WELCOME TO OUR NEW "DEVOTIONAL WORKBOOK" FORMAT!!! For those of you who have been reading Comfort.Guide, all the previous readings are now included in the following 18-week course! If you are looking for a specific document, check out the "INDEX" tab!
Sad? Lonely? Fearful? Anxious? Afraid? Hurting? Angry? Bitter? Grieving a loss? Or perhaps needing a little encouragement in your life? You've found the right website!
Comfort.Guide has been carefully prepared by a team of people, some professional counselors, some not. But ALL of our team have been there! We all understand! We all care. We all want to share what, and Who, has helped us in our own life's journey, and that is why we have prepared Comfort.Guide especially for you at this time in your life. Comfort.Guide is really a unique Devotional Workbook divided into 18 weeks, or parts, designed to comfort and to offer inner healing; it offers a bridge from sorrow to joy. It can be studied by an individual or in a group setting.
Too many people don't understand "comfort": we don’t know how to ask for it, how to look for it, how to receive it, how to experience it, and how to rely on it! Comfort.Guide is a journey to find these answers, and on this particular journey you will learn to receive love and empathy, which will comfort your deepest losses and lead you to freedom.
Losses can include not only death of a loved one, but also loss of a sense of well-being in relationships, companionship, health, finances, employment, trauma from abuse, and the list goes on. By the way, losses that affect us may have recently happened, or they still may be affecting us 20, 30, 40 or even 50 years after the fact!!!
This journey is not to be looked on as work, performance or a chore. You need to do nothing except read and stay open! Comfort.Guide is all about God doing something for you, not you having to do something to please God! It is about receiving, not performing! It is about being the "real" you, not putting on a false front!
We believe that God Himself has always been noticing and caring for us, but more than that: He reaches out to us first, taking the first step, wanting to embrace us, wanting to see us whole and growing, living life to the fullest!
IMPORTANT: It has been our experience that far too many people, regardless of having church experience or not, are burdened with a painfully wrong understanding of who God is, what He is like, and what He thinks about us. He is sometimes seen as a God Who is far-off, or even a harsh taskmaster, rather than a personal God Who draws near to us in our pain and actively seeks to comfort us and bring us freedom. If you are at that place in your life, we at Comfort.Guide have been especially hard at work filling these pages with truth, hope and good news! We lovingly ask and encourage you to read these pages with an open and fresh new mind and spirit!!!
OUR HOPE OF ABUNDANT LIFE FOR YOU WILL BE STRUCTURED WITH TWO GOALS THROUGHOUT THIS DEVOTIONAL WORKBOOK. AS THESE TWO GOALS ARE COMBINED AND UNDERSTOOD, THE RESULT IS TRANSFORMATION AND FREEDOM FOR US! HERE ARE THE GOALS:
1) Knowing Jesus as a real Person, what He is like, how He thinks, how He might speak and respond to us, His view of us, etc. As we get to know Him, we begin to trust Him and understand how He works in our life. This is the "DEVOTIONAL" part of this Devotional Workbook.
2) Knowing ourselves better, so we can fully understand our thoughts and feelings. We have to also look at the loss of our "human core needs" and the memories associated with those losses that impact us today. All of these can block us from a full life. As we understand better, we can invite Him to re-write these blocks, bringing us real freedom! This is the "WORKBOOK" part of this Devotional Workbook.
HOW IS COMFORT.GUIDE DIFFERENT THAN OTHER WEBSITES?
Comfort.Guide is unique in that it is one of the few places where you will find Education, Worksheets, Personal Stories, strong Encouragement from Scripture, and more, all in one single website! It is to help you know Jesus better, and to help you know yourself better!
The spiritual and educational components of this Workbook will help you take the hand of Jesus in the step-by-step process of receiving comfort and healing, moving you out of the troubled waters of your life to a place where you walk with Him above those troubles.
In addition, this workbook is designed to integrate the spiritual truth of the Word of God with the latest neuroscience discoveries of how the brain is designed for healing. Christian Neuroscientist Dr. Caroline Leaf, in her book entitled: “Who Switched off My Brain? Controlling Toxic Thoughts and Emotions”, states: “We can see clearly how brain science lines up with Scripture - that your mind can be renewed, that toxic thoughts and emotions can be swept away and your brain really can be “switched on”. (Leaf, pg.13)
Listening to the Holy Spirit is far more important than reading every single page in Comfort.Guide. For example, you might find one particular writing which will ring true to you, or have special importance to you, or take root in your heart. Take your time and meditate on those ideas of greatest help to you!
WHO WILL BE HELPED BY COMFORT.GUIDE?
Everyone!
You may be a Christian who has been broken in life and who has come to know Jesus personally, and looking for more;
or you may be a Christian seeking a deeper personal relationship with God;
or you may not be a Christian but looking for the one, true God;
or you may have dismissed God as a myth, or some entity that does not have your best interests in mind;
or you may have been deeply hurt by "religion" and have a negative reaction to words such as "God", or "Father";
or you may have been abused by authority figures and simply have no trust in anyone or anything any more;
or perhaps you are at a place in life not knowing, or not caring, if there even is a God, let alone a God who cares specifically for you!
Comfort.Guide has been especially crafted for those who might say about themselves:
My heart hurts so much that I have no words to speak;
My sense of hope has been lost, beaten down by disappointments;
Regrets and bitterness are daily companions, eroding me from within;
Grieving my losses has become overwhelming;
Guilt and/or shame about my past is crushing me;
And the voice of God has become a distant whisper (or even not there!). I feel I "perform" for Him, but I can't grasp the idea that He would know about, care about and make a difference in my everyday life.
If any of these thoughts sound familiar, Comfort.Guide is for you!
Tab information .....
The "WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW" tab has basic information about our core beliefs which guided the writing of Comfort.Guide. The main areas:
1) Who God is: God is Love;
2) God has designed us for love. When we are not loved well, it is experienced as loss and wounding;
3) God has designed us to receive healing for these losses and wounds;
4) As we tell our particular personal story, we can allow Jesus to re-write it;
5) Some of the "How To's" of our transformation, growth and freedom.
The "BRIDGE AND OUTLINES" tabs ..... these contain each week's contents. Note that the weeks are paired together (weeks 1 & 2 are shown together, weeks 3 & 4 are shown together, etc.). When you click on any of these, the very top will be a "BRIDGE AND OUTLINES", followed by each particular week's contents. Start at the very top: the "BRIDGE AND OUTLINES".
The "FACILITATOR'S GUIDE" tab gives guidance and help to a leader of a Comfort.Guide group.
And, finally, the "WONDERFULLY MADE" tab is a four part series looking at what modern science has to say about our potential for healing. It is an inside look at how our Creator designed us! Each of these four parts are also included in Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8.
Now, click on the "WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW" tab at the top of this page, then "WEEKS 1 & 2", and let the healing begin!
Version 7.3, Summer, 2019
Sad? Lonely? Fearful? Anxious? Afraid? Hurting? Angry? Bitter? Grieving a loss? Or perhaps needing a little encouragement in your life? You've found the right website!
Comfort.Guide has been carefully prepared by a team of people, some professional counselors, some not. But ALL of our team have been there! We all understand! We all care. We all want to share what, and Who, has helped us in our own life's journey, and that is why we have prepared Comfort.Guide especially for you at this time in your life. Comfort.Guide is really a unique Devotional Workbook divided into 18 weeks, or parts, designed to comfort and to offer inner healing; it offers a bridge from sorrow to joy. It can be studied by an individual or in a group setting.
Too many people don't understand "comfort": we don’t know how to ask for it, how to look for it, how to receive it, how to experience it, and how to rely on it! Comfort.Guide is a journey to find these answers, and on this particular journey you will learn to receive love and empathy, which will comfort your deepest losses and lead you to freedom.
Losses can include not only death of a loved one, but also loss of a sense of well-being in relationships, companionship, health, finances, employment, trauma from abuse, and the list goes on. By the way, losses that affect us may have recently happened, or they still may be affecting us 20, 30, 40 or even 50 years after the fact!!!
This journey is not to be looked on as work, performance or a chore. You need to do nothing except read and stay open! Comfort.Guide is all about God doing something for you, not you having to do something to please God! It is about receiving, not performing! It is about being the "real" you, not putting on a false front!
We believe that God Himself has always been noticing and caring for us, but more than that: He reaches out to us first, taking the first step, wanting to embrace us, wanting to see us whole and growing, living life to the fullest!
IMPORTANT: It has been our experience that far too many people, regardless of having church experience or not, are burdened with a painfully wrong understanding of who God is, what He is like, and what He thinks about us. He is sometimes seen as a God Who is far-off, or even a harsh taskmaster, rather than a personal God Who draws near to us in our pain and actively seeks to comfort us and bring us freedom. If you are at that place in your life, we at Comfort.Guide have been especially hard at work filling these pages with truth, hope and good news! We lovingly ask and encourage you to read these pages with an open and fresh new mind and spirit!!!
OUR HOPE OF ABUNDANT LIFE FOR YOU WILL BE STRUCTURED WITH TWO GOALS THROUGHOUT THIS DEVOTIONAL WORKBOOK. AS THESE TWO GOALS ARE COMBINED AND UNDERSTOOD, THE RESULT IS TRANSFORMATION AND FREEDOM FOR US! HERE ARE THE GOALS:
1) Knowing Jesus as a real Person, what He is like, how He thinks, how He might speak and respond to us, His view of us, etc. As we get to know Him, we begin to trust Him and understand how He works in our life. This is the "DEVOTIONAL" part of this Devotional Workbook.
2) Knowing ourselves better, so we can fully understand our thoughts and feelings. We have to also look at the loss of our "human core needs" and the memories associated with those losses that impact us today. All of these can block us from a full life. As we understand better, we can invite Him to re-write these blocks, bringing us real freedom! This is the "WORKBOOK" part of this Devotional Workbook.
HOW IS COMFORT.GUIDE DIFFERENT THAN OTHER WEBSITES?
Comfort.Guide is unique in that it is one of the few places where you will find Education, Worksheets, Personal Stories, strong Encouragement from Scripture, and more, all in one single website! It is to help you know Jesus better, and to help you know yourself better!
The spiritual and educational components of this Workbook will help you take the hand of Jesus in the step-by-step process of receiving comfort and healing, moving you out of the troubled waters of your life to a place where you walk with Him above those troubles.
In addition, this workbook is designed to integrate the spiritual truth of the Word of God with the latest neuroscience discoveries of how the brain is designed for healing. Christian Neuroscientist Dr. Caroline Leaf, in her book entitled: “Who Switched off My Brain? Controlling Toxic Thoughts and Emotions”, states: “We can see clearly how brain science lines up with Scripture - that your mind can be renewed, that toxic thoughts and emotions can be swept away and your brain really can be “switched on”. (Leaf, pg.13)
Listening to the Holy Spirit is far more important than reading every single page in Comfort.Guide. For example, you might find one particular writing which will ring true to you, or have special importance to you, or take root in your heart. Take your time and meditate on those ideas of greatest help to you!
WHO WILL BE HELPED BY COMFORT.GUIDE?
Everyone!
You may be a Christian who has been broken in life and who has come to know Jesus personally, and looking for more;
or you may be a Christian seeking a deeper personal relationship with God;
or you may not be a Christian but looking for the one, true God;
or you may have dismissed God as a myth, or some entity that does not have your best interests in mind;
or you may have been deeply hurt by "religion" and have a negative reaction to words such as "God", or "Father";
or you may have been abused by authority figures and simply have no trust in anyone or anything any more;
or perhaps you are at a place in life not knowing, or not caring, if there even is a God, let alone a God who cares specifically for you!
Comfort.Guide has been especially crafted for those who might say about themselves:
My heart hurts so much that I have no words to speak;
My sense of hope has been lost, beaten down by disappointments;
Regrets and bitterness are daily companions, eroding me from within;
Grieving my losses has become overwhelming;
Guilt and/or shame about my past is crushing me;
And the voice of God has become a distant whisper (or even not there!). I feel I "perform" for Him, but I can't grasp the idea that He would know about, care about and make a difference in my everyday life.
If any of these thoughts sound familiar, Comfort.Guide is for you!
Tab information .....
The "WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW" tab has basic information about our core beliefs which guided the writing of Comfort.Guide. The main areas:
1) Who God is: God is Love;
2) God has designed us for love. When we are not loved well, it is experienced as loss and wounding;
3) God has designed us to receive healing for these losses and wounds;
4) As we tell our particular personal story, we can allow Jesus to re-write it;
5) Some of the "How To's" of our transformation, growth and freedom.
The "BRIDGE AND OUTLINES" tabs ..... these contain each week's contents. Note that the weeks are paired together (weeks 1 & 2 are shown together, weeks 3 & 4 are shown together, etc.). When you click on any of these, the very top will be a "BRIDGE AND OUTLINES", followed by each particular week's contents. Start at the very top: the "BRIDGE AND OUTLINES".
The "FACILITATOR'S GUIDE" tab gives guidance and help to a leader of a Comfort.Guide group.
And, finally, the "WONDERFULLY MADE" tab is a four part series looking at what modern science has to say about our potential for healing. It is an inside look at how our Creator designed us! Each of these four parts are also included in Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8.
Now, click on the "WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW" tab at the top of this page, then "WEEKS 1 & 2", and let the healing begin!
Version 7.3, Summer, 2019