For example, before I met Jesus and came to know Him as He truly is, my perception of the word “God” was very different from what it is today. Because of my upbringing, that word was portrayed in my mind as the picture of someone “out there” who was always checking on me with a rod in His hand, ready to hit me as soon as I misbehaved. Later on, as I went through life’s breakings and got desperate enough to cry out to Him, I was led to personally experience His love, which totally changed my perspective of the word “God”.

Today I know that “God is love” (I John 4:8), that “God is a Spirit” (John 4:23), and that, “as a father with the son in whom He delights” (Prov 3:12), “He delights in my way” (Psa. 37:23) and “cares for me” (1Pet. 5:7). What changed my perspective? My personal experience and new-found relationship with Him!

“Journaling” is a word and a practice that is widely used nowadays, both in secular and Christian circles, but different people give it a different application, according to their understanding of it… Since I have also been using it a lot, both in my writings and as a practice, I thought it would be good to give the word Journaling a clearer definition of what it really means for me.

In the secular world, there are many professionals nowadays who use journaling as a therapeutic practice to help you release stress and get rid of emotional upheaval, by writing down your thoughts and emotions in order to get rid of them, but also to slow down and draw on your “inner wisdom” to help you clarify what is right. One article that explains this practice is titled: “The Benefits of Journaling for Stress Management”, by Elizabeth Scott.

She says:  “Journaling allows people to clarify their thoughts and feelings, thereby gaining valuable self-knowledge. It’s a good problem-solving tool; oftentimes, one can hash out a problem and come up with solutions more easily on paper. Journaling about traumatic events helps one process them by fully exploring and releasing the emotions involved, and by engaging both hemispheres of the brain in the process, allowing the experience to become fully integrated in one’s mind.”

In the Christian world, there are also outstanding leaders today that use journaling as a means to teach their followers how to get the most out of their relationship with God, by writing down their thoughts and reflections on His Word and experience His wisdom in life. Among such leaders, one of the most famous is Rick Warren, from Saddleback Church in California, who wrote an article titled:  “Start the Spiritual Habit of Journaling”.

He says: “Writing down what God reveals to us is the spiritual habit of journaling. This is not the same as keeping a diary. A diary is, ‘This is what I did today.’ A journal is, ‘This is what I learned today.’ It’s not about what you did, it’s about what you are learning, what you are praying, and what God is saying to you.  If I want to hear God speak to me, I will say, ‘God, I want you to speak to me!’ Then I withdraw and get alone and get quiet: “Be still and know that I am God.” (Ps. 46:10) – Then I wait quietly, patiently, and expectantly on God. I ask a specific question, I look into his Word and then, when I see God’s answer, I write it down”.

There are many resources that one can find on the web to learn about Christian Journaling, but you can find some great articles at the following website: http://walkwiththeword.org

In the Life Coaching world, both secular and Christian, Journaling is also being greatly used these days! If you simply type “coaching and journaling” in any search engine, you will find scores of articles on the subject, but two Christian Coaches who have greatly helped me enhance my skills are Lynne Lee and Dr. Joseph R. Peck, both personal friends of mine.

In her article, titled  “Guide to Spiritual Journaling”, Lynne wrote: “Journaling is simply a way of recording your journey with God. It helps you to pay more attention to God and is a way of learning to hear and respond to Him. By keeping a record you can see what God’s been doing, how far you’ve come and where you’re going. Keeping a journal will help you to see how God is working in your life”.

Joseph has created a “Journaling For Breakthroughs Coaching Program”, where he has listed the benefits of Journaling. He says: Spiritual Journaling will transform your life!

• It helps you slow down to meditate on the word of God
• It allows God to be your Master Coach
• It’s one of the keys to hear God’s voice every day
• It builds you faith by remembering what God has done
• It helps keep your priorities in order
• It teaches you valuable life lessons
• It helps you be and stay organized

The simplest and clearest explanation of Journaling I ever found on the web is the one given by Dr. Mark Virkler, of the Christian Leadership University, who’s teaching the whole world the “Four Keys to Hearing God’s voice”. He lists Journaling as the Key #4, saying:

“Journaling, the writing out of our prayers and God’s answers, provides a great new freedom in hearing God’s voice. God told Habakkuk to record the vision and inscribe it on tablets (Hab. 2:2). If you search Scripture for this idea, you will find hundreds of chapters demonstrating it (Psalms, many prophets, Revelation).
I call this process “Journaling”, and I discovered it to be a fabulous facilitator to clearly discerning God’s inner, spontaneous flow, because as I journaled, I was able to write in faith for long periods of time, simply believing it was God. I did not have to test it as I was receiving it, because I knew that, when the flow was over I could go back and test and examine it carefully, making sure that it lined up with Scripture”.

This above explanation is what Journaling means for me. Every morning I try to sit down quietly and spend time with my favorite friend, Jesus, who is always there to love me, take me where I am, without judging me, and encourage me to move forward with my life! He is the best Master Life Coach that I have found, and I hope that you can connect with Him too. Journaling will greatly enhance your life for the better!

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If you want to learn How To Hear God’s Voice Through Spiritual Journaling, I will be happy to teach and coach you along the skills of it, until you become a real expert. Simply contact me at: email@renatoamato.com
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Our Biblical Life Coaching can help you experience the genuine transformation of your thinking and piece together some practical and sustainable strategies to live your best life and fulfill your life purpose, by getting from (a) where you are to (b) where you want to be!

In the old days, a coach was a horse-drawn vehicle that would take people from (a) where they were to (b) where they wanted to be. In a lot of countries around the world today, a coach is still a “vehicle” that will help people move from (a) where they are to (b) where they want to go.

Over time, a coach has become a professional who is able to motivate and move a person, or group of persons (“team”), from the (a) ordinary place where they presently are to the (b) champion‘s podium where they want to be.

Coaches are generally associated with sports or athletics, but they provide a great service also in other spheres of life, such as art (e.g., singing, speaking, acting, etc.), or business, finances, wellness, etc.  According to the Fortune magazine, “Coaching has become the hottest thing in today’s management world”. In fact, people today are turning to financial coaches, business coaches, relationship coaches, wellness coaches, as well as general life coaches. Recently it has also begun to have an important role in the Christian Church.

What role does a Biblical Life Coach play in helping you develop your potential, fulfill your life purpose, and walk into the destiny that God has for you?

Just as a lighthouse facilitates the navigation of ships through the sea, especially during the night, helping them find the right route and move from (a) one place to (b) another, a life coach can facilitate the navigation of people through life, especially in times of transition, helping them move from (a)one place to (b)another and reach their desired destination.

A coach can be an incredible resource to help you change, achieve your goals, or discover your divine destiny. Coaching is a relationship designed to empower you to take initiative in your own life to grow and change. It’s future-oriented toward dreams and goals and where you want to go. It takes you from (a) where you are to (b) where you want to be.

Coaching works with your personal motivation. Rather than teach you a set curriculum, a coach will start right from where you are, helping you define where you want to go in your personal growth. You’re not doing what someone else wants you to do. You’re setting your own goals in what you want to do and, as you do that, he will help you come up with a plan to get there that will be personalized and customized towards your needs. It will work with your schedule, your time, and the resources you have available.

Biblical Life Coaching is based on the belief that Christians have in them the potential to become leaders in their sphere of influence and are able to take responsibility for their own growth. Instead of giving you advice or tell you what to do, the coach will ask you questions that will sharpen your discernment of what God has planned for you.

A coach helps you define your vision and be transformed for the better in the pursuit of it. He is a partner who walks with you for a season, providing you feedback, new perspective, and a gentle and constant pressure to move forward towards the goals you want to reach.

“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.
Everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we do it for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and I bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” (1 Cor. 9: 24-27).

Life Coaching will help you get where you want to be by overcoming the obstacles and breaking down the barriers you impose on yourself. It will help you bridge the gap between (a) where you are and (b) where you want to be. Biblical Life Coaching will do the same, but it will add the benefit of a faith-based, Biblical approach.

A faith-based Life Coach will be …

• Your own personal life trainer to enable you to achieve your goals
• Your champion and cheerleader during a turnaround.
• Your trainer in communication and life skills.
• Your sounding board when making important choices.
• Your motivation when strong actions are called for.
• Your unconditional support when you take a hit.
• Your mentor in personal self-development.
• Your co-designer when creating an extraordinary project.
• Your beacon and friend during stormy times.
• Your wake-up call if you don’t hear your own.
• Your partner in helping you have all of what matters most to you.

The role of your Life Coach …

Rather than TELLING you what to do, a Life Coach will help you find the answers yourself. By ASKING thought provoking questions, your Life Coach will unlock your potential and help you move towards your goals.

Life Coaching is forward looking and focused on the action you are willing to take to get where you want to be. Sometimes you can’t see the forest because of the trees! Coaching enables you to take a step back and see different alternatives by examining your life and all its component parts. This in turn leads to greater self-awareness, focus and accountability.

In summary, Life Coaching is a relationship focused on the future. It works on your internal motivation, it’s personalized, and it gives you a structure for growth. The Biblical Life Coach is a traveling companion who walks by your side to encourage you, motivate you and give you confidence to achieve your goals, your life purpose and the destiny that God has for you.
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To learn more, click here:  www.biblicalcoachingonline.com
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If you are looking for quality Life Coaching that will help you experience breakthroughs and move forward in the pursuit of your dreams, or for professional Life Coach Training that will equip you with the needed skills and certification to help others experience the same, you are in the right place!

SIGN UP NOW by clicking here: www.biblicalcoachingonline.com/sign-up-now
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One of the biggest lessons I had to learn in the recent years of my life, it’s making sure that my dreams are bigger than my memories! No matter how beautiful or painful our memories might be, the past is past and we just cannot redo it! It’s only the future that we can build, by being confident that it will be much better and brighter than our past. God Himself has promised it: “I know the plans I have for you”, says the Lord, “they are plans of peace, and not to harm you, but to give you hope for the future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

The word of God does not say that our path ahead is like the setting of the sun, but rather that it’s “like the light of the dawn, which shines more and more unto the perfect day” (Proverbs 4:18)! In fact, it promises that God, “who has begun a good work in us, will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6)!

Your future is as bright as the promises of God! You can look forward to “greater works” (John 14:12).

Your past is most likely made of lights and shadows, successes and failures, things done well and also errors, wounds that were suffered as well as inflicted, things you would like to forget about, but that continue to surface every now and then, especially when you meet people and situations that are part of that past. Those memories will drain your energy and remind you how weak and fallible you are. They will try to scare you and tell you that “you cannot fool yourself thinking that you can be successful after your scores of the past!”

My friend, let me tell you something: your past does not have to write your future! It’s time to erase those painful memories of the past, because your future is bright as the promises of God! It’s time to reformat your hard disk and reprogram it with the Word of God, which tells us to “be transformed by the renewing of our mind, that we may prove what is the good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2).

Five years ago, at the end of 2006, after a year marked by successes, but also by some failures and defeats, I was completely discouraged and at the end of myself, thinking that my best was behind me and that there was no longer a future for me. On the evening of New Year’s Eve 2007, I asked the Lord to give me direction and He answered me with a scripture: “Remember not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert”(Isaiah 43:18-19).

That year was a real turning point in my life, as I started to leave the past behind and look confidently towards the future, recognizing the new thing that was about to spring forth in our new ministry of “Healing Broken Hearts”.  I don’t have to list all the new and greater things the Lord has done in recent years, because most of you who have been following us, even from afar, know how good the Lord has been to us!

However, sometimes those memories will try to resurface and divert your attention from all the new things the Lord is doing in your life, especially when you meet people and situations that remind you of your past, and that’s why it’s important that we turn the page and move forward into our future! The Lord Himself said “Remember not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold the new thing that I will do for you” (Isaiah 43.18)!

Jesus also said: “Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32), referring to what had happened a few thousands years earlier, when “Lot’s wife turned to look back and became a pillar of salt” (Genesis 19:26), getting stuck there forever! What was her mistake? She turned to look back, instead of looking forward! Don’t let it happen to you, your future is ahead of you!

Your best is yet to come! Do not look back, but do like the apostle Paul who, after having done great things in his life, said: “This one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus “(Philippians 3:13-14)

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Would you like to make this year a turning point in your life, by leaving the past behind and advancing towards a brighter future? Why not consider the possibility of a new beginning starting even from right now? Before the end of this month of January we will begin a new session of our “Biblical Life Coach Training” that could change your life forever!

Check it out and sign up today! http://www.coursearea.com/europe
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It all depends on what voice it’s paying attention to! Is it listening to selfish desires? Or is it listening to the voice of God’s wisdom, which is offered “to all man liberally” (James 1:5)? If your heart is filled with God’s Spirit and tuning to God’s voice, He will tell you what to do and where to go, and “you will hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk in it, when you turn to the right hand, and when you turn to the left” (Isa. 30:21).

Otherwise, the Bible reveals that: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9). In fact, it says that in since the very beginning “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually, and it grieved him at his heart” (Gen. 6:5)!

That’s because in our heart is where we have our self-talk, where our inner conversation is constantly going on and where we debate in our selves the things that are happening to us each day and moment of our life! Things are always happening to us, whether good or bad, and we process all the emotions that these events cause in our heart by a personal debate within ourselves! If we are self-centered and think that the world owes us everything, we will often be disappointed by the events of life and will usually tend to nurture hate, resentment and bitterness in our heart, which can easily be transformed in horrible behavior and can really take us down a very troubled road in life!

Whereas, if our heart is turned towards God and we are truly seeking for His perspective and guidance in life, He is  able to speak to our inner being and tell us what to do or where to go, and we can certainly trust God’s voice in our heart! Not exactly the voice of our own heart, but the voice of the Holy Spirit who’s speaking to our inner being and “directing our path” (Prov.3:6) to fulfill our destiny!

Let’s be honest with ourselves! If we are only desirous of gratifying our own selves, can we really trust the thoughts and intents of our heart? What is our heart telling us? Is it telling us to love and forgive the person that has hurt us, or to pay him back in double measure? Is it telling us to prefer the other person and give them a chance to prosper and grow, or to take advantage of whatever opportunity we have to get ahead of them and to leave them behind?

It really depends on what are we sowing into our heart … seeds of love, or seeds of hate? Seeds of forgiveness, or of resentment?  Seeds of kindness, or seeds of covetousness? The Bible tells us that “whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap” (Gal. 6:7)!

What is the message that our heart is constantly hearing? What are we feeding it? Are we “hiding God’s Word in our heart, that we might not sin against Him” (Psalm 119:11)? Are we feeding on Gods’ Word and letting it be “the joy and rejoicing of our heart” (Jer. 16:16)? Or are we spending more time watching TV and letting whatever it broadcasts be sown into our heart? The competition is fierce as to what is getting our attention and what messages or seeds are landing into our heart! That’s why the Bibles exhorts us to “Keep our heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23)!

We must be careful about what is being sown and growing in the garden of our heart, because that’s the fruit that we are going to reap in our life! Jesus said: “Either make the tree good and its fruit will be good; or else make the tree corrupt and its fruit will be corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit … for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. (Matt. 12:33-35).

Can you really trust your heart? You can, if you’re having a regular intimate conversation with God in your heart and listening to what the Spirit is telling you! That’s why the Bible constantly reminds us: “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying …”
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If you are not sure whether you are listening to the right voice in your heart, or whether you can really trust what your heart has been telling you, contact me and I will be happy to be your mentor and take you through a 4 steps program on: “How to hear the voice of God!”
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“The Spirit of our Father which speaks in us (Matt. 10:20) awaits us each morning to give us strength for the day, through the Words From Jesus that He whispers into our hearts.

WFJ: “I love you, My child, and I want to talk with you! I woke you up early for this purpose! Never forget and underestimate the important lesson that I have taught you over the years, that “one thing is needful” (Luke 10:42) and that the most important job you have is to stop, look and listen to My whispers, or you are going to get run over by the cares of life, instead of you taking control of your life and running over them!

I want you to have control of your life, instead of being controlled by its cares and worries! Worries and cares you will always have plenty in life, but you can learn to be still and navigate through them in full faith, by firmly taking a hold of its helm and listening to My whispers to boldly face all the challenges and excitement of life! Life is meant to be exciting, not boring, for you!

Life is exciting, and it’s meant to be! Life was never meant to be “business as usual”, but every day should provide new challenges and excitement to keep you alive! Boredom and stagnation is spiritual death, but I made life to be alive, moving and growing  to experience the full joy of living it! Heaven is full of life, and what awaits you up here is also excitement and constant changes! Don’t buy into the commercial lie that “Heaven is boring, because you all get to do is sitting on a cloud and playing harp for eternity”! Although there are those who like to do that once in a while, to create new music and play a new tune, yet most of eternity is spent learning, growing and enjoying it with other citizens of My Kingdom. There are plenty of new worlds to explore up here and you will never get bored, believe Me!

This is why I made life on earth to also be exciting with constant change and challenges, ups and downs, hills and valleys to cross, as you move forward into your personal destiny! Don’t ever fear what awaits you, but face it head on with full faith and courage, knowing that I have made it to be a challenge, so that you would not get bored! As you face your future with faith and determination, you will see its picture unfold and reveal clearly the plans that I have for you, “plans of peace and not to harm you, to give hope and a future” (Jer. 29:11)!

Things are exciting for you up ahead, on the road that you are walking, but trust Me, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb. 13:5b), and I will make “all things work together for your good” (Rom. 8:28), for I know the plans that I have for you, and I’m holding your hand! Take a firm hold of it, for I’m here to walk hand in hand with you, and together we will face any odds, challenge any storm and will command peace to the elements in order to make the path straight and help you get to your destination!

Up ahead there are some exciting things awaiting you, things that might even be a bit scary if you tend to be apprehensive, but trust Me and take hold of My hand, because you are not alone, and together we will defy the odds and conquer the land that I have promised you! Soon you will see the fulfillment of all that I have promised you and you will know that this was not your imagination, but it was My vision that I planted in you.”
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More “Words from Jesus”: http://renatoamato.com/en/journaling/words-from-jesus/
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P.S.: We all need someone to walk with us along the path of life, someone who believes in us and will cheer us up when we fall and need the courage to start moving forward again! The voice of God’s Spirit who lives in us is the “Comforter” (John 14:16) and “Counselor” (Isa. 9:6) of our lives, but if you also need an earthly life coach who will be your cheerleader and walk with you for a distance on the road up ahead, please do not hesitate to contact us and find out how to join a “walk of life” with us.

To find out more, click here: http://www.biblicalcoachingonline.com/about-coaching
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The quality of life is more important than its length! If we were able to appreciate and enjoy every moment of life as the most important one we live, it would gain immeasurable value and a true significance that would fill our hearts with joy unspeakable! This is not a chimera, but a reality! Some of us know it, but unfortunately many have lost sight of it! They are too busy trying to fill up their lives with goods to be able to appreciate the good of life, and that’s why they feel “empty”, no matter how much they own!

Joy is a reality, and everyone can find! It is not far from us, but much closer than we think. Unfortunately we can only see what we are actually looking to, and often our eyes are turned elsewhere. It would be enough to turn our eyes to what really matters to make our life worthwhile and give it meaning! You don’t have to resign yourself to a life without value and a reason for being, but you can experience its full wealth and learn to appreciate every facet of it. You are here for a reason, and it’s your job to discover it and live it “to the full”!

What would it mean for you to experience the joy of living each day, knowing that you are here for a special purpose? There is a magnificent destiny that awaits you, a wonderful plan to discover and fulfill every day, but you have to make choices and take decisions! There is no reason to feel “victim” of circumstances, because we all have the ability to choose and to change our reality. It only depends on what we believe is possible!

“If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes“! This is not just another powerful sentence of a skillful motivational speaker of modern days, but a truth carved from thousands of years in what we recognize for good reasons as Holy Scriptures (Mark 9:23). These are words that for centuries have empowered the minds and hearts of those who desire to add true meaning to their existence! Whether or not you are certain of the divinity of Christ, the truth remains the truth, and there is no doubt that His words have given life and truth to some of the greatest men of history, and they continue to offer it to us today!

By stating that “all things are possible to him who believes“, Jesus offers us a life view of unlimited possibilities and reaffirms the principle of our “majesty of choice”!  We are each able to make choices that can change our life, but we first must believe that it’s possible! If we think that it’s not, then we will resign ourselves to live our life just as we have until now!

And you? Do you believe you can change your life for the better? Do you think you can build a better future? The past is past, and you cannot change it! But you can certainly change your future, by making wise choices that you will get you moving in the right direction!

Stop! Look! Listen to what your heart is telling you, and open yourself to life! Let the Spirit who created you, and put you here for a purpose, become part of you and open your eyes to the way to follow! If you do, you will find that the amazing place where you can find peace and joy in life every day, is not that far from you, you just need to look in the right direction!

It is a process of awareness and discovery of the true values of life! Once you are aware of the purpose for which you are in this world, you will have a clearer vision and healthy goals for your life, and you will wake up every day with excitement at the opportunities available! You will start walking the path where you will experience the joy of living each day!

P.S.: We all need someone to walk with us along the path of life, someone who believes in us and will cheer us up when we fall and need the courage to start moving forward again! If you are in a place where you need a life coach, someone who will be your cheerleader and will help you get up again, and even walk with you for a distance on the road ahead, do not hesitate to contact us and find out how to join a “walk of life” with us.

To find out more, click here: http://www.biblicalcoachingonline.com/about-coaching
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There is a beautiful song, entitled “The Impossible Dream” and made famous by a musical movie made in 1972, “Man of La Mancha”, which really impacted my youth. It depicted the incredible difference that a man, thought crazy by his relatives, made in the life of people who had stopped believing in themselves, because they had been trampled upon by others! They were totally transformed by his faith in them (See Video Clip at the end of this article).

To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star

I believe God placed within each one of us all we need to achieve our “impossible dream”! We were created to live out the full potential that is within us and give the best of ourselves in this life, but often people resign themselves and accept a life of mediocrity that is boring and getting nowhere, mainly “because of unbelief” (Matthew 13:58)! Do not let this happen to you! There is only one life that will soon be past! Only what’s done for Christ will last!

Are you giving the best of yourself?
Are you chasing the impossible dream?
Are you reaching for the unreachable star?
Or have you settled into a boring routine that is making your life sad and miserable?
God wants to fill your life with joy! Jesus said: “These things have I spoken to you, that your joy might be full” (John 15:11).

I don’t believe in the type of religion that teaches you that one has to suffer through this life, in order to rejoice in the afterlife, and that we can only hope to one day be happy in Heaven! I believe that God wants to fill our present lives with joy, if we can only receive it! Jesus said it repeatedly: “Ask and you shall receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:24).

The dictionary definition of “Joy” is: Intense and exultant happiness, contentment, pleasure.

Therefore, joy is a victorious state of mind with which we can face life and overcome any and all obstacles we find in our path! We must simply believe it and, with faith, everything can be overcome! “All things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23).

The problem is that some people think that, in order to live better and achieve your dreams, you have to be selfish and think only about yourself, but it’s not true! The Bible teaches that “what a man sows, that shall he also reap” (Gal. 6:7). “For with the same measure that you give, it shall also be given to you” (Luke 6:38).

We were not destined for an unhappy life, but as God’s children we have the right, that was granted to us by our Creator, to fully enjoy life! In the parable of the Good Shepherd, Jesus said: “The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come that you may have life, and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

The “thief” is the negative religious thought that tells you that you don’t deserve to be happy, that “you must pay for your sins, that you will never amount to anything because you are not worth it, therefore you must resign yourself to your fate and bear your own cross in life… “, but that’s not true! Jesus carried the cross and died for you, to set you free from sins and give you back the fullness of joy and living in the grace of God!

If you have been listening to destructive thoughts in your mind, feeling guilty for your past mistakes, recognize the voice of the “thief”, who has come to “steal, kill and destroy” your dreams by filling your mind with lies, and realize that Jesus came “that you may have life” and He wants you to “have it more abundantly” (John 10:10)!

Do not allow that “thief” to rob you of the joy of living, which is your right as a child of God, but “take the shield of faith, with which you can quench all fiery darts, and the sword of the Spirit” (Eph. 6:16-17) to silence those negative thoughts and claim God’s promises for you!

“I know the thoughts that I think toward you,” says the Lord, “plans of peace and not of evil, to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

The Lord is not a tyrant who plans evil for you, but He want to give you hope and a future in which your “impossible” dream can come true! Simply take it out of where you have hidden it, claim God’s promises and start building it! Your future is glorious as His promises!

“Delight yourself in the Lord: and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the noonday” (Psalms 37:4-6).

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For more Reflections, Click here: http://renatoamato.com/en/soul-care/reflections/
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These 13 students participated online from 9 different countries around the world and it was rewarding for us seeing them grow and learn powerful coaching skills during the past 12 weeks of online interactive meetings, buddy coaching practice and homework study.

Added to another group of 12 students who graduated from the previous course, this made a total of 25 students from 12 different nations that we were personally blessed to train during this past year 2010, empowering them to not only learn the professional keys of Life Coaching, but to also experience breakthroughs in areas of life, such as: Understanding Personal Identity, Living a Values-Driven Life, Appreciating Our Uniqueness, Overcoming Obstacles (External and Internal), Learning the Power of Beliefs, Making Smart Choices and Planning Strategic Action Steps towards the Reaching of Life Goals.

Do you also have a heart and passion to help people experience personal growth and genuine breakthroughs in their thinking, values and life purpose?

Have you ever considered becoming a Certified Professional Life Coach, so you can empower others to live up to their full potential and become all they can be in life?

What if a Coach Certification was available for you to obtain without having to travel somewhere, but by joining an Online Course that is highly affordable and practical?

Whether you are a spiritual leader, a counselor, a mentor, a pastor, a missionary, or simply a Christian who is interested in adding Life Coaching skills to your existing ministry, we are happy to inform you that you can learn to coach others from a Biblical perspective!

BIBLICAL LIFE COACH TRAINING

In 3 months, and from the comfort of your own home, you can receive online professional training to become either a:

1) Certified Life Breakthrough Coach
2) Certified Biblical Life Coach

Our online Biblical Life Coach Training is structured to facilitate the professional training of Christian Life Coaches in all countries of the world, by simply allowing you to access our classes through an online connection, or even only a local telephone line!

Using the same foundational training that is already successfully being used in the USA by the Life Breakthrough Coach Academy, with minor differences to adapt and relate to the cultures and languages of other countries around the world, we are happy to offer you our:

Biblical Life Coach Training

- 12 Weeks (10 Lessons) of Live Online Training Classes and Workshops
- Access to Extremely Helpful Audios, Worksheets, and Assessments
- The Opportunity to be Coached and Practice Coaching with a Buddy Coach
- Access to Practice Building and Marketing Materials to Get You Started
- Certification as either a Biblical Life Coach™ or a Life Breakthrough Coach™
- Lifetime Membership in the Biblical Coaching Alliance™ Coaches Network

CLICK HERE for more information: http://renatoamato.com/en/coaching/life-coach-training/

Course Features

Through our Online Group Training you will receive 12 weeks of quality Coach Training and will be able to attend classes via Web Conference (or a phone line!), so you don’t have to travel, but can participate from anywhere in the world, interact with other students during the course, and practice the skills of coaching with a “buddy” during the week.

Our next Group Training will start the first week of January 2011!
Attention! Group Space is limited, so don’t delay, CLICK HERE to sign up today!

Biblical Life Coach Instructors

The Group Training is led by us, Renato & Patrizia Amato, Certified Life Breakthrough Coach Instructors who are endorsed to train Life Coaches by Daryl and Janet Daughtry, co-founders of the Life Breakthrough Coach Academy and leaders of the Biblical Coaching Alliance.

Sign Up Today!

- You will become a Certified Professional Life Coach in only 3 months (12 weeks)!
- You won’t have to pay thousands of dollars to get some of the best training available!
- You can also make 3 advanced monthly payments at the beginning of each month!

For more informations about costs and payments, CLICK HERE: Life Coach Training

Remember, our next Group Training will start the first week of January 2011!

You won’t find anything more affordable, so don’t delay, CLICK HERE to sign up TODAY!

We look forward to work with you towards attaining Life Coaching skills and understanding.

Renato and Patrizia Amato
Biblical Life Coach Instructors
http://www.biblicalcoachtraining.com/europe/about.html
http://www.lifebreakthroughcoach.com/about.php

Write us for details at: renato.amato@email.it
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Testimonials From Students

Dear Renato and Patrizia,
Thank you very much for this exellent Life Breakthrough Coach Training Course. I did a lot of studies, researches and trainings in my life, but THIS is exceptional! Here I experienced Jesus` love and commitment for a better world, for people be healed, to support them to find their way to more freedom. Thank you so much.
May the Lord bless you abundantly evermore.

Dr. Sybilla Matzenauer
Zurich, Switzerland
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Thank you Renato for the good job as an instructor. I must say that I really enjoyed this course and that it’s a very valuable tool for me. Previous to this course I took a secular Life Coach course that helped me grasp a bit of the principles of coaching, but I must say that Christian Life Coaching is much more in line with my way of thinking as a Christian, and that here I learned much more. Also the clarity of the lessons imparted was very good.
Thanks again Renato, for making this course available to us!

Gloria Cruz Troncho
Certified Life Coach, Spain
http://www.vivirfeliz.org/
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If someone does and says something that is hurting our feelings, our mind will immediately start a conversation with our heart to talk it over and decide whether to let it go, or retaliate in some ways that would make things seem fair. On the other end, if we meet a situation that stirs our compassion, our heart will start a conversation with our mind to see if there’s a way that we can help it or an excuse to justify ourselves for not doing anything. All of this happens in that “holy place” called “soul”, where we exercise our majesty of choice!

The question is whether our heart is actually able to think and process any kind of information, and it’s interesting to note that Proverbs 23:7 does not exactly say: “As a man thinks in his mind …”, but it says very clearly that: “As he thinks in his heart, so is he”!

There are many verses in the Bible indicating that the heart actually has its own thoughts. For example, in the Old Testament Daniel told king Nebuchadnezzar “…that you may know the thoughts of your heart” (Daniel 2:30). And in the New Testament Peter told the sorcerer to repent, so that: ‘…the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.’ (Acts 8:22b)

There are more than 400 places in the Bible where the word ‘heart’ was used to indicate a place of intellect, thought, emotions, character, love, compassion, etc … but the interesting thing is that Science has also recently discovered that the physical organ that pumps blood through our veins is actually able to think, and it does have emotions!

I recently read an article, titled “Yes, the Heart Really Can Think and Have Emotions!“, that reported a English TV broadcast on Channel 4 (June 26, 2006), titled: “Mindshock: Transplanting Memories?”, where they interviewed scores of recipients of heart transplants who were experiencing memories that did not belong to them, but were instead part of the deceased donors’ lives, as it was confirmed by their loved ones! In other words, the heart contained “memories” that were transferred from the deceased person to the receiver…

The same article named a heart specialist, Dr. Andrew Armour, Ph.D., who discovered the presence of neurons in the heart, and that it contains a complex nervous system of its own. He realized that there is a much more intimate connection between the heart and the brain than it had previously been known… Dr. Armour claims that the heart actually sends more information to the brain than the other way around!

The publisher of his “Anatomical and Functional Principles stated that ‘Groundbreaking research in the field of neurocardiology has established that the heart is a sensory organ and a sophisticated information encoding and processing center, with an intrinsic nervous system sufficiently sophisticated to qualify as a “heart brain”!  By providing an elaborate anatomy and physiology of the cardiac nervous system, this monograph contributes to the newly emerging view of the heart as a self-organized system that maintains a continuous two-way dialogue with the brain and the rest of the body.

It certainly seems that our heart has thoughts of its own, and therefore not only our mind needs to be renewed, but even our heart might have memories that need to be healed! … The Bible makes it clear that Jesus was not only sent to preach the Gospel to the poor, but also “to heal the broken hearts and set at liberty them that are bruised” (Luke 4:18).

“He heals the broken hearts, and binds up their wounds!”  (Psalms 147:3)

In the coming weeks we will look deeper into this conversation that happens between our thoughts and emotions, and how we can all experience the healing of our heart!
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For more articles on Soul Care, CLICK: http://healingbrokenhearts.com/soul-care/
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A few months ago, in July 2010, my friend Janet Daughtry and I (Renato) were interviewed by Dr. Joseph Peck in a Webinar entitled “God’s Vision For Renewing Your Mind“, of the Visions777 series, which included Janet’s presentation on “The renewing of your mind“, followed by another presentation of mine on “The healing of your heart“!

Click here to watch a replay of the Webinar: “God’s Vision For Renewing Your Mind“.

Janet did an excellent job in explaining how we all need to be “transformed by the renewing of our mind”, in order to see things with God’s eyes and perceive them for what they really are, not for what we might believe they are! She stated that our beliefs are the filter through which we view and respond to the issues of life… If our beliefs are negative, our responses to crisis will be negative, whereas if our beliefs are positive we will tend to interpret events positively. She was basically saying that our beliefs are the lens through which we view life.

What I felt led to add is that it works both ways! It’s true that our beliefs are the lens through which we view and respond to life, but also the way we personally interpret the events of life is how our “beliefs” are formed. “For now we see through a glass, darkly.”  (1 Cor. 13:12)

Our beliefs come from a variety of sources: from our past experiences, and from the input that we received from our family, friends, teachers, mass medias and society around us… Our beliefs are formed from all the information we have recorded in our brain, according to how we have personally interpreted it throughout the course of our life.

Dr. Carolyn Leaf, a Christian neuroscientist who studied the brain for about 25 years, wrote in her book, “Who Switched Off My Brain?”, that when an important event happens to us (whether good or bad), we have about 24 to 48 hours to process that information and to “ask, answer and discuss” it within ourselves. Otherwise that information will be stored in the deep archives of our brain and will become part of us!

What I gathered from it is that, if someone ever said or did something terrible to you, if you didn’t process it in your heart and mind, in order to come to peaceful terms with it within yourself, then that message has filtered down into the deep archives of your brain and has been played over and over to you. And the more you continue to think about it and obsess over it, the more it reinforces that altered belief system within yourself, which is affecting your thoughts, your emotions, and even your behavior! That’s why the Bible tells us that: “When you are angry, do not let the sun go down upon your wrath.” (Ephesians 4: 26)

In other words, our interpretation of life events (whether true or false) has contributed to the forming of our beliefs, which are now affecting not only our thoughts and emotions, but also our decisions and actions in life!

Beliefs –> Thoughts –> Emotions –> Actions

As the picture of this train shows, our beliefs are the power engine impacting our thoughts and emotions, and ultimately even our actions in life! Therefore if our beliefs system is healthy, then our thoughts and emotions are also positive and they are helping us move forward in life, no matter what mountain we must climb ahead of us …

However, if we ever experienced painful circumstances that we did not come to peaceful terms with (particularly events that happened when we were too young to process them in a wholesome manner), then those past hurts have been recorded in our emotional memory and they continue to have a major role in our personal perception of life …

What happens is that, whenever we encounter a similar situation that reminds us of those hurt memories, even subconsciously, we react impulsively and reactively, instead of being intentional, and ultimately the consequences of those reactions will be of the kind that we did not desire in the first place! You might say that, if we live out of a broken heart, instead of moving forward, we will be pulled back and down the hill, so to speak, because we are reacting emotionally instead of being intentional with our lives …

Unfortunately most of us live out of our “feelings”, because what’s going on inside of us emotionally in any given moment has a major impact on our thoughts, and therefore our decisions and actions are often guided by how we “feel” about the situation we are facing. However, since we cannot fully trust our feelings, knowing that they are based on our own personal interpretation of what is happening to us, coming from perceptions that might be altered and not telling us the truth, then we need to find a remedy, what the Bible calls the “healing of our broken hearts” (Psalm 147:3)!

In order to “renew your mind”, you need the “healing of your heart”!

That solution has been provided by our “Wonderful Counselor” (Isaiah 9:6), who was “sent to heal the broken hearts and set at liberty them that are bruised” (Luke 4:18), and in the coming weeks we will explore further how you can avail yourself of what He offers you: the “healing of your broken heart”!
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If you are looking for someone who can personally coach you through some powerful steps that will help you experience “the healing of your heart“, please visit my coaching page, Life Coach Renato, at: http://renatoamato.com/en/coaching/coach-renato/
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