God created us for deep, nourishing friendships.

But do you ever shy away from these relationships?

How do you even have life-giving friendships?

Today, I’d like to share one way to develop how we can be “a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (Proverbs 18:24)

Today is for you if:

Most of us aren’t taught how to be good friends.

Hebrews 10:25 NLT

And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another...

This scripture doesn’t just remind you to go to church. It’s also about encouraging other believers.

Time

Nothing says love like time. We’re not alone in this journey; it allows you the room to have those deeper conversations, shows you care and gives you, well, time to connect.

Ask Questions

Find out what they need. Please don’t assume. Our assumptions aren’t always correct.

Here are some ideas:

And then pray for them at that moment.

Remind

Remind each other of the goodness of God.

Share scriptures.

Share encouraging stories, podcasts, books, etc.

Send a text or call to say, “I was thinking about you.”

Be Sensitive

Romans 12:15 ESV

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

I love how this scripture doesn’t say to help those weeping rejoice.

Sometimes, what people need is time to release the pain.

Crying can be just that. It’s a physical way to let go of the pain.

When I had my second miscarriage, I allowed myself to cry. Others cried with me. Healing came.

If someone had come to me and tried to cheer me up with thoughts like, “your baby is with Jesus now.” It wouldn’t have helped at that moment.

That thought brings me great comfort now. But that’s not what I needed in the morning process.

When we encourage others, we need to be sensitive to the timing. Sometimes, they need a hug and know you’re there for them if they need it.

Sometimes, just a simple text letting them know you’re thinking about them and praying for them can hit the spot.

You don’t have to have all the answers.

A hug or a shoulder to cry on can be powerful healing tools.

If you’re a businesswoman looking for other businesswomen who love God and are like-minded, I want to invite you to check out Woman of Audacious Faith.

We have a free Facebook group where we can ask questions, help others and celebrate each other. We also meet on Zoom on the first Friday of the month for encouragement, connection and growth in our faith and business.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/wafcommunity

Thanks a bunch for listening!

Until Next Time, Live Fearlessly Free.

Do you have a huge to-do list when it comes to your Christianity?

Have you ever struggled to believe God loves you but have no problem believing God loves others?

Do you feel you’ve done too many bad things for God to forgive you?

Or, He can forgive you for this but not for that?

Today is for you if:

John 15:9 says that Jesus loves us with that same love God loves Him with.

If you’re anything like me, you have two main reasons why this is hard to believe.

#1 I need to DO something to be loved.

We live in a performance-based society and bring that over into our relationship with God.

#2 I’m not worthy of being loved.

Our guilt over past mistakes makes us feel like we’re not worthy of being loved.

Wrong Belief #1: I need to do something to earn this love

Right Belief: God’s Love is unearned

We’re not loved because of what we do–We’re loved because of what He did!

Wrong Belief # 2: I’m not worthy of being loved like this

Right Belief: Jesus made us worthy

1 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

We have right standing with God because of what Jesus did, not because of what we did.

How do we turn this “Conditional” love back into Unconditional Love?

#1 Believe

We need to believe what God says in His word is THE TRUTH.

We will “know the truth and the truth will set us free.” John 8:32 NKJV

When those thoughts say that we’re not worthy or haven’t done enough today to be loved, go back to His Word.

Let His truth grow in your heart until you believe it.

#2 Receive

Next, you just need to receive His love. It’s a gift.

Do you pay for a gift? No.

Receive His gift of love and say, “Thank you.”

As we experience God’s love for us through believing and receiving, we shed the guilt and condemnation that we’ve been living with for so long, and we’ll start to walk in this Divine love, both for ourselves and those around us.

Take a moment and answer these questions:

1. What belief do you hold that made God’s love for you conditional?

2. What are you planning to do to change it back to unconditional love?

It can either be one of my top two or something God’s been showing you in your life.

If you’re enjoying this podcast, please do me a favor and rate it and write a review.

It helps us reach more people so they too can Live Fearlessly Free.

Do you like your birthday? 

How does it affect you turning older? 

What are the lessons that you’ve learned? 

Today I’m sharing with you my reflections on turning 48. 

If you’d like to check out a new podcast, Your fearless journey with Becky, Kat and Heather, that I am a part of that I mentioned, go to this link: 

https://anchor.fm/your-fearless-journey 

Do you ever struggle with feeling close to God?

Has the way you see God altered your relationship with Him?

Do you desire a closer relationship with your Heavenly Father?

Today’s episode is for you if:

The lens you view God will determine how you see Him and how close you’ll let Him come in.

What lens do you see God through, like not just the one you say you see Him through, the one you really see Him through?

Here are nine lenses that negatively affect how we see God. See if you’ve adopted one or more of these lenses.

Lens 1: If you see Him as Pious God, you will strive to be perfect

Lens 2: If you see Him as a Stingy God, you will get your worth from doing for others

Lens 3: If you see Him as a Performance God, you will never feel like you’re enough

Lens 4: If you see Him as a Partial God or play favorites, you will feel left out, or something is missing in you.

Lens 5: If you see Him as an Unreasonable God, you will seek to be self-sufficient

Lens 6: If you see Him as an Untrustworthy God, you will live cautiously and doubt God’s ability to keep you safe

Lens 7: If you see Him as a Kill-joy God, you will push against Him

Lens 8: If you see Him as a Punishing or Controlling God, you will struggle to get close to Him

Lens 9: If you see Him as an Angry God, you will hide from Him

A new lens is your path to transform your relationship with your Heavenly Father.

Here are nine new lenses that can counteract our old lenses:

Our Heavenly Father is all these things and more. His love is complete, and His Grace is endless.

Change the lens you view God and change your relationship with Him.

In this episode, I use the Enneagram to break down the lens we view God though and the new lens that will help us transform our relationship with Him.

If you want to discover how the Enneagram can help you grow in your relationship with God, yourself and others, head to https://www.heatherlbunch.com/lifecoaching and fill out the form to have a discovery session with me.

Let’s see if we’re a great fit to work together so you can discover your path to transformation so you can, stop hiding, show up fully yourself and fulfill your God-given purpose.

Thanks a bunch for listening!

Until Next Time, Live Fearlessly Free

Have you ever woken up feeling anxious?

Maybe you were going about your day, and anxiety or worry hit you out of nowhere.

What do you do when you’re anxious? Do you continue stressing? Or do you have a process to let the anxiety go?

Today is for you if you’ve ever felt phantom anxiety. Like you’re anxious, but you can’t pinpoint why or where it’s coming from. Maybe you wake up anxious, or it hits you out of nowhere, driving down the road, watching TV, or having a conversation.

In the last episode, I gave you three simple steps to release anxiety if you missed that episode, head over to episode 49 and then join me back here.

This week I want to give you another technique to release that phantom anxiety that hits you out of nowhere. It also compliments the process you learned in the last episode of exchanging your thoughts.

The other day husband asked me if I was okay. I stopped and noticed I was feeling anxiety in my body. I could feel a heavy sensation in my heart area. So I shared with him that I was feeling anxious, but I wasn’t sure why.

Phantom anxiety.

Even after awakening and examining my thoughts, I wasn’t sure what was bothering me.

Steps to get phantom anxiety to subside:

1. Scan Your Body and Label the Sensation

Where do you feel the anxiety in your body?

Are you using any nervous cues?

Notice the emotion. What’s the underlying feeling?

Notice your thoughts.

2. Acknowledge the feeling or thought.

“It’s okay, I’m just feeling fear, anxious, sad, frustrated…” etc.

3. Breathe through the feeling and release it

Bodily feelings last for 90 seconds. Beyond that, we choose to keep them or not.

4. Pivot to a new thought

These physical steps help you get the phantom anxiety to subside. Use them to let go of any negativity you’re feeling in your body.

Anxiety is fear in disguise. If you want to live a life free of fear, pick up my free resource, Three Habits to Live Fearlessly Free, at https://www.heatherlbunch.com/.

This worksheet will help you overcome the fear holding you back and help you stop the negative thoughts causing you anxiety.

Thanks a Bunch for listening.

Until Next Time, Live Fearlessly Free.

Do you deal with anxiety, worry or uneasiness?

Is your first reaction to the things that come against you fear or faith?

With everything going on in the world, does it continually make you anxious?

Today is for you if:

Philippians 4:6 NIV

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Anxiety in Greek means dividing and fracturing a person’s being into parts. We’re literally and figuratively worrying ourselves to pieces from the inside out.

Anxiety comes when we feel out of control. We can’t control others; however, we can control ourselves.

The mind (our thoughts) is connected to the brain. The brain controls the body.

So we physically feel what we’re thinking!

Because of this, anxiety stems from anxious thoughts. When our thoughts are anxious, we physically feel the stress in our bodies.

If the anxious thoughts are making us feel anxious, how can we stop thinking anxious thoughts?

2 Corinthians 10:5b AMP

…we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ.

Jesus doesn’t bring our thoughts captive–it’s OUR job.

Here are three simple steps that will help you take your thoughts captive.

1. Awaken It

Become aware of what you’re thinking and how those thoughts affect you emotionally and physically.

Try an emotional journal for one week.

For each half-hour segment of your day, track your feelings and why.

Good and bad thought patterns became apparent in no time.

Even tracking your emotions and thoughts for a day will bring more awareness.

2. Examine It

Examine if the thoughts are helping or hurting you.

Use Philippians 4:8 to hold a mirror to your thoughts.

Look at the thought and ask yourself if it is true. Is it pure? Is it noble? Is it a lovely thought? Is there anything excellent or praiseworthy about that thought?

If your answer is yes, then keep the thought.

If your answer is no, then proceed to step 3.

3. Exchange It

We can’t think a negative thought and a positive thought at the same time.

Take the thought captive by exchanging it.

It’s hard to come up with a positive thought when we’re in the throws of negativity or on an emotional rollercoaster. So be ready with a positive thought ahead of time.

List out the most common negative thoughts you experience regularly.

Then, write a corresponding positive thought next to each negative thought you want to exchange.

Our words are powerful, so speak out the positive thoughts too. When you hear yourself speak that positive thought, it gives you an extra mental boost.

Also, don’t forget to give yourself grace when the rough days come.

By following these steps, you will learn to take your thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ, let go of the anxiety, and experience more joy in your life because of it.

If you want to live a life free of fear, pick up my free resource, Three Habits to Live Fearlessly Free, at https://www.heatherlbunch.com/.

This worksheet will help you overcome the fear holding you back and help you stop the negative thoughts causing you anxiety.

Thanks a bunch for listening!

Until Next Time, Live Fearlessly Free

Have you ever thought that because it’s flu season, we naturally have to get it too?

Does something good happen, but you find yourself waiting for the other shoe to drop?

Have you ever felt your marriage looks more like roommates rather than a vibrant, life-giving relationship? But that’s ok because everyone feels like that too.

This episode for you:

How do we change our marriages, relationships, or feelings of hopelessness?

How do we tell Murphy’s Law to take a hike? How do you walk by faith?

In the last episode, we talked about how it’s God’s will for us to be joyful! Unfortunately, this joyful decision has been conditioned out of most people.

A joy-filled life is a walk of faith even when the circumstances stink.

How do you kick Murphy’s law to the curb? How do you walk in faith when it looks like all hell is breaking loose?

1. Believe Him

I know it can be hard to believe past our circumstances to believe for something better and God’s promises.

How can you believe past what you see?

There is so much more beyond our five senses.

Have you ever seen an atom or a quark?

They’re way too small for the naked eye to see.

Faith or believing is the same; it believes beyond what we can see.

Faith or believing is trusting.

When we believe God’s Word is true over our circumstances, we’re trusting what God said is true even if we can’t see it with our naked eye at the moment.

Do you struggle with believing? Trusting is easier the more we know Him and see He is trustworthy, the more we trust.

Know God through His Word, the Bible, and prayer, which is spending time with God throughout the day, not just in a moment.

2. Speak It

Speak the promises of God out of our mouths.

“Who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did.” Romans 4:17

God spoke the world into existence (Genesis 1)

“The righteousness of faith speaks.” Romans 10: 6

Start speaking about what we want to see in our lives instead of what we have or what we don’t want.

Speak what Jesus paid for on the cross. It’s also the way we tell Murphy where he can go.

Believing and Speaking go hand in hand.

They are keys to walking in the joy God has called us to live in, get past our circumstances and kick good ole’ Murphy to the curb.

If you want to live in faith instead of fear, pick up my free resource, Three Habits to Live Fearlessly Free, at https://www.heatherlbunch.com/.

This worksheet will help you overcome the fear holding you back and help you stop the negative conditioning, and begin trusting more.

Until next time, Live Fearlessly Free.

Blog post on The Day I Heard, “I Can’t Find A Heartbeat: https://www.heatherlbunch.com/blog/2017/1/20/the-day-i-heard-i-cant-find-a-heartbeat

Do we wake up grumpy until we get our morning coffee or sit in traffic without a smile on our faces?

Are we going through the motions at work, or are our kids constantly stressing us out?

Your answer to "How are you doing?" is always "Busy."

Are we just busy, busy, busy because that's what you do in this modern age?

Today is for you if…

It seems like one of society's favorite things to do is complain.

When was the last time you heard there would be a 70% chance of sunshine instead of a 30% chance of rain?

Did you know complaining is an activity like listening to the radio or turning on the TV? We can choose to turn on the TV, or we cannot decide to turn on TV. Likewise, we can choose to complain, or we can choose not to complain.

We often find ourselves doing things a certain way because that's what we see the majority doing or saying things a certain way. After all, that's what we see. After a while, we're "conditioned" to this way of life and don't even realize it.

Conditioning can be great if we're conditioned to the right thing. However, we must beware of poor conditioning, conditioning how the average person thinks and feels.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

It is God's will for us to be joyful! Unfortunately, this joyful decision has been conditioned out of most people.

Have we allowed ourselves to be trained by everyone else's behavior?

The joyful decision has been conditioned out of most people!

"Joy is an outward sign of inward faith in the promises of God." Tommy Newberry– The 4:8 Principle

When we choose joy over our current circumstances, we walk in faith and show God we believe what He said. And, we're standing on the promises that Jesus Himself paid for on the cross(See my blog post on The Day I Heard, "I Can't Find A Heartbeat." For an example of walking this out.).

We don't have to live hopeless like a large percentage of the population. We don't have to live by Murphy's Law. We have a Heavenly Father on our side. We have the Holy Spirit who teaches us all things. We have Jesus as our advocate (He's got our back).

So, how do we go about walking out this joy-filled life – this walk of faith in God's promises? How do we change our marriages, relationships, or feelings of hopelessness? How do we tell Murphy's Law to take a hike?

That's a great question! Hang with me until the next episode as we delve into how to live our lives with joy instead of living by Murphy's Law.

Blog post on The Day I Heard, "I Can't Find A Heartbeat: https://www.heatherlbunch.com/blog/2017/1/20/the-day-i-heard-i-cant-find-a-heartbeat

If you want to live a life free of fear, pick up my free resource, Three Habits to Live Fearlessly Free, at https://www.heatherlbunch.com/.

This worksheet will help you overcome the fear holding you back and help you stop the negative conditioning.

Until next time, Live Fearlessly Free.

Is change easy or hard for you?

Do you find yourself doing the same thing over and over even if it’s not working or you’re miserable?

Does it scare you to think about stepping out of your comfort zone?

Do you do it anyway, or keep doing what you’ve been doing?

This episode is for you if you:

How often have I continued to do the same thing, “torturing” myself when there was a new way? Way too many!

Why?

I naturally don’t like change.

High S on DISC - like stability

Enneagram 9 - I don’t like to rock the boat

But, I can't use that as an excuse not to change.

We’ll always have the same results if we do the same thing.

So what do you want?

Do you want what you have?

Do you want something greater?

Do you want to change, but think it takes too long to change?

“Most people think it takes a long time to change. It doesn’t. Change is immediate! Instantaneous! It may take a long time to decide to change, but change happens in a heartbeat!”

-- Andy Andrews

3 Steps to Decide to Change:

Those first two steps help you decide to change. Step three is you changing, and it happens in a moment.

So what do you want?

Do you want what you have?

Do you want something greater?

If you need more help, pick up my free resource, Three Habits to Live Fearlessly Free, at https://www.heatherlbunch.com/.

This worksheet will help you overcome the fear holding you back and help you step out of your comfort zone.

Until next time, Live Fearlessly Free.

Here's the website for 1st Day School Supplies if you want to change the way you do school supplies:

https://1stdayschoolsupplies.com/