Be-Cast Episode 6: BE HEALTHY (Part 1)
New to podcasts and not sure what to do? Check out our Podcast 101 tutorial and we’ll walk you through it step by step!
Listen by clicking the Play button right above or you can also listen here. And don’t forget to listen and subscribe to the Be-Cast on iTunes and have each week’s podcast is automatically downloaded to your computer, phone or tablet!
This week we are so excited to have a special guest with us — Tracy Hurst! Tracy is a licensed professional counselor, author, speaker and teacher who is the epitome of the glory of Jesus! You are going to be so blessed by her wisdom and insight in this podcast. To read more of Tracy’s writing and learn more about her, visit her website at www.TracyHurst.com.
THIS WEEK’S VERSES:
“For if our heart (thoughts and emotions) condemns us, God is greater than our heart (thoughts and emotions) and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart (thoughts and emotions) do not condemn us, we have confidence (faith) toward God (and His Word).” (1 John 3:20-21, AMP)
“Do not copy the customs and behaviors of this world, but LET GOD transform you by changing the way you think.” (Romans 12:2, emphasis ours)
We had scheduled a phone date to prep for the podcast, and when Tracy asked me (Monica) how the discussion should start, the first thing I blurted out was,
What does an emotionally healthy woman look like?? I almost added, a for Pete’s sake, but didn’t want to frighten her.
But I was dead serious in my question to her, because I needed to know. I needed to know what it means to have emotions and express emotions and give credence to them without allowing them to control your life. And I needed to know that feeling negative things didn’t mean I was emotionally unhealthy.
So I asked her what emotional health looks like. Because I needed to know, too.
And what we unpacked — from that phone conversation to the podcast recording — was a welcome balm for my soul. It was Truth and Freedom and Peace to confirm things for me that needed confirming.
I probably owe Tracy some money for the pseudo-counseling session.
So here’s what Tracy taught us about emotional health — and I’m breaking it into bullet points for a few reasons: one is that this content is incredibly rich, and I don’t want to dilute these points with added verbiage. The other is that if you don’t have a chance to listen (yet) you can skim these to get some initial truths into your mind to think on.
(BUT YOU REALLY NEED TO GO LISTEN.)
(Really.)
- Being emotionally healthy doesn’t mean you have a perfect life or that your life is without difficulty.
- Emotional health is recognizing that just because you feel something doesn’t mean it’s true. (tweet that)
- Anger is healthy — it can be an indication that someone has crossed a boundary, that something is wrong.
- The first step in emotional health is recognizing we can control our thoughts: what we think dictates what we feel, what we feel impacts our body.
- God wants us to be emotionally whole. We should acknowledge our emotions, but then we have to acknowledge that God is greater than our emotions!
- If we don’t get control of our emotions, we will not fulfill the destiny God has for our lives.
- Talking out your feelings with friends is a good choice; but running to God first is a greater way.
- Process your emotions and pray about them with God first, and ask Him to show you who to go talk to.
- There’s a difference between loneliness and solitude; “I’m not calling you to loneliness, I’m calling you to solitude with Me first.”
- Every day we choose if we are serving faith or fear.
- LET GOD transform you — you don’t have to do it yourself, He will do it! You get to be the BE’er, not the DO’er.
- Depression, anxiety, stress, genetic predispositions are all real — but so is God.
- Feeling and declaring are two different things. Feelings come, but declaring is a choice. (tweet that)
- We cannot control what we feel, but we can control what we declare and what we think. (tweet that)
I mean, there is so much to chew on here, it’s going to take weeks to fully digest it all!
Make sure to tune in next week when we’ll continue Be Healthy with part 2 with Tracy — we’ll unpack what it means to be healthy in body, and how it all ties together.
Y’all are a blessing!!
Monica
PRINTABLE:
Download this week’s printable to remind you that God is greater than your emotions!
PRACTICAL APPLICATION:
1. Have a Thought Check. Stop mid-emotion and thought and recognize what you are thinking about. Philippians 4:8, “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.” Choose to think on truth!
2. Recognize your Emotions. Allow yourself to feel the emotion — just don’t react to it immediately! Go to God with it and process it. As you do that, He will give you scripture and speak His word to you. Write down the verses on index cards and put them everywhere! (Are you recognizing this as a theme, yet?) Be present and receive those scriptures as truth. Truth in = lies out!
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
1. Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions by Lysa TerKeurst. Um, hello? This hits so close to home it hurts. I got to hear Lysa teach on this live awhile back and let me tell you what — she read my mail. E-x-c-e-l-l-e-n-t book.
2. Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer. The subtitle of this book is “winning the battle in your mind.” Come on, who doesn’t need/want that??
3. Fresh Faith by Jim Cymbala. This book is about faith that can transform you life. He is amazing.
4. The Lies Women Believe by Nancy DeMoss. We’ve mentioned this one before, but it’s just amazing and a perfect book or study for emotional health.
5. Tracy’s Website! Incredible devotions and content that are rich and challenging.
SHOP BE!
We are so excited to announce the BE shop! Buy yourself and your loved ones awesome gifts for Christmas that will remind them to BE — from phone cases to iPad cases to mugs, throw pillows, hoodies and more!
How has learning these basics of emotional health impacted you? Leave us a comment by clicking “comment” on the gray box below right!