Hi, welcome back to day two of your journey with Hope.
Just like we talked about yesterday, spending time with
God is like watering your roots and that's exactly what you're
doing today. Just choosing to take steps
towards a healthier and more present life is its own reward.
OK, let's go ahead and get started by getting comfortable
and start to take some nice deep breaths in through the nose and
out through the mouth. And remember, make these breaths
feel good, see how the body naturally relaxes.
And on the next exhale, let your eyes become heavy and slowly
close. And now come to that feeling of
weight in the body. Let the shoulders become heavy
and relax away from the ears. Soften the chest, relax the
stomach. Gently bring your attention back
to the breath and simply noticing the natural rhythm of
the breath. Try not to change it, just
notice it. Is it deep?
Is it shallow? Is it rhythmic or jagged?
You're simply noticing. Notice the rise and fall of the
chest. Notice the feeling of the breath
coming in and the breath going out.
And now begin to count the breath.
One on the inhale and two on the exhale, three on the next inhale
and four on the exhale. Then continue counting all the
way to 12. And if thoughts take you away
and you lose track, gently bring your awareness back to the
breath and start over. There's no destination.
And now let go of the breath, Let go of any focused attention,
and just let your awareness be free.
If thoughts take you away, that's fine.
Simply let go and let your awareness rest.
Gently bring your awareness to rest in with this verse.
Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man
became a living being. And again then the Lord God
formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Focusing on your breath is more than just breathing.
Your breath is a balancing and calming force.
When you're excited, you may breathe more quickly, or when
you're nervous, you may be able to feel your chest tighten.
Your breath is a reflection of your life.
We spend time focusing on our breath because it's a physical
reminder of the present moment. Freeing and expanding the breath
allows you to relax. It helps you unwind and reset
your mind. And just as breathing helps you
unwind, resting in the presence of God allows your spirit to
find emotional balance and clarity.
Cultivating a relationship with God is a lot like dying cloth.
First, you have to put the cloth in the dye and let the cloth
steep. This allows it to soak in the
colors, getting darker and more vibrant.
But to set the colors in the cloth, you have to take it out
of the dye and bring it into the sunlight.
And as the sun dries the cloth, the colors will fade.
To deepen the color, you have to put the cloth back into the dye,
repeating the process again and again, letting the cloth steep
in the dye and then bringing it out into the world to set the
colors in the sun. Spending time with God works in
the same way as you spend time with God.
Your color and truest nature will start to blossom.
As you go out into your life, into the world.
There's hardships, pain, and difficulty, really just life in
general, and that's where your color begins to fade.
If you continue to come back to God in prayer, your color will
deepen. You have to go out into the
world to set the color. But by continuing to come back
to God, your color will become more vibrant, fading less as you
spend more time in the sun. You slowly become the person you
were designed to be. God is not only the source of
physical life, He's also the source of the things that make
our spirit come alive. Great love and great purpose.
This is the breath of life. These are the things that make
life worth living. You were intentionally and
specifically created by a God who loves you.
You weren't made to merely exist.
You were made to live. God, thank you for this
beautiful breath of life. Help me become more aware of
Your love and blessings in every moment.
Heal and restore me by Your ways, not mine.
Gently bring your attention back to the body and come back to
that feeling of weight. Now take a deep breath in and
slowly open your eyes. Give yourself a stretch.
If it feels good, sit back in your chair and relax.
If your mind was full of thoughts today, that's OK.
Sometimes your mind will be empty and calm.
Other times your mind will be overrun with thoughts.
It's normal as you go about your day, when things get hectic and
you need to reset, remember your breath.
I hope you feel a little better, and I hope your color is a
little more vibrant. We'll see you back tomorrow for
day three of Foundation with hope, mindfulness, and prayer.