If I could crawl inside your mind for 24 hours, would I have a good day?

Imagine someone hearing your personal thoughts—I mean, what you really think about yourself. Yikes! Partly good but mostly horrifying! The real war is right between your ears. But it is a war you can win.

The mind is a war zone where negative and positive thoughts battle it out for supremacy.

For years, I fought this war. Like most, I wrestled with my identity. The only way out was to discover how God, Himself sees me. I went to—yes, I’m going to say it!—the Bible!

I learned key verses on how heaven sees me. It felt like sunlight pouring into my whole being when I began saying the verses out loud. Over time, I was winning the war between my ears by renewing my mind. But I had to do it on purpose.

After a lot of transformation, I began speaking at conferences on true identity. So many people wrestled with limiting and negative mindsets. My goal was to provide tools for people to re-wire their thinking with a new God-perspective. The book evolved naturally. I created The Real You – Believing Your True Identity as a complete study with a book, workbook and DVDs.

When I finished writing The Real You, I knew Graham Cooke was the perfect person to write the foreword. And he did. Most of his work centers on identity with understanding the “old man” is dead—so why keep trying to resurrect him! Graham wrote a very long and stunning foreword.

What you think, how you see yourself, and how you perceive God affects everything you do and say. Your relationships, your successes, your health, your attitude toward your future. Everything!!!

You can find The Real You on my website: www.lindabreitman.com. Read the first chapter for free and see if it is a fit for you. The study has been implemented in ministry schools and churches around the country. And remember: When heaven looks at you—you look amazing!

Blessings,

Linda

I was thinking about the many tragic events occurring nearly weekly in our nation. Shootings, raging fires, hurricanes, sudden trauma coming out of nowhere, and the death of loved ones. The hopelessness it produces is staggering. How does one prepare for devastating trauma? How does anyone get ready for the unexpected invading his or her life? And what about the family? A mother? A wife? A husband? A child?

Trauma comes in all sizes and shapes. A year ago, I was in a lot of pain. Emotional pain which required a complete overhaul of my life. This was so extremely difficult that I hardly knew what to do with myself. My emotions were all over the place. I had a massage, and I cried all the way through it. I went shopping with girlfriends and laughed inappropriately at the most inane things. I was in the dark night of the soul, and my heart ached.

A few short weeks after what I believe was the most severe trauma of my life, I began to confront the pain with my voice. Alone in the dark of night, a small, weak voice emerged: I will get through this. I am going to make it. I have hope, and I have a future.

I barely believed it myself. But I said it anyway. Over the following weeks, the voice got stronger and stronger. Even today, I continue to feel the effects of the dark night of the soul. Maybe they are after effects. I am not sure. But my overall posture has remained: hope, future, incredible fun, falling back into God’s arms, and risk.

It’s hard to stop smiling. 🙂

Many are right now going through the Dark Night of the Soul. I can tell you as a woman of faith what I have learned and prayerfully give you insight into the process. The Dark night of the soul has four stages:

• The Bulldozer Stage – Everything is leveled.
• Devastation Stage – You are in limbo.
• The Midnight Hour – The greatest intensity of darkness.
• The Voice of Transformation – Your voice brings you into the new day.

The stage I want to focus on is the last stage, The Voice of Transformation. You have a life-changing choice to make: Move forward, go backwards, or simply stay paralyzed in the now. I believe the only way out of the Dark Night is through your own voice.

You alone determine if you are going to step into your future. You alone choose hope. You alone take a purposeful stance. It is available to you. And, yes, I chose to agree with God. You may not believe in God, but He is the one you run into during the dark night. I repeated what He states about me in the old and new testaments. I spoke everything out loud. When you speak out loud, everything within you starts to line up with your words. My voice was quiet, frail voice in the beginning that soon grew stronger and stronger. It is The Voice of Transformation.

What kinds of things did I say? I said:

• I have hope and I have a future.
• I will get through this.
• I am going to make it.
• I trust You, Lord.

I know all of this is a lot to take in. Our hearts are so tender and pain can be so unspeakably deep. I would like to close by speaking a blessing over you.

Lord, I ask that Your peace rest upon the one reading my story. I speak wisdom and revelation is imparted to them and a deep stirring inside to really KNOW You—that Your presence would be felt in tangible ways. And in the midst of pain that they would know Your compassion and extravagant love. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Living in His Favor,

Linda Breitman

Below you can read more on the stages.

The Bulldozer Stage. This is where things, places, people as we have known are completely leveled. Bulldozed. Flattened. That which we have loved and known is no longer there or certainly not the way it used to be. In the old testament, Joseph experienced the bulldozer stage when he was forcefully and traumatically removed from his homeland.

The Devastation Stage. Here you do not understand what has happened, is happening, and what your future holds. Here, you are in limbo. Now, Joseph is no longer the favored son and is sold by his brothers into slavery.

The Midnight Hour. You enter into deep darkness. It is the greatest intensity of darkness. It is when Jesus cried out, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” You have been totally emptied. Who you are has been shattered. You do not really know who you are and where you are. You are dying to self. There is no place to run. If you choose Him—you’ve got God. In your complete helplessness, you choose to trust God. He is all you’ve got. In this stage, you faith becomes the strongest. Dross is burned off as you go through the fire. Pure gold begins to rise to the surface.