Rose (name changed) was thriving for many years.  She was volunteering, working, taking care of her family, and everyone else.  Until one day when she wasn't thriving.  She began having panic attacks, couldn't sleep or remember things.  Rose, like so many others like her, crashed. 

Taking care of others and having a servant's heart was what Rose was good at and enjoyed.  What she forgot in the midst of carin...

Ella (name changed to protect confidentiality), a sweet and vibrant client, has been fascinated with people that have died, went to Heaven and returned to earth (also called Near Death Experiences or NDEs).  She explained that some of their experiences bring a fresh rush of what Heaven could be like. 

She brought her newest book find to my office one day and explained all that she learned from a woman who had an NDE.  She...

You did it! You finished your inner healing session and you experienced FREEDOM!  No shackles to those heavy lies that were distracting.  You feel lighter. It feels good.  You have the truth directly from the Creator Himself.  You are renewed and fresh.  LOVE this feeling!

Then a week goes by. 

That feeling has started to evaporate.  You start to have little thoughts of that toxic lie.  It is trying to resur...

Sarah was invisible.  At least... she believed she was. 

Sarah's parents (without realizing) abandoned her need to be nurtured for her brother who had special needs. 

At 3, Sarah's rational mind did not understand this.  She only felt the sting of being pushed aside.  A lie was born at that early age.  A lie that told her other people were more important than she was.  This lie grew and guided her unhealthy decisions for 3...

(Disclosure: there may be affiliate links in this post).

Your friend just called crying.  Her friend just died and she is a mess. 

What do you say? 

It is always hard to have the right words. 

Are there "right" words?

People often say "I am so sorry" or "What can I do to help?"  These people have good intentions and really do want to help.  These are good things to say.  However, the person grieving often does not know what...

Heads spinning and bodies flying through the air.  Sound about right?

Yikes!

I confess that I I used to think that.  I watched waaaay to many movies on demonic possession.  It was interesting.  And disturbing.  I was in my early teens.

I carried those images into my world view.  Rare stories so creepy, if they were real they would certainly be uncommon. Or so I thought.

So, why this post?  Is it real?  Yes.   Is it...

I recently discovered a paper I wrote in seminary (13 years ago) about hearing God.  In it I summarized my experience by stating that I was too distracted for my mind to be quiet enough to listen.  It was true. 

Still is.

So, how do we hear Him?

In this post I am going to share my experience and training.  I have done a ton of research and will share my "go to" resource that I would give my clients. 

Let's start w...

 (Note: this post may have affiliate links in them.  Please read my disclosures here.  Also this post does not equal professional help. This post is not a substitute for counseling).

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I had anxiety.  It's much better now.  But I struggled. A lot.  I worried about my child and money.  Was I being a good wife?  A good mom?  Were my tools effective for my clients?  Sometimes the weight was too much.

Then I escaped. On my phone.  TV.  Some people use drugs or alcohol.

I got to a point where I just did not want to deal with it anymore.  It was taking up too much space in my brain...

I used to pray all the time. You know, the kind that is just you speaking. Out loud or in my head.  Talking ad nauseum.  It's not that I enjoy hearing myself speak.  It's that I did not know that God would talk back to me.

Wait. What?

God responds to us?  When we are praying?

Yep.

He speaks (or communicates) to us in different ways.  Usually not the audible way (that would be amazing though, wouldn't it!?)

What does the b...