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Speaker 1: Life Audio.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to the Crosswalk devotional. We're glad to have you

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Speaker 2: listening with us. Today's topic is about gaining peace in

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Speaker 2: our sorrow or overwhelmed through biblical truth. We'll return with

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Speaker 2: the devotional after a brief message from our sponsors, training

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Speaker 2: our brains towards Peace, Written and read by Jennifer Slattery.

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Speaker 2: I will praise the Lord who counsels me even at night,

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Speaker 2: my heart instructs me Psalm sixteen, verse seven. According to

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Speaker 2: mental health experts, our brains left untended drift toward negativity.

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Speaker 2: That's probably why what if thinking hits artist and feels

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Speaker 2: most relentless as we're trying to drift off to sleep.

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Speaker 2: If you've listened to many Faith Over for your podcast

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Speaker 2: episodes or follow me on social media, you might have

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Speaker 2: heard me talk about my no good, horrible, terrible, really

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Speaker 2: bad year that actually lasted for three. It was a

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Speaker 2: season of complete overwhelm that felt never ending. Initially, I

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Speaker 2: endured intense anxiety nearly from the moment I stepped out

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Speaker 2: of bed until I finally fell asleep. There were some

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Speaker 2: nights when this hyper alert state and all the stress

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Speaker 2: chemicals flooding my body kept me awake for over forty

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Speaker 2: eight hours at a time. This went on long enough

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Speaker 2: that I began to fear I'd remained perpetually exhausted and

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Speaker 2: never again experienced God's peace. This felt particularly frustrating because

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Speaker 2: I was actively investing in my spiritual health. I still

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Speaker 2: read my Bible each day, often numerous times, including in

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Speaker 2: the wee hours of the morning, when I needed from

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Speaker 2: reminders of God's presence, purposes, and promises. I prayed constantly.

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Speaker 2: I practiced simply sitting with the Lord in silence, play

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Speaker 2: sticky notes upon which I'd written relevant scripture throughout the house,

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Speaker 2: and memorized and regularly recited versus declaring Christ's power and grace.

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Speaker 2: None of those practices seem to help, or at least

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Speaker 2: not enough to quiet my overwhelm. I began finding relief

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Speaker 2: once I started actively focusing on retraining my brain through

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Speaker 2: grounding techniques, listening to biblical content throughout the night, and

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Speaker 2: seeking support from a counselor. With the Holy Spirit's help,

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Speaker 2: intentionality and consistency, my anxiety steadily decreased. Now, while my amgdola,

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Speaker 2: our brain's alarm system responsible for fight and flight responses,

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Speaker 2: still gets triggered on occasion, those unpleasant vers feel much fewer,

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Speaker 2: shorter lasting, with ever lengthening periods of peace in between.

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Speaker 2: While I highly doubt David, ancient Israel's second king, who

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Speaker 2: wrote today's verse, understood neuroplasticity, our brain's ability to grow

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Speaker 2: and change throughout our lives, he seemed to recognize the

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Speaker 2: importance of quote, taking his thoughts captive and making them

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Speaker 2: obedient to Christ. End Quote as Tewod Corinthians ten, verse

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Speaker 2: four encourages. When his circumstances felt hopeless and his soul

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Speaker 2: weighed down with sorrow and fear, he regularly turned to God,

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Speaker 2: sought his help, and meditated upon his unchanging and immutable truths.

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Speaker 2: I will praise the Lord who counsels me, he wrote,

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Speaker 2: indicating a close connection with his heavenly Father in which

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Speaker 2: he actively listened. He also seemed to elevate God's voice

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Speaker 2: above his overwhelm, a skill that takes practice and determination,

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Speaker 2: and that apparently led to the latter part of Today's verse,

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Speaker 2: where his heart so filled with truth instructed him at night,

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Speaker 2: perhaps when he most struggled with fearful thoughts intersect life

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Speaker 2: and faith. I've experienced chronic anxiety for as long as

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Speaker 2: I can remember. For years, I assumed this was simply

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Speaker 2: my plight caused by genetics and biochemicals. I didn't realize

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Speaker 2: how past experiences, including an unpleasant childhood, had trained my

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Speaker 2: brain to remain hyper alert to threat. It's hard, if

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Speaker 2: not impossible, to feel at peace while constantly scanning one's

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Speaker 2: environment for danger. I also didn't understand the ways and

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Speaker 2: speed at which our neural pathways grow and change. I

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Speaker 2: expected grounding techniques like diaphragm breathing to provide instant calm.

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Speaker 2: When that didn't occur, I assume those tools simply didn't

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Speaker 2: work for me. Again, that I was simply an anxious person.

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Speaker 2: I now recognize that our thoughts take time to change.

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Speaker 2: According to doctor Kirk Thompson, a Christ following psychiatrist who

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Speaker 2: studies the brain, our neural pathways or our thought channels

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Speaker 2: grow at the rate of two millimeters a day. That

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Speaker 2: is slow transformation. While that fact might feel discouraging to me,

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Speaker 2: it provided focus and hope, focus because it helped me

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Speaker 2: comprehend the power of every intentional or automatic thought. In

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Speaker 2: other words, my brain was changing for better or worse,

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Speaker 2: toward increase peace or fear. This knowledge sparked determination to

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Speaker 2: do my part as best as I was able. It

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Speaker 2: also helped explain why this initially felt so hard and

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Speaker 2: at times still does. I'd spent a lifetime building and

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Speaker 2: deepening those unhelpful channels. In the Faith Over Fear episode

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Speaker 2: titled Breaking Negative Patterns, How to Rewire your Brain for

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Speaker 2: more peace and less anxiety, doctor Alan Weisenbacher compared our

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Speaker 2: neural pathways to freeways. Re Routing our thoughts involves diss

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Speaker 2: mantling the unhelpful freeway upon which they've historically traveled while

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Speaker 2: building new roadways. If today's devotion resonates with you, perhaps

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Speaker 2: check out that episode. I also invite you to subscribe

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Speaker 2: to my free daily Faith over for your emails designed

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Speaker 2: to help you build holy mental highways. Reach out to

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Speaker 2: me through my website if you'd like me to add you.

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Speaker 2: If you struggle with ongoing anxiety, I pray you walk

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Speaker 2: away from today's discussion with this you aren't stuck in

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Speaker 2: your overwhelm. Peace is possible. The Lord, your Prince, your

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Speaker 2: source of.

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Speaker 1: Peace, will lead.

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Speaker 2: You to increased inner tranquility and dare I say joy,

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Speaker 2: Perhaps he'll encourage you to try the steps I shared here,

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Speaker 2: or he might guide you differently in a way uniquely

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Speaker 2: effective for you. But you can trust his heart to

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Speaker 2: see you live in the freedom he purchased through his

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Speaker 2: death on the Cross. When anxiety hits, ask him to

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Speaker 2: show show you the healthiest response in that moment, believing

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Speaker 2: he's helping you dismantle the neural pathways that threaten to

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Speaker 2: enslave you while leading you to your best self and

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Speaker 2: most fulfilling life.

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Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to today's devotional. If you liked what

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