Frequently Asked Questions
I hope you are prospering and in good health, even as your soul prospers. In today’s message, I thought I would address some questions that sometimes comes up regarding God Getaway Retreats. If you have a question you’d like me to address, please let me know. You can always reply to this email. I read all of them personally. Here we go. Below are 4 Frequently Asked Questions that might have been on your mind.
Is Meditation Even Biblical?
Yes. There are dozens of scriptures in the Bible that encourage Christians to meditate. Joshua 1:8 tells us to meditate on God day and night so that we have great success in life. It’s hard to think about God or even walk in God’s Spirit & Love when our minds are filled with negative thoughts, fears, limiting beliefs, uncontrolled emotions, and running mental patterns of our past. Even Jesus said a double-minded man is unstable in his ways. Until we take authority over our minds and bring them in subjection to God’s love, we continue to live the struggle life with the mind warring against the Spirit. (Romans 7:23)
Meditation, in most methods and forms, allows us to first become aware of our inner thoughts and dialogue which then gives us the space and awareness to actually renew our minds. There are tremendous benefits to learning how to meditate and during this retreat, you’ll learn the power of meditation in your own life and so much more.
But I've never meditated before, or I can't meditate, should I still come?
The short answer is yes and if you’re new, you need to start somewhere and what better place than with someone who has been teaching Christian meditation for almost 15 years now.
During the retreat, you will learn a variety of Christ-centered meditation methods and practice them. Learning to meditate is not a sprint but a marathon that will grow with you. One of the best things about coming to a meditation retreat is the knowledge and support you’ll receive. I’m here to help you every step of the way. The only way to become a better meditator is to meditate.
Isn't Yoga Anti-Christian?
Within the past 10 years, I have become certified as a Yahweh Yoga teacher, Yoga for Seniors, as well as Yin Yoga. As you can see, there are many different types of yoga out there. However, when most Christians think of yoga, they may conjure up images of twisted poses or praying to hindu gods. But for the majority of us, yoga is just a great practice that builds strength, flexibility, and balance as well as helps us to calm our minds and nervous systems. Although some may want us to fear yoga, many who practice it find that it actually enhances their relationship with God instead of taking away from it. At my yoga retreats, we generally start each morning with some form of exercise. Yoga helps us to wake up our bodies and bring stillness to our minds.
In 2 Corinthians 8:4, Paul stated, “we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one.
I am so thankful that we as believers don’t have to live in fear or look for a devil under every rock. I choose to live my life looking at Jesus (keep your eyes on me) instead the contrary. We can give allegiance to other small gods or we can do all that we do for the glory of God. In this, I choose the latter.
What I love about the Bible is the liberty that we have in Christ. (Galatians 5:1) Paul says, “Don’t let your good be evil spoken of.” (Romans 14:12) I, as well as many other Christians, have gained a deeper understanding of God through the mindful practice of yoga and its transformative effects. In some ways, yoga helps us to move God from our heads into our hearts/spirits as well as our bodies. That is why it is often called a mind, body, and spirit experience. Through the breathwork in yoga, we calm and regulate our nervous systems and learn to manage our emotions. Through movement in yoga, we release trauma from our bodies and the simple insight that “this too shall pass.” Through stillness in yoga, we can observe and learn to calm the mind. All yoga classes are not the same. Jesus said, whatever you do, do it to the glory of God.
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17)
We can use this beautiful practice with God at the center, as a wonderful healing tool. At the end of my classes, most students feel so calm, happy, and relaxed and say, “That was just stretching.” BTW- it’s optional. But I say, let go of the fear-based teachings and live in freedom and abundance!
Meditation? Yoga? Are you a New Age Christian?
Ha…I remember the one time when I was on a radio interview and a pastor called in and said, “Stop talking about the breath.” I thought that was so ironic because didn’t God breathe life into us? I mean, didn’t God create breath? But because “some” people associate words like deep breathing or cleansing breath with some other religion, I can’t talk about it as a Christian? Sometimes we can take things a little too far. Just because one person had a bad experience breathing, doesn’t mean we all need to give it up. Oh my.
No. I consider myself a Spiritual Christian. That means that over the years I have sought to not just have a head knowledge of God but an experiential experience as well. I don’t want to just know about God/Christ, I want the Spirit of God living in me and through me. Jesus said that “I and the Father are one.” And in Christ, we are to live, and move and have our being.
When we get out of the way, we allow God to take up more space/residence within us. These are often the very issues we need to heal: memories of the past, negative thoughts, faulty mindsets, limiting beliefs, and automatic mind patterns. All of these obstruct us from knowing God in spirit as well as truth. The scriptures say that the “letter” kills but the “spirit gives life. Too many Christians live in the letter (the word) of God but shun the Spirit as anti-Christ, New Age, or Woowoo. But as the Bible tells us “God IS A SPIRIT.”
We can’t just hold onto one aspect of God and neglect the other. God wants us to transcend the soulish entanglements of this world and rise upward and escape from our fear-based and limited captivity. As a Spiritual Christian, I see the spiritual relevance and meaning in the Bible far more than I see rules, tradition, and regulations. We are not to be cookie-cutters Christians for God. We are not to interpret the Bible ALL in the same way. We don’t have to put God in a box. And that’s okay.
The Bible tells us to work out “our own” soul salvation (Philippians 2:12) and not anyone else’s, and thankfully so, because I’m a project in and of myself.
It is to God that we are to be true. My job/ministry is to point you to the indwelling Spirit of Christ so that as Jesus said, “When the Holy Spirit comes you won’t need a teacher because the Holy Spirit will teach you all things.” The spirit of God lives WITHIN YOU! (Luke 17:21) That is the only place you need to look.
