What you need to know ...
Part 1 - HEART OF OUR BELIEFS ... God is Love!
These Beliefs are based on Scripture, but based also on the experiences of those who have worked on Comfort.Guide and their real life experiences of receiving comfort. We began to ask the very same questions you'll find in Comfort.Guide. One of our writers shared the following.....
In my own life, as a child I experienced the impact of illness and abuse. I did not feel safe in my world. I came to believe that I was a disappointment, rather than that I sometimes showed behavior that was disappointing. I was lonely from wondering what was wrong with me, rather than realizing that perhaps something wrong was going on around me. I looked strong on the outside but broken within. I was taught about God, but continued to fail at "keeping His rules".
I came to realize later in life that, even before I began to talk with God, He was pursuing me to hear of His love, tenderness and comfort. I had asked some of the same questions you will see below, and He spoke truth to my heart and began to heal my losses with His love.
The following Beliefs flow from this journey and the journeys of others. It is out of these journeys that Comfort.Guide is being shared with you. Let these pages introduce you to a God you may have never met, and let Him create in you "beauty out of ashes".
1) The source of our comfort is our Father in heaven, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior as well as our brother and friend, and the Holy Spirit living in us.
The description of Jesus in the Scriptures is "Emmanuel", which means "God with us".
Think about that. "God with us". Not that God is absent, or God is far away, or God doesn't know us, or God doesn't like us very much. But "God is with us"!!!
Before He died, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to us, to help us receive truth, comfort and strength. The Holy Spirit is a free gift to anyone and everyone who simply asks! You can do that, today, as you read Comfort.Guide!
Note that many Bible translations use the word "Comforter" instead of "Advocate".
Part 2 - HEART OF OUR BELIEFS ... God designed us for Love. Integrating Scripture and Science.
As we continue, we will be talking about core human needs. These core human needs are discussed in Eric Erickson's research study on child's psycho-social development through the various stages of life. Core human needs include: a sense of Safety, the need to be Seen and Known, a sense of Worth and Value, a sense of Belonging and a sense to be Effective and have intrinsic Value. The world cannot fill these needs; they can be filled only through the real source of comfort! As these needs are filled we receive a sense of well-being and wholeness.
The "Power Point" presentation below is based on a previous presentation. Core human needs will be mentioned throughout Comfort.Guide, but especially in a four-part series beginning in "Week 2" called "Wonderfully Made", which focuses on the integration of Scripture and Science.
Part 1 - HEART OF OUR BELIEFS ... God is Love!
These Beliefs are based on Scripture, but based also on the experiences of those who have worked on Comfort.Guide and their real life experiences of receiving comfort. We began to ask the very same questions you'll find in Comfort.Guide. One of our writers shared the following.....
In my own life, as a child I experienced the impact of illness and abuse. I did not feel safe in my world. I came to believe that I was a disappointment, rather than that I sometimes showed behavior that was disappointing. I was lonely from wondering what was wrong with me, rather than realizing that perhaps something wrong was going on around me. I looked strong on the outside but broken within. I was taught about God, but continued to fail at "keeping His rules".
I came to realize later in life that, even before I began to talk with God, He was pursuing me to hear of His love, tenderness and comfort. I had asked some of the same questions you will see below, and He spoke truth to my heart and began to heal my losses with His love.
The following Beliefs flow from this journey and the journeys of others. It is out of these journeys that Comfort.Guide is being shared with you. Let these pages introduce you to a God you may have never met, and let Him create in you "beauty out of ashes".
1) The source of our comfort is our Father in heaven, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior as well as our brother and friend, and the Holy Spirit living in us.
The description of Jesus in the Scriptures is "Emmanuel", which means "God with us".
Think about that. "God with us". Not that God is absent, or God is far away, or God doesn't know us, or God doesn't like us very much. But "God is with us"!!!
Before He died, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to us, to help us receive truth, comfort and strength. The Holy Spirit is a free gift to anyone and everyone who simply asks! You can do that, today, as you read Comfort.Guide!
Note that many Bible translations use the word "Comforter" instead of "Advocate".
Part 2 - HEART OF OUR BELIEFS ... God designed us for Love. Integrating Scripture and Science.
As we continue, we will be talking about core human needs. These core human needs are discussed in Eric Erickson's research study on child's psycho-social development through the various stages of life. Core human needs include: a sense of Safety, the need to be Seen and Known, a sense of Worth and Value, a sense of Belonging and a sense to be Effective and have intrinsic Value. The world cannot fill these needs; they can be filled only through the real source of comfort! As these needs are filled we receive a sense of well-being and wholeness.
The "Power Point" presentation below is based on a previous presentation. Core human needs will be mentioned throughout Comfort.Guide, but especially in a four-part series beginning in "Week 2" called "Wonderfully Made", which focuses on the integration of Scripture and Science.
However, too often we begin to experience negative thoughts and feelings. Here are some we experience living in this world...
Part 3 - HEART OF OUR BELIEFS ... God designed us for Healing.
Here's some great news! Jesus is not far off, and He indeed had some of our very same experiences! He was both God and human!
Think of your life, and think of His, to see the similarities.
He saves us from a life of DIS-ease to a life full of comfort and peace because He lived with us, and is living today with us!
Here's some great news! Jesus is not far off, and He indeed had some of our very same experiences! He was both God and human!
Think of your life, and think of His, to see the similarities.
He saves us from a life of DIS-ease to a life full of comfort and peace because He lived with us, and is living today with us!
Here is Comfort.Guide in a nutshell!
We can now access health, comfort and blessings directly from God, through a new direct, personal relationship with Jesus, the same Jesus who called us "friends" the night before He died!
Here's some great news! The main worship location in the time of Jesus was the Temple in Jerusalem. Not everyone was allowed into "The Place of God". Only the High Priest was permitted to go there, and he could only go there once a year. But when Jesus died, He made it possible for us to go directly into the Place of God and speak with Him personally and on a daily basis!
Here's some great news! The main worship location in the time of Jesus was the Temple in Jerusalem. Not everyone was allowed into "The Place of God". Only the High Priest was permitted to go there, and he could only go there once a year. But when Jesus died, He made it possible for us to go directly into the Place of God and speak with Him personally and on a daily basis!
Part 4 - Telling My Story, and then letting Jesus Re-Write it!
The earlier weeks will help you to become aware of the difference between Crying out to Him as a person, as opposed to simply crying out in pain. We will be asking the questions: Who is God and what is His heart and mind for me? As we read Scripture, we will begin to understand that Jesus Christ is indeed safe to talk to! If I “lean not to my own understanding” of God, myself, and others in my life, what would He show me?
In addition, we will also look at how our negative past experiences and messages may have fashioned a negative belief system. Such a belief system will control a person’s responses to life in general, including a perception of themselves, others and God. This is where the truth of Jesus’ words, “In this world, you will have trouble, but cheer up, I have overcome the world”, becomes up-close and personal. This is where you begin to be aware of your own life story and Cry out to Him, because He understands your pain. He is Emmanuel, “God with us”.
The focus will invite you to tell your story to a person, the Person of Jesus Himself. Choosing to tell your story by crying out to a Person begins to anchor you in a safe place to receive comfort in the present, from a Person who loves you. Simply crying out doesn’t reduce the pain; in fact, you may relive it. Telling a Person (Jesus), however, allows for lasting repair and renewal. A reminder, Comfort.Guide will be a tremendous step in your healing; remember, however, that it is not meant to serve as a substitute for professional counseling.
Repair and Renewal will be accomplished by the development of your own step by step life story, in the form of a sequential narrative, allowing you to process the negative experiences and losses. This will be based on an understanding of how the brain is able to be transformed and receive comfort. The sequential narrative proceeds through a process that identifies the negative feelings, thoughts and beliefs stored in the emotional brain that are associated with the negative experiences and loss.
As you become more aware of your story and bring the feelings, thoughts and resulting beliefs to intentional awareness, the brain’s capacity to change and repair negative thoughts and their correlating feelings, beliefs and reactions is activated. Through that awareness your mind begins to be able to reflect upon and processes the negative feelings, thoughts and beliefs with aid of the rational and decision-making abilities of the left brain. As this process proceeds the Lord can inspire and help you see these events in new ways and through His eyes rather than through your own eyes or the eyes of others.
The journey of renewal and transformation of your mind in the beginning of Comfort.Guide will flow through the following stages of awareness:
Telling My Story:
I felt (having language to express thoughts and emotions)
I lost (growing in awareness as to the loss of core needs in the past as well as the present)
I came to believe (identifying heart belief, rather than what you think you believe)
I acted (identifying the behaviors you developed as coping mechanisms to be comforted and avoid pain)
As we go through Comfort.Guide, you will begin to receive comfort through the renewal of your mind and heart. We seek His perspective about ourselves, others and who He really is. We invite the living Jesus into our living thoughts, memories and internal beliefs. We allow Him to “Rewrite My Story”. You will see this in the later Weeks of Comfort.Guide.
The journey of rewriting our story will involve an anchoring in the perspective of the “truth that sets us free”. This Truth will help us rewrite our story in a brand-new sequence:
Telling my story: I came to believe the following truths about God, about myself, about others, and about His love during my painful circumstances.
As a result, I have gained, rather than lost, the following core needs and beliefs as I have processed these circumstances.
I now have been set free to feel.
Finally, I now have been set free to live and act in freedom rather than pain.
THERE IS A WORKSHEET IN ONE OF THE LATER WEEKS WHICH WILL SHOW HOW THE HOLY SPIRIT SHOWS YOU YOUR MEMORIES BUT NOW WITH JESUS HIMSELF IN THOSE MEMORIES, INVITED INTO THOSE MEMORIES TO EXPLAIN THEM AND TO HEAL THEM. HERE IS A BRIEF SYNOPSIS/PREVIEW.....
This is an exciting and important worksheet. You are invited to allow the LIVING Jesus to be with you, to comfort you to and bring truth to you in all the wounding experiences of your life, experiences that, in fact, are still LIVING within your mind, emotions and body!
In addition, as the Holy Spirit comes and lives within us at our deepest core, we have the incredible gift of being transformed in our thoughts and emotions by receiving the thoughts and heart-perspective of Jesus Himself.
Healing occurs from the INSIDE-OUT! This type of on-going healing flows as a cleansing and life-giving river to our OUTSIDE, where our thoughts, images and reactive emotions exist.
It is important to understand that rather than having harmful memories and emotions at our core, and God trying to dig into them, the opposite is now true. God is at our core and flows outward to our memories and the deep beliefs and emotions associated with them. This is the deepest healing imaginable!
As we invite Jesus to meet us in our memories, we experience the gradual change from general distress to experiencing His calming presence with us. He is not bound by “time” as we know it, and therefore is not only with us NOW, but also can be present in any and all our memories! He tells us TODAY about the impact of that memory on you, both then and now, and He tells us WHY it happened as well! Many people “see” a memory, but in their mind’s eye now with Jesus Himself with them, explaining, comforting, reassuring, encouraging, and now re-writing!
Also, it is common that emotions of deep shame may be activated and experienced as a reaction in processing painful memories. Why? Because the powerlessness experienced in trauma can be seen as “weakness” in the heart of the victim. Also, the person, especially a child, may come to believe that the event happened because there was something wrong within them, rather than something wrong happening to them.
It is important that you begin this work from a position of SAFETY. It is important that you intentionally focus on the fact that you are “VIEWING” this memory and NOT “RELIVING” THIS MEMORY!
It is also important that you “view” this memory with compassion and empathy for YOU in the midst of that situation. And to be sure, prayerfully and intentionally inviting Jesus TO BE WITH YOU is your SAFEST PLACE TO BE! Allow yourself to envision His presence in your heart’s eye.
As you choose to agree with this NEW view of this event through the eyes of Jesus, it will calm you; this memory will become “stored” in your memory “archives” in a completely new way! This memory will be on its way from the emotional brain to long term memory. You will be able to tell your story but not be over-reactive and/or devastated. You have received comfort.
Part 5 - Telling My Story, and then letting Jesus Re-Write it!
The "HOW TO" OF TRANSFORMATION.
Our goal is to help you transfer "head knowledge to "heart beliefs". In order to make this transfer, we are following a Scriptural admonition: "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength." (Isaiah 30:15)
Here's what this means. Regardless of what is happening to you in your day, as you begin to study Comfort.Guide return to a place of quiet and get prepared to talk with Jesus Himself.
"PAUSE, REFLECT, RECEIVE"
“PAUSE” … Here are some concrete suggestions about being quiet in His presence. Being quiet and being in His presence will help you focus in on His voice, rather than your own voice or voices of others. Here are simple ways to calm yourself and prepare for blessings and healing:
1) Crying out to Jesus as a person is a wise first response. Turn your eyes, heart and mind to Jesus and invite Him to sit next to you. Ask Him to calm you and help you focus on Him. Praising and thanking are effective to help you become aware of what blessings He has for you today! You might even have a song or Scripture come to mind. These will help you make the choice to be open and to listen!!!
2) At this point we can also care for and calm ourselves by voluntarily slowing our breathing pattern. Many times a simple change to our breathing pattern (inhale through your nose for 4 counts, hold it for 2 counts, and exhale for 5 counts) will help tremendously. More about this can be found in the Tool Kit tab.
"REFLECT" ...
Begin to ask yourself questions such as:
“What am I thinking?”
"What am I feeling?”
“Why am I thinking these thoughts and feeling these emotions?”
“What is God saying to me personally about the what and why of my thinking and feeling?"
“How does His answers encourage me, answer my prayer and give direction and comfort to my life?”
Shift your focus from the current stress in your life to Praising and Thanking Jesus for Who He is. Remember that He is bigger than these circumstances and moments in your life. He “stands at the door and knocks.” He has promised to be with us as we invite Him into our life.
Reflect on what Jesus is saying to you. Stay open to whatever and however He will be speaking to you, especially in terms of new ways of thinking and believing. See the difference between your thoughts and His thoughts, then try to bring yourself into alignment with His thinking! Then imagine how His thinking will change your thinking about your situation, yourself, others, and even God Himself! You will begin to taste freedom!
When reading Scripture, be sure to reflect in a way that is not just reading or memorizing the Scripture, but actively listening to the personal message the Holy Spirit is speaking to you.
"RECEIVE" … is simply making sure that what we hear from Jesus Himself stays with us and becomes a new part of our thinking. We do this simply by deciding to agree and focus on the heart and mind of Jesus, rather than on our old ways of thinking. And as we grow, we can even begin to thank Jesus for what we have not yet experienced, not yet seen, and not yet felt! We become more able each day to have the hope of a new pattern of thoughts, feelings and expectations.
Through the choice to agree with God’s heart and mind, we also begin to take this new thinking in our minds and place it right in our hearts; we begin to “own” it and it starts to guide us from our hearts. New feelings, new motivations and new actions follow in line with our new beliefs. This becomes "heart-belief"!
Now click on the "Weeks 1 & 2" tab at the top of this page and watch blessings to come your way!
The earlier weeks will help you to become aware of the difference between Crying out to Him as a person, as opposed to simply crying out in pain. We will be asking the questions: Who is God and what is His heart and mind for me? As we read Scripture, we will begin to understand that Jesus Christ is indeed safe to talk to! If I “lean not to my own understanding” of God, myself, and others in my life, what would He show me?
In addition, we will also look at how our negative past experiences and messages may have fashioned a negative belief system. Such a belief system will control a person’s responses to life in general, including a perception of themselves, others and God. This is where the truth of Jesus’ words, “In this world, you will have trouble, but cheer up, I have overcome the world”, becomes up-close and personal. This is where you begin to be aware of your own life story and Cry out to Him, because He understands your pain. He is Emmanuel, “God with us”.
The focus will invite you to tell your story to a person, the Person of Jesus Himself. Choosing to tell your story by crying out to a Person begins to anchor you in a safe place to receive comfort in the present, from a Person who loves you. Simply crying out doesn’t reduce the pain; in fact, you may relive it. Telling a Person (Jesus), however, allows for lasting repair and renewal. A reminder, Comfort.Guide will be a tremendous step in your healing; remember, however, that it is not meant to serve as a substitute for professional counseling.
Repair and Renewal will be accomplished by the development of your own step by step life story, in the form of a sequential narrative, allowing you to process the negative experiences and losses. This will be based on an understanding of how the brain is able to be transformed and receive comfort. The sequential narrative proceeds through a process that identifies the negative feelings, thoughts and beliefs stored in the emotional brain that are associated with the negative experiences and loss.
As you become more aware of your story and bring the feelings, thoughts and resulting beliefs to intentional awareness, the brain’s capacity to change and repair negative thoughts and their correlating feelings, beliefs and reactions is activated. Through that awareness your mind begins to be able to reflect upon and processes the negative feelings, thoughts and beliefs with aid of the rational and decision-making abilities of the left brain. As this process proceeds the Lord can inspire and help you see these events in new ways and through His eyes rather than through your own eyes or the eyes of others.
The journey of renewal and transformation of your mind in the beginning of Comfort.Guide will flow through the following stages of awareness:
Telling My Story:
I felt (having language to express thoughts and emotions)
I lost (growing in awareness as to the loss of core needs in the past as well as the present)
I came to believe (identifying heart belief, rather than what you think you believe)
I acted (identifying the behaviors you developed as coping mechanisms to be comforted and avoid pain)
As we go through Comfort.Guide, you will begin to receive comfort through the renewal of your mind and heart. We seek His perspective about ourselves, others and who He really is. We invite the living Jesus into our living thoughts, memories and internal beliefs. We allow Him to “Rewrite My Story”. You will see this in the later Weeks of Comfort.Guide.
The journey of rewriting our story will involve an anchoring in the perspective of the “truth that sets us free”. This Truth will help us rewrite our story in a brand-new sequence:
Telling my story: I came to believe the following truths about God, about myself, about others, and about His love during my painful circumstances.
As a result, I have gained, rather than lost, the following core needs and beliefs as I have processed these circumstances.
I now have been set free to feel.
Finally, I now have been set free to live and act in freedom rather than pain.
THERE IS A WORKSHEET IN ONE OF THE LATER WEEKS WHICH WILL SHOW HOW THE HOLY SPIRIT SHOWS YOU YOUR MEMORIES BUT NOW WITH JESUS HIMSELF IN THOSE MEMORIES, INVITED INTO THOSE MEMORIES TO EXPLAIN THEM AND TO HEAL THEM. HERE IS A BRIEF SYNOPSIS/PREVIEW.....
This is an exciting and important worksheet. You are invited to allow the LIVING Jesus to be with you, to comfort you to and bring truth to you in all the wounding experiences of your life, experiences that, in fact, are still LIVING within your mind, emotions and body!
In addition, as the Holy Spirit comes and lives within us at our deepest core, we have the incredible gift of being transformed in our thoughts and emotions by receiving the thoughts and heart-perspective of Jesus Himself.
Healing occurs from the INSIDE-OUT! This type of on-going healing flows as a cleansing and life-giving river to our OUTSIDE, where our thoughts, images and reactive emotions exist.
It is important to understand that rather than having harmful memories and emotions at our core, and God trying to dig into them, the opposite is now true. God is at our core and flows outward to our memories and the deep beliefs and emotions associated with them. This is the deepest healing imaginable!
As we invite Jesus to meet us in our memories, we experience the gradual change from general distress to experiencing His calming presence with us. He is not bound by “time” as we know it, and therefore is not only with us NOW, but also can be present in any and all our memories! He tells us TODAY about the impact of that memory on you, both then and now, and He tells us WHY it happened as well! Many people “see” a memory, but in their mind’s eye now with Jesus Himself with them, explaining, comforting, reassuring, encouraging, and now re-writing!
Also, it is common that emotions of deep shame may be activated and experienced as a reaction in processing painful memories. Why? Because the powerlessness experienced in trauma can be seen as “weakness” in the heart of the victim. Also, the person, especially a child, may come to believe that the event happened because there was something wrong within them, rather than something wrong happening to them.
It is important that you begin this work from a position of SAFETY. It is important that you intentionally focus on the fact that you are “VIEWING” this memory and NOT “RELIVING” THIS MEMORY!
It is also important that you “view” this memory with compassion and empathy for YOU in the midst of that situation. And to be sure, prayerfully and intentionally inviting Jesus TO BE WITH YOU is your SAFEST PLACE TO BE! Allow yourself to envision His presence in your heart’s eye.
As you choose to agree with this NEW view of this event through the eyes of Jesus, it will calm you; this memory will become “stored” in your memory “archives” in a completely new way! This memory will be on its way from the emotional brain to long term memory. You will be able to tell your story but not be over-reactive and/or devastated. You have received comfort.
Part 5 - Telling My Story, and then letting Jesus Re-Write it!
The "HOW TO" OF TRANSFORMATION.
Our goal is to help you transfer "head knowledge to "heart beliefs". In order to make this transfer, we are following a Scriptural admonition: "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength." (Isaiah 30:15)
Here's what this means. Regardless of what is happening to you in your day, as you begin to study Comfort.Guide return to a place of quiet and get prepared to talk with Jesus Himself.
"PAUSE, REFLECT, RECEIVE"
“PAUSE” … Here are some concrete suggestions about being quiet in His presence. Being quiet and being in His presence will help you focus in on His voice, rather than your own voice or voices of others. Here are simple ways to calm yourself and prepare for blessings and healing:
1) Crying out to Jesus as a person is a wise first response. Turn your eyes, heart and mind to Jesus and invite Him to sit next to you. Ask Him to calm you and help you focus on Him. Praising and thanking are effective to help you become aware of what blessings He has for you today! You might even have a song or Scripture come to mind. These will help you make the choice to be open and to listen!!!
2) At this point we can also care for and calm ourselves by voluntarily slowing our breathing pattern. Many times a simple change to our breathing pattern (inhale through your nose for 4 counts, hold it for 2 counts, and exhale for 5 counts) will help tremendously. More about this can be found in the Tool Kit tab.
"REFLECT" ...
Begin to ask yourself questions such as:
“What am I thinking?”
"What am I feeling?”
“Why am I thinking these thoughts and feeling these emotions?”
“What is God saying to me personally about the what and why of my thinking and feeling?"
“How does His answers encourage me, answer my prayer and give direction and comfort to my life?”
Shift your focus from the current stress in your life to Praising and Thanking Jesus for Who He is. Remember that He is bigger than these circumstances and moments in your life. He “stands at the door and knocks.” He has promised to be with us as we invite Him into our life.
Reflect on what Jesus is saying to you. Stay open to whatever and however He will be speaking to you, especially in terms of new ways of thinking and believing. See the difference between your thoughts and His thoughts, then try to bring yourself into alignment with His thinking! Then imagine how His thinking will change your thinking about your situation, yourself, others, and even God Himself! You will begin to taste freedom!
When reading Scripture, be sure to reflect in a way that is not just reading or memorizing the Scripture, but actively listening to the personal message the Holy Spirit is speaking to you.
"RECEIVE" … is simply making sure that what we hear from Jesus Himself stays with us and becomes a new part of our thinking. We do this simply by deciding to agree and focus on the heart and mind of Jesus, rather than on our old ways of thinking. And as we grow, we can even begin to thank Jesus for what we have not yet experienced, not yet seen, and not yet felt! We become more able each day to have the hope of a new pattern of thoughts, feelings and expectations.
Through the choice to agree with God’s heart and mind, we also begin to take this new thinking in our minds and place it right in our hearts; we begin to “own” it and it starts to guide us from our hearts. New feelings, new motivations and new actions follow in line with our new beliefs. This becomes "heart-belief"!
Now click on the "Weeks 1 & 2" tab at the top of this page and watch blessings to come your way!