Speaker 1: 0:41

Welcome back to the Fit Soul Podcast. My name is Amy Ramsey, I am your host. I have a faith-inspired message for you. Today I want to share with you a story that has been a theme in my life, my entire life, and I just know that this is really going to encourage you and inspire you. And before I share that story with you, I just want to share how our lives are, our legacy and how we are managing this human experience.

Speaker 1: 1:22

The real, the raw, the struggles matter. It really matters how we are. We don't have to do it perfectly, but striving to really understand and get a grasp on our lives in a way from like a spiritual perspective, that God's got everything and that we believe him and that we trust him and that I am the creator of my thoughts. I get to choose my thoughts and really learning how to take those thoughts captive. What the heck does that mean? How do I really do that? And not let my emotions drive the ship. Still, honor emotions, but not let them rule me, especially the negative ones. All right, if that's of any interest to you and that's who you are becoming and you want to really take that biblical approach and get that edge back in your life and learn how to in high performance coaching. I am a coach, a high performance coach. We call that psychology mastery. You're really going to enjoy this podcast. It's actually a faith activation text that I send daily out to my coaching program, to the ladies in my coaching program, and I am such a big believer in. If you want to level up in your life, get yourself a coach. It's one of the most powerful things you can do Someone to call you higher, someone to give you the encouragement but also challenge you, someone to champion you, and that's just what I do in the Walkworthy Mentorship. So enjoy this faith activation text and I would love to hear from you how it encouraged you.

Speaker 1: 3:30

I'm really excited to share a verse with you, one of my favorite verses. When I was a little girl, my mother used to when I would come into her room, especially as a teenager, and I would get upset, or you know how your hormones are crazy when you're a teenager and life felt just awful over. Somebody said something, or you broke up with a boyfriend or whatever. You know what I'm talking about and my mother would read a verse to me consistently, and I want to share with you why this is even more significant that she read it to you, but read it to me. But it's Philippians 4, 8. And it says finally my brother, whatever things are true, whatever things are, brother, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of a good report, if there's any virtue, if there's anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things. Paul goes on to say that the things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these you do, and God's peace will be with you. Right above that passage he says verse 6, be anxious for nothing, but in everything, with prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God and the peace of God. Again, here we're talking about peace what surpasses all understanding. This will guard your heart and your mind through Christ Jesus. Us learning how to control our minds is an us job.

Speaker 1: 5:22

My life shifted powerfully I mean powerfully when I actually understood that I didn't know that I actually could change my thoughts. I thought I was and I lived this way for a long time a victim of them and stayed stuck in some really negative mindsets. I had broken belief systems and because of that I didn't even think of a life of significance, I didn't even consider that there was an abundant life for me. I just didn't even know that these things were possible. And as I learned to change my thoughts, line it up with who God says that I am, based on my birthright in Christ Jesus, based on my identity, I stayed stuck and when I finally it's like I had a breakthrough, I literally did. I mean there. I think there's just some moments in our life that the Lord just I don't think it was audible, but I'm not sure it wasn't I just heard him. I just heard him speak to me. It was one day and it literally changed my life and he shared with me I would be healed, I could be healed from that, that I could be whole. And I didn't even know that was possible, like healed and whole, didn't know it was possible. And the more I leaned into who he says that I am, am and the more I understood who he was and I am. These wonderful things, chosen, fully loved, fully seen, known because of who he says I am oh my gosh literally shifted my life and I will never stop talking about the power of understanding who you are in Christ Jesus. It's my purpose and my calling on this earth and in that walking worthy of that calling, we have to learn how to take our thoughts captive.

Speaker 1: 7:49

That seemed really ambiguous for a long time for me. I didn't understand that Like I would read it, but I still felt the same. It wasn't happening in my heart and in my mind and I had to learn how to meditate on the things that are true and noble, the things that are just and lovely and of a good report and praiseworthy. Meditate on these things. One way that I test now my thoughts is bringing awareness to not only my thought processes but my but my physiology, my psychology and my physiology are they lining up with someone who is at peace? That's what this passage promises. Do I have sensations in my body that feel at peace or do I feel like there's an elephant stamping on my chest?

Speaker 1: 8:47

Anxiety test anxiety and learning to be in touch, in tune with my body, with my thoughts, with the spirit, and test that and then go back. Okay, where are my thoughts right now? I'm ruminating on this or I'm worried I've got anxious thoughts in this, because this is really really hard. But learning how to take that and then take it captive and then meditate. And then Paul is so clear Finally, brethren, the things that are true, noble, just pure, lovely, good report, virtuous, praiseworthy. Meditate on these things and then you will have peace.

Speaker 1: 9:36

That sounds a little oversimplified, but it's not. It's the scripture. So I just want to encourage you to truly take your thoughts captive, do the work. That's work, that's work, and it starts with our identity, who I am, the precious promises God's given me in his word, and doing the work and disrupting the thought patterns that are causing the anxiety. And maybe it's for me.

Speaker 1: 10:04

I'm walking through a season where I feel the anxious thoughts. I feel it and then I go okay, lord, I'm going to surrender this back to you. I'm giving it back to you and then I start praying. That's a productive thought, and spiritual practice and process is to surrender it, give it back to God and pray. But if I allow my thoughts, the anxious thoughts that I'm feeling, it rises in my body. Even just saying that, thinking about that anxiety, I felt a shift in, like the tightness of my chest, even just saying that Listen, our words have power, words have power.

Speaker 1: 11:56

Watch what you say. The power of life and death is in the tongue. Our thoughts come. Our words come from our thoughts, so I wanted to share that with you today. I wanted to share with you the power of optimizing your life, your health, your spiritual growth, everything about you, by learning to test your thoughts, take recognition of them, bring them to awareness. So my mom, who had encouraged me when I was a teenager, going through all my stuff, struggled with depression and she learned how to take this verse and to retrain her mind. This was before the day of you know, neuroscience being like a common theme that you hear people talk about. My mother did that and I want you to know now that she hasn't changed. She still. She has all sorts of struggles in her life physically, but she's mastered this area of her life. She's mastered it. She trains her thoughts and it's been such an example to me and I hope that this has been helpful to you.