Pastoral Counseling

 

As many of you know I have been working with women for the last 14 years as a Pastoral Counselor. I took the last two years off to take care of my husband who is currently in skilled nursing where he is getting very good care.

As this broken world continues to spiral downward.. many of us are hurting and really could use some help. I have decided to return to the work I love and I am praying that the Lord will send me people to help as He has always done in the past. My own situation continues to be challenging but in the midst of it.. I need to pour out to others so that the Lord can use me as a wounded healer. I decided to post this in case anyone reading it needs to talk through whatever struggle they are having. I am posting this here and on my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/aliciasroses/) You can message me on Facebook if you want to connect. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. Pastoral Counseling is not therapy and it is not Spiritual Direction.. it may have components of both but it is truly counseling by the power of the Holy Spirit as He brings healing to the brokenhearted.

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners,^[a]
 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
    and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
   and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
    instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
    instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise 
instead of a spirit of despair. ( Isaiah 61)

 

It is easier than we think..

I am beginning to realize that life with God is easier than we think. That’s part of the reason we find it difficult. We make it more difficult by relying on our own minds and hearts to guide us. Our minds can take us anywhere if we aren’t careful..so many of our own thoughts are contrary to the mind of God.

And of course there are our feelings..they may be even worse. If we allow our feelings to direct our steps..we are in big trouble. The only safe road is the one where we realize that God is in total control ..as we step out, He guides us to the next step. Our own thoughts and feelings are incidental. Now this doesn’t mean they aren’t important.. they are , but they are not the way we discover the abundant life.

We are made to feel deeply and to think through things.. God can work through our thoughts and feelings to give us wisdom and insights. Ultimately we need to bring these to Him and allow Him to show us which are valuable and which lead to destruction. It sounds complicated but it isn’t. The key is continually turning to Him with all of it.. all the time. Asking for wisdom, asking for guidance, releasing our cares and worries and trusting in His goodness. He is not hidden and His plan for us is not impossible to discover. He wants to lead us, to guide us, and to bless us.

His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not ours..we were created to need Him every minute of every day. He is our Father in Heaven who desires to come close to us and fill our days with His presence. He waits for us to seek Him, to depend on Him, and to trust that He will always be there for us.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
    “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so my ways are higher than your ways
    and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”