Monday, September 26, 2022

Try putting the phrase, “the God who loves you says...” before reading anything in the Bible on how you are feeling, or really anytime you’re reading Scripture. Like this, “The God who loves me says in Proverbs 14:12, ‘There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.’”

Try it again tomorrow with a different verse like:

Luke 12:22

Luke 11:41-42

John 5:22

Why does this help our mental health? This simple practice keeps our hearts & minds right about who God is and who we are to him. It reminds us of how he truly feels about us, and how he is for us through anything we’re feeling. That mindset can be a key shift in how we allow God’s words to work in our hearts and minds. Not reading Scripture? Start by incorporating some type of Bible reading or listening (the YouVersion Bible app has ones you can choose from) into your everyday life. Just start somewhere, 1 morning or 1 night, 2 mornings and 1 night – whatever works for you. When you do, add that phrase as you step into reading it.

Parents of Kids & Students:

Growth happens when you learn how to recognize feelings and discern how to act on them appropriately.

A kid’s feelings and logic often don’t mix—they mostly care about how they’re feeling hurt, sad, disappointed, or angry. But at the heart of all of these emotions is the question, “Do you see me?”

So, when a kid or teenager starts acting on their emotions...

• Look beyond the behavior and see the emotion and the need instead.
• An emotionally-activated brain can’t receive logic at that moment. When a kid is emotionally activated, their right brain is super-charged, so meet them with emotion and empathy if you want to connect.
• After the right brain settles down, only then should you engage the left side of your kid’s brain with logic.
• The goal isn’t to eliminate the emotion, but to help kids learn to regulate themselves. Seeing beyond their behavior and acknowledging their emotions helps kids feel seen and understood.