The Be One Life

Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength together a one.

Unbreakable Marriage

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Have you ever thought about what it would be like to have an amazing marriage that would last happily ever after like the fairy tales?  

 

That kind of marriage does exist and it is no fairy tale.  

 

That unbreakable marriage is between Jesus and His church. Saying yes to Jesus and becoming his follower is like a wedding ceremony where you are becoming part of the bride of Christ, the church, and Jesus is the groom.  During His time on earth, Jesus never married in the traditional sense; however, he did commit his life to his bride, the church. Every disciple of Jesus, comes together as one in Christ to make up his bride, the church.  Ephesians 5:31-32 says,

 

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”  

 

When we confess that Jesus is Lord and submit to him, it is like saying our wedding vows, beginning the covenant of marriage. Jesus established the Lord’s supper as his marriage covenant with us at the meal with the apostles the night before he was crucified as we read in Matt 26:26-28:

 

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

 

When a believer is baptized into Christ, washed with his blood, and transformed into a new self by the Holy Spirit, it is like the Holy Spirit is the wedding officiant pronouncing the couple husband and wife, sealing the covenant, adding the believer to the church and making them one with Jesus.  Romans 6:3-4 (ESV) tells us,

 

“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

 

We are no longer the same old person living with sin, but a new, complete person made whole, through the blood of Christ. Best of all, we are part of the bride of Christ, the church, sealed with a covenant the no man can break. This is a marriage of our spirit to Jesus and it is the only marriage that is sealed for eternity.  There is no ‘til death do us part; there is no divorce between Christ and the Church, we are His bride forever.

 

Now that is unconditional love.  

This is the kind of love and marriage we want everyone to experience.  May we always celebrate our spiritual marriage to Jesus through our lives, and let it reflect in our actions so that others may experience Jesus’ love.  

Be One.

God’s Power in Our Prayers

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Ephesians 6:18 (NLT)
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

 

Let us continue to pray with and for all believers everywhere because there is so much power in prayer, dear friends. Why is it that we don’t pray more? God does amazing things for us when we pray. The fullness of God works on us, around us, and through us when we pray. Cultivating our prayer lives is an amazing, life changing practice.

The Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, can be a very confusing concept that is difficult to fully grasp on this side of heaven. While we are certainly not experts on the Trinity (sorry!), we can tell you that the all of the Trinity is at work when we pray. When we are adopted into God’s family through Jesus, God sends the Spirit into our hearts to cause our souls to call out to him (Galatians 4:4-7). Prayer is our intimate and powerful soul connection to God.

There are several parts of the Bible that talk about God working in our prayers. All of the Trinity is present in prayer in Ephesians 6, the Holy Spirit in verse 18 and the Father and Son in verse 23. Romans 8:26 tells us that the Holy Spirit helps us and prays for us when we can’t express ourselves in words. When we sin and ask for forgiveness, Jesus, the Son, is our advocate before the Father pleading our case (1 John 2:1). Whenever we pray to God, the Father, He will answer our prayers and supply us with whatever we need (Matthew 7:7-11; Philippians 4:6; 1 John 3:21).

Isn’t it a blessing to know that God gladly works on our behalf when we pray? This allows us confidently call on God with the assurance that He will hear us and answer us. We pray that God blesses you as you pray for others. So let us pray everyday for our families, our marriages, our friends, the church, and for those who are still seeking the peace that comes from following Jesus!

 

Be One!

Soul Care Vs. Self Care

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The idea of self care has permeated our culture. Everywhere you turn, you are encouraged to take “me time” or to “treat yourself.” There is nothing inherently wrong with self care. We do need to care for ourselves. In order to love well, we have to be physically and emotionally capable of doing so.

We know that taking time to relax, recharge, and reset are not inherently wrong. But what happens when the usual tools of self care are not enough?

What happens after you spend time alone (or with friends)? After the vacation? The manicure/pedicure? After the shopping trip? The gym? The yoga class?

What happens when you practice self care but you still feel a hollow place of longing from deep within?

Let me introduce you to soul care.

But first, let’s explore some differences between self care and soul care.

 

Self Care vs. Soul Care

Focus: Me Focus: God, the Source
Purpose: Disconnect to recharge, restore, reset Purpose: Connect to the Source of all that is good & beautiful
Result: Quick, temporary results; usually external Result: Intentional, multi-dimensional internal change

 

What is the soul? The soul is that place of deep longing. It is the life and light within you that needs to connect to the Source of all light and life. It is the part of you that knows that there is something more–that there are greater depths to explore and more meaning than what we see.

Why soul care? When you begin a practice of soul care, you are jumping into the deep and wide river of the Source’s love. You are choosing to continuously connect and reconnect to the Source. You realize that the focus is not yourself, but you will change. You are committing to slow down and pay attention to what is happening in your inner world.

A few soul care practices that we use at Be One Yoga are Meditation, Silence, Prayer, and Storying.  You owe it to yourself to not only practice self care, but to practice soul care to connect your soul to the Source, the only answer for the longings of the soul.

How to Protect Your Marriage From Holiday Stress

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‘Tis the season. Bells are ringing. Lights are twinkling. All is merry and bright–or is it? How is your marriage? Are you and your spouse struggling with the effects of holiday stress? For many couples, the holidays are full of extra events, extra commitments, and extra people. All of this “extra” can lead to feelings of overwhelm.

Stop for a moment. Notice your breath–is it shallow and up in your chest? Do your shoulders and neck ache? Is your chest tight? Do you have a dull headache or feel overly anxious?

Instead of enjoying this time of celebration and excitement, are you and your spouse snappy and high strung? It doesn’t have to be this way. With the right perspective, you can take care of your marriage and even grow closer during this holiday season. It all starts with a little marriage soul care.

Here are some simple, yet impactful ways to protect your marriage from holiday stress.

  1. Choose your priorities! Want to relieve stress and cut it off before it starts? Then focus on what matters most. Spend a few moments in silence and ask God to show you what is necessary to focus on during this time of year for your family. From here, begin to think about your priorities and choose 3 areas of importance for this Christmas season. Perhaps you want to focus on connecting with the Creator, remembering Jesus’ birth, or even just enjoying the season with your family. Whatever your priorities are, write them down and focus your time and energy on them as a couple.
  2. Release Expectations. This is the hardest right? It’s not saying that we cannot have expectations, but we do need to hold them loosely. Grasping at our expectations too tightly is a surefire way to end up anxious and disappointed. Instead of focusing on all the things people say the “perfect holiday” entails, how about looking around at what is actually happening in the moment. Be present to what you are currently doing and allow yourself to engage with whatever is in front of you. You see, anxiety comes when we are preoccupied with the future. It is our ego’s way of trying to control things that we have no control over. When holiday stress and anxiety rear their ugly heads (and they will) ask yourselves: What is happening now? What beauty is here? How can we fully engage this moment?
  3. Read God’s Word together. Spend a few minutes each day (you can start with 5) reading the Word. Time spent in God’s word tunes our heart to His and reminds us of what is important. Read a few verses together and have a quick chat on how it can be used to shape your marriage.
  4. Pray together. We all know we need to pray together, but are we actually doing it. Sure, you may pray for your spouse, but are we praying with them? Praying together helps you to grow in oneness because you are seeking the heart of the Father as a unit. You can share you deep needs, desires, hurts, and joys as one. When you pray together, you, your spouse, and God are all in communion in a way that doesn’t happen when you pray separately. Use this short time to not only speak to God, but to invite a few moments of silence in for listening.
  5. Keep regular couple time. Make it a regular practice during the holidays to make time for each other. Whether it is a date night at home or a shopping date, spend some time with just two of you. During this season when everyone and everything is vying for your time, make your relationship a priority. Spend quality time together often.

The holidays are often a time of stress and strain. But they don’t have to be. Choosing soul care for our marriage can keep us focus on what and Who matter most. May you walk through this season of Advent hand in hand and eyes toward heaven.

Be One, Beloved!

 

Gratitude- Life Debt to Jesus

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Have you ever read a book or seen a movie where the hero saves someone’s life, and then in gratitude the saved person dedicates her life to serving the hero? This life debt concept is highlighted in many stories, including Star Wars and Harry Potter to name a couple. The greatest story ever told also has the life debt concept, but what sets it apart from other stories is that it is our story and it’s True. The redemption story features Jesus as the greatest hero to ever live. God loved this world so much that he sent Jesus to save the world by taking the punishment for the world’s sin. Jesus died on the cross as a sacrifice to God for us all. If anyone has reason to be grateful, it is us.

Paul, an apostle of Jesus, used this same type of life debt concept when describing the relationship those who follow Jesus have with Him in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15. He says, “Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive this new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.” Those who believe in Jesus are given a second chance with a new life free of the guilt of sin. How great is that?! Does knowing you are forgiven of every wrong thing you have done in your life make you feel grateful?

As followers of Jesus, we live in service to God out of gratitude to Him for his love, mercy, and grace. We are not working to earn our salvation, but because we are already saved by Jesus’ sacrifice. Romans 8:7-11 gives an excellent explanation of how God’s love, mercy, and grace produces gratitude in everyone who believes in Jesus.

“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.”

Our gratitude for God and desire to spend our lives serving him stems from the love God first showed us. Through our restored relationship, we can rejoice and gratefully give God all the glory. This month, join us as we explore what the Bible says about living in gratitude and how it flows into our relationships with our spouse, children, extended family, and friends.

Be One, Beloved

Goodness

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GoodnessOur Abba is good. We are good. You are good. We know this because His word tells us so. This months theme is goodness. We will be focusing not only on the goodness of God, but also all the goodness He created. So often, we are bombarded with images of negativity, destruction and sadness; for this month, we want to simply meditate on goodness.

This month, today actually, our family will be making a huge life transition. We will uproot and move our family to the Caribbean. It is a God-sized dream come true, and a gift we honestly don’t have words for. This is what we consider a highlight. It’s easy to see the highlights as good, but I want to focus on the goodness that led to this.

I struggle with depression and anxiety. Towards the end of last year, I lapsed into a deep depression that I thought I would never be able to climb out of. I felt nothing but sadness, loneliness, despair, anger, exhaustion, and indifference. I definitely thought our world, or at least my part of it was ending.

But God.

As I look back at my journaling through the depression, the work I did, and the help I received, I am in awe of Abba’s goodness in all things. He used that time in the wilderness to teach me about waiting, cocooning, and loving myself and him well. He used depression–my recognition of it and my continual healing from it to teach me that though I am flawed, though I stumble, I am GOOD. Not because of anything I have done or will do, but because He is good. Before creation, God declared that I was good because He is good.

You are good too, friend. Will you believe that today? No matter where you find yourself. Whether it be marriage troubles, parenting strife, illness, depression, or any other transition. Look for His goodness, and you will inevitably find yours.

What is Christian meditation?

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Meditation is a spiritual discipline.  It is a time of active surrendebeonemeditationr to stillness and the presence of God prompted by the Holy Spirit so that God may dwell in our innermost spaces.  God’s dwelling in our innermost spaces slowly conforms us into the image of Jesus.

It is a pondering of and setting our attention on God’s Word and w
hat he is saying through it.

According to Richard Foster,

“Christian meditation, very simply, is the ability to hear God’s voice and obey His Word. It is that simple.” 

As a spiritual discipline, meditation requires continual practice to see change.  The changes begin from the inside out.  Over time, it helps us to remember our connection to God even in our most chaotic, frazzled spaces.

“Meditation resets our awareness of the WITH GOD life.  It helps us rediscover the joy that God has chosen to settle in with us, to set up a home in us…”  (-Jill Fisk)

Christian meditation is necessary so that we may learn to be ONE with HIM and grow up to look more like our HIM.

How do I Start?

  • Show up!  Simply meet God face to face.
  • Get still & quiet.
  • Ask the Lord to show himself to you through His word.
  • Listen for what the Holy Spirit as you read.
  • Listen to some of our Be One Meditations to help you.

 

The Be One Life

The Be One Life

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