Tuesday, April 26, 2022

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - AWARENESS - Sadell Bradley - 4/27/2022


WEDNESDAY'S WORD
AWARENESS
4/27/2022
"The first step toward change is awareness. The second is acceptance." - Nathanial Branden - Psychologist.

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IN YOUR FEELINGS: DISTRUST

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"Awareness is the first step of healing."- Dean Ornish- Educator I believe that statement is true. AWARENESS is knowledge or perception of a situation or fact. Dr. Phil McGraw offers one caveat, "Awareness without action is worthless." I can be aware that smoking is detrimental to my health. I can understand that if I engage in smoking there is a possibility that the effect on my life will be negative: cancer, emphysema (loss of breath in the lungs), etc. If I don't do something about what I am aware of...what's the point?

Self-awareness is a gift that keeps on giving. When you can tell where you are—even if you're in a bad place, it is a blessing. Why? Because you can do something about it. The opposite of aware is ignorant (lacking knowledge) or oblivious (not concerned by what is happening around or within you.)

I am a pastor, but I am also a person. I have a limited supply of time and energy. I get tired. I have feelings and thoughts that are not always pleasant and praising. I do not hold the answers to all of life's questions. Sometimes I struggle. I get weary. I don't want to engage people. Sometimes I get angry, oh my! Upon self-reflection...7 deaths in our family over 3 years, the pandemic, going back to school, and the pressures of leading, had taken a toll on me. Awareness is half the battle...but awareness without action is worthless even for pastors. A 2021 Barna study said 38% of pastors had contemplated quitting during the pandemic. Only 1 in 3 was considered healthy, scoring excellent or good in the following categories: relational, spiritual, physical, emotional, vocational, and financial well being. I've been a pastor for 25 years, which is a lot longer than most. I know when I need to set down! So this is not an attention seeking pity post, I'm already taking my necessary recovery steps. This is an invitation for you to invest in self-awareness.

Paul exhorted the church at Corinth toward spiritual self-awareness. He told them to appraise themselves to see if their faith was genuine, "Test and evaluate yourselves to see whether you are in the faith and living your lives as [committed] believers. Examine yourselves [not me]! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves [by an ongoing experience] that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test and are rejected as counterfeit?" (2 Cor.13:5 AMP) Awareness and acceptance are pathways to growth and healing.

Tuesday, April 19, 2022

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - SENSITIVE - Sadell Bradley - 04/20/2022

 

WEDNESDAY'S WORD
SENSITIVE
4/20/2022
"We cannot be more sensitive to pleasure without being more sensitive to pain." - Allan Watts - English Philosopher

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IN YOUR FEELINGS: ANXIETY & FEAR

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The word sensitive can be loaded. It's rarely used with a positive connotation, and is almost always is preceded by the words, "You're being too..., or Stop being so..." SENSITIVE means—quick to detect or respond to slight changes, signals, or influences. It can mean easily damaged, injured, offended, upset, or distressed by slight changes. Alternatively, it can mean having or displaying a quick and delicate appreciation of others' feelings. Would you call yourself a sensitive person? Are others in your life sensitive people? How do you navigate those relationships?

Did you know that certain individuals are Highly Sensitive Persons? I didn't. A Highly Sensitive Person is not the same as a shy or an introverted person. According to therapist Suzanne Marie of Creekside Therapy Center on HSP's, "It is estimated that 15-20% of the population have sensory processing sensitivity, which is a personality trait, not a disorder or diagnosis. Essentially, some individuals have a central nervous system that is more sensitive to stimuli, whether physical, emotional, or social, and is processed more deeply." Therapist Preston Ni says that HSP's can have sensitivity about themselves, others, or their environment. This sensitivity, particularly to others and to situations and environments can be very beneficial to a loving community,

In Scripture, one word used to describe the positive side of sensitivity is the word tenderhearted. Ephesians 4:32 tells us to, "be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you." The Greek word, eusplagchnos refers to emotions that are akin to our visceral organs (inner bowels) as they exercise gut-level sympathy, empathy, and compassion. 1 Peter 3:8 echoes that, "...all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude." HSP's already have a propensity for this kind of sensitivity, that others may have to intentionally adopt and express this depth of understanding and affinity. God wants all of us to display quick and delicate appreciation for the feelings of others. In this harsh world, finding sensitive, tenderhearted people is a blessing.

Tuesday, April 12, 2022

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - REPRESSED - Sadell Bradley- 04/13/2022

 

WEDNESDAY'S WORD
REPRESSED
4/13/2022
"The onset of mania occurs when repression is no longer able to resist the assaults of the repressed instincts." - Karl Abraham - German Psychologist

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IN YOUR FEELINGS: 
 MAN DROWNING

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Today we were stunned by the news that an unknown man got on a subway train in New York and opened gunfire after releasing gases on a crowd of commuters. Ten people were shot, several others injured, and many more may develop anxiety around their next train ride. I am from Philadelphia, a city that relies heavily on public transit. I've ridden my fair share of subways, trolleys, and buses. Riding mass transit holds a level of vulnerability. I wondered why this man would do such a thing. In the past few weeks we've seen what happens when men, (whether rich and famous, politically powerful, or just regular guys...) have feelings, issues, or trauma that is repressed. REPRESSED means subdued by force; to restrain, prevent, or inhibit the expression or development of something; or to suppress (a thought, feeling or desire) in oneself so that it becomes or remains unconscious. That is...until it surfaces...and not just in men.

Psychologists call repression a defense mechanism in which people push difficult or unacceptable thoughts out of their conscious awareness. Sigmund Freud believed that people repress traumatic memories that are too difficult for them to confront, like this photo from the New Yorker. They show resistance by changing the subject, blanking out, falling asleep, arriving late, or missing appointments. Freud thought the inability to process and come to terms with repressed material could lead to psychological problems such as poor concentration, irritability, anxiety, insomnia, nightmares, and depression...and that maladaptive and destructive patterns of behavior such as anger and aggression could emerge due to reminders of repressed material. (Psychology Today)

Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane (which means oil press), when facing the Cross said, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death." (Mark 14:34) "Jesus wept" at the death of His friend Lazarus. (John 11:35) He showed righteous anger toward the money changers in the Temple (Mark 11:15). He acted out of compassion for the helpless and harassed multitudes who were like sheep without a shepherd (Matt.9:36). He loved us with the greatest love by laying down His life. (John 15:13). Jesus understood His feelings were part of His human and Divine natures. His emotions, responses, and history were all in some way connected to His calling. He did not divorce Himself from who He was nor from what He had experienced. Jesus learned to manage His feelings and memories, and displayed obedience to the Father even through suffering. (Heb. 5:7-9) How about you?
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Tuesday, April 5, 2022

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - SIMPLIFY - Sadell Bradley - 04/06/2022

WEDNESDAY'S WORD
SIMPLIFY
4/6/2022
"The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak." - Hans Hofmann- German Artist

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"IN YOUR FEELINGS"

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Henry David Thoreau once said, "Our life is frittered away by detail...simplify, simplify." On many occasions while prayer journaling, the Holy Spirit has said I need to simplify. Does your life ever feel as complex as this math problem? Mine does. To SIMPLIFY means to make something easier to understand or do; to emphasize and speak what is fundamental and straightforward; to make things plain, basic, or uncomplicated without much decoration or ornamentation; to be more humble and unpretentious; to be composed of a single element—not compounded, divided, or branched. David said, "One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple." (Ps. 27:4)

Danish theologian Soren Kierkegaard echoed, "Purity of Heart is to Will One Thing." For twelve years I attended a Quaker School. One of their beloved hymns was, "'Tis a gift to be simple. 'Tis a gift to be free. 'Tis a gift to come down where we ought to be, And when we find ourselves in the place just right, twill be in the valley of love and delight." Simplicity is a gift that brings joy. Quaker Theologian Richard Foster called simplicity a spiritual discipline stating that, "Simplicity is freedom; duplicity is bondage." Minimalists emphasize ways in which de-cluttering our homes, schedules, minds, and bank accounts can bring us into more and more freedom. How might you need to simplify?

King Solomon wrote, "This is all that I have learned: God made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated." (Ecc. 7:9, GNT) The Apostle Paul warned that false teachers can cause us to over-complicate even our relationship with Christ. As a spiritual father he said, 2For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 3But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ".(2 Cor. 11:2-3) Simplicity here is the difference between a plain sheet of cloth versus one with many folds or wrinkles. God invites us to iron out/simplify the complex to bring us to a place of peace and calm.
MEN'S RETREAT SATURDAY!!
ARISE from the CAVE
April 9th at
the Great Wolf Lodge
Speakers
Host Pastor Sherman Bradley
Pastor Jackie Jackson
Pastor Freddie Piphus
Pastor Dave Workman
$22 Breakfast and lunch included.

 

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - IMMANUEL - Sadell Bradley - 12/25/2024

  WEDNESDAY'S WORD IMMANUEL 12/25/2024 "By the light of nature we see God as a God above us, by the light of the law we see Him as ...