In this email ...- FEATURE ARTICLE: Transform Your Anxiety in 60 Seconds
- Give to Support Renewed Man and Renewed Leader
- Where This Content Comes From ... and how to get more
- What I Would Post on Social Media ... if I used it
- FIND OUT MORE ... (about me)
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- FEATURE ARTICLE: Transform Your Anxiety in 60 Seconds
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Can you reduce stress and anxiety in just one minute? Yes you can! How? Through a powerful combination of scientifically-proven breathing techniques and biblical wisdom. Recent research confirms a clear and profound connection between our minds and bodies ... and that the connection works both ways. Our thoughts affect our physiology -- but our physiology also affects out thoughts! This has profound implications for how we deal with stress and anxious thoughts. Kelly McGonigal, a Stanford University psychologist and bestselling author, teaches how controlled breathing directly alters brain function, promoting calmness (and also paving
the way for more effective action). How Do You Do This? The 4-7-8 Breathing Practice This simple yet effective method works as follows: - Inhale through your nose for a count of four
- Hold your breath for a count of seven
- Exhale slowly through your mouth for a count of eight
- Repeat
4-6 times
The extended exhale is crucial. Complete exhalation triggers your parasympathetic nervous system - your body's natural calming mechanism. When stressed, we tend to breathe rapidly and shallowly. Deliberate, complete exhalation disrupts this pattern. One minute of this practice (4-6 cycles) can noticeably shift your mental state. Enhancing the Practice With
Prayer Once calmer through breathing, deepen the effect by applying the wisdom of Philippians 4:6-7: 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
The Three-Step Process: - Practice Gratitude: Identify things to be grateful for, even within your challenging situation. If work is causing stress, acknowledge the blessing of employment or that circumstances could be worse.
- Turn Over Control: Remember that God oversees your situation. Many factors operate beyond your understanding or influence. Deliberately turn over the situation to God.
- Take Mindful Action: Focus on what you can actually do something about in the situation creating anxiety. Identify achievable steps and seek God's guidance in implementing them. If nothing is within
your control, practice acceptance and trust in divine care.
Finish with a deep, slow breath before resuming your day. You'll be in a much better mental and spiritual state! NEXT ACTION:Today's recovery action is to engage in this practice. Even if you are not noticeably stressed-out or anxious, just try this practice, focusing on some aspect of life that is challenging for you. Better yet, try this practice several times throughout the day. Notice what
happens to your mood and stress level.
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2. Give a Tax Deductible Donation to Support Renewed Man and Renewed
Leader Would you like to support the work of Renewed Man? I'm excited to announce a partnership between Renewed Man, Renewed
Leader, and Bethel Church! Bethel Church is adopting these programs as supported ministries -- which means that you can give a tax-deductible donation to these ministries through Bethel. The money you donate can be used in one of three ways -- you can designate it for one of these purposes, or have it be available to whichever one
has the greatest need: - Renewed Man Tuition Support -- Help someone who wants to be part of Renewed Man, but is struggling to pay for the program. (There will always be a requirement that participants pay something, so that they have an investment in it. But your gift could help someone participate in the program who might not be able to do so otherwise.)
- Renewed Leader Tuition Support
-- Same as with Renewed Man, but this program is for church leaders who want and need support in order to stay emotionally, physically, and spiritually healthy amidst the demands of ministry. Your gift could help a minister participate in this program.
- Renewed Ministries International -- This would help make it possible for me to bring this message -- of recovery, and/or healthy and sustainable leadership -- to overseas missionaries,
and to people in other countries who might otherwise not be able to afford to have me come and teach there. Thus far, I've brought this teaching to YWAM missionaries at various bases across the US, Thailand, and Switzerland, as well as teaching community development leaders in Guatemala. I hope to do more teaching like this in the future, but money is always tight for missionary organizations, and people in developing countries. Your gift would make such teaching much more workable for these
organizations.
All the money you give will go to support one of these causes: either direct tuition support, or travel costs for teaching. Once again, you can choose to designate your gift to a specific area. You can
send these donations to: Bethel Christian Reformed Church 8938 – 33rd Street Princeton, MN 55371 Make the check payable to "Bethel Christian Reformed Church" and put in the memo field that it's "For pastor Mark's Renewal Ministries". Please include a note along with the check clarifying this, and letting us know if you'd like the money designated for any one of the particular uses, or if it's available for whatever use is most needed currently. Thank you so much!
3. Where This Content Comes From ... and how to get more The content I use for these articles comes from the Renewed Man Program. Renewed Man is a systematic teaching and coaching series designed to help men grow emotionally, relationally, and spiritually ... developing the essential character quality of "self-mastery." The program
centers around building self-control especially in the area of our sexuality -- an important issue today, given how pervasive erotic content is online. That said, the program is intentionally holistic, and the key principles it is based on deal with a variety of aspects of our lives. Even though this community is created
for men, the principles are universal -- women will benefit from these insights as well. That's why I share some of them in this newsletter..
Would you like to go "all in" and join the Renewed Man Boot Camp? It's a 12 Week Immersion in these principles. You'll get these daily teachings, a weekly video on one of the 12 Keys of Being a Renewed Man, and access to a support group and/or a coaching group that
I lead.
Find out more about the Renewed Man Program here.
4. What I Would Post on Social Media ... if I used it This is crazy. I still want to use amazon to buy stuff, but this IS crazy ...
When you eat Chinese, and look forward to the clever wisdom you'll find when you open your fortune cookie ...
If you're looking for a New Year's resolution to make 2025 great, I have an idea: Buy and read this great book!
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My name is Mark Brouwer, and I’m a spiritual teacher who serves as a pastor, writer, speaker, coach and mentor. You're receiving this because of our connection through church ministry or one of the renewal programs I lead.
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