**SOUL KEEPING***

*We feel busy, unsettled, restless…in need of something more
*It is hard to get away and take care of ourselves first…but, it is amazing how much our families are able do without us there!
*It is our jobs to raise our children into Independence–but–we live out lives like it is our job to meet their every need
*How can we give our families everything they need if we are giving from an empty cup?
*Vikki Fraker  https://www.revival356.com/
*”Soul Keeping” By John Ortberg http://www.johnortberg.com/books/soul-keeping/
*In the book “Soul Keeping” he shares lessons from his mentor Dallas Willard…he talked about some of his characteristics..
his body was unhurried..he slowed down the heart rates of those around him.
*Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.
*Learn the practice of not always being right
*”Being right is actually a very hard burden to be able to carry gracefully and humbly.That’s why nobody likes to sit next
to the kid in class who’s right all the time.”
*We are all on the same journey…just different paths
*”what is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself” -Abraham Maslow
*We tend to believe that we are…1) what we have (possessions) 2) what we do (accomplishments) 3) what others think of us
*Soul keeping is internal discovery….we can start to see a glimpse of ourselves the way God sees us
*A lot of times we don’t want to peel back the layers of who we really are…we keep pretending…and when we
keep pretending our soul dies….a piece of us dies
*When you say yes to the spirit of who you are–they whole world opens up and says, “how may I serve you.”
*Be kind, compassionate and loving to yourself
*significance is about who we are before it is about what we do
*The grace of significance liberates me from the need to hurry.
*The difference between BUSY and HURRY….
Busy= outward conditions of craziness in the world around me
Hurry= an inner condition with myself…I am so into my world that I am unable to be fully present with God and others
*Are you being fully present with who you are?
*We don’t just want a bunch of “yes” friends around us all the time….we want friends that will challenge us
*We can REFLECT on things we have learned by sharing experiences and hope…but…we can’t pretend to have other’s answers
*You need to carve out some space to take care of your soul…if you don’t have it…you need to find it!
*Soul/Spirit…the essence of who you are…what was breathed into you when you came into the world
*Anytime you want to care for something you have to understand it, whether it’s a beagle or a BMW
*No One seems to talk about feeding your soul….but, we are all craving it
*We need to be still and have breaks for our minds….that is when your spirit will speak to you…if you don’t listen you may miss it
*Soul and Self are not the same thing….self is more your ego…it thinks I am what I do,what I have and what other’s thing of me
*”The king is the most limited of the chess pieces; it can only move one square at a time.  But if you lose the king, game over. Your
soul is vulnerable because it is needy. If you meet those things with the wrong thing, game over. Or at least, game not going well.”
*We all have a struggle/cross to bear….but, walking through the valley…the darkest part can lead us out of the dark into the light
*We are made to share ourselves with the world
*Someone completely at peace with themselves doesn’t feel the need to have to defend themselves and who they are.
*When we come to the end of our lives we are going to wish we lived deeply.
*If it is going to matter later, doesn’t it matter now?
* Elizabeth Kubler Ross wrote a book “Life Lessons”  http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Life-Lessons/Elisabeth-Kubler-Ross/9781476775531
she worked with people that were dying and wrote that their biggest regrets
*”IF YOUR SOUL IS HEALTHY, NO EXTERNAL CIRCUMSTANCE CAN DESTROY YOUR LIFE.  IF YOUR SOUL IS UNHEALTHY,
NO EXTERNAL CIRCUMSTANCE CAN REDEEM YOUR LIFE.”
*Vikki doesn’t get caught up in the highs and lows around her…even when there is devastation and loss….she stays connected to
God’s rhythm…not the world’s rhythm
*When you are in the shower….take a shower.  Be fully present where you are
*A neglected soul doesn’t go away…it goes awry
*What feeds your soul is often what you loved as a kid…and usually God made….not man made
*YOU CAN’T GIVE WHAT YOU DON’T HAVE…you can’t give an orange if you don’t have an orange…
it works the same with kindness, compassion and love for the beautiful spirit you are….if you aren’t in possession of kindness, compassion and love
you are giving others a watered down version
*”If you judge yourself you are going to judge others” Brene Brown
*Have kind, gentle thoughts of yourself
*We need to do “inner child” work….there is a little girl inside of us and she needs you…find a picture and look into her eyes
*If we aren’t fully present for ourselves we can’t be fully present for others.
*Difference between Reaction and Response:
reaction= quick action from our mind
response= deep breath/ space between the question and the answer/…then the response
*Sometimes we are scared to let others see too deep into our hearts because they might see too much
*I AM LOVED
I AM WORTHY
I AM ENOUGH
pay attention to what you  say after ” I AM”….. “I am _____”….it is usually critical, negative and a huge declaration
I AM LOVED
I AM WORTHY
I AM ENOUGH…..you can’t add to or take anything away…you just are
*Revival 356  https://www.revival356.com/ is a sanctuary where the soul is reminded of its worth