Looking Above

Looking Above

By Karen BaughmanReligion & SpiritualityChristianityEducationCoursesReligion
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Looking Above episodes

  • Episode 55 - Anxiety

    Anxiety is the most common mental illness, experienced by over 19% of adult Americans, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America.  Additionally, the National Institute of Mental Health claims that some 31% of us will experience an anxiety disorder in our lifetimes. Brooklyn and Karen sit down and discuss their own struggles with anxiety and why we need to stop looking at anxiety as the enemy and instead embrace its call to turn toward Jesus in our weakness and fear.

    As always, we encourage you to process this episode with a trusted friend or small group. And, if you are struggling with anxiety, we encourage you to talk to a healthcare professional. 

    Questions for discussion:

    1. Growing up, was there any talk of mental health issues in your home? What was the typical attitude toward mental health?
    2. Discuss the differences and similarities between stress and anxiety.
    3. Rebekah says, “Anxiety is a friend.” Can you see anxiety as a friend? Why/why not?
    4. Have you struggled with anxiety?  What tactics have been most successful in helping you manage your anxiety?
    5. Is anyone brave enough to share something that causes them anxiety(or that has caused them anxiety in the past)? Can you work through the five whys together? (Identify the situation “I feel ____ when ____.” Then ask “why” five times to work backward to the root.)
    6. How can anxiety draw us closer to God?
    7. In Exodus 3, when Moses is feeling anxious about facing Pharoah and going before the Israelite leaders, God does not tell him not to fear the situation, God does not assure him of Moses' own abilities.  God reassures Moses that He (God) will go with Him. How can we apply this to our own situations? How can a proper knowledge of God help us face anxiety?
    8. What step will you take this week to know God more so you can trust Him in times of anxiety and stress?
      9. 47 min
    9. Episode 54 - Truth

      After we become aware of our internal monologue and the things we are speaking to ourselves, we need to consider if the messages are true.  In order to do so, we have to have a measuring stick by which to evaluate truth.  As Christ-followers, we use Scripture as our foundation for truth.  Join Brooklyn and Karen as they chat about truth and how we fill our minds with the truth.

      As always, we encourage you to go deeper into this discussion with a friend or small group.  Here are some questions to facilitate that discussion:

      1. Do you accept the Bible as God’s Word and therefore totally true? If not, why not? If so, how did you come to this belief? (John 14:6, John 8:31-32, 2 Timothy 3:14-17)
      2. Give an example of something you have thought (about yourself, life, whatever) that actually isn’t true when you hold it up to Scripture.
      3. Give an example of something that you have felt, that isn’t actually true.
      4. Give an example of something that someone has said, that you maybe believed, but isn’t actually true.
      5. Do you have any verses memorized? How do those verses help you?
      6. How does meditating on Scripture make us more resilient?
      7. Have you ever been able to recognize a lie in your thoughts and replace it with the truth?  Can you share about that experience?
      8. Identify one lie you have been believing.  Work together to find a truth in Scripture that speaks to that lie.  Work on memorizing that verse this week.
        9. 38 min
      9. Episode 53 - Preaching to Yourself

        As we work toward becoming resilient, we need to turn our attention to our thought life. Resilience begins and ends in our minds.  We will grow in resilience as we are able to take our thoughts captive and allow the Holy Spirit to renew our minds. Join Brooklyn and Karen as they discuss some practical ways we begin to learn how to preach to ourselves.

         

        As always, we encourage you to go deeper into this discussion with a friend or small group.  Here are some questions to facilitate that discussion:

         

        1. What are some of the mantras you hear touted by society? (Be true to yourself. You can be anything you want to be. It's all about me. Etc.)
        2. Are you aware of your thoughts, or do they just kinda run without a filter? When you do notice your thoughts, are they mainly positive or negative?
        3. What is a frequent thought you have about yourself? (for example: I can't do this.  I'm not good enough.) Share that thought with the group.  Put it through the filter of Philippians 4:8. Is it true? Is it noble? Is it right? Is it pure? Is it lovely? Is it admirable? Is it excellent? Is it praiseworthy?
        4. What is influencing your thoughts? Who? What podcasts? What shows? What music? Are those influences helping you focus on God and live as a holy and pleasing sacrifice? How do those influences show up in your thoughts?
        5. Read Philippians 4:6-7. Are you a grateful person? How does gratitude counter anxiety?
        6. Read Romans 12:1-2. When we are talking about our thought patterns, what does it look like to conform to the pattern of the world?  What does it look like to be transformed by the renewing of our minds?
        7. How does our thought life affect resilience?
        8. What is one step you will take this week to preach to yourself?
          9. 48 min
        9. Episode 52 - Forgiveness

          Forgiveness is hard to talk about and even hard to put into practice.  Join Brooklyn and Karen as they discuss what forgiveness is, and what it isn’t.  They will break down why our theology of God is crucial to understanding forgiveness, and how unforgiveness can affect us negatively. Our prayers are with those who will listen to this podcast who have been deeply hurt and are struggling to forgive. Please know that we recognize and do not make light of the pain you have experienced.

           

          As always, we encourage you to go deeper into this discussion with a friend or small group.  Here are some questions to facilitate that discussion:

          1. Do you struggle with forgiveness, or are you quick to forgive? Does it depend on who you are needing to forgive?
          2. Why is forgiveness hard? Why do we want to cling to our pain?
          3. After hearing what Karen and Brooklyn shared, what are some misconceptions you have held about forgiveness? (ex. Forgiving means forgetting.)
          4. Have you ever been mad at God? Discuss why God doesn’t need our forgiveness.
          5. Have you ever felt the need to forgive yourself? React to hearing Karen explain that this is not a biblical idea, but instead that we need to “live forgiven” (accept God’s forgiveness).
          6. Why do we need to have a proper understanding of our own sinfulness and need for forgiveness? (Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:13)
          7. Are you able to see that forgiveness is God’s mercy - that God asks us to forgive so that we can live free from past hurts and trauma?
          8. Without naming names, briefly share a situation in which you struggle to forgive.  What is your next step toward forgiving that individual?
            9. 37 min
          9. Episode 51 - Shame and Resilience

            In this episode Brooklyn and Karen unpack shame and how it affects resilience. They talk about how shame leads us to isolation and how to fight and break the chains of shame so we can be stronger and more resilient.

            We encourage you to discuss this episode with a friend or small group! Here are some questions to guide your discussion:

             Do you resonate more with Brooklyn (you are familiar with shame) or Karen (shame isn’t really a struggle for you)?

            1. How do you experience shame?  What does shame feel like to you?
            2. Can you look back to childhood and see how rejection grew a shame response in you?
            3. What is the link between shame and resilience?
            4. Why do we isolate in our shame? (Genesis 2:25, Genesis 3:7-10)
            5. Read James 5:16.  Confession and vulnerability are essential to combatting shame. What about confession scares you? What about this process gives you hope?
            6. Do you have people with whom you can share your shame and struggles? How might you go about finding those people? Or, how did you find them?
            7. Have you noticed that when you have “people” you are better able to withstand the turbulence of life? Talk about a time when having people helped you be more resilient.
              8. 40 min
            8. Looking Above Episode 50 - Loss and Adversity

              It’s a new season of Looking Above and we’re talking about resilience. Brooklyn and Karen introduce the new season in this episode and talk about some of their own experiences with loss and adversity.  We will all face difficulties in life, but hopefully, as we go through the storms, we cling to Jesus and become more like Him.

               

              If you’re discussing with a group, here are some questions to guide your discussion:

               

              1. How would you define “resilience”
              2. Do you think most people your age are resilient? Why/why not?
              3. How has our society made us less resilient?
              4. How is resilience different than persistence?
              5. Why do we want an easy life when we know that adversity is what grows us up and makes us stronger?
              6. How do you feel about John 16:33? Does it give you comfort or concern?
              7. How have you faced/dealt with adversity in your life?  Who do you turn to? What emotions do you feel? 
              8. Have you watched someone else go through adversity and cling to Jesus? What did you notice about them during that season? What can you learn from them?
              9. What current situation are you facing in which you need to be more resilient? How can we pray for you?
                10. 37 min
              10. Looking Above Episode 49 - Restlessness

                We have made it to the final episode of the season on rest. In this episode, Karen and Brooklyn discuss restlessness and why we struggle to find our rest in God.  As St. Augustine said, "Our hearts are restless until they rest in You." The world contributes to our restlessness and spews empty promises of rest. But true rest is found in God and in living according to His ways. After listening, it would be highly valuable to sit down and talk with a friend or small group about these questions:

                 

                1. What does restlessness look like for you? 
                2. How do you most often behave when you're restless? - do you go(take a vacation, move, get a new job, change something), do (serve, volunteer, help someone, take a class, add activities) or buy(a new house, a new car, a new outift, food, acquire something)?
                3. What lies do you believe about rest that keep you from resting? (Things will fall apart.  You need to help others.  You need to be worried. Everything depends on your work. Rest is lazy. Prove your worth. It won't be good unless you do it. Etc.)
                4. Read Isaiah 28:12 and Jeremiah 6:16.  God offers rest, but we are reluctant to obey.  Why are we more likely to do what the world suggests than to do things God's way?
                5. Has your restlessness ever led you back to God? How so?
                6. "Jesus is inviting us to rest.  But please understand what this rest is that He offers.  It is not rest from life - but rest in life." - Warren Wiersbe 

                  7. So many of the world's options are to rest from life (an escape), but God offers rest in the midst of life. Why is that the better option?

                  1. Discuss the story of Jesus and the disciples in the midst of the storm.  How did their responses differ?  Who are you more like - the restless disciples, or the resting Jesus?
                  2. Read Psalm 91:1 How do we live in the shelter of the Most High and develop the habit of resting in God? How do we train ourselves to turn to God and maintain a peace amidst a storm?  What part does prayer play?
                  3. Are you an agent of rest or an agent of restlessness? Do you help others find rest? Or are you more prone to working for the enemy? Why is this? 
                  4.  What can you do this week to be an agent of rest?  How can you help someone else find rest in God amidst their storm?
                    5. 31 min
                  5. Looking Above Episode 48 - Sensory Rest

                    This season we're talking about rest. In this episode, Karen and Brooklyn discuss sensory rest.  Sensory rest involves allowing our senses to take a break from the constant stimulation that assaults your nervous system. I. After listening, it would be highly valuable to sit down and talk with a friend or small group about these questions:

                     

                    1. Do you think you have a naturally high or low tolerance to sensory stimulation?  Which of your senses is most likely to be overstimulated?
                    2. In what season of your life have you felt the most sensory overload? 
                    3. Do you put on "comfy clothes" when you get home?  What other examples can you think of of ways you may try to rest your senses without even being aware that it is what you're doing?
                    4. Respond to this quote: “We accept the health benefits of avoiding junk food, but we rarely consider the effects of the junky cluttered sensory impressions we receive from our choices of entertainment of living environment.” (Sacred Rest, Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, p 89) What type of "junk food" have you been allowing to bombard your senses?
                    5. What evidence of sensory exhaustion can you see in your life right now? Think through each of your senses. Which senses are most in need of a rest?
                    6. How does sensory exhaustion affect you mentally? Physically? Relationally?
                    7. God gave us our senses so that we could interact with and receive information from the world around us.  In what ways could we better care for our senses, so they are best able to serve us?
                    8. How might constant sensory stimulation lead to a spiritual dullness?
                    9. Read Isaiah 30:15.  Reflect on this phrase, "In quietness and confidence is your strength." How does quietness produce spiritual strength?  How might depriving our senses lead to greater strength?
                    10. Is it possible that we are intentionally (or unintentionally) crowding God out of our lives, by filling our environments with so much noise and sensory stimulation that we are no longer able to see and hear Him? What steps are you willing to take to lessen your sensory input?
                      11. 36 min
                    11. Looking Above Episode 47 - Creative Rest

                      This season we're talking about rest. In this episode,  Karen and Brooklyn discuss creative rest.  Creative rest is not doing arts and crafts, it actually involves appreciating God's handiwork. If the weather is nice, you should sit outside or take a walk while you listen to this episode. After listening, it would be highly valuable to sit down and talk with a friend or small group about these questions:

                       

                      1. Are you more of a mountains or ocean person?
                      2. Think about the most beautiful or breathtaking thing you've ever seen in creation.  Describe it to the group.  What were your emotions when you first saw that thing/place?
                      3. Do you think you have lost appreciation for the simple beauty of creation as you have gotten older?  What is still able to captivate you?
                      4. What about your life is the most creatively draining? (When do you have to think outside the box, trouble shoot, or be creative?)
                      5. Respond to the idea that wasted time is not a waste.
                      6. Do you ever feel like the darkness and sin in the world are overwhelming?  How do you cope with that?
                      7. Read Psalm 19:1-4. How does creation point you to God?
                      8. Respond to this quote from Sacred Rest, "His presence is how He connects us to His rest.  It is part invitation and part prescription." (Dalton-Smith, 99)
                      9. Do one of these options this week: a. Set aside an extended time for creative rest.  Make a plan and do it;  b. Practice the flow-break rhythm.  Set a timer and take a break every ninety minutes to two hours.
                        10. 59 min
                      10. Looking Above Episode 46 - Emotional Rest

                        This season we're talking about rest. In this episode,  Karen and Lindsey sit down to discuss emotional rest.  They discuss the dangers of hiding and inauthenticity and the necessity for authentic expression of emotions.  Learn how empathy can both be a blessing and a curse when it somes to emotional rest. It would be highly valuable to sit down and talk with a friend or small group about these questions:

                         

                        1. Have you ever thought about how social media affects your emotions? Consider it now.  What do you think the effect is?
                        2. Discuss empathy.  Are you someone who is highly empathetic? How do the emotions of others affect you? Are you able to recognize when you are absorbing someone else's emotions and making them your own?
                        3. Respond to this quote: "Research show that introverts are more likely to be affected by others' positive emotions whereas extroverts tend to be more affected by others' negative emotional expressions.  Women tend to be vulnerable to absorbing the stress and negativity of those around them." (p.62-63 Sacred Rest by Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, MD)
                        4. Can you give an example of a time you entered into the emotions of a friend or loved one (either positive or negative emotions) similar to Karen and the older gentleman? How is this Scriptural? What was the outcome for you?  What was the outcome for them? 
                        5. Do you have a group of friends with whom you can be emotionally authentic? What does this look like?
                        6. Do you regularly feel like you are managing your emotions?  Where do we cross the line from managing our emotions (so we have appropriate responses in different situations) to hiding and being inauthentic with our emotions? Relate your own hiding to how Adam and Eve hid.
                        7. Read Exodus 14:14.  Discuss the gift of cessation.  How does ceasing bless us in relation to our emotions?
                        8. Read Matthew 11:28-30 and Philippians 4:6-7. Discuss the gift of exchange.  What is God promising in these verses? Why do we not take Him up on this offer more regularly?
                        9. Try journaling this week.  Spend a few minutes at the end of each day and be authentic with God as you share your emotions with him.  Ask Him to exchange your negative emotions for rest and peace.
                          10. 40 min

                        About Looking Above

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                        It’s easy to get bogged down in details of every day life. If we arent intentional, our eyes can easily be pulled away from the Lord and we can set our gaze on things of earth.