Input Equals Output

“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, 

noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst;

the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.

Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized.

Do that, and God, who makes everything work together,

will work you into his most excellent harmonies.” Philippians 4:8 (MSG)

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you probably already know I am an avid reader. But recently two incredible books came to my attention that I had to share. First let me explain something, right after the holidays, I began to experience an anxiety level I haven’t experienced in years. I stressed about not being further along in paying off debt by the time 2020 rang in the new year. I stressed over seeing family over the holidays and making sure everyone felt like they had ample time to spend with us while also realizing not everyone got what they wanted. I came back to work (I work in the human services industry) to a caseload that had more than doubled and hit an all-time burnout with hearing about the families’ drama and trauma that I work with all day, every day. Not to mention my upcoming tonsillectomy that I had scheduled and frequently tried to talk myself out of needing.

It was too much, all of it and I was ready to wash my hands of it all and climb in bed with my three dogs and tell everyone to let me know when this anxious feeling I had passed, and when winter turned to spring. But, that did not happen. Thank God, literally! God wanted me to get my head out of the sand and put my big girl pants on one leg at a time and I felt like over the last month that He has been working on my heart, body, and mind, he has been giving me a hug with resources at my fingertips to encourage me on my journey. Input= Output.

First, God had me open His word again. I hate to admit it, but the daily Bible reading that I have preached about in the past had slipped through my fingers except for the occasional Bible study. I felt that God wanted to begin showing me things through revelation with Him that I then began to see confirmed in other avenues. Input= Output.

 I knew a natural stress reliever for me and something I really enjoy doing is cardio dance. I began to make it a priority to attend more classes and make my health a priority. Because my day job can be very sedentary sitting behind a desk all day, God began to prompt me to wake up 20 minutes early everyday and get on the treadmill and get moving and the blood flowing. During this time, I would listen to my all-time favorite Bible teacher- Joyce Meyer on her podcast channel. Every morning this time with God is holy and I feel the need to protect it and savor it, no matter how tired I am. With my legs jogging and God’s word going through my ears, I feel as though my day can’t get started any better. Once I get to my office and check my emails, I open God’s word and look up scriptures God has put on my heart for the day for about 10 minutes. Input= Output.

I then began to watch what I ate because I didn’t want the increased physical activity to be all for nothing. I didn’t count calories, just limited my intake of sweets (I am a chocolate lover!), serve myself one portion of meals (no seconds), and incorporate more fruits and veggies in my life. Input= Output. 

My husband and I spoke about our financial situation and planned to put so much money towards debt even if it meant we cut back on frivolous spending this year to reach a goal of paying off a certain amount of debt by the end of the year. Having a plan in place made me feel so much better about the situation and I am excited to see how God helps us reach this goal and the incredible growth trusting Him for this will inspire in our family. Being better stewards of our resources (input) will result in a greater blessing down the line- being debt free (output). 

I also began to journal more often. Not everyday but about 2-3 times a week. I poured out my heart and soul on the pages of my journal, expressing my thoughts and feelings, praying prayers to God, and sorting through the place I found myself in physically, emotionally, and spiritually and asking myself “How did I get here?” and “What needs to change to get me to be emotionally, spiritually, physically, and financially healthy?” Input= Output. 

So back to the two book resources I wanted to share. The first is “Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones” by James Clear. This was a phenomenal read on the science behind habit forming and habit breaking without being too scientific and really abreaking it down to be very practical. This is a wonderful book for men, women and I want to give a copy to both my boys when they are around 16. The basis for the book is that if you want to create a habit you will stick with it needs to be obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying. Behaviors and habits, you want to break or be rid of need to be invisible, unattractive, hard, and unsatisfying. I will leave that there and if you want more info, get the book. 

The other book is “100 Days to Brave: Devotions for Unlocking Your Most Courageous Self” by Annie F. Downs. This is an incredible author, speaker, and host of one of my favorite podcasts “That Sounds Fun”. This book was the spiritual encouragement I needed for each day. From talking about working at your job as unto the Lord (whether or not it is your calling), to exercising and eating your fruits and veggies, to remembering to rest and make time for fun, to even how the pain of surgery God can use to heal (remember I am having a tonsillectomy soon). It was everything I needed to hear at just the right time I needed to hear it. 

Input=Output. When I began to shift the input in my life to be habits that grew me spiritually and emotionally with my Bible and uplifting podcasts and books, to physically with healthier habits and exercise, to mentally and financially with learning to live more on budget, the output began to change. Shifting my focus to how big my God is made my problems I felt I had much smaller. My anxiety lessened greatly and the worries that kept me up at night began to dissipate. 

“You will have nothing to fear at night and

no need to be afraid of enemy arrows during the day”

Psalm 91:5

Whether you like to read books, listen to podcasts, listen to audible, exercise, eat healthy or not. I implore you to start looking inward and see where your stresses are coming from and what you can do about them and rest and trust in God that He will take care of what you cannot. Promise me you won’t sit idle and let your fears swallow you up. Do what you can with what He’s given you. 

I want to leave you with one of my favorite worship songs right now, “Nothing Else” by Cody Carnes. The words say it best: 

“I'm sorry when I've just gone through the motions
I'm sorry when I just sang another song
Take me back to where we started
I open up my heart to You
I'm sorry when I've come with my agenda
I'm sorry when I forgot that You're enough
Take me back to where we started
I open up my heart to You”

Book Review: "Still: 7 Ways to Find Calm in the Chaos" by Jenny L. Donnelly

Have you ever gone through something really hard and wanted to give up? Have you ever thought you didn’t have what it takes to overcome an obstacle in your life that came crashing through your front door? Have you ever felt like you were losing your grip as your life’s circumstances swirled around you?

Well, what if I told you that you have everything you need inside to get through, push through, pull through, grasp tighter, hold your head up, and look that tornado in the eye and even be STILL. Well, we know Jesus can do that as told in Matthew 8:23-27. In this story, Jesus is riding in the boat with the disciples when the wind and waves were whipping wildly and water was pouring in the boat. In this story, Jesus stands up and asks profoundly, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” 

In Jenny L. Donnelly’s new book, “Still: 7 Ways to Find Calm in the Chaos”, she beautifully paints a picture, even on the front cover of her book, of a silent and still eye of the storm seated in the middle of a hurricane.

Think of this statement Jenny makes in the book, “Water may be in the boat, but Jesus is too.” Sometimes I think we, as Christians, forget that we are in this boat of life with Jesus. Even when the storms are raging and He doesn’t calm the storm, He can calm the storm inside of us. Learning to be still and accessing God’s REST helps us to have the strength, perseverance, and endurance needed to pull through and come out of the storm and to the other side. 

She does an incredible job of capturing God’s REST for us, even keeping the word in all caps throughout her book, to remind you that it is possible to walk through the most anxiety driven, fearful, and even depressing times with REST in our minds, spirit, and soul. 

Jenny says,“If we think fear makes sense, then we will lend it power. We will say, “This is a fact, so it must be the highest truth.” In what seems like a logical conclusion, fear wins the moment. Even worse, the longer we believe in the fear, the more power it gains, eventually becoming a stronghold of the mind. A stronghold is a fortress of fear that becomes very strong and difficult to tear down. 

At Universal Studios, we toured the movie sets. The buildings looked like solid brick and wood, but our guide said they were made of foam. Have you thought that maybe what you determined to be stone or fact is really foam? Fear is fake.”

What a powerful quote from Jenny’s book especially for someone like me who has experienced anxiety, fear, and worry of the unknown, the future, or other things that are uncomfortable to me. In doing so, I have allowed fear to incapacitate me and keep me in the fight, flight, or freeze mode of stress.  Have you ever felt that? It’s a terrible feeling. 

She tackles worry, fear, anxiety, dread and how putting on our garment of praise and being reminded of God’s grace that is given for every day as just a couple of examples to keep us grounded. These may sound like very spiritual terms for non-believers and new believers, but she really breaks this down into practical examples and scenarios of how and when this can come into play.

Most of this book is a perfect example of how we are to renew our minds and replace the negative with God’s promises and reminders of who we are- daughters and sons of the King of Kings. I love how this book brings all the glory ultimately to God. She doesn’t glorify herself or make remarks that she has this down to an exact science but talks about how she is still putting this into practice herself, slipping up at times, and falling into some of the same pitfalls as before, but keeps her focus on God. In doing so, it rearranges her perspective.

This book is filled with scripture, prayers, places for you to reflect, and keeps your eyes pointed towards the Lord. When we can get outside of our own heads and instead focus on the Lord and keep a kingdom perspective, we can better equip ourselves to handle life’s turmoil from a place of REST. 

There are a million little nuggets of wisdom I could quote and share, but I highly encourage you to get a copy yourself, here. The very last chapter even has a beautiful prayer that wraps up the book while asking God to help our hearts and minds be still and remember to operate from our place of REST in God. 

I will leave you with one of my favorite scriptures on the subject of entering God’s rest and being still. I will also leave you with one of my new favorite songs by Brian and Katie Torwalt that helps us remember to put on our garment of praise, even before our breakthrough fully comes. 

“The Lord is my shepherd, I will always have everything I need.

He gives me green pastures to lie in. He leads me by calm pools of water.

He restores my strength. He leads me on right paths to show that he is good.

Even if I walk through a valley as dark as the grave, I will not be afraid of any danger,

because you are with me…” Psalm 23:1-4