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Stress: A Spiritual Solution – Part 2

by Julia M. Bruce, MSPC, Mental Health Coach,
CEO, Wellspring Christian Ministries

A Spiritual Solution – God uses our stress to draw us closer to Him

Today, we are going to continue looking at how we can manage stress through a spiritual solution. So, another way that God uses stress, is to draw us closer to Him. When life is great and we are coasting along without any problems, we tend to become independent and self-reliant. A spiritual solution to stress recognizes that stress causes us to call on God, to seek Him, and find Him. Psalms 18:6 says, “In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help.” Over and over in the Old Testament we see where the Israelites would stray away from God and then “when they turned to the Lord God of Israel in their distress and sought Him, He was found by them” (2 Chronicles 15:4, HCSB). Stress causes us to seek God, find Him, and therefore we draw closer to Him.

A Spiritual solution – Stress can be a result of God’s discipline

Stress can also be a way that God disciplines us. Hebrews 12:5-7 says, “And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: My son, do not take the Lord’s discipline lightly or faint when you are reproved by Him, for the Lord disciplines the one He loves and punishes every son He receives. Endure suffering as discipline: God is dealing with you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline?” (HCSB) So we need to examine if the stress we are experiencing is due to stepping out of God’s will or if we have unconfessed sin and could He be disciplining us as a result. We find a spiritual solution to stress, then, by confessing our sin and coming back into the perimeters of God’s will for our lives.

A Spiritual solution – God can use our stress to grow our faith and prepare us for His plans

God can work through the stress in our life as a way to strengthen our faith and prepare us for what He has planned for us in the near future. In 1 Peter 1:7, we learn that trials are brought into our lives “so that the genuineness of your faith – more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire – may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (HCSB) Our faith is like a muscle. The only way a muscle grows is through exercise. As exercises put stress on the muscle, it will grow. Stress is the exercise that helps our faith grow. Therefore, we find a spiritual solution to stress as we take time to pray and ask God how He might be working through the stress to help our faith grow and how He is preparing us for his perfect plan.

A Spiritual Solution – Recognize your strengths and gifts

Another spiritual solution to stress is to recognize the strengths and gifts God equipped you with to see you through this trial. When God called you to the ministry position to which you serve, He equipped you with every gift you needed to see the job through. Isaiah 40:10 says, “See, the Lord God comes with strength, and His power establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His gifts accompany Him.” Rest in His strength. Know that he rules over every difficult situation. Look to see how the strengths and gifts He gave you will help you solve the stressor you are dealing with.

In Romans 11:29, we find that God’s gifts are gracious and the calling he has given us is irrevocable. In 2 Timothy 3:17, we find that the man (or woman) of God is completed and equipped for every good work. It is the strengths and gifts God has given you that was completed and equipped you for the ministry assignment He has given you.

A Spiritual Solution – Rely on God when faced with stress

When we manage stress with a spiritual solution, we recognize that it is in the stressful, difficult moments that we learn to totally rely and depend on God. It is these moments that strengthens our faith. Use this time to deepen your faith and love for God. 1 Peter 1:7 says, “These [trials] have come so that your faith of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

Paul’s Spiritual solution

Paul experienced stress that caused Him to rely on God. In 2 Corinthians 1:8-11, he wrote, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.”

A Spiritual solution relies on God, not self

As we learn to rely and depend on God, we can also remain steadfast and obedient to Him. 2 Corinthians 2:9 states, “The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything.” We can choose to rely on ourselves and walk away from the calling of ministry or we can choose to rely on God and be obedient in everything He has called us to do.

A Spiritual Solution – Chose to respond to stress in a way that honors God

Remember that God created you with the ability to make choices and when stress comes calling, identify the choices you have and make choices that are positive, God-honoring, and healthy. Being able to make those choices begin with making sure we are not conforming ourselves to the world’s expectations, but that we are constantly being transformed by the renewing of mind so that we are able to discern what God says is good and pleasing to Him (Romans 12:2). Choose to honor Him. Colossians 3:17 tell us, “Whatever you do in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” It is very difficult to both stress and give thanks at the same time!

Self-care course and coaching

$399.00 $199.50

Coming December 2021!

Pre-order for a 50% discount. You will get the complete set of downloadable self-care video-based course plus 10 group coaching sessions.

Pre-order now to receive a 50% discount! (Releasing December 2021)

You will get the complete downloadable self-care video-based course plus 10 group coaching sessions.

We know that ministry is hard! When you serve in ministry as staff or volunteer, you are on a spiritual battlefield 24/7. As you serve God, you fight for the Kingdom of God and our adversary is constantly attacking. He wants you to either lose your effectiveness in your ministry role or get you to quit. We must be sure we are reconnecting to the Vine (Jesus) so that we can refill, renew, and recharge. Then we can keep on pouring into others.

If you are feeling like you are losing the fight or struggling to stay in the fight, Jesus says to you, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” (Mark 6:31) Self-care is both Biblical and necessary, if you are going to stay in the fight and be effective in the Kingdom of God. Stress, burnout, and compassion fatigue are real weapons that the adversary uses against us.

Even if you do not serve in ministry, if you are a Christian, you too are in a spiritual battle. Every Christian fights the same adversary and our Biblical self-care principles are for every Christian.

What you get in this self-care course:

In Part 1 of this video-based course, you will learn about the spiritual dangers in ministry, discover if God is testing you or is Satan attacking you, understand that ministry is battlefield and how to be steadfast, immovable on the battlefield, learn how the devil uses his wiles and schemes against us, and remember how to use your Spiritual Armor. We will also breakdown stress, burnout, and compassion fatigue.

Part 2 is all about Preventing and Recovering from Burnout and Compassion Fatigue as we go through six areas that need self-care. In this part of the course we will provide you with practical ways that you can immediately begin practicing self-care. As you continue to serve God in whatever way He has called you, self-care is vital if you are not going to grow weary in doing good so you can reap at the proper time (Galatians 6:9).

Additionally, this packaged deal will provide 10 group coaching session where we will discuss the weekly assigned videos and do check-ins on where you are in each of the six areas of self-care that include: Spiritual, Sensory, Emotional, Social, Physical, and Intellectual.

Releasing in December 2021, this packaged deal will include the complete video-based course plus 10 group coaching sessions with the author, Julia Bruce. In the 10-week program you will complete weekly videos and assignments and then meet virtually for a group coaching session to help you apply self-care where you need it. 

But wait! That’s not all! Check out this Bonus to the self-care course and coaching program.

BONUS: While this course and group coaching is not releasing until December 2021, if you’re purchasing this material, we know you need help now. So, if you purchase before the release date, we’ll place you in our new private Facebook membership page for free through the end of 2021. In January, this group will require a monthly subscription of $19.99. But it will be yours free through the end of year when you purchase the pre-release of the course and group coaching sessions.  

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We’ve added a new canvas print to the Teespring Store. These prints make great gifts or for decor in your home.

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Now you can enhance your Bible Reading with the Verse Mapping Template

Our Verse Mapping download is FREE and includes 6 pages: 3 pages of instructions for using the template and the 2 page template, plus the cover page. If you’re looking to go deeper into God’s Word, learn more about God and develop a stronger spiritual life, Verse Mapping will help you dig into the scriptures. As you apply God’s Word to your life, you will develop a more intimate knowledge and relationship with God.

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What Satan Does Not Want You To know

This trifold document includes Scripture verses that Satan does not want you to know about. As you hide these verses in your heart, you’ll be able to defeat the lies of Satan when he tries his wiles and schemes on you.

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Stress Journal

We all face stress. How we handle stress, however, has many variables. Learning how to recognize stress, coping with stress, and creating a self-care plan during times of stress can begin by journaling. Taken from our series on Biblical self-care for people in ministry, we’ve created this free download to help you through the things that cause you stress.

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2021 Bible Memory Verse Plan

We’ve put together 52 memory verses for you to hide God’s Word in your heart! You can download the full document for free and then print a new verse each week and as many copies as you’d like. Each verse prints four times on a page so that you can then cut them into index size cards and place them in prominent places where you will see them frequently throughout the day to help you remember to memorize them. Just because you visited our site, they’re yours for free! Download today.

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The Path to Sin

Satan is constantly trying to trip us up and he doesn’t even play fair because he uses our own desires as bait to get us to sin. James tells us the five steps that lead us down the path to sin in James 1:14-15, “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” This download helps you identify your desires so that you can better recognize when Satan is baiting you and you can avoid falling into sin. When used along with prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to identify the desires that Satan baits you with, you can then ask the Holy Spirit to help you not become a victim to the bait of your desires. Download the worksheet today.

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One Year Bible Reading Plan

With just 30-40 minutes per day, you can read the entire Bible in one year. The One-Year Bible Reading Plan consists of both Old Testament and New Testament readings for each day of the year. The Bible is God’s personal Word to you. What is He saying to you today? Open your Bible and find out!

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Self-Care Wheel

The Self-Care Wheel provides ideas for practicing self-care in six dimensions of yourself: Spiritual, Physical, Emotional, Intellectual, Sensory, and Social. NOTE: You will need 11X14 paper to print the wheel.

Want to know more about self-care? Our Self-Care blog series targets people who serve in any ministry position (paid staff or volunteer) and takes a Biblical approach to self-care.

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God, Love and Marshmallow Wars by Julia M. Bruce

What’s Inside God, Love and Marshmallow Wars?

God, Love and Marshmallow Wars is a book that includes 365 daily activities and takes you on a guided journey through Biblical principles about Godly marriage that you can then apply to your marriage, as well as helping you talk through concepts that can help you develop a solid relationship. Inside you will find simple, quick activities that include:

  • Scripture to memorize and meditate on.
  • Conversation Starters.
  • Concepts from the Bible on Godly marriages.
  • Romance Builders.
  • Relationship Builders.
  • Personal reflections.
  • Date ideas.
  • Group date ideas for you and other Christian couples.

Available in hardback, paperback and ebook from Westbow Press Bookstore, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. Click the icons below to purchase from your preferred bookstore. Now also available at WalMart online.

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Happy New Year!

Image result for Happy New yearWe all have those moments in life where we wish we could be granted a “re-do.” Re-dos are a positive method of discipline that is beneficial for children who have had traumatic backgrounds. It allows a caregiver/parent to demonstrate a desired behavior and then invite the child to re-do the incorrect behavior. When the child gets it correct the good behavior is praised. Sometimes a child might need several re-dos to practice the behavior with the caregiver/parent modeling, encouraging and helping the child reach the desired behavior. As you look back on 2018, do you see more wishful redos in your life or do you see positive spiritual growth and development? Can you say that you have a deeper, more intimate walk with Jesus now than you did a year ago? Maybe you see regression in your walk with Christ. Maybe 2018 held a job loss, set backs, a medical diagnosis, financial trouble, or loss.

Instead of focusing on the past and what we cannot change, let’s look forward to 2019 and all the possibilities it holds. In Philippians 3:14, Paul writes, “Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead.” God has plans for each of us in 2019. Some will be blessings beyond what we could think or imagine. Others might be trials that He will use to help learn to depend on Him as they cause us to fully rely on Him. But when we realize that God will work all things out for His good (Romans 8:28), we can know that He is faithful and just to complete what He has started in each one of us (Philippians 1:6).

There is no better reminder of God’s faithfulness to work through the tough times for our good and His glory than in the life of Joseph. You’ll find his story beginning in Genesis, chapter 37. At 17 years old, Joseph laid in the bottom of a pit — thrown there by his jealous brothers. Despite his cries for help, the brothers had no guilt or care. They just sat down to eat a meal. Out of 10 brothers only one had any sort of compassion and stopped the others from murdering him. It was his idea to put Joseph in the pit, but he had planned to come back for him later. Only when he was away the other 9 sold him as a slave. From abandonment by his brothers, Joseph’s life only got worse. He went from enslavement to entrapment, to imprisonment. He was sold out and mistreated. People made him promises only to break them. They offered him gifts only to take them away. Despite all that, we never see Joseph giving up or becoming bitter. Instead in whatever situation he was in, he thrived. An Egyptian official promoted him to chief servant. In prison, the prison warden placed Joseph in charge over all the other prisoners. And Pharaoh made Joseph the highest in command just under him. In all of that, God used every single circumstance to work out His divine plan to save many people, including Joseph’s jealous brothers from a wide-spread famine. Joseph’s favored coat of many colors that was torn by his brothers was traded in for a royal robe. The pit they tossed him in would one day become a palace. God, in His omnipotence, worked through every evil that was intended against Joseph to redeem Joseph’s story and He can do the same for you! So despite what 2018 might have held for you, let’s look ahead in eager anticipation for how God is working through our lives to bring about His master plan.

As we journey into 2019 with you, we are adding two new posts to help encourage you and grow in your passionate relationship with God. You cannot know the God Joseph knew if you do not spend time with Him. You cannot know His plans for you or see Him at work in your life if you do not get to know Him. We get to know God through the pages of His Word, the Bible. We want to encourage you read the entire Bible through in 2019, even if you’ve done this before. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart.” Because His Word is alive, every time we read it, we learn something new. As we mature in our walk with God, we learn something deeper. As we apply the truths of the Bible to our lives and live in obedience, we grow spiritually and our relationship with God is strengthened. Each day we will post the passages you need to read for that day to read the Bible through in one year. Each passage will contain a link to BibleGateway’s website with the scripture for that day where you can read it online. However, we encourage you to take the time to read it in your Bible where you can highlight passages where God speaks to you and make notes in the margins of what you learn. If you get behind, you can easily catch up. Just click on the link directly on our home page or go to the menu and click on the One Year Bible Challenge tab to see the daily posts. These posts will appear at 6 am each day and this page of the site will be live on January 1, 2019 with the first 6 am post.

The second post we are adding will be a weekly post. In Psalm 119:11, David wrote, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” We hide God’s word in our heart by memorizing, meditating and applying it to our lives. Every Monday morning we will post a verse that we want to encourage you to memorize and meditate on and ask God how He wants you to apply it to your life. Some may be verses you have already memorized, but take time to refresh them in your heart and mind by meditating on it and see what new way you can apply it to your life right now. We have added a button on our home page to get you to the weekly post easily.

If you have not signed up to receive emails for each new post, do so now so you do not miss the daily Bible reading assignment and the weekly verse to memorize. We’d love to hear how God is speaking to you through these two activities. Be sure to leave us a comment here on our website or on Facebook. You can also connect with Julia on LinkedIn.

Cover_mAs we move into 2019, we hope that you have purchased your copy of Julia’s new book, God, Love, and Marshmallow Wars. This book contains 365 daily activities for couples to do together to help strengthen their marriage and grow their relationship with God. It contains, scripture to memorize together, conversation starters, relationship builders, Biblical concepts about marriage, romance builders, personal reflections, and date ideas. We set up a Facebook page for the book and hope that couples who are using the book will become a community that will help and encourage couples all around the world to develop Godly marriages that honor and glorify Him. On that page, participants can post photos as they do the different activities. We will also make posts that we hope will generate conversations that will encourage and challenge the community. If you don’t have this book yet, you can purchase it directly from Westbow Press here. It is also available from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Lastly, if your church has events planned in 2019 for women or marriage events and you are looking for a speaker, Julia is booking for 2019. Book online here to get your event on the calendar while dates are still open. Simply complete the online form and our team will contact you to discuss your event. We are open to small or large events.

We look forward to growing spiritually with you in 2019. May God bless you and may you always remember that God is constantly and faithfully working through every event (good and bad) in your life to bring about His divine and perfect plan for you.

Happy New Year from Wellspring Christian Ministries.

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Prayer is not a last-ditch emergency strategy

Prayer is not a last-ditch emergency strategy

This book is available for purchase from Christian Book Distributors by clicking the affiliate link below:

The Daniel Prayer Study Guide: Prayer That Moves Heaven and Changes Nations

By Anne Graham Lotz / Zondervan

In The Daniel Prayer, Anne Graham Lotz explores the desperate kind of prayer uttered by the prophet Daniel that storms the gates of heaven and brings results here on earth. Designed to accompany The Daniel Prayer Video Study (SKU: 087168) sold separately, the six-session study guide includes weekly Bible study readings, video teaching notes, discussion questions, activities, and space for writing your own prayers.

Note: A Facilitator’s Guide is included on the DVD.

First Lesson Free! PDF Study Guide

087175: The Daniel Prayer Study Guide with DVD: Prayer That Moves Heaven and Changes Nations The Daniel Prayer Study Guide with DVD: Prayer That Moves Heaven and Changes Nations

By Anne Graham Lotz / Zondervan

In The Daniel Prayer Bible Study, bestselling author Anne Graham Lotz unpacks the ancient prayer of Daniel, a prayer that moved heaven and changed a nation. She explores the desperate kind of prayer that storms the gates of heaven and brings results here on earth. This pack contains one softcover study guide and one DVD with 5 sessions.

First Lesson Free! PDF Study Guide

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