#237: Finding Calm in the Chaos: How to Thrive During Crisis with M&M's (Finisher Series)

Welcome to Kingdom Writers, where we help equip and empower Christian writers of all genres to share your unique gifts with the world. We're your hosts, C.J. and Shelley Hitz.

This podcast is filled with spiritual encouragement as well as prayers to help you overcome the resistance you face as a writer. Your story matters.

Welcome to our Finisher series. So if you've been following along, last summer we did our breakthrough series, helping you break through those obstacles keeping you from writing your book. Then in the fall, we did our Overcomer series, just helping you overcome and really do what God has created you to do in your writing. Now it's time for the Finisher series and we are going to be focusing this series on helping you cross the finish line of publishing your book. This is spiritual encouragement, but we're also going to be talking about some practical things and we record these live inside our private group for Christian Book Academy. Now, I would love to invite you to join us. Just go to ChristianBookAcademy.com I hope this episode encourages you today. Today we're going to be talking about finding calm in the chaos and how to thrive during crisis with M&MS.

CJ came up with the M&MS.

Yeah, just a hint. It has nothing to do with the candy.

Right.

So you're going to see what we mean by that here shortly.

Yes. So M&MS, we're using words that start with M and we want to really encourage you to that this does, you know, this does not have to be a time of the enemy having the upper hand. Yes, it can. I mean, for sure. You know, I mean it there. I have to like, manage things all the time, you know, and I'm. Yesterday was an especially hard day for me and I will share more later about some things I did because I started noticing. But there's things we can do to be proactive. And I just really feel like as writers, God wants to flow through you. He wants you to come alive during this time. That's. That's the word God keeps giving me. Come alive. Come alive. We're going to talk about that more next week. But yeah, Candy says Psalm 91 is my anchor. Please pray for us. You know, I'm a nurse and we are on the front lines. Yes. We have been praying for the medical workers. For sure.

Yeah. Deborah says no Candy. Bummer. Sorry. John says now you are making me want. Emma.

Judson said I'm staying focused while at home getting stuff done. Praise God. And Deanne says I actually find less distractions. Great. You know, and so some of you may already be in a good place, and we hope that's true. We have just noticed in the Facebook group there's been less activity. And, you know, one of my moderators, one of the.

Mentors, reached out to me and she said, it just seems like for the most part, there's a lot of members that are having trouble focusing. And so we wanted to not just we want to serve you and we want to address that. So we just decided to really focus on this today. So we're going to just be sharing a few things. And I think for me, a lot of my life has been ruled by my emotions. C.J. and I are both very emotional people. And it's easy when you are a deep feeler. And a lot of creatives are. Not all of us, but I would say a good percentage of creatives are deep feelers. And so it's easy to absorb all of the things around us. I do that. It's easy for me to absorb people's emotions, to pick up things in an environment. And whether you're like that or not, right now, it's just a season in life that everything has just changed so dramatically. And so it's really important that we be intentional. And God has begun to slowly change me over time. And so we're going to share some of the things that have really helped and hopefully be able to encourage you as well.

Yeah. So what we want to say is that God is our refuge and safety. And one of you, I think, might have been Beth, that mentioned the Psalm 91.

We actually want to read a couple passages to start off from Psalm 91. And this is from the New Living Translation, Psalm 91:2. This I declare about the Lord. He alone is my refuge, my place of safety. He is my God, and I trust him. And then Psalm 91, 14, 15. The Lord says, I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer. I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. And, you know, this is a time where unlike any other time I can remember in my lifetime. And I know some of you are a little older, you've lived a little more life and have gone through some very rough times, maybe even. I'm not sure if we have anybody in the group old enough to have gone through World War II and some of those times, but probably not. You know, this is a tough time, and I just want to admit that I have a hard time focusing. You know, I feel like the last week, the Lord's really brought me.

Closer to himself. I feel like the first couple weeks I was very scattered, you know, keeping one eye on the news, one eye on the Bible, but the Lord's just gradually been having me fix my eyes more and more on him alone. And, yes, I do check the news maybe once a day just to see what the happenings are. But.

At the end of the day, the Lord is our refuge, and we're not guaranteed tomorrow yet. We know that he holds our future. He holds this life and the life after. And so that's a comforting thought. And just to know that, you know, he's trustworthy during this time, this unprecedented time that none of us can relate to. And as I heard our pastor recently say, there's no manual for this.

Right.

You know, I mean, the Bible is our manual for anything that occurs in life, which I'm grateful for. But there's no official, you know, this is exactly how you navigate a pandemic, and these are the steps to take. We're all just doing this, you know, each day on the fly. And yet we also know that as believers.

The Lord, he's not surprised by this. He's not shaken.

And we can trust Him. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. And so I just want to encourage us all to really take refuge during this pandemic. We're still in the midst of it. We're not sure when the guidelines, the restrictions, the shelter in place, orders are going to be lifted. We all hope, you know, that'll come soon. But in the meantime, we can still take our shelter. We're sheltering in place with the Lord. He is our shelter. He's our refuge. And so we just want to start off with that and to say that.

We have. We have peace in the midst of the panic.

Yeah. And he is our place of safety. Safety. You know, a lot of places feel unsafe right now, but he is our place of safety. And when I was reading Psalm 91 this week, that part where it says he will, you know, send his angels to guard you, I just felt like, as believers, we can be praying that God says, sends his angels to actually guard us, our loved ones, and all of that, you know, to be a guard against this. Covid19 but also, he is our place of emotional safety. And I have to admit that I have been a worrier most of my life. I've struggled with anxiety. And the last year, God has really started to begin to work even deeper in my life. I've went back to counseling I was actually in counseling when all this stuff happened. And she's not doing face to face visits right now. But.

Anyways, just doing some deeper work in me regarding this. And I just have to say that if I was in the place I was a year ago, I would probably be a basket case, freaking out, not able to do anything. And yet God, it's almost like he set me up. And I'm not saying that it was good or bad that if you, if you were, were not in that place, if you're not in a good place right now, that's okay, like all have those moments. But I just want to say that God was just gracious to me in that about. Well, it was the middle of January. He had me completely, you know, get off of social media for a while. So I wasn't on social media personally, just, you know, the group. And we have Eileen that does our business page. But to be inundated with all that, some very sensitive. I take in all the things. So I wasn't in the middle of all that. And then I started counseling again and it was really starting to help. And then also I started meditating consistently for the first time in my life in February. So I just really feel like God had set me up to have some tools and to be in a place where honestly, I have had peace and I have been more productive than I have for a while. Like all the creative ideas are coming and it's just flowing and yet I know that, I know that. I know that it's God, it is his presence in my life. It's him that's giving me peace. And I want to tell you right now that there is hope. If you're struggling today, you can have that as well. And so just looking back to see.

What you're saying, but yeah, you know, I just want to give you that, that, that encouragement that there's hope. There are things that you can do that can help you to find that calm right now. And there's things that I've been doing that. We want to share a picture that God gave me for our 24 hour prayer vigil. For those of you that weren't, there is. He just gave me that phrase, let hope rise. And I feel like for a lot of us, we are like hot air balloons that have been grounded. And Jesus is the burner that gives the hot air that helps us to rise above the circumstances, get off the ground, get unstuck, get out of the funk, whatever. And then we're able to be above the circumstances, see Things from a different place, a different view, his perspective. And then we as believers are a kaleidoscope of color in the sky to an unbelieving world, to the dark world that we can be an example. And they can say, well, where? How are you so peaceful? Where's your hope come from? And we can share with them.

Yeah. And that reminds me too, just this whole concept of let hope rise. One of my favorite things to do. And it doesn't happen all the time, but sometimes you get the opportunity to maybe run up a trail that has quite a bit of elevation gain. Of course, we have all kinds of mountains right here in Colorado Springs, but sometimes there's what's called low cloud cover, and it's. It's really low. And so you just. There's hardly any visibility. It just feels like you're socked in. And yet when you get on one of these trails and I'll just simply name Bar Trail. Bar Trails are famous trail that the Pikes Peak ascent and marathon or run on. So there's a lot of elevation gain. And sometimes you can be running on the trail and you rise above the clouds. Yeah, that is one of the coolest feelings because then you're looking at the clouds from above them and then it's nothing but clear sky above you. You finally punched through to the blue sky and sunshine. So it's one of the ways that, you know, we trail and mountain runners can actually get sunshine on socked in days. And yet it takes effort. It takes blood, sweat, and tears.

Being intentional, you have to have to.

Be intentional about making that choice to get up high. And I think it's the same way with us that we've been given tools from the Lord that can help us be intentional about rising above. And we're going to talk about a few of those tools here.

So we have five different things we're going to talk about. I'll start with the letter M, thus the M&Ms. Finding calm and chaos. And the first one is movement. This is scientifically proven. There's so many studies that show that the good chemicals in your brain are released when you move. So when you're sheltering in place, a lot of times you might be getting less movement unless you're being intentional going out for walks. CJ and I are both runners. John, I know you're on here, you're a runner, but you don't have to do do like extensive exercise. You can just go for a walk or turn on some praise and worship music and get up and dance we had our online service this past Friday. Friday nights is when we typically go to church. And I just turned it on. I was like, C.J. was in the other room, so I just took over the whole dining room. I don't think you even saw me.

She had a dance party out here.

I was doing like my worship dance. I mean, I haven't done that for years, but I was just making stuff up on the fly choreography and I was just dancing and moving and praising God. And you would have thought I was a crazy person if you would have seen me. But I will tell you, the combination of that movement and the music and the praise and worship, I mean, it changed my atmosphere, it changed my mood. It, you know, something changes when we move.

Yeah.

And so, so.

Be intentional every day. Do something to get out and move. There's a lot of online videos, but just walk, get up and dance. Do something to get the blood flowing.

Going for an easy walk is really good for stimulating new thought. So sometimes when we sit down for long periods of time, not only is it horrible for blood flow, but we just get stagnant. We stare at the same thing. And getting outside, just taking a 10, 15 minute break, getting the blood flowing, getting some fresh air if you're able, some of you might not be able to go outside, but even walking around in your, in your house, it stimulates.

Thought, oxygen hitting the brain. It's just, it's good to have that movement. God created us to be beings of movement. And so yeah, that's just my little encouragement. I've seen that really work in my own, my own life. Just those short breaks doesn't have to be a marathon, but it just has to be some kind of movement a few minutes.

Post in the comments what way that you will be intentional to get up and move. Try every day. If it's walking, jump, rope, jumping, jacks, you know, dancing, running, whatever it is, post it in the comments. Let's do this. Let's be intentional. So the number one is move, number two is music. Already kind of talked about it. Worship music changes my mood faster than almost anything. And so lately I've had my worship playlist on almost all the time from Spotify. And I actually just decided I'm like, I need to upgrade my account because the ads were driving me crazy. But $10 a month, I was like, it's worth it because it saves my sanity, it changes my mood, it keeps me in a good place. And so I posted a link in the description or if you're listening to this on the podcast, just swipe up. There's a link to the podcast, to my playlist, my worship playlist, that if you want to use that as well, you can. But get some positive music in your ears. Play it in your house. It changes the atmosphere.

Sure does.

It really does. Watch your kids, the other people in your home, watch how it changes things. You know, be intentional and really put on some of that. That worship music.

I've even noticed that, you know, running errands around town and just having that music on, it just. It's like your own little sanctuary within your. Your vehicle, and it really can transport you to. To another. To another realm. And Ephesians 5:18, and 19 says, Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Of course, right before that it says, do not be drunk with wine.

But be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves. And I love this part. And making music to the Lord in your hearts. I don't think I'd ever really focused on that last little phrase of Ephesians 5:19, which is simple. And making music to the Lord your hearts, and it's such a comforting thing. And, you know, the Lord loves our songs.

And he's proud of all of our voices, even if American Idol isn't.

Knocking on our door.

And so, you know, our God loves music, created music, and loves it when we sing songs back to him. And I think in Zephaniah, it says that He. He is even rejoicing over us with singing. And. And so music is such a powerful thing. And of course, music can be used for good or evil. There. There is a different atmosphere with certain music.

Music that glorifies the flesh as opposed to glorifying the Lord. I've noticed this. I don't know how many of you have ever just felt empty at the end of listening to, you know, several songs in a row that are just really simple, simply worldly songs. They might have great tunes that we're all familiar with and we love, but after a while, your soul's just empty. You know, it just needs something deeper. It needs to be set above into the heavenly realms. And there's. There's only.

So, so much music that can do that. And that's music that really glorifies the Lord. So that's such a comfort, knowing that we can change the atmosphere wherever we're at.

And Debbie said she's playing the piano again. Yeah. So if you are a musician and you can get out a guitar or piano or flute or whatever, you know, you might have at the house, get out your own instrument, make a new song to the Lord, right? Play some music and, you know, go for it. So number one was what we're looking back. Movement. Number two, music.

Music.

These are our M and M's, guys. Number three, manage your media. So I already said how God had led me to really take a break from social media in mid January. I didn't know that the pandemic was coming. God did. And I think because C.J. and I lead people and, you know, God I think just wanted us to be able to pour into you. And I would have, I know I would have probably just been a basket case and a wreck had I not had the, the distance from social media during this time.

Yeah.

And so, you know, we, what we want you to do is ask the Lord, you know, ask him right now what, what you need to do in order to manage your media.

That you consume. That, that includes news, it includes social media.

Even, you know, radio talk shows. But we highly encourage you to limit your intake some way.

And even how.

You'Re talking about everything to other people. So, you know, you can be like always, you know, you know, what are you talking about? Are you regurgitating some of the fears, the news and this and that, or are you speaking peace and hope and joy?

Years ago, when we used to live in Findlay, Ohio.

We had a little TV that sat in what we call the breakfast nook. So it was kind of between the. Out the back door and the kitchen. It was like this little spot. We had a little table there and it was like clockwork. Every day I get up and I would sit at that table with some breakfast and I turn that TV on for the 6am news. It was the local news out of Toledo. And I kid you not, I would watch Four Cycles. It was all the same thing. It was. It would last about two hours. And of course, you know, as you know, they cycle through about every half an hour. So that's four cycles. And you would think that I got tired of seeing that, you know, so and so's cat was saved out of a tree, you know, on Elm street in maumee, Ohio, at 6:34pm last night. You know, you think that I'd get tired of that, but I'm sitting there glued to that tv. And by the end I just felt stirred up. And there was a point where Shelly and I just decided to get rid of the TV altogether. And when we did, it cleared up so much in terms of time. We had more time for just reading. We couldn't just go to our favorite TV shows and binge and sort of just have this mindless, numbing entertainment. And I just want to say that it was a positive thing for us. Now we still watch movies on occasion on our. On our computer, laptops or TV shows, things like that. So, you know, we haven't just given up all entertainment altogether. But not having that TV that's plugged into a cable network, that makes a lot of difference for us because we used to have our regular shows. It was a regular thing each week, and it was taking up time. And some of these shows just left those, you know, those crime scene images in your mind, and, you know, you're going to bed, you know, staring up at the ceiling. And it was, you know, it was an atmosphere change.

Yeah. And I just want to say, specifically about news right now, you know, all of this, you know, it's personal decisions. We're not saying you have to cut your cable or anything. Yeah. But we noticed a difference when we did. And when I was working physical therapy, there was a time when they decided to put a TV in my clinic and they would run CNN all day. Cnn, that was the only channel, you know, that I got. And it was just news all day. And I would. I have to admit, like, I didn't realize it at first, but all of a sudden, like, it started to change my mood. It started to. I started to get more anxious, and I was like, all of a sudden, I put two and two together. I'm like, it's. It's having that news on all the time. Seeing the blood, seeing the things. It would traumatize me. And so I just turned off the tv and unless a patient specifically asked me to turn it on. And peace came back, I mean, it is definitely, you know, the news can increase fear and anxiety. So you want a quick fix? Decrease your intake.

Yeah, I love what the word of God says. 2nd Corinthians 10:5. And I'm actually going to read the Passion translation. So you've heard us read it before. It's sort of a newer translation.

But it says we can demolish every deceptive fantasy that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God. We capture, like, prisoners of war every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One. I love that. You know, some of our translations say take every thought captive. So I love that, like prisoners of war, we're capturing those thoughts. We're not letting them just run wild and dictate the rest of our day. But I Also love Proverbs 4:23. Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. And the image that I always got during that time, I used to share that verse all the time, a presentation called Media Talk 101. It was really a challenge to kids and adults regarding what we put into our minds every day through our media. And the image that always came to my mind was in Lord of the Rings, when you have that army of evil orcs that are trying to get through the city walls in one of the scenes, they're trying to break down the city walls that have this people that they're going to conquer. And they. They just kept bashing, and they just kept bashing away. And you know, what happens is when there's an opening, then there's an exposure. And the enemy eventually did get in and ran amok in that city and took it. And that's what can happen in our lives, is when we have these openings and we haven't guarded our minds, we haven't guarded our hearts, we allow the enemy to come in and run amok, to essentially have his way for a time, at least until we can turn back to the Lord and have him rescue us and have him fortify our walls. But that was always the picture that I got, you know, those evil orcs. And there's a passage in Daniel chapter 6 and verse 18, and just to paint this a little bit, you know, Daniel had. Had been thrown into the lion's den, you know, for not following the order to essentially bow down to the king at a certain time each day. And it says that the king was actually pretty disturbed. The king actually liked Daniel, and Daniel always gave him good advice, wisdom. And so the king was disturbed because he had to follow through in this order that he had signed. And so I love this. In Daniel, chapter 6, verse 18, it says, Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night fasting. He refused his usual entertainment and couldn't sleep at all that night. See, he was disturbed. He was fasting on behalf of Daniel. It concerned him. He thought, daniel's going to be lying lion food and he's not going to make it through the night. And so it says that he fasted, but it says he refused his usual entertainment. What I want to say is, are you and I willing, especially during such a pressing time that we find ourselves in right now, are we willing to fast from our usual entertainments.

For a day? Maybe. Maybe it's longer. And for the express purpose to seek the Lord in a deeper way. I think these are such pressing times, especially for us as Kingdom writers, that we need to have our faces set like flint toward the Lord that as we do this and we give up at times our usual entertainments, and we're willing to even fast from social media or fasting from our television or, you know, giving up the news for a day or two in order to sort of let the air clear. I used to always call some of the tv, you know, media pollution. You know, you're letting that air just move out, let the. Let the wind carry it so that the pollution clears up. By the way, they. They even say that there's. There's been an unusual improvement in air quality.

Yeah.

Because people aren't driving everywhere right now. No wonder gas prices are so low. Right. And so there's something that happens when we choose to give up something. It's like the air clears. And I want to encourage us all to just think of ways, especially as we go through April, not knowing exactly when some of this is going to ease up. Are we willing to give up some of our usual entertainment in order to say, I'm concerned. I'm so concerned that I want to seek the Lord out on this. And I think it's. I think it's good. And by the way, I bet you didn't realize that media is found in the Bible. And the first place that I'll have you look is Ezra 6. 2. You can check that out later. But media don't ever say that media is not in The Bible. Ezra 6:2, among other places. But that's a side note. That's for you if you want to do a little extra research.

Yeah. So as a review, we've covered, number one, movement, number two, music, number three, manage your media, number four, meditation. And like I already mentioned, in February, I just felt this urgency. It's like I. For the last year, like all of 2019, I was reading the research and seeing how beneficial meditation was for anxiety. And, you know, I struggle with that. And so I knew that was something God was asking me to do, and I just didn't do it. Didn't do it, didn't do it. And finally in February, I was just like, it's time. And it was like, February 1st. I remember I got out a calendar. I'm like, I'm going to mark it off every day. And I meditated for 20 minutes every day in February. And there was just this urgency of like, I need to do it now. And it really began. I mean, I started to see a change really quickly. And I think what it does, I mean, it literally begins to rewire your brain. And there's a lot of research on this, but I don't recommend jumping in and starting with 20 minutes. Start with one minute.

Yeah, start small.

If you try to start with 20 minutes, it's, you know, it's very likely that you'll quit and not do it. But if you start with one minute and everyone can do one minute. Right. If you can, let us know in the comments. Can you meditate for one minute every day?

And in fact, author John Eldredge has created a free app called the Pause app. The one minute pause app that will lead you in a one minute meditation. Now they do have three minute, five minute, ten minute meditations, but you have to start with the one minute. And every single one of us, we can do this one minute a day. Right. It refocuses us on God. It's completely free app. The only add is to his book, which is really good by the way. CJ's already read it. I'm wanting to read it as well. But take one minute. Download this app. Take one minute. Anytime you start feeling the anxiety, come do it again. Do it again. And yesterday I was, it was just, it was an off day for me and I track the meditation on my phone and I like did like an hour and a half and not all at once. It was like five minutes here, 10 minutes, but I just stop and I do it and then I'd go on my. And then I'd stop and I would do it again and then I, you know, and I would stop and I would do it again. And you know, I use different tools, but I was definitely using the Pause app and I just think that.

It really helped me yesterday. And so I encourage you do it. Go download that Pause app if you're going to do it and you commit to doing at least one minute every day. Just type in I'm committed in the comments. And they said that, you know, John Eldredge said he had an urgency to create this app when he did and he didn't know why, but now he knows why. And he said they're getting testimonies from people all over the world, healthcare workers, that, you know, it's sustaining them through this time, it's putting their focus on Christ during this time. It's giving them a way to manage and cope. So definitely recommend that.

Yeah. And you know, the word of God talks about meditation.

Psalm 119, 15 and I'll read this in the ESV. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes your ways. And if you look at that word meditate in that specific instance, it's the Hebrew word siach, S, I, Y, A C, H, siach in Hebrew. And it's found over 20 times in the Old Testament alone. And it simply means to muse, study, ponder, consider, put forth thoughts. So one of the quick things that I want to differentiate here is that there are different kinds of meditation around the world. So there's more of a worldly New Agey meditation, which has the whole concept of emptying your mind. So just completely emptying your mind, which really isn't a good thing, because then you're opening yourself up to all kinds of other things, taking that spot. So the biblical form of meditation is focusing on a certain phrase or certain thought or the word of God. And in your fixing your eyes, as Psalm 119:15 says, I fix my eyes on your ways. And so we're fixing our eyes on Jesus, even as Hebrews, says the author and the perfecter of our faith. So we're faithful, fixing our eyes on the very object that we're wanting to meditate upon. That's the difference between biblical meditation and Eastern meditation. And so just a little, little thought there in terms of, of the way, the way we like to meditate, the.

Spirit you're connecting to. So we recommend connecting to the Spirit of God, obviously, Holy Spirit, you know, meditating on scripture, doing those things. But there, you know, there's a lot of stuff out there. So just ask the Lord for wisdom. And the Pause app focuses on Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit. So we know there's a lot of. There's a lot of meditation apps out there, but we know that one will not lead you astray. So that one is definitely biblically based. And.

So lectio divina is also a form of prayer that meditates on a scripture. And this is really powerful to help calm anxiety as well and to help us focus on God. So, cj, why don't you kind of run down the four that we have gone through so far?

Yeah. So we've got movement. Remember, these are the M and M's. These are the M and Ms. That we recommend.

The power of the M&Ms.

Don't go and binge on the candy. M and Ms. Afterwards. Please don't tell us that. We, we tell people that we. We gave you that advice. So movement, music. And then we've got managing your media meditation. And what's the fifth one.

The fifth is mindfulness. Now I have to admit I was kind of, I don't know, I just always thought mindfulness was an Eastern meditation thing and it was not biblical and it couldn't be done that way. And I don't know, I just stayed away from mindfulness. I just, I never studied it, I never learned it. And God has been showing me and teaching me things like I said this last year that have been helping me. And one of them is mindfulness. And again, it's the spirit with which you're connecting to. And it doesn't have to be connected in any way to any kind of Eastern religion. Mindfulness is basically just. It's not a weird thing. It just simply means being fully present in this moment instead of dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. So it's about practicing the presence of God in this moment.

Yeah.

Mindfulness being in this. Yeah.

Called the Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. He was this, this monk that worked as a cook.

Yeah.

And the guy was. He had some sort of handicap injury that caused him to be really slow in terms of, you know, getting things up and downstairs and needing help and. But it's just a classic that I don't think he ever imagined how much it would impact people. People reading his diary in journal entries. Yeah, but great.

Yeah, basically that's what it is. And like I said, I've been a worrier. Anyone else out there willing to admit that you struggle with worry? I've been a worrier. And practicing being in this moment and you know, what is this is a white shirt, you know, being in this moment. Like what, what's holding me up, Feeling my, my chair and my breath and focusing on like what do I feel in my body and being in this moment. It has really helped me. And in a non judgmental way, you know, showing compassion to yourself. And.

The Google definition of mindfulness, when I. It was the first one that popped up when I googled it. It says a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment. And I like to say on the presence of God in this moment. Right. And while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts and bodily sensations, not trying to change it, not wanting it to be different, not judging it, you know. But you mean those things will come.

Up, showing yourself a lot of grace.

Yeah, yeah. And so I've heard someone say, as I've been reading and researching this, I've heard someone say mindfulness is kind of like removing the residue that's left behind in a bathtub. So, you know, we get all this stuff in our brains and in our minds and it just helps us remove some of that residue. Meditation does some of that as well. We're such a fast paced society and we're always connected and we're always on that. To try to slow down and to be in the moment, to just focus on our breath is hard. And it's been hard for me, but I've noticed an improvement. I noticed that it's changing me. And right now there's an app called Balance and they're offering a one year free subscription. It's not a Christian app. The pause app is, but. But the Balance app is not. But I have been going through it and as far as I can tell, so far it's not associated at all with any Eastern religions. It's just a basic app to lead you through mindfulness and to be aware of your breath, to be aware of different mindfulness techniques. So that's something you may want to check out as well. But mindfulness can also be achieved through coloring. Can you believe that? Yes. Coloring. How many of you loved to color as kids? You know, the adult coloring book craze has been going on for years. But you know, you can actually have mindfulness with coloring. And I was, you know, I put coloring pages in my book. Broken crayons still color. But I really wasn't into it until recently as I've been seeing the benefits in my own life. Some meditation, some mindfulness. I mean, I. I literally feel different. I can tell my brain is rewiring and I don't know, cj, if you can start to tell like that I'm responding differently and reacting differently and I.

Can just say I don't color very much. But anytime I have colored throughout my lifetime, it is a relaxing thing, you know, as you're.

Yeah.

Just slowly making your way through a picture and choosing which colors and trying to stay within the lines. It is a very relaxing thing.

So I never was really into it, but as I've been studying this, I've been reading about some research and there is a lot of research that shows that coloring actually has the power to change our brains. And I just want to share some of this because I was a physical therapist. I took, you know, neuroanatomy. I studied the brain and so this was like, whoa. It doesn't just subjectively make you feel better, it objectively changes your brain. So a cognitive neuroscientist, Stan Rodacky, used an eeg which an eeg, studies the brain.

To measure the impact of coloring on our brains. They were measuring two of the chemicals in our brains. Adrenaline, which is your activation one, and then dopamine, which is your relaxation one. And he had people color for just five minutes. So we're not saying, like, you have to spend hours and hours and hours coloring. If you set aside five minutes to sit down and color. And he said, just forget about everything else. So just forget about everything else and just concentrate on your coloring. So concentrate on the lines, concentrate on the colors. Just focus in. Again, it's like focusing on this particular moment, not thinking about the past, not worrying about the future, just focusing on that. And they found amazing results. So they had people hooked up to this machine, remember, that's monitoring their brains. And the patients not only subjectively reported feeling better after five minutes, but they were also able to objectively show the difference it made in their brains. Just five minutes of coloring. I mean, amazing. And they said that they found that with certain people, five minutes of color coloring had a better effect on the brain than 30 minutes of breathing exercises, which also is proven scientifically to help as well. But using coloring and other mindfulness techniques, we can learn to slow our heart rate, maintain alpha brain waves, and it gives us a sense of calm. So we actually can control the part of our brain that affects our feelings and our mood. And this realization is reinforced by the science of it all. It's been measured in the brain. So you can start the journey of rewiring your brain with all of these things that we've been talking about. But it can be as simple as five minutes of coloring. And so this is from the book the Neuroscience of Mindfulness. But they said our brain needs pattern repetition and control. Control meaning like coloring in the lines. Like, there's a defined boundary, and there's something about that that just brings a peace and a calm. And so it's really interesting because during this time of the pandemic and COVID 19 and everything, one of the things immediately I heard a couple people say, and I felt God was like, shelly, I need you to pray about this. Was, what is your assignment? What is your role in this? Is there something different that I need to be doing? And I began praying about that. And almost right away, God gave me a new product idea. And I've been kind of hinting about it a little bit in the group, but I thought, you know, I'm going to share about it today. It's not quite ready to launch, but we've Been working hard on it behind the scenes. And God has led CJ and I to open a new membership called Living Colors. It will be an online membership where you'll get four new scripture coloring pages every month. So it will be scripture with my hand lettering that you can color in, but also designs and four prayer journals using Lectio divina, which is also, like I said, shown to be really helpful in bringing anxiety and peace or bringing down anxiety, giving you peace. And so we're really excited about this. It's going to be just only $5 a month. We want to make it really affordable. You can print them off as many times as you want, but it's going to be a tool that you can use at any time. You can use with your kids, you can use with your grandkids, you can use with your Bible study group. You can, you know, really just have this as a tool. So we're going to launch it in the next couple weeks. It's livingcolorsonline.com so stay tuned. But we just wanted to mention that that's something that's coming and a resource that we're creating for all of you.

Yeah. So we're, we're getting ready to close. And as we like to do, we want to take a one minute reflection time where each of us can just come to the Lord and say, what are you saying to me, Lord, through this, you know what, what do these M and Ms. Have have to do with my own life? And how am I going to apply some of those to my situation? And so we just want to take one minute and play some music. And as we're doing that, spend that time just asking the Lord.

Yeah. Before we do that, actually, let's review the five M's. Number one was movement. Number two, music. Number three, manage your media. Number four, meditation, meditating on God. Number four, mindfulness. Staying in that present moment. Moment. And inviting the Holy Spirit, practicing his presence. So let's spend a minute just asking the Lord to speak to you today.

Sam.

All right. If you feel comfortable, please share in the comments. What God was speaking to you. As I was praying about today in this whole session, I just felt like I got this picture of each of you. You know, each of you has an opportunity to like.

To take the initiative to find ways that will calm, bring calm, that will connect you to the Prince of Peace, you know, during this time. But I saw you like floating in a pool, like on one of those little raft things and had noise canceling earphones on, like there's all this stuff going around you, but you're just sitting there, like laying there in complete peace. Now, it doesn't mean that you're going to be there all the time because we're supposed to be in the world, but not of the world. So we're not supposed to completely separate ourselves from the entire world. I'm still checking into the news. I'm not completely in denial, you know, I'm still praying and, you know, crying out and all of that. But we need those moments where we get on that raft, we put those noise canceling headphones on and we find that peace of, you know, Christ and that we return to that peaceful place and that we can then be people that go out and change the environments where we're interacting, that we can bring the peace into that environment because we've been spending time with the Prince of peace.

Yeah. And you know, it just even makes me think of the times that Jesus and his disciples were on the water. You know, there weren't always storms. There were a couple doozies that we read about and Jesus certainly calmed those storms. But it makes me think, man, I wonder if Jesus would suggest, hey, let's cross to the other side of the lake in order to sort of like enjoy.

Time on the water, you know, peace.

Just taking a nap. As we read in one of those stories, he was actually napping during one of those storms and the disciples frantically woke him up. But sometimes I wonder if that was one of his ways of sort of breaking away, getting away from the crowds, just enjoying some peace, you know, on the water, you know, as his disciples got him across. But.

We just want to close in prayer. And as we do, I know there are a few of you members that are in. You know, Candy had mentioned that she is, she's a nurse. She's one of our members and she's a nurse working on the front lines, I believe in New York. And of course we also have a couple, couple other members that are in the New York City area. And so we want to especially lift you up. We know you're in the very front lines right now of.

This whole thing and we want to just pray specifically for you. But just even all of us as a whole, we're praying that shield of protection that we would find our refuge in the Lord. So let's just all agree together as we pray.

There were several members that just said they were really struggling. And I won't say their names, you know, right this moment, but just pray for those too who are really struggling during this time.

So, Father, we just, we lift up Candy and the others that are in the New York City area and we are specifically asking, Lord, that you would put a hedge of protection around them, that everywhere they walk, they walk with your shield. Yes, guarding them. I pray that they would be protected from this virus. I pray specifically, Lord, that they would infect other people with their peace and with their joy and with the spirit of God within them. And I just pray that you would protect them in the midst of a storm and that there would be calm wherever they walk and that every time they walk into a room, they would literally change the atmosphere because they carry the God of the universe within them that resides in them. That's just a mind blowing thing that you reside in us, that our bodies are now part of your temple that you dwell in. And so I just, I pray that you would just use Candy and other frontlines, medical workers that know you in powerful ways. We pray, Lord, that you'd reward them with strong, strong health and immunity even in the midst of being around people who are suffering right now. And we just pray for those in our group who are struggling right now, maybe a little bit of depression, a little hopelessness.

Just lethargy.

Just feeling out of it, feeling like they're sort of walking zombies, distracted.

Just constantly connected to the news. I pray, Lord, that you would bring peace into their lives. I pray that they would be able to steal away, get away from the distractions, as it says in Luke 5:16 and Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer. And I ask that we, as members of Christian Book Academy, as your kingdom writers, as priestly pens in the hands of God. I pray that.

We would steal away, that you would allow us to break away from the noise and, and hear your voice in powerful ways, even in the midst of this pandemic. We pray that you would download inspiring thoughts that we can not only write down in books, but share on social media, share in blog posts in whatever ways that we can lift up the name of Jesus in this storm that we find ourselves. We want to do so. And so I pray that you would bring comfort, bring, and bring peace to those who are struggling most right now. And I also just want to pray that this is for all of us. That you would increase our trust?

Yes.

That you would increase our belief. I think of the Father who had the Son that would, would be thrown into convulsions. And he says, if you can, Jesus, you can heal my son. And, and Jesus was startled. What do you mean if I can?

Who do you think you're dealing with here? I'm the son of God. I can do this. And the man just simply said.

Help my unbelief, Lord. I want to believe, but help my unbelief. Help our unbelief, Lord. Help us to be strong in our belief, to be firm in our foundation.

Increase our faith as you get rid of the fear in our lives. Increase the peace in our lives as you dissolve the panic. Bring calm where there's been chaos. And I speak that over every single member in Christian Book Academy. Those who are watching live, those who are going to watch the replay, anyone who will catch the podcast, we speak this over them. And we ask, Lord, that you would minister to them as if they're the only one in the room.

Yes.

And we thank you for what you're going to do, Lord. We know you're already bringing much good out of what the enemy would love to just.

Have us focus on negative. We know you're bringing good out of this and squeezing every last drop for your glory. And we ask that you do that in our own lives. And we'll give you the glory and the honor for everything that happens out of this. And we just pray, Lord, that each and every member would be able to sit down and focus in such a way that they they become productive again in writing the words that you've laid on their hearts.

Yes, Jesus.

And we ask this Jesus, wonderful name. Amen.

Amen. And if you need more, if you want more encouragement and prayer or want to pray for all the different things around the COVID 19. We did a 24 hour prayer vigil last week in the Peace Over Panic Facebook group. So it's a unit in there. There's 24 prayers. Two of them are videos, but the rest are prayers that CJ had typed out and you can just read over and over over again as you need. We are here in this with you. We are praying for you. God is on the throne. He has victory for you. He has peace for you, no matter the circumstances. So we're praying for you.

And peace be with you all.

Yes, bye. Thank you so much for joining us for this episode of the Finisher series. It really means the world to us that you would invest time and be here with us today. So thank you. We have a free gift for you. We recently just made this available to the public. Previously was only available to the paid members in Christian Book Academy, but it's a copy of my publishing map. I hand drew and lettered this map out for you and it literally takes you through the steps of publishing your book. And our members love this resource. Some have said they print it out and they use it every single time they publish a book. You'll also get access to a video of me explaining the publishing map to you. And so I really hope that this also helps you overcome any confusion or overwhelm regarding independent publishing. And you can download this for free@trainingauthors.com publishing map or just swipe up and the link will be in your show notes. Thank you again for joining us. We love you all so much. See you next time.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Kingdom Writers. We believe that you, as a Christian writer, have a specific role to play in the Kingdom of Heaven to impact lives for eternity.

And because of this, we choose to pour out our lives into encouraging writers like you to not only tell your stories, but to take the courageous step of self publishing your stories in books that will outlive you and leave behind a powerful legacy. This podcast is sponsored by Christian Book Academy where we help you give birth to your books. We invite you to join our community of Kingdom Writers.