Joyful Journey Quotes

“We tend to spend a lot of energy focusing on resolving traumas in the hope that we will be free from the pain trauma brings. What we often miss or overlook is the power of building memories of God’s goodness that give us a sense of being loved.”
― E. Wilder, Joyful Journey: Listening to Immanuel

“If our perception of God’s character is distorted due to our own experiences of life’s disappointments and our own histories of trauma, then having an all-seeing and always-present God could be stifling and produce fear instead of love and trust.”
― E. James Wilder, Joyful Journey: Listening to Immanuel

“Without validation we will not be comforted. Comfort follows validation and gives us peace. When we validate how big or hard our experiences were, we can then calm our brain.”
― E. Wilder, Joyful Journey: Listening to Immanuel

“The six big unpleasant emotions hard-wired into the brain are sadness, anger, fear, shame, hopeless despair and disgust. Feeling gratitude returns our minds to relationship with God in the presence of these unpleasant feelings and other forms of suffering.”
― E. Wilder, Joyful Journey: Listening to Immanuel

“ME,” my identity, is ultimately shaped by who I love and what pain I avoid. Love and the pain I avoid often compete within me to see whether my love or my fear of pain is stronger.”
― E. Wilder, Joyful Journey: Listening to Immanuel

“In Ephesians 2:10, Paul uses the Greek word poiema, which literally means God’s poetry. When poiema is translated as “handiwork” or “workmanship” it misses the following important point. Poetry in scripture does not rhyme sounds; it follows the Hebrew pattern and rhymes thoughts. This means that as God’s poetry, our thoughts can rhyme with our Heavenly Father’s. That is amazing! How can it work? We know that as we become intimate with someone, we begin to finish each other’s sentences and thoughts. In a deep, authentic, mutual-mind state, we actually don’t know where our thoughts stop and the other person’s thoughts begin. This is exactly what can happen between God and us too. A mutual-mind state with God results in an emulation of His character and heart; we are showing the world the poet behind the poetry. As our mutual-mind state becomes stronger, we are able to live out our purpose of being created for good works.”
― E. James Wilder, Joyful Journey: Listening to Immanuel

“There are many reasons to improve our awareness of God’s active presence in our lives. The best reason is the guidance and friendship we receive from “checking in” with God throughout the day. Other benefits include healing emotional wounds, enhancing character and building community. This booklet will help you learn the Immanuel journaling method for use in your life and fellowship community. The principles involved will be explained using biblical 1 truths for relating to God and neuroscience for improving our awareness. A more mindful attachment with God leads to clearer knowledge of who we can become. “ME,” my identity, is ultimately shaped by who I love and what pain I avoid. Love and the pain I avoid often compete within me to see whether my love or my fear of pain is stronger. As Christians we know “God is love” (1”
― E. James Wilder, Joyful Journey: Listening to Immanuel

“The recognition of God’s presence in each traumatic memory makes it no longer traumatic, but healing and hopeful.”
― E. James Wilder, Joyful Journey: Listening to Immanuel

“God knows our history. No matter how insightful a therapist may be or wise a friend is, only God can ultimately know the intricacies of our lives and experiences. His eyes never leave us, and He knows us better than we know ourselves.”
― E. James Wilder, Joyful Journey: Listening to Immanuel

“The Level 2 of the brain’s control system is the amygdala, and it provides a basic evaluation of each experience. The amygdala evaluates whether we want to move closer or disconnect. All experiences are rated as good, bad or scary. If an experience is too scary, bad and overwhelming for us to handle, we disconnect or dissociate from that emotional experience. This means that painful experiences can get stuck in our Level 2 brain and remain hidden as traumatic memory. Instead of automatically disconnecting, what if we learned how to stay engaged with God? He has the capacity to be with us in times of fear and actively share each moment.”
― E. James Wilder, Joyful Journey: Listening to Immanuel

“Being seen by God empowers us to suffer well in our painful situations without being overwhelmed. Our lives can be productive. The God who saw the pain and misery of the Israelites and Hagar is able to see the pain and challenges we go through today.”
― E. James Wilder, Joyful Journey: Listening to Immanuel

“As we mentioned in Chapter 1, the loss of relational connection is often caused by incompletely resolved pain. The mental activity of avoiding pain distracts us from relational connection with God and others. Being overwhelmed disconnects us.”
― E. James Wilder, Joyful Journey: Listening to Immanuel

“Sometimes we fail to enjoy living in an Immanuel reality due to a distorted per 9 ception of God’s character.”
― E. James Wilder, Joyful Journey: Listening to Immanuel

“Nothing shows weakness as clearly as weak memories of God’s presence combined with strong memories of trauma” (Wilder, 2010). We tend to spend a lot of energy focusing on resolving traumas in the hope that we will be free from the pain trauma brings. What we often miss or overlook is the power of building memories of God’s goodness that give us a sense of being loved.”
― E. Wilder, Joyful Journey: Listening to Immanuel

“When our conversations center on who God is and His effects on us, the church becomes attractive enough to draw the world to God.”
― E. Wilder, Joyful Journey: Listening to Immanuel

“Trauma hinders maturity and can blind us to who we really are. Many of us have experienced times when pain, rather than our Christian values, has determined how we act. When suffering well, we remain the same, living by God’s values whether in pain or in joy. We have metabolized (digested appropriately) our pain and can remain integrated. Christians are to be known as a group of people who “suffer well.”
― E. Wilder, Joyful Journey: Listening to Immanuel