Freedom Secrets


CHOOSE A HERO – Read a biography or study the life of someone who has had or is having a powerful influence in their world. Take notes of what you want to emulate.

PRIORITIZE ONE DIMENSION - Which area of your life, if improved, would give you the biggest gain? They are all important but some are more important depending on your situation. Now figure out three actions you can take to become better in this area.

DETERMINE YOUR CORE LIFE VALUES – Surf the internet and you’ll find several lists of possible values – choose your top 20. Then narrow it your top 10. Let it rest for a week, come back to the list, and evaluate if those are still the top 10. Now narrow it to six. Post these where you can see them and live them out to the best of your ability.

EVALUATE YOUR TIMEJust keep track of where and how you spend your time for one week. Add up the hours within each of your life’s main areas. Is this reflective of your priorities? If your time spent each day does not match what is most important to you, it’s likely that you will feel enslaved to your schedule and not satisfied with your life! Make your time reflect you - that's freedom!

EVALUATE YOUR CHECKBOOKFor one week, record the money you spend and what you spend it on. Do you like the way you spend your money? Does it reflect your personality – generous vs. selfish? Does your money control you or do you control your money? Share with someone what you discover!

GRIEVE YOUR LOSSES – I know that doesn’t sound fun, but it is absolutely necessary for freedom. Most addictions are the result of not working through a grief cycle. Chart the following: Your great losses in life (childhood to present) – What feelings did each cause in you? – What did you lose as a result? – Does this loss have any power over you or your emotions presently? (HINT-If it has no power over you, then you can objectively talk about it with anyone and there is no component of it that jerks your emotions or causes you to react rashly.)

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF – Get back to the basics – eat, sleep, and refresh. You are what you eat – literally. How are you eating these days? This culture doesn’t promote sleep, but are you getting what your body needs? And what are you doing to relax, to refresh, to regenerate? You are not meant to ignore any of these – and your body won’t let you for long!

MAKE AMENDS – It is time to take responsibility for your mistakes and/or hurtful choices. Who do you need to say, “I am sorry” to and ask forgiveness from? Make a list. Start making phone calls or going to see each one. No texts or emails for an apology!

CUT OFF NEGATIVE INFLUENCES - When a person chooses to come out of addiction, they are told to find new friends, new places to go, and new things to do. You cannot create habits of freedom when you are still surrounded by bondage. What things, places, or persons do you need to cut ties with? You know that they are toxic and bring no good to your life. Today is the day.

“I AM NOT THE VICTIM!” - This is your new mantra. It is extremely comfortable to stay in this role for the rest of your life, day in and day out being the “victim”. Ladies, your past is not to blame, your parents are not to blame, that man is not to blame, your hurts are not to blame, and your job is not to blame …. Your life is your choice! No one else can destroy it for you and no one else can live it for you – just you.

RECOGNIZE YOUR NEED FOR A GREATER POWER - Releasing the incredible strain of trying to live this life on your own is huge! I will never understand how people do it. Jesus Christ claims to actually have come to this earth for the specific purpose of setting people free! You were never created to live in your own strength or by your own means. Remember that we are the branches gleaning all of our resources from the Vine!

ACCOUNTABLE TO ANYONE? -  I don't know about you, but It is far too easy for me to “go easy” on me, to make excuses, and to rationalize why I am not growing as a person. But, there is such freedom and joy in growth! Seek out a woman you respect and know has the strength to ask you the hard questions that are too easy to never ask yourself. If you don't know such a woman, then ask God to bring such a woman into your life. Start meeting or hanging out with her once a month to talk about how you want grow and who you really want to be -- let her keep you accountable.

NEW LIFE – NEW CODE OF BEHAVIOR  Dream your new life into existence. If your life could look like anything, what would it look like? How would you want to behave differently? What kind of choices would you want to be making? 
Write a list of your Top 10 character traits that you wish to describe you to all others.
     * Choose one of those traits.
     * Post it somewhere.
     * Focus on it for 2 weeks.


CLOSE UP THE HOLE – Many women do not feel the freedom to love others or the freedom to allow others to really love them. This is an empty and lonely place to live. These women have a hole in their “heart buckets”. It doesn’t matter how much is poured in; the liquid of love just keeps on going right through the bottom hole. And because their buckets are not able to hold much liquid, they really don’t have a lot of love to offer others either. Please deal with any hole in your bucket – Jesus came to fill every hole!
What keeps you from loving others freely?
What keeps you from receiving love freely?
Name your holes.