Thank you @Alysen Sherlock & @Diane Lombardo fir a beautiful conversation about God’s unfailing love for His children! We talked about various scriptures & how they help us in times of difficulty. The Armor of God 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/our-parallel-paths-a-future-for-my-loved-one/id1628612624?i=1000565672684

What do you do when times are tough & you’re struggling? How do you keep yourself going if you feel like you keep hitting a wall? I’ve been reading the book of Ecclesiastes this week. The author- thought to be King Solomon- reflects on the futility of life. He sees the futility in the struggles of life, but ultimately determines that our paths are directed by The One who created us. Is that a help during tough times? For me, it comes down to faith. In times in my life when things were really hard, I doubted my faith. I doubted that God had a plan & at some points, I wondered if there was a God at all, He seemed so distant from me. But if we study 📚 our thoughts & certainly study spiritual teachings, we see that this is a human condition. We all feel this way at times. Understanding that seasons of hardship are inevitable in life helps put into perspective nothing is permanent. Having support in hard times is a critical component for mitigating the struggle factor. What kinds of support do you have? I rely on my time with God. Walks in nature. Conversations with loved friends. Reflections of what I already have that I’m grateful for. Faith that there is a force greater than I, and that I am connected to & created by that force…what an amazing truth! Steve Jobs famously said “you can’t connect the dots looking forward”…but imaginally we can. We can imagine a time in the future when everything has worked out, & we see looking back that our struggles & tough times either -taught us something -prepared us for something or -served us in some way. This is sort of my recipe for managing in tough times. I’d love to hear your thoughts, reflections, tools & tips for how you manage! And if you’re reading this in your email, pop on over to the Powerful Creators community & share with others. After all, we rise by lifting others. You never know who your words might help. Wherever you are & however you are, I wish you a blessed day!

Some thoughts & reflections on what it means to come from a higher order of thinking.

I’d love you guys to help me welcome my friend for many years, Dr Elaine Middleton! Lainey, as I call her, & I go way way back! Elaine just received her doctorate this year…I’d love for her to share more about herself & that journey here. She truly is a powerful woman & a beautiful example of what we can do with our lives when we focus on what we can do & not only “what happened to me”, because we ALL have What Happened To Me stories. Thank you for joining Elaine!!! Love you 😘