spiritual growth – Healing with Joy

What does it mean to be “poor in spirit?”

Joy Le Page Smith — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 23:15:02 +0000

By Joy Le Page Smith, MA, BCC

(One writer’s humble interpretation of “The Sermon on the Mount?)

Blessed are those who see their significance in God’s sight, while

Forsaking the need to be seen as significant in the eyes of others.

These are people of peace who walk circumspectly within God’s Kingdom.

Blessed are those who mourn over having sinned as their hearts will find great

Joy through God’s forgiveness granted through Jesus’ everlasting redemption.

Blessed are those who do not need to have their own way, but rather dwell gently in kindness

Having their spirits sweetened through prayerfully seeking, “Oh Lord, Thy will be done.”

Blessed and completely satisfied are those who thirst being in right-standing with

God . . . knowing He watches over us wholeheartedly,

Blessed are those who show mercy to others, letting go judgment of them—

For in return God’s grandest of all merciful favor will be theirs.

Blessed are those who keep their hearts clean, based on ever seeking right standing with God–for this opens the inner eyes and ears to the voice of the Almighty.

Blessed are those who seek peace within relationships and extend peace to those who are not kind and gracious within heated moments. This is an indication of being one with God’s sons and daughters.

Blessed are you when reviled or persecuted for choosing to live righteously and stand firm on the truth of God’s love for all. For living a moral life courageously exhibits your walk within the Kingdom of God, filled with peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

And as for our worries, Jesus said in Matthew 6: 27, “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” Then in Matthew 6, verse 31, He said, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Here is the “how to do this” given to us through the Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:6-7,

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”’

About the author: Joy Le Page Smith is a Board certified clinical chaplain. Her articles and blogs are read in up to-32 countries. Joy’s four books are available on her home page at Healing-with-Joy.com where readers can view FREE her children’s book titled, The Little Mountain Goat Who Was Afraid of High Places. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGA0fLtD4uU

Do dreams speak truth to us?

Joy Le Page Smith — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 22:57:48 +0000

By Chaplain Joy Le Page Smith, MA, BCC

When a person desires to relate with God, a number of things happen. For one, guidance comes–and this is where the very depths of that person’s being can be affected. Sometimes, a message will come mystically allowing for what can be thought of as God’s felt presence.

God also speaks through other people, an event in life, or within the wonder and beauty of nature. One of the most frequent ways we hear God speaking to us comes while reading the Scriptures; words seem to stand out vividly when perceived as pertinent to our current circumstances. And, there are times when we hear God speak to us through dreams. In Scripture, the Song of Solomon, chapter 5, verse 2, show an example of the voice of God coming within a dream.

Many dreams are what the experts call “housekeeping.” Perhaps, like computers, our minds need “defragging” on a regular basis. The subconscious mind is dynamic and uncontrolled. Seemingly, this part of ourselves is striving to attain consciousness during the night when our guard is down and we are sawing the zzzzzs. Meanwhile, symbols and images are the language of the subconscious mind. So, it is within our dream world that we encounter these strange and confusing “plays in the night.” While sleeping soundly, emotions can arise as if they take on wings. Dreams powerfully trigger emotions—both pleasant and frightful. Without this aspect of our dreams, we might never remember them.

Some people think they don’t dream, but everyone dreams. Remembering our dreams depends on various factors. For one, we are most likely to remember our dream if we wake up while having them. This usually happens while we are within rapid eye movement sleep (REM), during which the brain is most active. If you want to remember a dream, this is the time to get up and write it down.

Sometimes, dreams carry a message that addresses something we need to learn. Dreams can also speak truth that can help us heal hurtful events of the past that exists deep in the subconscious mind. Through a dream, at times, we can acknowledge and accept something about ourselves that we have been unable or willing to look at. When this is true, the dream is apt to break into our thoughts during the following day, or maybe a few days later, as the dream is beckoning for attention. It has something to say. We can ignore these “flashbacks,” or do some work to glean the message from them.

Through years of working with my dreams, buried grief and anger are allowed to surface. These are emotions I learned early in life to keep hidden deep inside. The price tag for this, however, came in having to deal with ongoing, pervasively felt apprehension, called “free floating anxiety.”

When painful experiences are stuffed down so deep we can’t reach them, we need healing. Dreams can help us reckon with things that are still hurting after many years or decades. Consequently, life does not hold as much enjoyment as it otherwise could.

Sometimes we need a therapist to unravel our tangled experiences. When past experiences are reached, a professional can help you explore and cope with the pain that may arise. Sometimes old traumas need to come to light so healing can begin. I urge people to work with professional help, at least here and there, as they work with their dreams. Still, there is much we can do on our own. I find a book titled, Your Dreams: God’s Neglected Gift by Hermon Riffle very helpful in the quest for utilizing the power of dreams.

Once I began my quest for the healing of my soul, I made it my practice to watch when difficult emotions arose, either through a dream or through daily living. Now, I can easily see when difficult feelings surface. I acknowledge them and look at what is hurting within a given circumstance. This brings self-understanding as well as self-appreciation. With God’s help, we can release the difficult pain feelings bring and do some needed forgiveness work. This is a method that works powerfully well.

Dream work has played a major role in learning to honor my emotions, particularly the difficult ones, which were ignored far too long. As I work with dreams, I find journaling helps the process in amazing ways, as I ask the Holy Spirit to help me understand what a dream is telling me. Then, while listening, I write what comes to mind. Payoffs I find in this work include better emotional, mental and spiritual health.

Books to help with dreamwork:

Book I have found to help understand dreamd within spiritual work: Herman Riffle, Your Dreams: God’s Neglected Gift, Random House, 1985. John A. Sanford, Dreams: God’s Forgotten Language, Crossroad, 1984. Carl Jung, Man and His Symbols, Doubleday, 1964. Morton T. Kelsey, The Other Side of Silence, Ramsey, 1976.

Prayer – a wondrous mystery

Joy Le Page Smith — Tue, 11 May 2021 14:28:03 +0000

Prayer – a wondrous mystery

While attempting to learn more about prayer, I have made a concerted effort to draw from others their perceptions of prayer. I am receiving three types of comments: 1) those claiming prayer to be a challenging yet rewarding experience; 2) those stating prayer to be too intimate a subject for discussing with others; and 3) those indicating frustrations with prayer.

As regards the last two categories, three people whom I know well, felt free to tell exactly how they felt. One said, “I’m afraid to get very involved with God.” The second friend said, “God doesn’t answer my prayers. So why should I pray?”

The third said, “I pray, but I don’t listen for God to answer back. He might ask something or me that I’m not ready to do.”

Apparently a great number of people are either frustrated with prayer or have some fear about giving much of themselves to it.

Stop for a moment and ask yourself, is my prayer life as rewarding as I want it to be? Perhaps your answer is “yes.” If so, I admire you. Personally, I spent a lot of my life during which prayer presented a dichotomy. On the one hand it brought hope, strength, peace and an awesome awareness of being loved. But on the other hand the mere thought of the word could bring frustration, guilt, anger and even fear.

Frustration came with feeling like a simpleton when trying to express myself to a holy, awesome God. It was also frustrating to attempt stilling an active mind—one so undisciplined that in a split second it could be off playing “hop-scotch” with memories or tomorrow’s plans.

Guilt came when I didn’t take time for prayer. Many days started like a shot out of a cannon and moved swiftly forward before landing with a thud on my pillow 16-20 hours later. On those days good resolutions ducked for cover and popped up later, blanketed with guilt.

Anger came at the thought of communicating with God at times when I was derailed by mistakes or needled with imperfections. Pride wanted perfection. And pride when wounded causes havoc.

At times, there was anger in thinking God had failed to hear my prayers. I slammed shut my window to heaven with questions like: “Why didn’t He save that young mother’s life so she could nurture and cherish her children? Why does that father, depressed from walking the streets looking for work, have to carry all that pain in his eyes?” Free will, yes, free will. But I would cry nonetheless, “God, isn’t there something more you can do?”

Upon truly listening, I could hear Him answer: “There is something you can do.” Then, through prayerful listening, I knew what that “something” was.

Perhaps that is another reason why prayer was so frustrating. God often offered challenges, and he has been known to require sacrifice. And my first inclinations are to escape sacrificing. Yet, on those occasions when obedience rules, indescribable joy follows. A joy that can only come in knowing that a sin-prone human heart has linked for a moment with a holy, limitless, loving God.

Little by little the guilt, the frustration, the anger fear and guilt are being absorbed as I step through that open door and find the power of love filling me as I have come to trust His acceptance of me . . . while the fires of life serve to strengthen and refine. The trust factor has escalated, putting the questions to rest.

As with the finding of any treasure, a price has to be paid. It takes a healthy slice of time each day to produce spiritual girth, empowering us to resist temptations and to die to what our fleshly desires lean toward. After the Holy Spirit is allowed to nourish, enrich and transform, His wisdom can be planted in a fallow, fertile heart.

The mind will always fight the discipline of being quiet, waiting and giving up control. But on those occasions when the will yields, the soul takes flight like a homing pigeon and finds itself at home in the heart of God. When this happens words could only be a hindrance.

Prayer can be about our needs and our desires. At times it is praise and thanksgiving. Other times, it is intercessions for others. At times prayer is action. Prayer is that wondrous mystery of communing with our Maker. It is restorative and restful, like coming home to rest after a trying, tiring day.

Joy Le Page Smith is a Board certified clinical chaplain, mental health counselor and author of four books. See her books at www.healing-with-Joy.com or Amazon.com.