Breaking Cycles: Finding Freedom and Renewal This Autumn

As the leaves start to turn and the air grows crisp, have you ever wondered how this seasonal shift impacts our personal and spiritual lives? Join us on a journey through autumn's transformation, where we share personal stories from Colorado to California, reflecting on how fall's arrival stirs a mix of excitement and the pressing need for organization. Together, we confront the strongholds that can leave us feeling stuck, and offer a message of hope and renewal for those feeling trapped in cycles of hopelessness.

We'll discuss the crucial role of setting God-given boundaries that bring freedom and security, inspired by the protective imagery in Psalm 16. This season, marked by intentional surrender and transformation, is a call to lean into spiritual growth and practice mind renewal throughout our day. Continue alongside us in our next episode of Revelation Within, as we walk the path of spiritual discovery together.

Chapters

• 0:01 Breaking Free From Strongholds
• 16:14 Discovering the Power of Mind Renewal
• 30:33 Embracing Transformation Through Surrender

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Hi and welcome to our podcast Revelation Within On the Go. I'm Heidi Bilesma-Epperson, one of your hosts and the owner and lead coach of the RevelationWithinorg ministry.

Speaker 2: 0:14

And I'm Christina Motley, your other host, also a Revelation Within coach and Heidi's partner in all things Revelation Within. We are so happy to invite you to join us for this episode of Revelation Within on.

Speaker 1: 0:31

Love.

Speaker 2: 0:38

Yay.

Speaker 1: 0:40

Well, Christina, start us off this week, won't you?

Speaker 2: 0:43

We have been enjoying a wonderful theme in our community of autumn awakening. It's been awesome. We have had so much fun in classes and lives and in our community and there's been audios, there's been all kinds of good things. Anyway, we want to share a little bit of that with you and, of course, we'd love to invite you to come to our community as well, please do, which is revwithinteam. Come and join us. But we wanted to share a little bit with you on this podcast and see maybe there'll be something here that resonates with you as we enjoy this beautiful fall season. I know here in Colorado Springs so far we're going really slow with fall and that's my favorite way to do fall. We've not had any major cold snaps or, you know, any early frost or anything. We're going nice and slow. We're mostly green, but we've got some beautiful oranges and reds and yellows that are just starting up, although in the mountains they're already going full force up there.

Speaker 2: 1:52

Anyway, how about you, Heidi? What's it looking like in California?

Speaker 1: 1:58

Where I live, it's still summer. We're in the nineties, so yeah, we're not changing colors where I am anyway.

Speaker 2: 2:08

Not yet.

Speaker 1: 2:08

You can drive up the mountains a little bit and see some yellow peeking through, I think, but it's so funny because when you were talking about the slowness of your fall coming this time this year, I instantly had a flashback to a fall not that long ago where there were green leaves on the trees and then suddenly no leaves on your trees and it skipped fall color at all. Do you remember?

Speaker 2: 2:34

Yes, and we've had that happen several times since we've lived here, and I hope every time we start, I say Lord, please give us a slow fall. It sounds funny, doesn't it? A slow fall.

Speaker 1: 2:48

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 2:48

Anyway.

Speaker 2: 2:50

Okay. So there's something that happens to me every fall, so I'm going to back up a little bit to spring here. As a teacher, spring has always marked the end of the school year and the end of a season of hard work and the beginning of summer school year. And the end of a season of hard work and the beginning of summer. And then summer. Whether I've been working or not over the years which now I am working all summer as a coach, which I love summer has always had special meaning for me, one of celebration and fun and vacation and play and letting loose yeah, letting loose, yes, and it's just so much fun. Okay. So now fast forwarding again back to fall and autumn.

Speaker 2: 3:33

So then, each year, when fall comes, there was both excitement but also a sense of challenge when I realized, oh man, it's time to get back to work and I don't mean just work as a teacher. I mean, yes, of course, work as a teacher, for sure. But it always signified a time where it's like, okay, let's get back. I got to pull myself together, I got to put order in my life. I need to straighten things out and get organized and ready for a busy season. And then, every year when I was thinking about these things, I always had this kind of sense of oh my gosh, because I felt like I was in the same place, that I was the fall before this one, the fall before that one, the fall before that one, and on and on.

Speaker 2: 4:26

So many of us struggle with strongholds, we struggle with things that we want so much to be different, but we keep going in the same patterns. And that was me with food and eating for decades. So I would feel this sense of dread then as I realized that nothing really had changed. And here I was at another fall in the same place with that and still doing what I didn't want to do and still not doing what I wanted to do, and feeling very much stuck as ever. And there was a deep hopelessness that came along with this. I never really talked about it, I never told anybody. It was kind of my secret hopeless place, but maybe some of you who are listening can relate to being in that place.

Speaker 1: 5:16

Yeah, I think for a moment. Perhaps are you in that place where it just feels like the same old, same old and you're losing hope. Don't turn that dial, because we have a message for you today.

Speaker 2: 5:32

Yes, we do. Oh, that's fun. Now I feel like we're on a radio show. I like that, Heidi.

Speaker 1: 5:41

Well, there are all kinds of strongholds, of course, that can trap us and pull us down in our lives, and some of them last maybe minutes, maybe hours, days, but others can last for months or even years, and I bet a lot of those of you who are listening can identify with that. I know I can for sure. Maybe it's spending money that you don't have and building up that credit card debt, and maybe you spend too much time looking at shows or movies that don't bring life to your soul. I don't know what is up with me. I never, ever, ever pay attention to politics, but this year, in our presidential election hoopla, I have been watching YouTube videos of news broadcasts. I know more this year or it might be fake news, I know, who knows, but anyway I know more this year than I have in all the previous years put together and it's kind of I think it's become a problem. Oh my gosh. And it's kind of I think it's become a problem. I think it's been a little bit of a way of shutting down and justifying it, because I'm being informed.

Speaker 1: 6:52

I want to be a Christian who takes seriously these. No, I never have before. Why would I now? It's just a new way to shut down and justify it. So I know, for me that's a new one. Maybe you're somebody who's quick to speak and slow to listen. Maybe you give a sharp word too frequently to those you love rather than being still. Maybe you eat too much when you're sad or disappointed or angry or tired, or just anytime. Yeah, or maybe you struggle like I do. This is one I really struggle with these days, allowing negative, self-condemning thoughts to rule my mind. Does it rule yours, instead of submitting my thoughts to Christ and trading them out for his big T everlasting truth.

Speaker 1: 7:39

What is true from God's point of view. God's point of view, maybe you work too many hours a week or do too many hours of church service, avoiding dealing with the difficult issues of the heart.

Speaker 2: 7:54

That's a real common one too. Yeah, there's all kinds and it's not like we all have one. I mean, we all struggle with many, and that's just kind of how it goes. It depends on our season of life, and there isn't really a one and done. I think that we would love to say here is the answer forever.

Speaker 1: 8:17

Just do this once and you're done.

Speaker 2: 8:22

That would be lovely, wouldn't it? Yeah, that's what we all want, but then you know, really, the truth is, the journey is a good journey if it's with the Lord. So let's talk about that a little bit. Is there a way out?

Speaker 1: 8:36

Is there a way out? Is there a path to?

Speaker 2: 8:38

freedom. What does God say about strongholds?

Speaker 1: 8:43

I need to talk about this today, for sure.

Speaker 2: 8:45

Well, me too, to be honest. I mean, gosh, you know, we all struggle Like we. Just we just said we push against and cross over the boundary lines that God has called us to. I know I do. I was pushing just yesterday, pushing. I sense this. You know this spirit in me, or whatever you want to call it. I sense this piece of me that is pushing and saying I just want to do things my own way. Can I just have a break here for a second?

Speaker 1: 9:18

Wow, I hear it.

Speaker 2: 9:20

Yes, I am right there. Struggling with boundaries is a very real part of living in a broken world. You know, so many of us desperately want to choose what is good and noble and right and life-giving. We want to be right there like all the time, but we find ourselves going our own way and choosing the opposite more often than not. And it makes sense. You know, this world throws all kinds of curve balls at us like on a daily basis.

Speaker 1: 9:53

I don't know.

Speaker 2: 9:54

I feel a little bit pummeled. I feel pummeled. I feel I just had a picture come up in my mind. I'm not an athlete I never have been but when David and I first got married, he said let's be on a softball team. And I was like what? And he said come on, this will be great, let's do it. I've always wanted to be with my wife on a softball team. Let's do it. And I just remember feeling completely overwhelmed, completely Like the ball's going to come at me, I'm going to drop it, I'm going to trip, I'm not going to be able to get out and catch, and all those things came true.

Speaker 2: 10:35

It was a short season of softball. I was terrible at it, to be honest. And after a while he said you know, I think I'll join the men's league and I would come and watch, and that was much better, but there was a sense of overwhelm. I remember standing in the field, Like, and the people were going go back farther, go back, you know. And standing out there getting ready to catch a ball and just praying God, please, no more balls. My direction, Please, please, send it to someone who can catch. That's what I'm feeling like right now.

Speaker 1: 11:18

Oh, oh. You're feeling like you're on out on the field and you've got responsibilities and you just know God sent it to somebody else.

Speaker 2: 11:26

Yes, and he's been sending all these balls my way and I'm dropping them and fumbling them and getting hit by them too. And everybody's looking at me like don't drop it at me like don't drop it.

Speaker 1: 11:46

Is it hard for you during this season, when you're feeling this, not to be drawn to old strongholds and counterfeit comforts?

Speaker 2: 11:49

Yes, I am feeling drawn to them all the time. Right now I really am. That's the honest truth. That's not always true. I do have seasons where I feel more peace about some of those strongholds. Food and eating has always been my biggest one and, yes, I have been very much drawn to food and eating lately.

Speaker 1: 12:09

Well, and you're not alone. Yeah, so we are really drawn to strongholds or counterfeit comforts in an effort just to feel better or to fix what's wrong, to take control and my favorite, to numb out, check out. I don't want to feel my feelings. No, yeah, I mean really, I literally, I literally had a conversation with the Lord in my head, but he was very present there and it was Heidi, I really want you to process some of this. And he was specific and I said no, no, I don't want to go there. And he said, okay, how's that been working for you? And he was very sweet about it, but it was true, I'm like, well, this is, you know, there's this and there's this and there's this. All that I have done in an effort not to deal with what I need to deal with. I don't like that.

Speaker 2: 13:04

And that's the human condition right we're all in this boat in some kind of you know way, shape or form. I mean, or we're going into it or we just came out of it. Life is hard here. I'm looking forward to having it. I know Me too, right. Yeah, it's just going to be so much fun. I'm just really looking forward to it. Let's bring some wonderful truth into our discussion from the Word of God, psalm 27,. The Lord is the stronghold. What of my life? Of whom shall I be afraid? Oh my gosh, god is my stronghold Mind blown.

Speaker 1: 13:48

And then Psalm 46 tells us that God is our stronghold, refuge and strength. Yes, that's such a beautiful truth.

Speaker 2: 13:56

It is. And then Nahum. Whoever reads that book in the Bible, you know where it is Nahum. Am I even saying it right? 1-7, verse 7, the Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble. He knows those who take refuge in him. Oh my gosh, I love this. I love this truth that God is actually our stronghold. I love that.

Speaker 1: 14:26

Do you remember the song back in the day? It was like a praise song the name of the Lord. Well, I won't sing it today. The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run into it and they are saved. It actually started with blessed be the name of the Lord.

Speaker 2: 14:41

It's not the one. Yes, yeah, that one. I think I know.

Speaker 1: 14:45

Yeah, so I mean, and that's, that's the song, it's the righteous run into it and they are saved. The name of the Lord is a strong tower.

Speaker 2: 14:54

And.

Speaker 1: 14:54

I, just I love that. That song has been going through my head ever since we spent time going over these notes with our community, the other day. Yeah, interesting. Well, the Bible says that we are holy, that we are chosen, that we are set apart, that we're God's treasure. What what. How can that be? I know, in Deuteronomy 14.2, we read you have been set apart as holy to the Lord, your God, and he has chosen you from all the nations of the earth to be his own special treasure.

Speaker 2: 15:34

That's amazing and it's mind blowing, and sometimes I just think, nope, that can't be me. There's just no way. The truth is, we're not meant to conform to the patterns of this world, but rather to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Have you ever heard that before, heidi? Oh, no, no, no, no. In case you're not sure, that's from Romans 12. This is the verse that we talk about in every class, every podcast, every everything, and it is so hopeful. So what does this mean? Renewing our minds is intentional, it's practical, it's repetitive and it's more than once a day. What else is renewing our minds?

Speaker 1: 16:26

Well too, and I want to say when you said repetitive, repetitive can have such a negative connotation, but think of it this way instead of repetitive like somebody tapping on your forehead or something. Instead it's like going into a room and there's your familiar comfortable chair. And there it is again, and every time you walk into the room there it is again.

Speaker 2: 16:47

Oh, I like that. I do too.

Speaker 1: 16:49

Yeah, that's how I think of it, as repetitive. But you know, renewing our minds is so powerful, it is so life-changing, it's beautiful, it's life-giving and really it changes our desires. It changes us from the inside out. I don't know why I don't do it more. Renewing our minds is also a God-designed practice. Taking my thoughts to Jesus and trading my thoughts my way of thinking, my way of beating myself up usually and trading it out for his. Trading those thoughts that are unworkable beliefs they are usually self-deprecating or really not very positive in any way and filling my mind instead with God's thoughts rather than all of these other things that I could be thinking about, or those of the enemy, or the thoughts that the world feeds me day in, day out.

Speaker 2: 17:49

Yeah, and so this is where that whole piece about. But I'm not doing what I want to do, but I'm doing what I don't want to do, and Paul talks about that in Romans 7. There you go. Thank you, heidi Biblesman. And so that's exactly where this comes in, because we can't do this on our own. No, we can't do this on our own. The thoughts that come into our mind on a daily basis on our own, that come from ourselves, our past experiences, the world, the enemy, that kind of stuff is getting us nowhere. Yeah Right, it gets us nowhere.

Speaker 2: 18:36

And so we need God's thoughts, we need him, his intervention, we need his transformation. Otherwise our thoughts stay the same. We struggle with boundaries exactly the same way. We just go around in circles, we don't get anywhere. God calls us to live within the boundaries that he lovingly sets for us so that we can live life abundantly Not perfectly, I'm not saying perfectly, but abundantly but and also in freedom. You know, I mean, I know that those of you who are listening have struggled at some time in your lives maybe now with something that is like trapping you. It's trapping you, it's like you're so stuck, you're chained in, and so there is a way to find freedom, and that's what we're talking about here. So what boundaries is God calling you to? What's he calling me to? How do we get there? How do we get to that place of surrender, letting go, letting him wanting to live within our God-given boundaries, wanting to move forward?

Speaker 1: 19:49

Mind renewal is the key to this transformation. He says so in Romans 12 too. He transformed that sounds really hard, but he says by the renewing of your minds. And this is written by the same person who, in Romans 7, told us that the good I want to do is not what I do, but the very thing I don't want to do is what Christina was talking about a minute ago. So Paul knows of that of which he speaks. Knows of that of which he speaks. The more we renew our minds with what God has to say about it, with his everlasting truth, the more we're going to believe it and the more our day-to-day moment-by-moment actions will change, the more our lives will change.

Speaker 2: 20:39

There is so much hope here, mm-hmm. So I think, okay, paul struggled with this. Mm-hmm, so I think, okay, paul struggled with this. This is not a new problem, like I'm not the first one. It's been going on for quite a while, quite a while. Okay, I love this passage in Psalm 16, five through nine Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup. You make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. Surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the Lord who counsels me Even at night. My heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord, with him at my right hand. I will not be shaken. Boundaries are good, they are of God. They protect what is precious and treasured, and that is us, you and me, heidi, and everyone who's listening we are treasured by him, boundaries protect us we are treasured by him.

Speaker 1: 21:42

Boundaries protect us. You know, every time I think of boundaries, I think back to when I lived out in the country and we built a fence so that we could have a dog. We had like four acres, it wasn't a lot, but it was all forested and wildish and stuff, and I remember that. You know, the idea of having a fence was important because Our dog, daisy, would have loved to go romping around out in the forest chasing anything that moved. And you know what? There was a time when a buck was on the other side of this fence, which was a no climb fence, so it wasn't like a wooden fence that you couldn't see through. You could see through it. And they postured against each other on either side of this fence and I thought you know this is what she would have chased after him.

Speaker 1: 22:32

And when they are in the rut, those male deer can be very dangerous. And so it was to protect her. It wasn't to squelch her fun. It wasn't with the idea that, no, you can't have any fun. We had a huge area fenced off for her. There were just no. With the idea that, no, you can't have any fun. We had a huge area fenced off for her, there were just no bucks inside of that fence, so she was safe and she was kept from wandering away and other critters were kept, except for the turkeys were kept from wandering in. Oh my word, that's another story. I have a picture of the two of them standing off at each other.

Speaker 1: 23:11

And it's like wow, I'm so glad we had a fence, I'm so thankful for boundaries yes, for sure. So we're going to share a truth list with you about boundaries, and every one of the truths in this list lines up with scripture, of course.

Speaker 2: 23:30

I'm going to go ahead and invite God in Lord Jesus. Thank you so much that we are here. Thank you for this time. Thank you for your truth. Will you give us your thoughts right now, please? Lord, we invite you into this time of mind renewal In Jesus name, amen.

Speaker 1: 23:46

So, as you're listening, feel free to pause the podcast and jot down any that stick out to you that might be helpful for you. You know, pick, choose your favorites, add your own and then one of the things we do with our truth lists is we read the truths out loud again and again and that gets inside of our hearts and minds. You can write them out longhand and even say them as you do that, Write them on sticky notes or note cards and take them into your day. You can also make truths whether it's about boundaries or something else specific to the stronghold you struggle with the most. You could choose one truth and memorize it and say it all day long. You could whisper the truths from your truth list in the bathroom or sing them out when you're in the car or in the shower at the top of your car.

Speaker 2: 24:39

My offices, the car, the shower, the bathroom.

Speaker 1: 24:44

The more our thoughts line up with God's thoughts, the more we will believe them. The more we tell ourselves the truth, even if right now it doesn't feel like it fits. If I know it's from God, I want to tell myself that truth and as I do, I'll believe it. And the more I believe it, the more my actions will change. We will be. It's a promise transformed by the renewing of our minds.

Speaker 2: 25:10

Well, and Heidi and I have both experienced this about a million times, the transformation. But again, it's not a one and done. We are in process, on the journey all the time, and it's a beautiful journey. It brings us in deeper with the Lord. Lord Jesus, what is true about?

Speaker 1: 25:31

boundaries. Okay, the first truth is you are my perfect portion, dear Jesus. Exactly the right amount of exactly what I need each day.

Speaker 2: 25:43

I love that you bring security, safety and peace into my life through boundaries, for me and for my family.

Speaker 1: 25:52

Another truth is in your wisdom. You have lovingly drawn out boundary lines for me in all areas of my life.

Speaker 2: 26:02

Number four the boundary lines you have drawn have fallen in places that are pleasant, beautiful and life-giving.

Speaker 1: 26:10

You have provided a rich inheritance for me in what you have so freely and generously given.

Speaker 2: 26:17

Mm-hmm, I will turn to you, jesus, and praise you again and again for the boundaries you have set for me, I will turn to your counsel, o Lord, when I am struggling with living within my boundaries.

Speaker 1: 26:38

Lord Jesus, you teach me. Help me to listen, always and ever at my right hand as I navigate boundaries in my life, because you are my stronghold, I will not be shaken.

Speaker 2: 26:56

I will be strong in you and live within my boundaries. I love the way it feels to follow your boundaries, oh Lord.

Speaker 1: 27:02

I am looking forward to another day of walking closely with you. So, before we go on, how are these practically speaking? I want the listener to understand how we, how we use it. You know, what I mean Like why does? Because you are my stronghold, I will not be shaken. I will be strong in you and live within my boundaries. How does saying that every day, several times come home to application saying that?

Speaker 2: 27:28

every day several times, come home to application. Yeah Well, that's that brain plasticity thing, right? God gave us brains that could get unstuck out of old patterns of thinking. I mean, he knew, he knew that we would get stuck. He knew that we would get stuck, he knew that we would. And so he designed our brains so that we could basically train them to think new thoughts and to have new rhythms and patterns that are life-giving, instead of the old ones that drag us down under every day.

Speaker 2: 28:03

And so, saying the truth again and again, it begins in our thoughts, and then that leads to what we believe, and what we believe leads to our actions. And so if we don't like our actions, if I don't like what's going on in my life in a certain area, I look at my actions and it's like I don't like this Lord, I'm in an old pattern, or I don't like what I'm being drawn to, what I'm doing. I'm going to back up to what I'm believing and then I'm going to go back to the beginning, which is my thoughts. I need to go back to the beginning. What am I thinking? And in the word of God, god tells us exactly what to think In Philippians 4.8,. That's where he talks to us, and there's many other places too. He says we have the mind of Christ. If we choose to think that way, we can choose. So I love in Philippians. It talks about thinking on what is noble, what is true, what is good, what is praiseworthy, and the list goes on.

Speaker 1: 29:12

Well, God's love for you is beyond anything you or I can imagine.

Speaker 2: 29:16

Yep, so that's where we're at. We have malleable brains, thanks to God. Thank you God for my Play-Doh brain. Hey, that works, it works, it works.

Speaker 1: 29:28

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 29:29

Okay. So what is true? God's love for you, for me, for Heidi, is beyond anything that you and I can imagine. He longs for us to be free. He couldn't be walking any closer, whether you feel it or not, and really I love this thought. He longs for me to be free. Maybe I'll take that thought into my whole day. He longs for me to be free. What if I said that all day to myself? I mean again choose. You can choose which ones, or write them out if you forget them. I mean, this is what renewing of the mind is, and God does the transformation. Yeah.

Speaker 1: 30:13

We want to invite him into our struggles with, whether it's with boundaries or anything else. But whatever stronghold we might be dealing with in this season, let's not wait any longer. I really need to not wait any longer. Wait any longer. I really need to not wait any longer. Let's mark this season as one of transformation, mind renewal, change, and may this be a fall season that we never forget. It's like we put a pin in it, or, better than that, a memorial stone to remember. This was the time when I called on God, when I was struggling so much with my boundaries, and he delivered me from my whatever I need delivering from. It doesn't mean that our problems just magically go away. It means that we experience a new resolve, a new ability to be intentional to call on him in the moment. So we want to lean into Jesus with surrender and joy.

Speaker 2: 31:13

Yes, we do. Yay, Yay. Well, we're so glad that you've been here with us today. So so glad, yes, so so glad, and we hope that you'll join us for our next episode of Revelation Within.

Speaker 1: 31:38

We'll see you next time.