I’ve been re-listening to all Brené Brown’s books. Brené Brown is a shame and vulnerability researcher. Her work has been a catalyst for change in my life.

As I have re-listened this time, I keep thinking about how we need the help of the Holy Spirit, of how we have more power than we think, the power to choose what we think and the power of the Holy Spirit in us willing to help us if we ask.

I have listened to Daring Greatly, Rising Strong, and I Thought It Was Just Me, for a second or third time, so far. And am currently listening to The Gifts of Imperfection and Dare to Lead.

I like all Brené’s definitions in her books. I like how she wraps words around ideas and concepts so that we can understand them better.

I like how she normalizes so many feelings and experiences we all have. I appreciate all the tools she provides for taking the concepts and integrating them in our lives, so we live wholeheartedly.  

I like taking her insights and combining them with what else I have been learning. For the past few years, I have been learning about the power of our thoughts. We choose what we think. We choose what we make something mean.

So, when someone says something that is shaming or hurtful or makes us upset – we choose in that moment whether to agree with them. We can choose to think a new thought. We can choose to remind ourselves; we are a child of God. We are loved by The King. We are filled with the Holy Spirit. We are filled with grace and power. Or whatever Truth mantra works for you to bring you back to your centered, grounded place instead of spiraling into negativity and self-loathing because of what someone else said.

We can pause and questions what they are saying. My life coach Dr. Edie Wadsworth references the work of Byron Katie and the four questions. Is it true? Can you absolutely know that it’s true? How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought? Who would you be without that thought?

We can learn to pause, and reflect, and ask ourselves these things, and gain perspective. When we do this, we can avoid absorbing the unwanted/shaming words and instead be rooted grounded in our own truth.

As a child of God, we can stand on His Truth about us. We are loved by Him. He says we are good. He says we are enough. Just as we are. As we sit in His Love for us, by spending time in His Presence, and claiming His Truth for our lives, then we become grounded in the Truth that our worth and value are in Him, regardless of what anyone else says. Amen.

We practice choosing our thoughts. We practice and practice and practice over and over and over again until it sinks in and becomes second nature.

We never stop practicing. We are human and forgetful so we must be intentional. We will forget. We will make mistakes but thankfully as we learn to listen to the Holy Spirit inside us, we recover more quickly instead of spiraling into sadness and despair, we claim Truth.

We practice staying centered in God. We are intentionally aware of the Holy Spirit working and moving all around us, and in us. We listen to the Holy Spirit instead of the lies of the world. We know Truth so we can distinguish the lies.

It is work. In Dare to Lead Brené says, “…practice means you’ll screw it up big-time more than once. But that’s how practice works. If you’re not willing to miss 3,759 shots from the free throw line, you’ll never be consistently good at making those shots.”

We practice. As we practice, we learn to stay more readily surrendered to God. Trusting God’s love for us. Receiving God’s love for us. Trusting in His goodness and grace. Trusting that He will come through for us. Trusting that He is Sovereign. And as we experience God’s power in our lives, we want to stay connected to Him.

We develop our skills the more we practice. And it gets easier and easier just like anything else you regularly do and develop skills for. As we show up, spend time with God, know and claim His Truth as our own, we are transformed!

What are you practicing?

What are you believing?

What are you telling yourself?

Is it serving you?

How are you staying connected to God?

Are you quieting yourself in His presence listening for His whisper? Learning to hear Him?

On last thought, my husband, Dean, used to tell me to whisper to our boys when I wanted them to listen and do something. He said whispering would be way more effective than raising my voice because they would have to stop what they were doing and pay attention. God is whispering to us, we just need to slow down and listen.

Keep seeking and keep discovering His Way! It is so worth it!