties become life-long events that steal our energy, rob us of joy, and keep us focused on our problems. We’re getting real about the dangers of self-pity and talk openly about how our habits of complaint and negativity feed into this destructive habit. We want to be resilient problem solvers, so we wrap it up today with tips, truths, and our need to turn our eyes upward instead of inward if we want to rid ourselves of self-pity for good.

We continue our Spring Cleaning of the Heart and Mind Series by facing avoidance head on. We spend our limited energy avoiding people, situations, and feelings that make us uncomfortable - all the while avoiding necessary growth, change, and the truth that we CAN do hard things. We’re staring down truth, soaking in the tips, and admitting out loud that we must face what we’re running from and that we can do it all with the help of our Savior.

We continue our Spring Cleaning series by taking an honest look at some of the many ways we self-sabotage Some of the behaviors and mindsets that have become second-nature are holding us back - keeping us in negative thought loops and preventing us from not only taking steps towards growth but from walking in obedience. We confront the truth, share tips, and wrap it up with an encouragement to walk in faith - knowing we have been set on a course by a God who loves us.

We continue our Spring Cleaning series by taking an honest look at some of the many ways we self-sabotage Some of the behaviors and mindsets that have become second-nature are holding us back - keeping us in negative thought loops and preventing us from not only taking steps towards growth but from walking in obedience. We confront the truth, share tips, and wrap it up with an encouragement to walk in faith - knowing we have been set on a course by a God who loves us.

We continue our Spring Cleaning of the Heart and Mind 3.0 series by taking an honest look at Codependency. Codependency often begins from a place of good intentions but can quickly develop into lasting and destructive patterns of people-pleasing, living without boundaries, and bearing burdens far beyond your responsibility. Our own issues of fear, avoidance, and a need for approval lead us to codependent behaviors but there is hope. We get to the truth of why codependency is not loving or the answer, and share tips to lead us away from unhealthy attachment and problem-solving to loving others while maintaining boundaries, working towards our own growth, and relying on God to love and care for the people in our lives.