As we continue to work to make the mission and vision of Faithwalking a reality in the lives of those we serve, we would like to introduce you to Faithwalking Foundations, a new set of Faithwalking offerings launching next month. Click here for more info and to register for our upcoming courses, Faithwalking Foundations Module 1 in both retreat and online format. Details are below.
Module 1 Retreat (FULL – registration closed)
Friday and Saturday, September 14-15
Friday 6:00 pm-9:00 pm/Saturday 9:00 am-6:00 pm
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church
Houston, TX
Module 1 Online
Beginning Monday, September 10 from 6:30-7:45 pm Central Time for 10 weeks (Zoom)
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Below is a teaser of what is to come in our Faithwalking Foundations curriculum. You can download a PDF at the bottom.
Giving Your Word to Yourself
I’m sure all of us are familiar with the word “abracadabra.” What you might not know, however, is that “abracadabra” comes from two Hebrew words, abra and kdabra. “Abracadabra” means “to create as I speak.” “Abracadabra” expresses the idea that we create with our words.
When God created the world, God spoke it into existence. God didn’t just think about it. God said, “let there be…,” and there was. God spoke it and it appeared. In Faithwalking we believe that we can create good things in our lives, through the power of our words. We believe that God invites us to “co-create” a preferred future for our lives.
In Matthew 17:20 Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
I believe that Jesus invites us to join our word with God’s word to make big things happen.
The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America is an example. The founding leaders of this country declared that they were free. The day they made this declaration they weren’t free. They had to work and fight to make this declared freedom a reality. We are now living into the future that they created. They created this future when they made a declaration.
In Faithwalking we believe that personal declarations have the power to change our personal futures. Positive and powerful personal declarations are keys to overcoming our vows and the things that trigger us. We exchange our negative vow(s) with a positive declaration of our own preferred future.
A declaration is action that is taken through language. It is language that creates a possible future for us. A declaration speaks a possible future into existence. It’s more than a dream or just a hope about our future. A declaration is a statement about our own future that we commit to creating. We take charge of our lives, and we become the authors of our own future.
We establish a declared future for ourselves rather than living into a default future. Until we become aware of our negative vows and replace them with positive declarations, we will live into a default future and nothing will ever change.
In essence, we give our word to ourselves and then we keep our word with ourselves. We determine for ourselves who we want to be and then we give our word to becoming what we have declared. When we stumble or mess up we simply honor our word by cleaning up the mess and recommitting. You have the power within you to give and keep your word with yourself.
I use the following process every time I get triggered and stopped. Here is how the process works:
1st Reflect. Spend some time reflecting on your negative vow(s). Ask yourself some deep questions such as: What are you protecting yourself from? What is the threat? What is it that triggers you and why? The clearer you can get about what the threat is, the more powerful your declaration will be.
After asking these questions, begin to think about who you would like to be instead. How would you prefer to show up in situations when you are triggered in the future? What characteristic or behavior would address what you are being threatened by?
2nd Declare it. Make a positive declaration for your future. Use language that is powerful enough to move you into action in a new direction. Write the declaration down so this it is accessible when you get stirred up and triggered.
The following are a few examples:
- I am courageous.
- I practice crucial conversations where I am completely honest and fully present.
- I am enough.
- I am a fully engaged, collaborating leader.
- I live a balanced life.
- I take a stand for my own voice without being stubborn, defensive, or rude.
- I give my word to wholeness and workability.
(For each of these declarations, I have multiple bullet points under them, fleshing them out more completely.)
2nd Commit to it. You must put everything you have into the fulfillment of your declaration. You must be committed to your preferred future. The signers of the Declaration of Independence said, “We mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our futures, and our sacred honor.”
3rd Fight for it. A future created by our words is not a certainty. We don’t get to just say it and then it happens without effort. We must fight for what we declare, every day.
As we fight for our own personal declarations, we will win some battles and we will lose some battles. Some days will go well, and other days will not go so well. Victory comes when we stay in the fight until we win the war.
When we fight for our declaration we are practicing showing up in a new way. We are developing new habits. Don’t be defeated by one setback. Don’t think you’ve failed if you’ve had one bad day of practice. Stay at it until you are living out your declaration without even thinking about it.
In conclusion, here is what we are asking you to do. Renounce your negative vow(s). Renounce the negative vow as a lie. Repent – change your mind and then re-order your life in a new way. Make a positive declaration of who you want to become. Live into the positive declaration.
Giving Your Word to Yourself (PDF)
