How to Be Fulfilled

I woke up at 3:33am this morning and found myself pouring into the research of our basic human needs. And then this happened…

(Heads up: It starts with research language
but then it turns into a prayer strategy.)

What We Need and How to Become Fulfilled

Psychologist Abraham Maslow 
(1943, 1954): 

Study of Human Motivation:

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a study by Abraham Maslow to understand what motivates people. It is believed that people possess a set of motivation systems unrelated to rewards or unconscious desires.

“A person is always becoming and never static”

Human Motivation is defined as people who seek fulfilment, change through personal growth, discovery that is present in life. Humans are always finding a meaning to life that is important to them.

Human Potential: 

Maslow formulated a more positive account of human behaviour, focusing on what goes right.

Self Actualization:

Refers to the person’s desire for self fulfilment, namely, to the tendency for him to become actualized in what his potential is. It is realizing one’s potential, self-fulfilment, personal growth and peak experiences.

It is a continual process of becoming, rather than a perfect state one reaches of a “happy ever after” 
(Hoffman, 1988)

Although everybody is able to be self actualized, most of us will not. 
Only 2% of the people usually reach this state.
“It’s a matter of degree. There are no perfect beings” -Maslow, 1970a. P176

Peak Experiences:

Self Actualization is measured with peak experiences.

A person experiences the world for what it is, with feelings of euphoria, joy and wonder.

These vary greatly from person to person.

How to become “Self Actualized”: (Take a look at this… This is much of what God invites us to too!)

1. Experience life like a child (full absorption and concentration on things you do) (Matthew 18:3; Mark 10:14; Luke 18:17)

2. Try new things instead of safe paths (Jesus makes all things new and He is our safe place)

3. Listen to your own feelings, in evaluating experiences (and not the voice of tradition and authority) (I would adjust this to: listen to your emotions, but take them to discern with Holy Spirit and do not merely follow tradition and rules.)

4. Be honest and avoid any façade (The truth sets us free. If you’re not free, it’s not the truth.)

5. Be prepared to be unpopular if views do not coincide with majority (Think of Noah.)

6. Responsibility and hard work (Colossians 3:23)

7. Identify your defenses and have courage to give them up (Prov 3:5,6)

So, What? What is the Next Step?

How do we apply this information and take it to God?

Consider this: 

Jesus, said to ask Him for whatever we need and it will be given…

John 14:13-14

Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

Therefore, we are invited to pray as Jesus taught. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. (Read and reflect on Matthew 6:9-34)

More Promises… 


Matthew 7:7-11 

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

John 16:23-24 

In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

Psalm 121:2

My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.

Luke 11:13

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

James 1:5

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

Philippians 4:6-7

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

1 John 5:14-15

This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

I Invite you to Pray:

Lord, thank you for these promises. Your Word says: (pick 1 or more to pray back to Him).

Lord, my heart and life is lacking… (name the need). I ask you to supply what I need.

(Or you could ask the Lord to help you name what it is that you need – to go deeper.)

In Jesus name, I rebuke the enemy from getting in the way. (Resist the enemy and he will flee.)

Father God, I ask you to release your angels to gather in what I need. (Angels are assigned to minister to us.)

Thank you! Amen.

I bless you with more of Holy Spirit 
to walk forward in ALL God has for you!
💕🙏🙌🥰 

Provided by: Merri Ellen Giesbrecht / www.merriellen.com

Need help walking this out? Contact one of us: www.coachinginfreedom.com

Source:

Parents: How to Surf the Waves of the Current Storm with your Children? 

Photo by Tatiana Syrikova on Pexels.com

How do we help our kids navigate through a world where leaders are falling in sin like hotcakes, and churches are arguing over divisive topics? 

We need two major things.

We need to know the Scriptures and rely on Holy Spirit.

As parents, we need to worship God in both Spirit and Truth and invite our kids to walk in this too. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is true freedom (2 Cor 3:17) – no matter what is happening in the news today.

Now more than ever, we truly need to have a relationship with God rather than merely rely on a doctrine, a church, or a human pastor.

Helping You and Your Kids Hear From God 

Children hear the Lord easier than others. The most common block that children face is the unbelief of their parents and leaders. Our greatest responsibility as parents and leaders is to lead the children into an intimate friendship with God, which includes teaching children how to recognize and respond to the voice of God. 

We CAN learn to hear God’s voice. 
John 10:27 says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

The earlier you expect a child to sense God’s presence and voice, the less likely you are to shut down their spiritual eyes and ears. (Don’t be discouraged if you are late in the game to hearing God’s voice. God knows your kids and will lead you!)

Why Teach Kids to Hear God’s Voice? 

  • They can have friendship with God (the most important thing!) 
  • God can help them make decisions (imagine if kids could avoid the mistakes YOU made!) 
  • They can be led by God to minister to others (the supernatural, including hearing God, is for demonstrating God’s power in the world. For children to move in a pure, undiluted gospel of power, they must learn to hear God’s voice.) 

How Does God Speak?

His Word, dreams, through others, through parents, a still small voice, spontaneous thoughts, impressions, feelings, inner-knowing, pictures, and circumstances. 

Start Practicing Hearing God with Journaling

A “Hearing God Journal” is the best way to practice hearing God’s voice. Dr Mark Virkler taught me this from Scripture. In journaling, you simply ask God and question and then record what you sense God is saying to you. Then, you test it out according to God’s Word, His nature, His Holy Spirit and with others who know Him. Here are some steps for using a hearing God journal: 

1. I Quiet Myself.
Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God.” Our minds can be so busy and noisy that we can’t hear God’s gentle whisper. It’s impossible to empty our minds of racing thoughts. What we need to do is focus on Jesus. Express your love for Him – you can tell him with words, or more with feelings and desire and less with actual words. It’s like sitting quietly with your best friend. Just being together is enough. Listening to a worship playlist may be a great way for you to quiet your heart. 

2. I Picture Jesus.
Hebrews 12:1-2 says “…Let us run the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus.” Imagine your heart is like a movie screen. Ask God to fill this screen with His words and pictures. Pray, “Lord, I give the eyes of my heart to you. Fill them with your pictures and good ideas from heaven.” Just as our physical eyes see into the natural world around us, our spirit sees into the supernatural world when we ask God to open them. Picturing ourselves with Jesus in a Bible story is a good way to “prime the pump.” In the beginning we may need to “prime the pump” with a little help from the ‘eyes of our heart’ (our imagination), but when we exercise faith, it quickly turns into a pure flow of the Spirit. The water we prime the pump with may be warm and stale, but it is followed by a fresh flow of pure water. 

3. I tune to the words and pictures that gently light upon my heart. 
John 7:38 says, “Rivers of Living Water will flow from the heart of anyone who believes in Me.” God’s voice is like a gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:11-12). Usually it is not a whisper that we can hear with our ears, but the Holy Spirit speaks directly to our spirit through spontaneous thoughts. “Spontaneous” means that these thoughts seem to just appear in our hearts. They are not just something we were already thinking about. When God puts His thoughts in our heart, we often feel peace, or faith, or conviction, or a special excitement. God can put a thought, a word, an idea, a feeling, an impression, or even a vision in our heart. 

4. I write down.
Revelation 1:11 says, “Write in a book what you see.” We call this ‘journaling’. In Habakkuk 2:2-3 God says, “Record the vision…for the vision is yet for the appointed time…though it tarries, wait for it…it will surely come.” Journaling is writing out our questions and God’s answers. Simply ask a question and then write down the spontaneous thoughts that come to your heart. Don’t try to figure out if your writing is God or not until AFTER you are done writing. Nothing stops the voice of God speaking to you more than doubt. After you are done writing you can go back and compare what you wrote with the Bible, ask your parents or pastor if they think it sounds like it’s from God. You can also write down what God speaks to you from the Bible and any other lessons God is teaching you. 



Journaling through the New Testament is key to discerning God’s voice. *Don’t attempt to teach your children to hear God without Scriptural foundation. Simply walk through the Gospels to start with alongside your children. Teach them how to journal through Scripture. Read a passage. Ask Holy Spirit to highlight a word/phrase, then how He’s inviting you to apply it. Write out a dialogue with Him. Write out an Action Step from the Scriptures. Go and do it! This is powerful!

Is it God?

How to Test What you Hear:

A big question is whether we are really hearing from God. Explore these questions AFTER you are finished journaling. 

  • Does it agree with the Word? 
  • What do others say about it? God especially speaks through parents. 
  • Do we feel peace about it? 
  • Does it glorify God? 
  • Would it bring the fruit of Holy Spirit?

How to Identify Who is Speaking: 

  • God’s voice – kind, peaceful, truthful, sweet, it always lines up with His Word 
  • My voice – selfish, self-centered, self-protecting, self-serving 
  • The enemy’s voice – condemning, manipulative, persuasive, deceiving, threatening, accusing. 

To learn how to hear God and teach your kids, join us for one of our upcoming events!
Merri Ellen Giesbrecht, Life Coach & Spiritual Director

Events: www.merriellen.com/events

Resources: www.merriellen.com/resources

Private or group Coaching:  www.merriellen.com

Create Space this Holy Week (pdfs enclosed)

Free PDFs below..
Please share this with friends…

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

On this upcoming Holy Week…. (April 11 – 17, 2022)

I wanted to bless you with this little reflective exercise to enjoy as you abide and draw near to your Saviour!

1. Stations of the Cross …(Scriptures) 

2. Plus, to really deep dive… Passion Week Timeline lays it all out for you in a sequence!

You can download these and use them to reflect on what the Lord did in the last few days of Holy Week for YOUR freedom!

Please forward this to friends for them to enjoy this upcoming season!

Also…
Coming soon!

Stay tuned for an event coming in a couple months for moms and grandmas in discipling their kids to hear God’s voice!

If you were sent this…
Subscribe to stay in the loop!
 

Blessings on your journey forward!

Merri Ellen Giesbrecht
Certified Life Coach & Spiritual Director


www.merriellen.com

Offering private and group sessions

Moving you from stuck 
…to walking in God’s promises
…and calling for your life.

From Ashes to Beauty?

Do you have things in your life that feel like dust and ashes?

Come and see what the Lord has for you instead! 

The enemy thought he had Jesus trapped, but Resurrection Sunday was coming…

Women: Join us for the Ashes to Beauty – 5 day event for women hearing God! 

We will unpack the depth of what ‘ashes’ the Lord wants to turn into beauty in our lives. 

Join us and invite your friends!

Feb 28 – Mar 4, 2022

Reserve your spot TODAY: 

https://www.merriellen.com/5days

Author Murray Dueck shares about the value of dreams through God’s eyes

I recently had the joy of interviewing Murray Dueck who has been a mentor, teacher and such an encourager to me.

Enjoy!

Click here to watch the interview on Facebook or… on YouTube

Murray has trained thousands of people in learning to hear Gods’ voice through local classes, seminars, and online training through Samuel’s Mantle Prophetic Training School of which I got to be apart of for 2 years.

He is the author of four books; ‘If This Were A Dream, What Would It Mean?’ (Freshwind Press) – ‘Keepers of the Presence,’ ‘On Things Above’ (Samuel’s Mantle Press), and ‘The Dreams We Dream

If you have been apart of my events, I’ve often given away his books!

Click here to join us starting January 17!

Thankful in every season: Let your joy overflow!

I love how there’s always SOMETHING to be grateful for – no matter how small. The power of thanksgiving is one thing. The power of thanking God is supernatural. It opens wide the doorway to His presence… (Psalm 100) and His peace.

I enjoyed this passage below recently with a group I was coaching. I bless you with it too!

4 Be cheerful with joyous celebration in every season of life. Let your joy overflow!
5 And let gentleness be seen in every relationship, for our Lord is ever near.
6 Don’t be pulled in different directions or worried about a thing. Be saturated in prayer throughout each day, offering your faith-filled requests before God with overflowing gratitude. Tell him every detail of your life,
7 then God’s wonderful peace that transcends human understanding, will guard your heart and mind through Jesus Christ.
8 Keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising him always.
9 Put into practice the example of all that you have heard from me or seen in my life and the God of peace will be with you in all things.

-Philippians 4:4-9

✅Moving you from stuck …to walking in God’s promises
✝️…and calling for your life. 🤩 merriellen.com

Originally posted here

Ask God: “How are you with me?”

This Sunday begins the first Sunday in Advent
and I have a gift for you below…

Ask God:

“How are you with me?”

Emmanuel means, “God with us.” 

I love taking God’s promises, His character, and His names and pray into them.

It looks like this:

This Advent and Christmas season, take time to

ask Him: “God, how are you with me this season?”

Journal what comes to you…

This is one of the richest experiences with Jesus
I have every year!

Take some time to step away from the noise.
He waits to sit with you, smile at you, speak with you!

Advent is a season of expectant waiting and preparation for both the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas and the return of Jesus at the Second Coming. The term is a version of the Latin word meaning, “coming”.

I put together something for you below which I too am using this year as I reflect on who Jesus is…

Feel free to share your reflections in our Sacred Space group!

Note: A New Year Reflection & Gathering
is coming for January 2022!

Subscribe here & Watch for details…