Power of the Tongue

Proverbs 18: 20-21 Life and death are in the power of the tongue.

James 3: 2-11 The powerful influence the tongue has on our lives.

Proverbs 13: 2-3   Keep your tongue - Keep your life.

Proverbs 21: 23   Keep your tongue - Keep yourself from trouble..

Proverbs 10: 11     The mouth is a well of life.

Proverbs 10: 19-21 He who keeps his tongue is wise.

Proverbs 15: 1-5 A soft answer turns away wrath. A wholesome tongue is a tree of life.

Luke 6: 45 Out of the abundance of the heart we speak. Heart (kardia-greek), mind, will and emotions. As we renew our mind to line-up with God's Word, our minds will line-up too.

Colossians 3: 15-16 Let our hearts be filled with the Word and thankfulness to our God.

Hebrews 13: 15-16 Praise - the sacrifice of our lips, pleases God. Doing good and being in fellowship with others also pleases God. Let's say good things to others. Let us fellowship with and...

Overcoming Disappointment

"As EPIC Conquerors we say “the battle is real, but the victory is assured.”

 Disappointments happen to everyone. What we hoped for, wanted to have happen, hoped would happen, expected to happen…didn’t.  Now what?

Mad, rage, angry, pout, pity party, curse up a storm, lash out, break or smash something, etc.

All human responses, all are temper tantrums we throw when things don’t turn out how WE wanted or perceived them to turn out because, after all, we should be exempt from trials, right?

Some disappointments happen as the result of actions from others and some from our own poor choices or decisions made.

Some disappointments are unrelated to anything we have control over, epidemics, economic downturns, overthrow of governments, earthquakes, accidents, windstorms, hail, unknowingly or unaware that we’re in the wrong place at the wrong time, etc.

Now that we’ve considered all of that...

Mini-Series: Dealing with Denial

etting the Atmosphere for Tough Conversations

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Let’s talk about setting the atmosphere for tough conversations to break free from denial.

First of all, don’t have these conversations when you’re angry, upset, emotionally overloaded or in the heat of the moment. That’s like pouring gasoline on a roaring fire. It will explode and cause more damage.

When you are aware that you’ve been in denial and are ready to open that closet door or lift the lid off of Pandora’s box strategically prepare for the tough conversation. It can be a conversation you hold with yourself or one that you have with another individual.

If you are emotionally exasperated with pent up feelings it’s best to separate yourself with some distance or space before you have “the talk.”

Take a break: Go for a walk, jog, swim, play tennis, hike etc. Expend the pent-up energy and emotional angst that wants to erupt....

Mini-Series: Dealing with Denial

 Denial : Let’s Trash the Myths!

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Denial is a popular way to protect oneself from reality that hurts us to think about. Denial is a protective mechanism that can shelter us for awhile. The mind (soul) can overload when our emotions (soul) can’t handle a particular crisis or problem.

Denial shields us from the hurt. It also keeps us from helping ourselves or the people we love the most! Denial always bothers the logic of our mind. We will make excuses for our denial which helps reinforce the original denial.

The MOTIVE for denial often starts with the noble concept of protecting ourselves or someone we love from further PAIN. The REALITY of denial is that it extends the hurt, multiplies the problems and almost always causes pain to other people.

Myth #1:

If we don’t talk about it, it will go away.
Truth Alert: Denial makes the hurt last longer and hurt more.

Myth #2:

Let’s pretend it didn’t really...

Faith & Maybe

Faith & Maybe?

Does that even count? Let's take a look at this powerful posture of strong faith. When we give up our need for certainty we gain true confidence independent of circumstances.

When we sense God speaking to us about something there's an area of, "Oh, Lord, I don't know." We feel the responsibility before we have the supply.

This is where "works" jumps in, in response to the initial faith spark. Anyone can have an idea but until you put works into motion you'll never know the supply.

Once the initial faith sparks we add dry grass and small sticks to ignite the faith into a flame. We begin blowing softly on the flame til it bursts into fire. We then continue adding fuel until it becomes a bonfire, a force to be reckoned with.

Reading Hebrews 11 and 12 and other passages of faith in action we discover that they didn't have all the answers before forging ahead. As James says, "Show me your faith by your works as faith without corresponding...

EPIC CONQUERORS PODCAST:

Overcoming the Hamster-wheel Syndrome - Ep.2

Choose wisely. Choose life in Him

Ahh, the hamster wheel. I'm mesmerized by the little creatures endlessly running on their wheel as a never ending treadmill when I go into pet shops.

They seem to enjoy the exercise and jump off when they tire of it. I've noticed for us humans, we too, can easily find ourselves on the "hamster wheel" of life, an endless treadmill of activity going nowhere.

However, we don't seem to figure out how to get off that never-ending cycle of hyper activity.

Watching myself and others over the years it appears that there are several factors that determine our need to stay on "the wheel." I want to address only one of them in this blog. It becomes addictive. We may not enjoy it any longer but now we are addicted to the cycle of continuous chaos and activity. It has become our new normal. We unconsciously or consciously choose to remain irregardless of the detriment to our health,...

EPIC CONQUERORS PODCAST:

Overcoming doubt & unbelief - Episode 6

Speaking faith-filled words rises out of a heart of trust, a place of "knowing" in God as the way, the truth and the life He called us into.

"Well, that's fine for you, but it won't work for me."

"I know what Mark 11:23-24 says, but it doesn't always work."

"Life is crazy hectic."Words spoken as accepted truth. (Psst. FYI - Fake news)

 

These statements and more so often pour out of mouths without a thought to the cause and effect they're creating or to the heart they're revealing. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." Voice is given to what we intrinsically believe. (our 2 cents, our opinion, what we feel). What is spoken will be acted upon. What is acted out results in consequences -(of our own making BTW).

 

"The mouth speaks what the heart is full of."Matthew 12:34

 

SO, the question of the hour is, "What are YOU talking about these days?"Speaking faith-filled words...

EPIC CONQUERORS PODCAST:

Overcoming doubt & unbelief - Episode 5

EPIC CONQUERORS PODCAST:

Turning defeat into a WIN - Episode 5

"Everything has purpose."

Recently I watched a movie and then read a book on The Holocaust. The horrors depicted there are too many to comprehend. The resiliency of the human spirit shone through them both.

Forgiveness, gratitude and recognizing God's hand in their midst of their traumas caused me to re-evaluate my own heart's posture.

What the majority of us will ever experience in life is insignificant compared to what those precious people endured and suffered at the hand of manifested evil against humanity.

In my life, I have had tragic and traumatizing experiences where I thought "this is it...it's over." And yet, here I am still doing what I love, helping people come alive and thrive in Christ. How is that possible? I've discovered a secret: Everything has purpose.

1. It tests my heart towards God. Mad or glad. Hateful or grateful. Distrust or greater trust. Turning away or turning toward. Bitter or...

EPIC CONQUERORS PODCAST:

Turning defeat into a WIN - Episode 4

Take the lemons in your life and open up a lemonade stand

Losing a checker or ping pong game, a race or boxing match, a board game or not winning the lottery - these are examples of when we can "suffer defeat." Friendly, healthy competition has winners and losers. It doesn't define who we are as individuals.

However, in other life situations, we allow defeat to define us: bankruptcy, divorce, fired from a job, loss of a limb, debilitating disease, even things like tragedy, retirement, incarceration, or unexpected loss of a loved one. We often file these devastating events under "defeat" and go through a period of mourning, depression, or shame. We can feel as though "life is over" or that "we're a loser" or "we'll never amount to much because of...." (fill in the blank).

If we stay too long in these things they become baggage that we carry with us into each new season of life. The compounding weight can...