1. Why do you think freedom requires in-depth study and deliberate application of truth?
Well, we know that the truth will set us free, but how will we know truth, if we do not dig down deep in God's Word and study all of the truths He teaches us there-in. And once we have studied God's Word and learned the truth, would we then just walk away, and say okay I know what the truth is now, I'm good. No! We need to take the truth and apply it to every area of our lives so that it can work and bring about the freedom, we are looking and longing for. If we do not apply the truth to our lives, it does us no good to know it.
2. Why is learning to apply a process to freedom much better than simply obtaining freedom from a stronghold?
As with just about everything in life, if you work for it, you appreciate it more than if it was just handed to you. When it comes to our spiritual walk with God, the same is true, but even more than that, when we have to work to apply the truths, and slowly make our way to freedom, once we reach our goal, we are more likely to appreciate the gift God has given us, but also, somewhere along the way we grew closer to God and became more like Him. If God just gave freedom to us without us needing to work through the process, we would never appreciate it, and we would just go right back out and get ourselves back into the bondage that God just freed us from, and we would never learn to walk with God and grow in our relationship with Him.
3. What evidence do you have in your life that shows God is the watchman over your mind?
Every since I can remember I have dealt with nightmares. I'm talking horrible dark, evil, scare you to death, nightmares. As a young girl I found out that just whispering the name of Jesus, made these horrible dreams disappear. I would try to fall asleep singing this old song...
"Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, there's just something about that name.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,like a fragrance after the rain.
Master, Savior, Jesus, let all heaven and earth proclaim,
Kings and Kingdoms will all pass away,
but there's something about that name."
And every night, since probably the age of 4 or 5, I pray and ask God to give me good dreams, and not bad, and ask that He watch over me as I sleep. There have been a few times, that I fell asleep without saying this simple prayer, and every time, I've had a nightmare. I know that God watches over me and protects my mind as I sleep.
4. How is perfect peace in our imperfect minds different than having a perfect mind?
I have yet to hear of or meet anyone who has a perfect mind, but I have met people who despite their circumstances, and imperfections, have a peace that passes all understanding. A perfect mind, would be something someone would be quite proud of and probably would want to take the credit for it, but when your mind is not perfect, and you have a peace that goes beyond all of the imperfections and you don't have to worry about how it will all work out, because God has given you His peace, it is nothing you can take the credit for and God gets all of the glory.
5. What difference does the way you frame events make in your life?
We all see things from a different perspective, I may see a kite flying in the sky, and I frame it as a good memory, as I recall times from the past that we went out to fly kites as a family. But someone else may see that same kite flying in the sky, and because of the family situation they lived with as a child, that kite may bring back some horrible memories and feelings. So they frame it in their mind as a bad situation. We take our past memories, and situations and use them as a lens through which we view the world and everything going on around us, this is the way we "frame"events in our life and it effects everything we do.
