Wednesday Wanderings with Dr. Sherri is a time we set aside to wander in the Presence of Jesus and ponder His truths. When you are ready, prepare your mind, body, and soul to have a transformational conversation with Jesus.

Watch the Wednesday Wanderings Welcome for this week.

Now  that we have cleared our minds of the clutter, we can wander on the journey of exploring the language of love.

PREPARATION: 

In our last Wandering we examined talking and hearing.  This week we will listen in on the psalmist conversation of adoration and investigate the languages of love.  When you are ready, you may begin the dialogue with Jesus by stating:

“Jesus, I invite you to help me to wander into your Presence where your everlasting and reckless love can influence me. Illuminate my spiritual senses to encounter you. Prepare my heart to focus my attention on loving you with my whole being.

PROMISE: Love is a demonstrated and expressed language between lovers. In Matthew 22: 37 Jesus commands us to convey our love to the lover of our soul, holistically. He states, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (New International Version). Our devotion to God is considered the first commandment. We are instructed to withhold not one ounce of affection and to lavish God with a cumulative love of our heart, mind,and soul. The song writer is living out this commandment and transparently shares his adoration to Jesus.

PSALM:  My Jesus I love Thee was originally a devotion poem written by William Ralph Featherston around 1864. In this poem, Featherston shares his love language of affirmation in his transformational conversation with Jesus.

Chorus:
Lord Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
For Thee all the pleasures of sin I resign;
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou,
If ever I loved Thee, Lord Jesus, ’tis now.

Encounters with Jesus grow like roots within the soil of our heart, mind, and soul. When we spend time with Jesus the seeds of our will, understanding, and affections bloom into an anthem of adoration. As each day passes, our soul has an unction to obey the commandment of Matthew 22:37 to love Jesus MORE with all passion, prayer, and intelligence. This is evidenced when our worship and praise grows into a field of loving devotion.

PARABLE: The psalmist uses the love language of affirmation to declare his love for Jesus. The word NOW jumps out of the lyrics in real time.  Notice that the proclamation of the writer’s love comes after the pronouncement that there is a personal covenant love with Jesus (I know Thou art mine) and after a promulgation of the characteristics of the love Jesus has committed to displaying (gracious, redemptive, and saving love). What makes the love that the writer has so present and profound? I don’t know the answer to this question but I do empathize with an intensified love that is occurring NOW. 

Time is a stimulant in the language of love.  The more you experience time with Jesus and the more you come to understand and receive His endless love, the more your heart responds and reciprocates the love. After graciously being redeemed from a two-year post-traumatic stress disorder battle, now more than ever I understand the ever-present healing love of Jesus. The love language I speak in response to the love of Jesus is now different.

Have you considered that love is a language? Gary Chapman describes that God speaks all Five Love Languages fluently. 

The Five Love Languages are:

1. Words of Affirmation (Hebrews 13:15 communicate love through praise and thanksgiving)
2. Quality time (Deuteronomy 17:18-19  communicates love by spending time in God’s word and with God)
3. Receiving gifts (Romans 12:1 communicates love by giving ourselves to God)
4. Acts of service (Matthew 25:31-40 communicates love by loving and serving others)
5. Touching (Mark 10:13-16 communicates love through physical touch and acceptance of others)

Do you know your primary love language? If not, you may take the 5 Love langauge quiz to learn your primary love language. Most likely the love language you communicate in with people is the same love language you will choose to communicate with God. The song writer reveals that his primary love languages through the lyrics indicating that he was spent quality time with Jesus and his response was to affirm his love for Jesus.

PONDER and WANDER:

Ponder the question: What love language do you think Jesus speaks? Jesus also speaks every love language and is an interpreter and translator of our love language. He understands every word, thought, and emotion behind each act of love. He individualizes His love language to each believer. As He speaks to us we experience the unconditional, gracious, redeeming, and saving love of Jesus and it provokes a response within us to express our language of love to Christ. Each time we wander in the Presence of Jesus and encounter His love, we become more fluent in our love languages.

This week our wandering will assist us in growing our emotional relationship with Jesus by strengthening our expression of love in the areas of quality time and affirmation.

Like William Featherston, you may chose to set aside some quality time to write a devotional poem affirming your love to Jesus. If you choose to write your poem, keep in mind that it is your personal expression and is not confined by length, rhyming, or any other myths you have about poetry.

When you are ready, you may begin by taking a moment to breath in and out inviting the Holy Spirit to activate your spiritual senses. Next allow the Holy Spirit to bring to your mind what words will best express your adoration for Jesus based on your relationship with him in time.  Consider your love affair with Jesus in:

• The Past
• The Present
• The Future

When you are ready, let the Holy Spirit guide your pen as you write a devotional poem of adoration to Jesus expressing your love to Him for the gracious love He has given you in the past, for the redeeming love He is giving you in the present, and for the saving love he will give you in the future.

If you prefer technology over the traditional method of paper and pen, you may choose to contemplate expressing your poem in emojis. When you are ready, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, ponder what emojis represent your relationship with Jesus in the past, present, and future. Now select the emoji’s and craft a love text to Jesus.

PRAYER: My Jesus how I love THEE! Let me count the ways. I love thee with my affection. It exceeds that which I have for any other. I love thee to the point of exhaustion. My whole self is spent in my love for thee. I crave thee. Refresh the cravings of my mind, body, and soul with your everlasting and ever-present love. I love thee in other tongues. Help me to seek opportunities to diversify my language of love. I love thee with everything. You are my everything and my everything is YOU! In the name of Jesus who is the Lover of my soul I pray, Amen.  

PRAISE: Now that you have emptied your mind of the clutter and wandered with Jesus, take a closing moment to offer God your gratitude. Let the work of your wandering fill you with the love of Jesus and utter a word of thanks in the love language of affirmation.

Then take the mindfulness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes of wandering into the next ones and beyond.

Until next time, be Resonant.

Image attributions:
Love Jesus with all: Google images
Love blooms: Google images
Love is a language: Google images
Love letter: Belovedwomen.org
Love Emojis: Pixabay

Wednesday Wanderings with Dr. Sherri is a time we set aside to wander in the Presence of Jesus and ponder His truths. When you are ready, prepare your mind, body, and soul to have a transformational conversation with Jesus.

Watch the Wednesday Wanderings Welcome for this week.

Now  that we have cleared our minds of the clutter, we can wander on the journey of examining what it means to Have a little talk with Jesus and tell him all about our troubles.

PREPARATION:  In our last Wandering we explored Mind Talk. This week we will investigate what we can expect when we tell Jesus about the troubles we battle in our feelings, thoughts, sensations, and memories. When you are ready, you may begin the dialogue of having a little talk with Jesus by stating:

“Jesus, I invite you to help me to wander aimlessly into your Presence where my troubled mind, body, and soul can be transfigured. Illuminate my spiritual senses to encounter you. Prepare me to talk and then to be still and listen.

PROMISE: Jeremiah 29: ¹² Then you will call on Me and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear (your voice) and I will listen to you. (Amplified). When we choose to pray to Jesus we can be assured that He will hear us with His heart. Psalm 34:18 promises us that Jesus is near us when we have troubles. When our thoughts, feelings, and actions are troubled, we can have a transformational talk with Jesus.

PSALM:  The song writer of Just a Little Talk with Jesus  invites us to join him in having a transformational conversation with Jesus.

Chorus:

(Now let us) have a little talk with Jesus
(Let us) tell Him all about our troubles
(He will) hear our fainted cry
(He will) answer by and by
(When you) feel a little prayer wheel turning
(And you) will know a little fire is burnin’
(You will) find a little talk with Jesus makes it right.

The songwriter begins the chorus with NOW because he knows that when we are in the midst of trouble, there is an urgency to talk and to be heard. Jesus is an active listener. Jesus listens with his heart. When our heart bellows for help, His heart is actively  listening to learn, evaluate and analyze, and to understand our troubles. In response, His love translates our troubled cries, interprets our incommunicable moans, and deciphers our distressed tears.

PARABLE: The songwriter instructs us to have a little talk with Jesus and tell Him all about our troubles because he has been a recipient of the scriptural outcome.  Psalm 46:1 promises us that God is our refuge and strength (mighty and impenetrable), A very present and well-proved help in trouble.

We learn from this psalm that there are three immediate benefits we receive when we share our troubles with Jesus.

1. We receive refuge because God is our shelter in distress (Psalm 27:5).
2. We receive strength because God is our security and power in despair (Psalm 138:3).
3. We receive help because God is our remedy in difficulty (Psalm 54:4).

When we have a little transformational talk with Jesus, our thoughts that are guided by our feelings are HEARD because Jesus is an empathetic listener. He is attuned to our sound, our feelings, and our emotions. Jesus is a responsive listener. Not only does Jesus detect the faintest whisper, discern the slightest groan, and perceive the softest sigh but He responds and intentionally delivers us from our troubled thoughts, feelings, memories, and sensations (Psalm 34:17). Jesus is a proactive listener. Jesus implements a safety rescue plan. Jeremiah 29:11 affirms that God knows the plans He has for us and that even trouble result in a bright, hopeful, prosperous, and non-harmful future.

Transformational conversations are about t.a.l.k.ing and h.e.a.r.ing. When in prayer we Tell Jesus about our troubles, Acknowledge our sin, he will Listen and guide us, and He will Keep His word. When we cry out, He will Hear and discern our need, with Empathy he will feel our emotions, Answer by responding according to His plan, and Rescue and deliver us from our troubles.

PONDER and WANDER:

In Psalm 116, David declares that because God is an empathetic, attentive, and proactive listener, he will pray as long as he has breath. Are prayer and breathing connected? Yes. Breath is essential to our mental, physical, and spiritual well-being. Therefore, it seems natural that it be intentionally included in our wanderings and transformational conversations with Jesus. Breath prayers are a contemplative practice. Normally the practice is done by selecting a scripture and breathing in the first portion of scripture and breathing out with the next, and repeating this pattern over an extended period of time.

Today we will practice breath prayers slightly differently as we accept the invitation to wander with Jesus and ponder what we are in need of right now. For example, I need help in this moment. As I breath in I am visualizing the research article that I need to complete, as I exhale I am crying out to Jesus the word help.

When you are ready, take a moment and breath in and out inviting your spiritual senses to activate. Next, allow the Holy Spirit to help you identify right NOW which promise you need to receive. Do you need refuge? Do you desire strength? Do you want help? After you are aware of what you will focus your attention on today, practice doing a breath prayer. Breath in and as you exhale, say the word that is the focus of your intention several times until you experience the peace of God’s promise.

Continue to practice this breath prayer and to create new breath prayers in the days to come. Know that whatever your trouble, Jesus is waiting to listen, hear, and answer you if you will take the time to Have a Little Talk With Jesus.

PRAYER: Father, thank you that you are our Avenger and will defend those who cry out to you. Help me in the midst of trouble to come to you. I know that You are for me but sometimes my doubts and fears and emotions grab hold of me. Translate and interpret my silent cries and transform them to shouts of praise as I focus on the promise that even trouble MUST work out for my good. In the name of Jesus my Savior I pray, Amen.

PRAISE: Now that you have emptied your mind of the clutter and wandered with Jesus, take a closing moment to offer God your gratitude. Let the work of your wandering fill you with hope and the assurance that Jehovah Shammah our Lord will be there listening in your times of trouble.

Then take the mindfulness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes of wandering into the next ones and beyond.

Until next time, be Resonant.

PERSONAL BONUS: If you would like, you may  Listen to the three minute prayer as I share my experience with the Resonant 7 Community.

To wander and ponder is a part of my personal life. Wherever I go, I look for opportunities to encounter God. During my visit to Old Jerusalem this spring, I visited the Western Wall a.k.a. the Wailing Wall, and considered to be the most sacred place in the world. Regardless of the beliefs, there is a unified understanding of all who gather at the wall that the prayers they offer will be prayers heard. The prayers of a Christian believer are like a run on sentence that God never grows tired of hearing. We can pick up the conversation at any time.

Hello, my name is Sherri Woods and I will be your journey guide for Wednesday Wanderings. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, to wander means to move about leisurely without a fixed course or goal. The purpose of Wednesday Wanderings is to set aside time to allow Jesus to accentuate our creative mind and fill them with His truths. For Wednesday Wanderings, we will be journeying with Jesus into encounters to heal our mind, body, and soul. You may want to consider utilizing a journal to record what I have termed the “transformational conversations” of your venture.

Watch the Wednesday Wanderings Welcome.

Now  that we have cleared our minds of the clutter, we can wander on the journey of examining what it means to Have a little talk with Jesus.

PREPARATION: In our last Wandering we explored the components of a transformational conversation. This week we will  delve into battles of the mind. When you are ready, you may begin the dialogue of mind talk with Jesus by stating:

” Jesus, I invite you to help me to wander aimlessly into your Presence where my mind, body, and soul can be transfigured. I welcome your truth and a holy encounter with your Word. Illuminate my spiritual senses that my eyes may see you, my ears may hear you, my body may feel you with me, and my heart may receive you.”

PROMISE: Our mind is where our thoughts develop into the actions that keep our hearts captive. If we want to experience transformational conversations with Jesus, it is necessary to acknowledge that our minds are battlefields and to seek a mind of Christ that will take our thoughts captive so our hearts can hold the evidence of freedom. Phillipians 4: 6-7 provides us with the remedy for the battles of our mind.

Phillipians 4:6-7 Amplified Version

PSALM:  The song writer of Just a Little Talk with Jesus  transparently shares the battles of his mind in his transformational conversation with Jesus.

Verse 3:
I may have doubts and fears, my eyes be filled with tears,
But Jesus is a friend who watches day and night;
I go to him in prayer, He knows my every care,
And Just a little talk with Jesus makes it right.

The writer acknowledges that thoughts of doubt and fear lead to tears. His confession demonstrates the importance of acknowledgement.  Acknowledging in our transformational dialogues with Jesus that we have anxious, fearful, doubtful, judgmental, and worrisome thoughts begins the process of casting our cares upon the one who cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). Casting our cares will lead us to being sustained (Psalm 55:22) in peace and rest.

PARABLE:  Verse 3 introduces us to two of the four common battles of the mind. Thoughts become actions. Actions are guided by our feelings. Battles of our mind engage our emotional being to experience feelings of doubt, anxiety, confusion, and judgement.

Four Common Battles of the Mind

• The Doubting Mind (indefinite in thoughts which manifest wavering and uncertainty)
• The Anxious Mind (worried in thoughts which manifest fear)
• The Confused Mind (deficient in wise thoughts which manifest doubt)
• The Judgmental Mind (critical in thoughts which manifest suspicions)

The reflections of “what if”, the questions of “how”, the perceptions of uncertainty, and the rationalizations of suspicions paralyzes our PRESENT living.

The remedy to the battle of doubtful, anxious, confused, and judgmental thoughts and feelings is a Mind of Christ.

Phillipians 4:6-7 provides us with the strategies to demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we how to take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

In every situation or circumstance to obtain a mind of Christ that is able to capture thoughts we are to:

• Pray (Have a transformational talk with Jesus)
• Make petitions (Ask for what you need Jesus to do with the battle in your mind)
• Offer thanks (Use future thinking the right way to assure yourself that Jesus WILL care for you and your situation)
• Continue to make specific requests (Tell God about your doubts and fears, invite Him into your tears and His peace will reassure your heart)

PONDER and WANDER:
When we deliberately take the time to wander aimlessly into the presence of  God we build our arsenal against the battles of the mind.

The Mind of Christ is obtained in His Presence through a life of prayer (transformational conversations with Jesus). We can use anxiety and worry as barometers. If a circumstance or situation is enough to bring worry or anxiety upon us, it is enough to pray about and cast upon Jesus. Know that any time, any place, in any situation Jesus is petitioning on your behalf to El Roi, the God who sees you.

Lets take some time to wander with Jesus and ponder a few questions. Take a few breaths in and out. In and out. As you breath in invite your spiritual imagination to become activated. As you breath out, release the clutter of concerns and anxieties. Breath in and out.

As you wander with Jesus, invite the Holy Spirit to sanctify your spiritual imagination. Now invite the Holy Spirit to bring to your mind the root of your doubtful, anxious, confused, and/or judgmental thoughts that you battle in your mind.  When you are ready, have a little talk with Jesus and ask and record the answers to the following questions.

1. What is at the root of my doubt, anxiety, confusion, and/or judgement?
2. When I feel doubtful, anxious, confused, or judgmental where do I feel it in my body?
3. When I feel doubtful, anxious, confused, or judgmental what does it do to my mind?
4. When I feel doubtful, anxious, confused, or judgmental what does it do to my soul?

Now that you are aware of these things, with your spiritual imagination view the baseball and baseball mitt. Imagine that the ball represents your cares. As you have a little talk with Jesus, throw them into His hands with the assurance that His hands are big enough to catch every care you throw at Him.

PRAYER: As you Watch the waterfall video invite the Holy Spirit to sanctify your spiritual imagination and pray this prayer. 

Water of Life flow within me today. Saturate me with your Presence. Like rushing waters, let your living water drown out the thoughts of anxiety, doubt, confusion, and judgment that attempt to accost my mind. I need you Lord Jesus to help me invite you into the situations and circumstances that feel antagonizing. I do not desire to BE anxious or worried about anything. I know that trust is the antagonist to the emotional upheaval that tries to capture my mind, body, and soul. Help me surrender my self-reliance and solutions to your purposed will and plan for my life. In your Presence I can walk through the shallow waters of every situation without sinking. In the name of Jesus, my mind regulator I pray, Amen.

PRAISE:

Now that you have emptied your mind of the clutter and wandered with Jesus, take a closing moment to offer a praise of thanksgiving. Let the work of your wandering transform your mind into a mind of Christ and the assurance that there is a remedy you CAN choose in the midst of every mind battle permeate your soul.

Then take the mindfulness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes of wandering into the next ones and beyond.

Until next time, be Resonant.

Hello, my name is Sherri Woods and I will be your journey guide for Wednesday Wanderings. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, to wander means to move about leisurely without a fixed course or goal. The purpose of Wednesday Wanderings is to set aside time to allow Jesus to accentuate our creative minds and fill them with His truths. For Wednesday Wanderings, we will be journeying with Jesus into encounters to heal our mind, body, and soul. You may want to consider utilizing a journal to record what I have termed the “transformational conversations” of your venture.

Watch the Wednesday Wanderings Welcome.

Now that we have cleared our minds of the clutter, we can wander on the journey of examining what it means to Have a little talk with Jesus.

PREPARATION:

There is something unique about having a talk with Jesus.  When we pray and allow Jesus to hold the sacred space for us, we can expect to experience transformation. Our thoughts are powerful and have a creative ability. The Bible is complete with truths and promises to renew our minds and penetrate our hearts. When you are ready, you may begin the dialogue with Jesus by stating:

“Jesus, I invite you to help me to wander aimlessly into your Presence where my mind, body, and soul can be transfigured. I welcome your truth and a holy encounter with your Word. Illuminate my spiritual senses that my eyes may see you, my ears may hear you, my body may feel you with me, and my heart may receive you.”

PROMISE:

Psalm 139 is an invitation to wander on the path with God that leads to eternal life. David invites God to search his heart, reveal the hurts, habits, and hangups, and guide him away from his sin. The heart is where our hurts, habits, and hang ups are revealed. Our minds hold the thoughts but our hearts hold the evidence of the thoughts. Reading God’s Word alters our thoughts. Applying God’s Word, reconstructs our hearts. Seeking God’s presence and plan redirects our journey.

Psalm 139: 23-24 The Message

PSALM: Just a Little Talk With Jesus

Cleavant Derricks, the song writer of Just a Little Talk with Jesus  shares his transformational conversation with Jesus.

Verse 1:
I once was lost in sin, but Jesus took me in,
And then a little light from heaven filled my soul;
It bathed my heart in love and wrote my name above,
And just a little talk with Jesus makes me whole.

PARABLE: Verse one introduces us to the four components of a transformational conversation.

1. The Hurt – Hurts, habits, and hang ups that create sin.
2. The Hope – Jesus rescues us and gives us the light of hope.
3. The Heart – Jesus cleans our heart in love.
4. The Healing – Our hurts are transformed from hurt to wholeness.

PONDER and WANDER:

Take a few breaths in and out. In and out. As you breath in invite your spiritual imagination to become activated. As you breath out, release the clutter of concerns and anxieties. Breath in and out.

When your mind is clear of clutter, and you are ready, take a few minutes to wander as you have a little talk with Jesus.  If you would like, you may want to consider noting the responses in a journal.

Begin by inviting the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you into the truths of the answers to the questions below.

Ponder these questions:

1. “What is the hurt, habit or hangup that is interrupting my spiritual growth?”
   • Note the hurt.
2.  “What hopeful truth would Jesus like to offer to rescue you at this time?”
   • Request and welcome the hope of Jesus to bathe your heart in love.
3. “Is there any blockage (shame, guilt, forgiveness, anger, etc.) that is keeping your heart from being cleaned?”
   • Surrender your the blockage.
4. “How will you respond to what Jesus wants to heal in you?”
   • Receive God’s promise to rescue you, fill you with His light, and make you whole.

PRAYER:

As you listen to the video recording, surrender your sin to Jesus. Transformation takes time. Invite Jesus again to rescue you. Let Him bathe your heart in love and fill you with His light. He promises that He will make you whole.

Listen to this closing prayer and enjoy a glimpse of the Mediterranean Sea filmed while I was in Jerusalem.

PRAISE:

Now that you have emptied your mind of the clutter and wandered with Jesus, take a closing moment to offer a praise of thanksgiving as you let the work of your wandering transform your mind and the freedom and assurance of  your salvation permeate your soul.

Then take the mindfulness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes of wandering into the next ones and beyond.

Until next time, be Resonant.

This series of blogs, Wednesday Wanderings, is currently under development.  We look forward to releasing the first of these this summer, each with their own unique multimedia component like Tuesday Tunings and Thursday Thoughts!

Stay tuned for details!!