LIFE eNews Winter 2016

LIFE 

Success is not always determined by what is seen by the eye, rather by what is hidden in the heart.

restoring hope and passion to

WELCOME....

The LIFE newsletter is produced quarterly. Our hope is to bring you stories and articles that will encourage and equip you as you pursue to live life to the fullest.

We know that life is a journey with many twists and turns. It is not always how we start that matters in the end but how we choose to live everyday with the options that are before us.

We would love to hear your stories and how you are overcoming challenges to follow your purpose. Feel free to share your stories with us. All personal details will be kept confidential.

Today choose to live and love, your life!

In This Issue WELCOME.... ................................................................................................................................... 1 Taking Charge .................................................................................................................................... 2 Happiness, Contentment and Meaning .............................................................................................. 3 Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) .................................................................................. 4 Dreams and Promises......................................................................................................................... 5 Co-dependency................................................................................................................................... 6 To Rest or Not ................................................................................................................................... 7 Opinion and Position.......................................................................................................................... 8 What Makes a Difference .................................................................................................................. 9 Your Sensory Profile ........................................................................................................................ 10 Living the Dream .............................................................................................................................11

Taking Charge Candy Daniels I was at a work place office one day and noticed a plant stuck in a corner. It seemed healthy and was growing in a medium sized pot. I asked if anyone in the office knew what the plant was. I was told that it was found outside amongst some shrubs. It was brought in and put in a pot because like me, it was the leaves that interested those in the office. The plant was fed the left over coffee from the two or three staff in that office, when they remembered but more so, if or when coffee was left over in their cups. To this day I am not sure of the identity of this plant, yet I am sure if I take it to a botanist or garden enthusiast they would be able to tell me what it is.

Have you ever considered that perhaps at times there are people who go through life a little like this plant. Lost identity, take up space in a corner, only get fed left overs‌ Have you ever felt like this? Are you ready to take charge of your life and own the decisions you make?

What is stopping you from making the most of your life? A seed will grow just about anywhere it falls, just so long as it has water, light and something for the roots to take hold of.

Depending on the environment that the seed is in, will depend on its survival rate. Yet, the productivity of the seed will depend on the quality of the soil, what it gets fed on and level of light that it gets.

to care for them, yet as adults we have choices.

I often find that people say they don’t have a choice simply because they haven’t considered their options or are unaware of the options available to them. We are constantly making decisions from the moment we wake up to the moment we go to sleep.

I would like to challenge you, to consider the choices you make on a daily basis, the environment in which you choose to belong is your soil, to consider who or what feeds you; this is your source of water and who you let influence you daily; this is your light. Your potential to be all that you can be is only limited by what you believe. Our environment influences us, but it is our choice that keeps us where we choose to be and who we choose to be.

Our wellbeing is dependent on our beliefs.

Everything we believe influences how we think and what we think about. Our thoughts impact our emotions, which in turn begin to influence how our brain functions. This, then, influences not just how we behave but it impacts our immune system. There is one thing we have control of in life and that is ourselves. Today, choose to believe, choose to belong, choose to change the things you can, choose to make a difference in your life.

Unlike any other living thing, humans have choice. Children are limited to the choices they can make as they are dependent on adults LIFE Volume 6, Issue 3

Winter 2016

Page 2!

Happiness, Contentment and Meaning Trudy Buchanan

"It is the very pursuit of happiness that thwarts happiness."

Viktor Frankl In this season of transition, I have been pondering what makes life meaningful and fulfilling.

Often as Christians we assume that our relationship with Christ is what makes us worthy but I wonder if that only forms a part of the story and identity. Being made in God’s image confers us with dignity, but also a sense of obligation to respond to that dignity – an obligation to also offer dignity, respect and to value and protect all humanity. That is the gift we have been given to pass on.

vivor, devoted his life to studying, understanding and promoting ‘meaning’. He survived a concentration camp by searching for his meaning within hardship. He suggests that finding meaning is a primary motivational force we all strive and struggle to find. In other words, humanity seeks to find a goal worthy of self.

Frankl suggests that without meaning we fill the void with hedonistic pleasures, power, boredom or neurotic obsessions and compulsions.

At times, we fill the void with well-meaning activities; busyness becomes the way of life without considering the values, purpose and intentions underlying the busyness. The four main needs below can be a useful assessment tool in assessing our motivations but also a way to discover what makes up some of our identity, and what constitutes a meaningful life.

1. Purpose • Goals • Fulfilment 2. Values • Right and wrong • Couse of action 3. Efficacy • Control • Making a difference 4. Self-Worth • Belonging • Goodness/worth • Abilities

The lie: I could be happy, but only if I have what I don’t have today.

In our humanity, we often seek to be happy or make our kids happy; but is happiness the correct, or ultimate goal? I wonder if the goal is more to find what is meaningful to us, and in that, a contentment and joy as a by-product of this.

Being happy is about feeling good. Meaning is derived from contributing to others or to society in a bigger way—possibilities against a background of reality. Contentment can be defined as being contained within limits, therefore quiet, not disturbed, at peace. A satisfaction that holds the mind in peace, restraining complaint, opposition, or further desire and often implying a moderate degree of happiness.

Victor Emil Frankl (1905–1997), an Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist and Holocaust surLIFE Volume 6, Issue 3

Frankl says that only when the emotions work in terms of values can the individual feel pure joy. There isn’t one simple answer. Each person’s uniqueness, experiences, and passions requires that we must all find our own distinctive meaning and purpose—one that is beyond simply being in Christ, but that is motivated from the gift of dignity we have been given; one that brings us contentment, joy and fulfils our Godly obligations to offer others restoration, hope, dignity and respect.

Winter 2016

Page 3!

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

1. Contact with the Present Moment: consciously being aware of the physical world around and psychological world within us in the present moment.

Dominique Holmes Psychodynamic approaches to therapy imply that behaviour change is best achieved by changing attitudes underlying behaviour. Behavioural approaches aim towards behaviour change without necessarily referencing attitudes. ACT suggests that, through acceptance of emotions or attitudes, behaviour may be changed regardless of the accompanying emotion.

2. Cognitive Defusion: separating ourselves from our thoughts, feelings and memories. They can be acknowledged, but not fused with us.

3. Acceptance: allowing ourselves to have painful feelings, sensations and thoughts without struggling or fighting with them. Just opening up and allowing them to be.

Stephen Hayes is credited as the founder of ACT. As a therapeutic modality ACT is scientific, precise and clearly aimed at helping individuals, families and communities work toward greater things.

4. Self-as-Context: our minds have two distinct parts – the thinking self and the observing self. The observing self is being aware of whatever we are thinking and feeling in the moment.

KEY ASPECTS It is essentially a values-guided behavioural therapy, ACT encourages people to “accept what is out of your personal control, and commit to taking action that enriches your life.”

The aim is to find meaning and fulfilment whilst accepting the inevitable pain in life.

(Harris 2009) Firstly, ACT helps a person discover what is most important in life, using these values to provide guidance, motivation and inspiration for behavioural change. Secondly it is about becoming mindful of your actions; “mindfulness means paying attention with flexibility, openness and curiosity” (Harris 2009). Mindfulness can help us to connect with our thoughts and emotions at any moment, and can be used to consciously influence our own behaviour.

There are six core therapeutic processes in ACT: LIFE Volume 6, Issue 3

5. Values: knowing what really matters in our lives that direct our actions.

6. Committed Action: taking effective action guided by our values.

These six are not separate processes; often they are represented as six facets of one diamond, with the diamond being Psychological Flexibility. Harris (2009) defines Psychological Flexibility as “the ability to be in the present moment with full awareness and openness to our experience, and to take action guided by our values.” The ACT Hexaflex displays this:

Gore, K. (2015) Act in Action. Retrieved from http://isad.isastutter.org/isad-2015/papers-presentedby-2015/research-therapy-and-support/act-in-action/ Harris, R. (2009). ACT made simple. Oakland: New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

Winter 2016

Page 4 !

ACTION

STEPS TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR CAPACITY

ACCEPT that your feelings are a result of your thoughts.

CHOOSE to act; your values should align with how you act.

TAKE action; a lack of motivation is often the lack of action.

IDENTIFY your strengths and weakness.

OUTLINE your goals clearly.

NEVER underestimate your potential to make change.

Dreams and Promises Danolene Johanason It is said that ‘The graveyard is the richest place, filled with lost potential and unreached dreams’, I realised whilst standing at a teenage boy’s funeral that he will never be able to see it happen. This got me thinking. How many of us who are still alive have dreams, aspirations or promises from God, but are still not seeing the manifestation of those promises or dreams?

What is the hindering factor or delay that causes many of us to stagnate and not move forward into our destiny. May be it is the opinions of others that hinders us from seeing the manifestation.

I have been thinking about seasons and timing and how we can miss what God has for us because we either speak prematurely to the wrong people about the dreams and promises God gave us in our excitement. I am witness to that, I receive an idea from God and I start to LIFE Volume 6, Issue 3

share it with others in my excitement and the idea gets contaminated with people’s opinions and views. Soon, our eyes come off God and it becomes about what people think and doubt can set in. Then we begin to struggle with confusion, uncertainty and all the many questions start. Did I real hear from God? Did I hear right? Who am I to have dreams like this?

I believe all of us struggle with waiting. Yet waiting is important to conceive the dreams and promises. This process is not easy, there can be happiness, excitement, joy, hope and even anxiety with the prospect of looking forward to the birth of something new is an amazing feeling. Yet, that which happens in between is the hardest part in the waiting process.

So, what do we do while we wait? Being anxious, worried, insecure and one of my favourites is doubt; it often tends to stick its neck out causing our feelings to overwhelm us.

Patience is unfortunately not one of my strong points, how are you with patience? All we want to do is fix things or make things happen and in so doing what we don’t realise is we can delay

Winter 2016

Page !5

the manifestation of the promises and step out of God’s timing.

The waiting season is necessary for the perfection of the promises or dreams to be fulfilled.

It is during the waiting time that God teaches us to rest in Him, to trust in Him and to therefore rely on Him. Stay in God’s Word as you wait and stay prayerful and watchful. God’s promises are Yes and Amen. Be careful who you share your vision, dreams, promises with.

At the same time remember that what God has purposed in your heart He will equip you to fulfil.

people. They believe in doing so, they can control another’s emotions. Or in some way try to be a saviour to another’s problems – believing in the idea that if they could only get their partners/family member to change, then their problems would be solved. In doing so the co-dependent individual becomes so enmeshed in another’s life and problems, and they lose their own sense of identity and selfworth, therefore, forgetting to look after their own needs and deal with their own problems.

Many experts believe there is a continuum of co-dependency, and many people fall somewhere on this continuum.

Co-dependency Melody Durand A co-dependent is a person who believes their happiness is derived from other people or one person in particular, eventually becoming obsessed with controlling the behaviour of the people/person that they believe is making them happy.

• A co-dependent individual is a peoplepleaser and lacks assertiveness. They can be indirect or untruthful about their feelings because they are afraid to upset people. However, this in turn causes a problem with intimacy, a reluctance to get close to someone, or an inability to trust another.

• They have low self-esteem, which translates to feeling that they are not good enough or are somehow unlovable or inadequate and can lead to being controlling or a perfectionist.

Working with individuals and couples as a helper has highlighted that people spend a lot of time “walking on eggshells” around certain LIFE Volume 6, Issue 3

Winter 2016

• It is generally believed that we become co-dependent through living in environments or families with dysfunctional dynamics that hinder our healthy development. The dysfunctional dynamics have often developed in response to some problem such as alcoholism, mental illness or chronic physical illness.

• Sometimes co-dependency can develop in families where there are stringent rules. Problematic dynamics or rules set up within families that can cause co-dependency may include: An environment where problems are not openly discussed.

Perfection is expected, communication between family members is indirect and often conveyed through a third person.

There is pressure to make one's parents happy, being playful is discouraged, selflessness is expected, and one shouldn't cause waves or upset the status quo.

Page 6 !

In this type of restrictive familial environment, families can negatively affect a child's self-esteem and coping skills. As a result, children can develop ineffective problem-solving strategies, or unhealthy behaviour characteristics and unhelpful reactions to situations in adult life which can lead to co-dependent behaviour.

• Individuals who are co-dependents seem to have low self-esteem and look for anything outside of themselves to make them feel better.

• They find it hard to “be themselves”.

Individuals with a co-dependency seem to feel empty inside and are unhappy with their lives, they use people, behaviours and things to control or medicate inner feelings such as fear, unresolved anger or loneliness. This affects the individual’s ability to have a healthy, mutually satisfying relationship.

• It seems co-dependency is a learned behaviour that can be passed down from one generation to another.

• Also some co-dependent individuals have a stubborn defence of their dysfunctional family-of-origin and pretend that things "weren't that bad" and find looking inward very painful.

Co-dependents look strong but feel helpless.

Co-dependency can, therefore, create problems that continue long after you have left the environment that caused you to develop co-dependency in the first place. If co-dependent people can't learn to recognise their own co-dependent behaviours, and get help in stopping or reprogramming those behaviours, they will repeat old patterns in each new relationship.

LIFE Volume 6, Issue 3

Even when a co-dependent person encounters someone with a healthy outlook and healthy boundaries, the co-dependent person may still demonstrate co-dependent behaviours within the relationship; because that is the only pattern of behaviour in a relationship that he or she knows. Until the co-dependent person recognises his or her own patterns of co-dependency in relationships, he or she will not be likely to get involved with people who have healthy boundaries.

To Rest or Not Karen Bekker At the time of writing this article; I am quietly sitting in my car, taking time to rest and listen to the birds in the wetlands of Yea (a small town in Victoria - Australia). This morning I had to leave early to drive my two youngest children to Yea High School for what we call ' Yea Day'. For them it is a busy day, science labs, art, cooking, etc... They attend school each Wednesday, where they collect their weekly work requirements and then complete it all at home.

So as you can imagine I am kept very busy having to be teacher, housekeeper, mum, taxi, book keeper, etc... The list goes on and yes this is by choice. Every now and then there will be an unexpected event that puts extra pressure on an already busy schedule. Last year was like that and it managed to carry on over Christmas and into this New Year.

So one day I was chatting or maybe I could say complaining to God about how tired, well exhausted I felt. I remember saying, "Lord, I know you say you will renew our strength, (Isaiah 40:31) well.that would be really helpful

Winter 2016

Page 7!

right now." I asked for a word or something to help me refocus and reenergise. I took out my phone and went to Mr google; typed in something about devotions and exhausted. There were many to choose from so I moved my finger up and down and touched the screen. I had to laugh as I read the inspired writing. You see sometimes God has to be very black and white if not blunt with me. Well...there it was my word: 'Sometimes the most Spiritual thing You can do is Sleep!' I thought really Lord!

But how true it was. I had been getting up early - working hard all day - going to bed really late. No wonder I was exhausted. I decided to make some changes, and as I did, I noticed my energy levels went up and I was able to complete more in less time.

Recently life has been speeding up again. Apart from the usual there has been a few unexpected challenges and once again tiredness has been creeping in. Once again I prayed and I received my answer while in a meeting a few weeks ago listening to a pastor. Her message was amazing but God decided to take a few sentences of her message and highlight them to me, which were then confirmed by my daughter who leant over and very clearly pointed out that's you mum.

The pastor shared how God had challenged her to keep the Sabbath; one day of rest a week. I went home thinking about how could I implement a day of rest, when there is not enough time in a week to do everything now. In Genesis 2:2-3, we read how ‘On the seventh day God rested’. I think He took the time to enjoy all He had created.

I don't know about you but sometimes I can get so busy working that I neglect to take time to rest and enjoy all that is around me, my family, my home, even myself. I encourage you if you LIFE Volume 6, Issue 3

are feeling tired, exhausted or feel like you are just going through the motions of life - Stop! Find time to rest even if you can't give a whole day. Start with an hour or two one day a week, then try to increase it; turn off the phone, the computer, have a bath, sit in the sun, read a book, sleep, do something just for yourself that's not work related. In the busyness of life finding time to rest can be a great challenge but it is a challenge that has great rewards.

Opinion and Position Jodie Chambers Recently I read a book, In the Land of Blue Burqas by Kate McCord. Kate was a missionary in Afghanistan, living and working with the poor. What struck me about her story was her willingness to integrate her opinion as a Christian Western Women and her position as being part of an international aid organisation, with the Afghan culture.

Sometimes we can feel that our personhood or our self- worth is being challenged when we come across a person or situation where we feel our values are being questioned or our position in society, our family or community is being threatened. We look to others to validate us as a worthy person. Our natural reaction can be to defend our values and viewpoints or perhaps even argue to have our position validated. I believe this can lead us, at times, to become defensive in our interactions or simply rude and dismissive of others. Worse still, you may feel pressured into doing or believing something that is not good for you.

Winter 2016

Page 8 !

Let me put forward an example that I came across in the book. Kate talks of a time during Ramadan where she was invited to talk about fasting according to her religious beliefs. She said she tried to change the conversation from a discussion about rules to a form of fasting as a spiritual exercise meant to bring you towards a deeper relationship with God. Kate says “Often these were difficult conversations full of unique vocabulary, complex language tenses, and very foreign concepts.”(p.266). At her organisation the foreigners and Afghans would eat lunch together. During Ramadan the Afghans were sacrificing part of their wage as they were not eating lunch so Kate decided to offer them a deal. By using a Bible verse from Isaiah 58:5-6 she spoke about fasting to benefit others. She offered to put away the money the organisation was saving by not supplying lunch in order to give to the poor. The Afghans thought this was a good idea, as they were poor and she could give them the savings; however, according to the Afghans religious requirements during Ramadan, they are not to benefit from their fast. As she spoke on Isaiah, the Afghans offered their own similarities in their religion in regards to giving to the poor. Finally she offered her proposal, to save the money and give it to them so they could use it to help another poor family in the area.

Kate was able to integrate her religious belief according to her faith, of seeking God’s guidance with that shared by her co-workers faith of giving alms to the poor, without changing her belief or forcing her opinion onto the Afghans. She was able to take the position placed on her as their employer and her opinion as a Christian and allow her co-workers space to define their own opinion and position according to their faith journey. She patiently showed through her actions what she believed, leaving her Afghan co-workers to form their own opinion. She was not looking for the LIFE Volume 6, Issue 3

Afghans to change their belief so as she could claim justification for her own belief or force them to do as she said to validate her position as their employer.

Holding onto an opinion or a position can become a problem when we are looking for validation for our self as a ‘good’ person or needing to ‘be’ right in order to ‘feel’ right. Your position doesn’t validate your opinion and your opinion doesn’t make you right or wrong. Validation comes from your relationship with Jesus.

What Makes a Difference Lisa Dumicich In a recent 4-part TV series in Australia called Revolution School, a school in Melbourne’s South Eastern suburbs went from a very low performing school with results in the bottom 20% of schools in Victoria and declining enrolments to a school with results in the top 20% and increasing enrolments over an 8-year period. It was an amazing turnaround. So do you know the single most important factor in a child and a school improving their educational outcomes? Is it small class sizes? Is it the number of facilities that a school has? Is it the amount of IT in the classroom? Is it the range of subjects on offer at a school?

Whilst all of these things are good things to have in a school the thing that makes the biggest- by a long way - difference in any classroom to any student is the quality of the teacher that they have in front of them.

A meta-analysis (a person who looks at lots of different studies conducted and works out the overall trends found in all the studies) was

Winter 2016

Page 9 !

conducted by an esteemed Australian education academic John Hattie. He studied literally thousands of studies conducted worldwide into education and came up with a list of all the things that can affect student learning both positive and negative and gave them an effect size.

This means that somethings have a positive effect on student learning some have neutral or no effect on student learning and some have a negative effect. Of all the items listed (over 100 of them) most of them came down to quality teachers who know how to teach. There were some surprising thing also, things which are seen as glamorous and highly desirable in schools that have little or no effect on student learning such as the range of subjects, finances and extra-curricular programs.

Some of the things that had a very large effect were teachers providing targeted feedback for students, teachers using the direct instruction method, teachers using formative assessment to find out how effectively they have taught, teachers having high expectations of students, teacher student relationships, teachers teaching students how to reflect on and improve their work, teachers teaching students strategies on how best to learn. Teachers, teachers, teachers!

So when you are looking at a school for a child or evaluating your child’s current school don’t be fooled by thinking that school XYZ down the road is a better school because it has more facilities or subject offerings remember to take into account the teacher factor as that relationship is going to have the greatest influence on your child’s experience at school and educational outcomes. Look for schools that take teacher professional development seriously and value the student/teacher relationship first and foremost.

LIFE Volume 6, Issue 3

Your Sensory Profile Sam Brown We all have our own peculiarities in regards to how we register and respond to sensory input.

Whether it is sounds, tastes, touch, smells, sights, how we move (vestibular system), or how we position our bodies (proprioceptive system), we all experience the world differently through these senses. Remember the ghastly sound of fingernails scraping down a blackboard? Did it make you cringe? It never really bothered me, but then, we are all different, right? This is also the case for people with autism, only they are often much more sensitive to sensory inputs than the majority of us.

Winnie Dunn, a Fellow with the American Occupational Therapist Association and wellknown author in the field of ASD, describes how we process sensory information in terms of thresholds. If you have a low auditory threshold then it will not take much noise to stimulate your auditory senses and response to sounds like those fingernails on the board. If however, you have a high sensory threshold then it will take more or louder noises before you respond. How we register and process sensory information also directly effects how we behave. For myself, you could drag your nails right across that board and I’d probably just smile and shrug it off, but for the sensitive, low threshold person, as soon as the nails hit the board they would be crying out in pain. Similarly, people with ASD have varying behavioural responses when they process sensory input, only their heightened sensitivity often results in more intense behavioural responses as well.

The four main responses to sensory input for people, and particularly children with ASD, are

Winter 2016

Page 1! 0

what Dunn labels seeking, avoiding, sensitivity and registration. Children who are ‘seekers’ have high thresholds. They require more input to help them understand and process information so they actively seek out the required stimulus. This is often seen in children who love to touch things. It’s not because they are naughty or trying to be annoying, it is because they need to feel the texture and shape and density and dimensions of an object to better understand what it is. But that is not all, because a sensory profile is not just that simple.

That same child might also be an ‘avoider’, particularly if they have say, a low auditory threshold and find too much noise very overwhelming. It doesn’t take much for them to experience sensory discomfort so they actively seek to avoid or reduce input. They can withdraw, reduce their activity and involvement, and develop rituals because rituals create comfort and reduce the chances of overstimulating low sensory thresholds.

They become easily upset because they are unable to control the abundance of information when they get so caught up in the details. That old saying, ‘can’t see the forest for the trees’, would be a perfect description of the sensor.

Registration is when the person, called a ‘bystander’, has a high threshold for sensory input, but unlike the seeker they do not actively seek out input to process the information and selfregulate their responses. As the name describes, they appear to stand by and let the world go on around them. They can seem relaxed and uninterested in what goes on around them, they are flexible with routines and patterns because they don’t seem to notice changes, and it takes a lot to gain their attention. A child who doesn’t feel pain or notice differences in hot and cold temperatures might fit this category. A ‘sensor’ on the other hand has a low sensory threshold like the avoider, but is a passive self-regulator like the bystander. This means they are highly sensitive to details, they notice the most minor of changes, or detailed patterns that most people would not.

Living the Dream

LIFE Volume 6, Issue 3

We all have unique sensory profiles, and we all respond differently to different types of sensory input. The fact that many people with ASD have hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory input just means that their behavioural responses might also be more unusual and more difficult to manage. So next time you see a child with ASD hiding under the table or behaving inappropriately, take a moment to consider that they are most likely not trying to be naughty, they may just need help finding a new and more appropriate means of managing and communicating their sensory discomfort. And if you find that difficult to understand, think back to how much you hate those nails on the blackboard!

Candy Daniels We can’t predict the future, we can dream, yet what is better is that we can create and turn our dreams into reality. Have you heard the saying ‘I don’t know what the future holds but I know who holds my future’. The thing then is do we trust the One who holds our future and are we willing to submit to God’s will and ways if we believe in that statement. For those of us who believe that only God knows what the future holds, can I just add that our future is also dependent on the choices we make. Have you realised that each person has creativity in them that is bursting to come out. If you are not sure if you have a dream, I would encourage you to think about what you would like to change or where would you like to see change made in

Winter 2016

Page !11

the world. Could you be that person who has the gift to make that change?

I have met many people who have said to me there is so much I want to do, BUT, I don’t know where to start. That word BUT, is the thing that gets in the way as it introduces doubt and the hidden or not so hidden fears. Have you ever heard or do you know of people who don’t just live; they thrive. They push through the obstacles of life and chase after what their heart is set on. These people don’t just dream; they create. They begin by creating change in their thinking. They don’t just have a plan; they have strategies (and often many) for the first few don’t always work out and they have vision. Vision is their ability to see where they want to be or they have vision that keeps building to see that things they hope to achieve.

If you are reading this and you are not sure of your dream or if you have a dream - take out a pencil and paper and write down your dream, date it, close your eyes and picture what this could mean not just for you but how can it make a difference. Make a list of the things you are going to need to get started, lay it before God and ask Him for direction and wisdom. Connect with a mentor who believes in you and who will encourage you to pursue your dream.

You will have some distinguishing factors that will set you apart from other. Your story, experiences, passion for the reason you want to see change will be different to others. This is what will allow you to have vision not only to dream but to thrive.

Walt Disney began with a dream as a child and despite many failures ( because he didn’t give up by letting his circumstances guide him), today Disneyland celebrates 60 years. As Walt grew his passion, his vision grew and it took LIFE Volume 6, Issue 3

Making a dream a reality It is by choosing to change how we think more than focusing on what could stop us from pursuing our dreams that turn dreams into reality. Keep in mind that when you begin to dream obstacles will present itself, yet those who achieve the reality • are not more creative • are not more ambitious • are not more blessed • are not more determined • are not more visionary • are not more risk takers • are not more charismatic What is stopping you from living your dream? If your head and heart are not in agreement, you will be stuck as your brain is controlling you and hindering you through reminding you of your inability. Take control of your thoughts each day and begin to see yourself living your dream. many years, many knock backs, many disappointments. Today many get to enjoy the labour of his dream and vision of entertainment.

Start to believe in your gifts, but more so in God who has gifted you. I believe our experiences make our story and each individual unique. Nothing is ever lost in God’s hands, every experience prepares us for being an agent of change and offers us the opportunity to develop skills. The future will always be unpredictable; yet God remains the same. Are you ready pursue and accomplish your dream with passion and purpose?

Winter 2016

Page 1! 2

SERVICES LIFE Counselling - empowering you with hope!

Professionally trained & registered counsellors to assist you on life’s journey.

LIFE Supervision - empowering you as you serve!

Trained supervisors to assist you in your work as you serve, care, lead‌

LIFE Networking - empowering you to connect!

Connecting Kingdom minded individuals, professionals and ministries.

LIFE Training - empowering you to grow!

Interactive seminars/workshops/retreats on various topics for personal & professional development.

LIFE Wellbeing - empowering you to thrive!

Providing you with services geared towards your spiritual, emotional, physical wellbeing.

Through prayer, mentoring and coaching.

LIFE Volume 6, Issue 3

Winter 2016

Page 1! 3