Interview With Joy Lynn Syme

Speaker 1 0:00

Hi and welcome to Revelation Within On the Go . I'm Heidi Biles-Mapperson , one of your hosts and the owner and lead coach of the Revelation Within Ministry .

Speaker 2 0:10

And I'm Christina Motley , your other host , also a Revelation Within coach and Heidi's partner in all things Revelation Within . We are so excited to invite you to this very special episode of Revelation Within on the Go .

Speaker 1 0:36

Well , that was fun . There were three of us who were greeting you . Today we have a very special , special episode for you . We're excited that Joy Lynn Syme , who is a very important part of our ministry here at Revelation Within , is joining us today to be interviewed . We think her life and her wealth of knowledge and wisdom has a lot to offer any of our listeners . So welcome , joy Lynn . Yay , thank you .

Speaker 2 1:04

We're so glad you're you . We're so glad you're here . We're so glad you're here .

Speaker 1 1:08

Yes , and we just have to share with the listeners that the person who does the magic of all of our podcasts is Joy Lynn . She does all the editing and , believe you me , we give her a lot to edit . So , if you are missing all those awkward pauses and trips over our tongues and whatnot , it's because Joylyn has expertly removed them and she does all kinds of other stuff for our ministry as well . I just want you to know , in front of God and everybody , that I appreciate you so much , so much .

Speaker 3 1:43

Oh , I am . I am so grateful for the pair of you so much . Oh , my goodness .

Speaker 1 1:48

Yay . Well , let's dive right on in . Tell us about you , your season of life , what you do , your family , your schooling I know you've got some fun things going on right now what you enjoy , what fills your heart . Who is Joy Lynn Syme ?

Speaker 3 2:03

Okay , well , it's funny . When you were asking about the season in life , the first thing that comes to my head I guess I need to preface everything my brain is almost entirely lyrics of songs . So when we're asking about the season , I hear old Stevie Nicks song landslide . That's kind of where I'm at right now , if you know . You know , I'm currently a worship pastor at my church . I've been doing that for about almost 11 years now . I've been married to my high school best friend for almost 30 years . It's going to be 30 years in 2025 .

Speaker 3 2:41

We have four kids , four adult children and a son-in-law , or son-in-love I like to call him and then an extremely theatrical , precocious three-year-old granddaughter who just makes me smile all the time . She's just amazing . They all live fairly close . So I got to spend Christmas with them and it was good . Yeah , it's a lot . There's a lot of them and a lot of opinions , but it's a wonderful time to see how they're all growing up . I homeschooled them when they were all younger , so currently I'm actually studying to become a clinical herbalist , a Christian herbalist . I'm going in that direction . I have a very big desire to have people be completely whole , physically , spiritually , and completely free from counterfeit comforts .

Speaker 1 3:40

Amen so .

Speaker 3 3:41

I feel like you know , the herbalism is kind of part of that Trauma informed , understanding how our body works , understanding the aspects that we do in Revelation . Within all of that , you know , actually getting healed from the inside out is super important . I struggle with an autoimmune condition and so this is kind of out of desperation . I started doing all this for myself and I'm , like you know , god's calling me to something a little higher here , so that's my hope , I guess . My hobbies I have vintage hobbies . I love fiber arts . I love spinning wool and processing and doing all the knitting . I have these grandma arts , I don't know .

Speaker 1 4:25

I love vintage Thank you , joy Lynn , yay , and you're a lot of fun too , by the way .

Speaker 2 4:33

Yeah , definitely , definitely . So we would love to hear about your relationship with Jesus and how it is growing . Where are the two of you at ?

Speaker 3 4:44

Yeah , so my relationship with God is based almost entirely on desperation . I , jolynn Syme , desperately need the love , the truth and the help of Abba pretty much to do anything .

Speaker 2 5:00

I can relate to that . Heidi and I and probably a lot of people listening yeah .

Speaker 3 5:06

I've spent a lot of my life trying to do things for him in his name and in my own strength . So at this point in my life I'm like I've realized , just through everything I mean I guess you know just life , I don't have that ability . I can't do that without him . I can't , I can't be without God , you know , and I'm learning so much about his goodness and his faithfulness and that he's trustworthy . This has been something I've had to work through , because control you guys will hear about that a little bit has been an issue with me and I think some of the , even the physical stuff I've dealt with , has just brought me to a place of desperation . And so , yeah , I think that that's that's really where I'm at with God .

Speaker 2 5:53

It's just yeah , Thank you .

Speaker 1 5:56

Joy Lynn . God has blessed me with having a privilege of a pretty close friendship with you , joy Lynn , and as such , I mean I've had a chance to get to know some of what makes you tick a little bit . I think your upbringing was extremely unique oh boy was it and it's contributed to a lot of things that you like beliefs , especially that you hold about food , about eating , about body image . Would you mind terribly describing some of that for our listeners ? I bet you there's a bazillion people that can relate to what you share ?

Speaker 3 6:33

Yeah , so I think about this and I think about my story . My dad was my mom's drug dealer to begin with , so that's a big deal when we start with that kind of idea . They were first generation Christians . They were radically saved drug addicts and there's no doubt in my mind that God absolutely did a miracle in their lives . The problem , as I can kind of see it now as an adult and looking back on this , is that they never experienced healthy discipleship and they never knew how to renew their minds . So this led them to constantly seeking counterfeit comforts and they saw , you know , things that they saw as safe and not sinful necessarily . So in this case , a lot of it was food related .

Speaker 3 7:30

My dad was morbidly obese and was addicted to food and cigarettes and diets . I mean that was because he was always trying and my mom was severely anorexic and she came from an abusive home , so there was a lot that she never quite dealt with . So I can see these things now . But the result of that growing up was that there was so much shame , there was so much food . My mom would talk about how much she hated food and my dad didn't like himself and there was a lot of bad things that happened . Someone was always on a diet Mom hid the idea of it was healthy food , you know but there was very little of it that she would eat and very little little of it that she would allow us to eat . But my dad would just eat and eat and eat .

Speaker 3 8:28

So it was hard . He also was a elder at the church and a chaplain in prison ministries and he was able to work with very hard people and bring them to the Lord hard people and bring them to the Lord . However , he had a very violent temper with us and it was complicated because I know my dad loved the Lord , I know my mom loved the Lord and I know there were plenty of people who were affected by their testimony . But at home that is not what we experienced . We experienced physical abuse that was under the guise of being disciplined and yeah , so it was . It was difficult .

Speaker 2 9:18

I'm so sorry , thank you .

Speaker 3 9:19

It's interesting because , as I've been working with Heidi , thank you . It's interesting because as I've been working with Heidi , I've been able to realize this more and more . You know that there actually was the word trauma and that has been very hard for me to wrap my head around . I have been able to go further in my healing since I've been able to recognize and acknowledge that I went through trauma . I think that's really important for anyone out there listening that I'm not blaming all of my issues on it , but this is something that absolutely affects the rest of my life , the rest of my story and even my children's story . So as a result of my upbringing , when I was about 11 years old , I remember the time very , very well . Kind of south of Colorado Springs , where I live , is a place called Pueblo and there's a big reservoir down there and we don't have a whole lot of water around Colorado . So Pueblo Reservoir is kind of the big body of water and we would go down there camping and I was in my swimming suit . I remember 11 years old in my swimming suit and I was just kind of getting out of the shade and my dad was sitting down next to me and he tapped my tummy and made a comment about how I was looking a little thicker . And I remember that moment and I remember the decision that I made . I remember the oath that I made at that moment . It was a vow which has since I've broken it , but I said I will never be like you , dad . And so at you know , 11 years old , I made that decision . I started with deciding that I was going to become a vegetarian . You know , because there was a lot of meat in our house and I embraced at that moment an eating disorder and it was probably brewing .

Speaker 3 11:36

Before that , because of what I had seen , my parents both had eating disorders . I mean the morbidly obese , the anorexic , the bulimic they're all the same stronghold . Just if anyone's curious , it's all the same . And I think in some ways I also used that disorder as a protective mechanism . It became a companion , for lack of a better term . So that's kind of where that came from . Did you struggle with anorexia ? Very much , okay , very much . When I got married at 19 , I was very , very , very unhealthy , very , very , very unhealthy . I look at my wedding pictures and it's hard because I have struggled with body dysmorphia , that even at even at my skinniest . I remember thinking these thoughts like seeing my hips and seeing my shoulders blades and thinking if I could just scrape those down then maybe I would be a better size . And it's interesting because I remember at one point in my teens my mom confronted me on anorexia and I was like whoa , because she was a raging anorexic .

Speaker 1 13:00

And I'm like she confronted you about being too anorexic or something . Yes , oh my gosh , I didn't know that .

Speaker 3 13:06

Yeah , and you know the word hypocrite was very big in my brain most of the time when I was a teenager . Yeah , I was extremely underweight and you know I used to be in marching band and everything and I remember I would pass out often because I just wouldn't eat for days , and when I did eat I would sneak food and that's been something I've struggled with even to today . I know that there's another class coming up which I want to encourage everyone to come to .

Speaker 1 13:40

Secret of Eating . We're calling it Escape from Secret of Eating .

Speaker 3 13:43

Yeah , and that has a lot of power and you want to break that power and so yeah , so that was that was where it started . When I got married , I struggled with depression a lot as well I'm severe depression and when I got married very young , I love my husband so much . I think some of the reasons that I got married so young might've not been for the right reasons . I was trying to get away from some of the abuse , right yeah and um , so I fell into some depression and I and actually started gaining some weight . Um , when I got pregnant with my first child , I discovered bulimia and that was that was . It was kind of because of , you know , morning sickness and everything , and I realized , wow , this is something . So that was my biggest , I think , for most of my life . I think bulimia was the loudest of all three of them .

Speaker 1 14:47

So all three being anorexia , overeating and bulimia . Correct , yeah , wow .

Speaker 2 14:55

Thank you for sharing that . Yeah , thanks , joy Lynn

Overcoming Lies and Finding Truth

Speaker 2 14:58

. I wanted to just go back really quick . When you mentioned being desperate for the Lord . Yeah , being desperate for the Lord , you know it's just the best place to be .

Speaker 2 15:09

And now , listening to this story and how you've shared about this incredibly traumatic upbringing that you had and that you know you have come out here I mean , god has brought you into a place of being such a beautiful , beautiful person and you have so much to give and so much to share , and so somehow , even though it was so painful and difficult , nothing will be wasted . You know , and that's God will use it and he's using it right now as you share , which takes so much courage . You know you're so brave to share , and so I love that you describe your relationship with God as desperate . That's the best place to be . You know , when we are desperate for him , we are the most open to what he's calling us to and to his healing and comfort and all those things that we all need .

Speaker 2 16:07

I just wanted to say thank you for being so brave to share your story and your desperation for the Lord . It's beautiful , even though I'm so , so sorry that that happened for you , joy Lynn , and for so many people who are listening , I think you know their stories might be similar , yeah , okay . So moving forward , we'd love to hear when did you kind of invite God in to your struggle with food and eating kind of to the whole story and body image ? Yeah , yeah , and body image and you know how has God met you in this incredibly challenging situation ?

Speaker 3 16:50

Sure , after I had my oldest daughter I knew that I was . You know , I wasn't doing some great things . I always knew that , you know , this is not the way to be healthy . So very early on I tried to invite God in as soon as I found out that was a possibility , because that was never something I was aware of when I was a child , you know , or even growing up it was . You know , these were separate things . But I had a friend , a very , very dear friend , who lives in Oregon , who invited me to go to Weigh Down workshop , and so I remember having my daughter's name is Michaela . Also , I know that Heidi's daughter's name , michaela , spelled different . I remember having Michaela in the little carrier and going to focus on the family and that's where they were doing the classes .

Speaker 2 17:43

Oh , wow .

Speaker 3 17:43

I would go there every week with my friend , patty and her mom and I was learning things , and I was learning about being mindful and how God was a part of this . But there was a lot of shame with that Because the standard that was presented to me I could not live up to and it ended up complicating things with my relationship with the Lord because I couldn't do what I thought I was supposed to do for him , thought I was supposed to do for him , and so it actually ended up triggering the eating disorders even more , saying I didn't . I didn't have enough self control to eat the way I was supposed to . According to Weigh Down . According to Weigh Down , yes , according to what I , what I saw from Weigh Down , there was very little grace in it . It's either you do it or you're not good enough um is what .

Speaker 3 18:47

I got , and then I mean I had filters obviously , so not very healthy filters , but that's where I got from it , so it actually almost made it worse . At that point I knew God was supposed to be , but I didn't know my role in his role . Does that make sense ?

Speaker 3 19:05

Oh yeah , we hear that a lot , yeah , so I continued with that . I continued to go diet to diet and I kept taking control back from God that I can take it from him , he's in control . And it's difficult because I was always I've always been very visible and on stage for something different thing . I've led for women's conferences , I've been singing and acting in musicals , I've played different instruments on stage , I've led worship , and so I've been very , very sizes and and everything like you know it's gone up and down and up and down , and so that has been . You know , the shame was really big with that . You know , being visible on stage and feeling shame , and I always felt like I had to hide my dirty little secret . There was a women's retreat for the church I grew up in and I was helping to lead worship and I remember there was a room that they had off to the side that had a cross in it and you're supposed to be writing things on a rock and putting it at the foot of the cross throughout the weekend .

Speaker 2 20:15

And .

Speaker 3 20:16

I avoided going in there , but there was something gnawing on me so hard , and this is actually . I had just lost a great deal of weight using Weight Watchers . At that point , um , it was weight watchers and bulimia is what was happening . So , I'm not gonna . I'm not gonna pretend like that was okay .

Speaker 3 20:35

I knew that it was an issue and when I finally decided to go into the room , I was overwhelmed with emotion and God made it very clear to me that I'm not trusting him , that I did not trust God at that moment and that the majority of everything I was dealing with was because of that and nobody else knew . I never said anything to anyone about the eating disorders . Yeah , and you know , you get compliments and oh , look , how thin you look and everything like that . And because you're on stage and you know lots of people throughout my life , a lot of people give their opinions about what I look like . So I think at that moment , when God revealed to me you know you don't trust me , I think I started to realize that desperation . It's like , okay , I need to figure something else out . So I did end up revealing to somebody that that's what I was dealing with and they actually started going into some counseling , some Christian counseling for the eating disorder at that point Awesome .

Speaker 2 21:45

Yeah , good .

Speaker 3 21:46

In that process , I was praying to God to show me something . I'm like , okay , you know , this is an issue , so I need help . So I started looking for something that was like Weigh Down but not Weigh Down . So I started doing some research and I also saw the leader of Weigh Down on a talk show and I'm like , okay , god , she's not quite right in the head , but I know what she's saying is right . So what's the answer ? And so I started researching and I found Thin Within . And that's when I connected with Heidi . How many years ago was that ? So I found it in 2012 , but I started coaching with you in 2014 . Okay , so it was about the same time Christina did .

Speaker 2 22:35

Yeah , we started coaching in 2014 . My Colorado girls . Yeah , I had been doing thin within for quite a while on my own and in groups and not getting anywhere at all yeah .

Speaker 1 22:46

Our coaching began in 2014 and about the same time I was coaching with another Colorado girl and so when . I came to Colorado , I got to meet up with y'all and it was so much fun . But anyway , so back to your story .

Speaker 3 23:02

Yeah . So I guess one of the things you'd asked was um , how has God been meeting me in the false beliefs that were established ? And I'm a slow learner . It taken me a lot of years to allow God to actually begin tearing down the lies that I had learned from childhood , I bet . But one of the things I love there was a book called hunger within . I actually got out the book I think it was last night . Heidi and I started looking at it again and all the notes we had taken together .

Speaker 3 23:34

But in the first chapter it talks about grave clothes being removed and the different layers , and I think that that's something that I've had to realize . Sometimes it's a slow process , sometimes there are things you have to go through and the different layers , and so I think that's where I'm at right now . God started tearing down those lies and replacing them with the truths , and it's still something , obviously daily . I need to just silence the enemy and listen to what he's saying , to just you know , silence the enemy and listen to what he's saying Good stuff .

Speaker 2 24:10

So for those who are listening when you talk about lies , I mean some people I know are might be like what is she talking about lies ? What are the lies about you ? Are the lies about God or the lies about what ?

Speaker 1 24:22

are they about ? Yeah , give us some examples .

Speaker 3 24:24

Some of the lies are that I'm not good enough , that I haven't done enough , that he isn't good or that he is like my earthly father Right , those are some big ones that he isn't trustworthy . I mean , you know that if I had enough self-discipline , I would look a certain way right now . My health would be good enough if I had enough self-discipline . Those are some of the lies that I have to combat .

Speaker 1 25:01

What about worthy of love ? Were there any lies that came out of your childhood , maybe , that you struggled with , or even still struggle with occasionally , about what it takes to be worthy of love , either from God or from others , or for yourself ?

Speaker 3 25:15

Oh , absolutely . I think the worthiness in general , worthy to eat , that is . That is something even I'll be completely honest listener Even today did I earn the right to eat , Did I earn the love that I need ?

Speaker 1 25:35

Did I do ?

Speaker 3 25:36

enough to be loved ? Did I do enough to be accepted ? And obviously , even as I'm saying this , it sounds ridiculous . No , no , it doesn't these are the realities of what the enemy tries to throw at .

Speaker 1 25:49

Yes , I think there's more people who can identify with that than we could ever imagine .

Speaker 2 25:56

Both Heidi and I have heard those same lies shared so many times , and we've shared them ourselves as well . So , I appreciate those examples for sure , yeah .

Speaker 1 26:08

What has God been teaching you about breaking free from the impact of believing those lies ? You know that shame and fear and self reliance , and I'll do it my way or whatever . How has he been teaching you about that stuff ?

Speaker 3 26:22

Well . So the biggest thing is I know shame is not from God , it's from the enemy Fear is a liar , yes , and like I said earlier , I can do all things only in his strength . I mean like there's nothing else . I cannot conjure or create a reality where I'm enough without him .

Speaker 1 26:42

Right .

Speaker 3 26:43

Yeah , so I think that that's a big thing .

Embracing Identity in Christ

Speaker 3 26:45

Also , an interesting thing is when I think about trying to be good enough . The reality is there will always be someone who is better than me . Someone's going to be a better singer , someone's going to be a better mother . Say , oh , this is a standard and there's a really wonderful colloquialism , it's true is comparison is the thief of joy ? Yes , and even against myself , that's not what I should be trying to do . It's I need to be understanding who I am in God , my identity in Christ , and so I think that that's what he's been teaching me . You know that it's not about anyone else not even about me .

Speaker 3 27:35

It's about him . I've just spent so much of my life trying to control everything , yeah . So I think those are the big things he's been teaching me about that , and how much freedom there is when I'm not going to say let go and let God , because I think theologically there might be some issues with that . But there is something .

Speaker 2 27:57

I think that so many people come to us with so much shame and feeling so unworthy and feeling like I'm not enough , I've never been enough , I will never be enough , which is true , as you said , god is enough in us . But I think it's so important that you know we have compassion towards ourselves and grace towards ourselves for all that we've been through . You know , everybody has a story . We wouldn't be here at this podcast unless we had a story many and most of us about food , eating , body image , many , many about abuse . So I just think it's so important . I feel like we have been and I'm speaking about myself too mean , basically mean to ourselves for so many years . You know , and it's like , wait a minute , look at all I've been through , look at all you've been through , look at all Heidi's been through and what God has done .

Speaker 2 28:59

I think for so many of us , it's so hard to be compassionate toward ourselves and to give ourselves grace and say , wow , look what you've been through , oh my gosh . And you know , look who you are . You're God's girl , you're beautiful , you're amazing Not in yourself . You know , god does that in us and , of course , he's in the business of redeeming and he's in the business of making things new . So , anyway , if somebody out there is feeling like , oh my gosh , that's me , and they've been heaping basically condemnation and awful thoughts on top of themselves , just to say give yourself a break , have compassion towards yourself and grace , because that's how God greets us . He greets us with compassion , patience , grace , love , excitement , like I think about when we turn to him , and he's excited to see us because he loves us so much . Anyway , I just love that you shared that , joy Lynn , and how God is meeting you in all of those lives . It's so important and it's something that I think we've all dealt with in some way , so I just appreciate that so much .

Speaker 1 30:16

Before we go on , can I follow up on something ? Yeah ?

Speaker 2 30:19

of course .

Speaker 1 30:20

You know , to see how God has impacted you . Relative lies that you've believed is really helpful to so many you . Relative lies that you've believed is really helpful to so many you . Earlier on in our interview together just now , you mentioned body dysmorphia , which is kind of at its heart . It's a boatload of lies , oh yeah , yeah . And so I thought maybe there might be somebody who doesn't really understand what body dysmorphia is and I know it's been a part of your story and maybe sometimes it still is . I don't know , but could you kind of follow up with that and and maybe relate it to what God has been teaching you about freedom from shame and fear and self-reliance ?

Speaker 3 31:02

Sure , I can try . Yeah , I can try to answer that . So my understanding of body dysmorphia is where , you see , you perceive yourself as completely different than you actually are . In the way it works with me and , yeah , it still does affect me . It still does . It's almost like what I see in the mirror is so distorted and it's obviously . It's a spiritual thing and honestly , I think that it's so prevalent right now , even in our world .

Speaker 1 31:35

Yes .

Speaker 3 31:36

And I'm not going to get into some of the details where I think that it's affecting people . I think we as believers kind of know how it's affecting , how the enemy is just really wanting to use that tool a lot and it has to do with identity and lordship .

Speaker 3 31:52

It has to do with who we are in Christ and who we understand that we are in Christ . I guess , at the core it's the physical appearance versus the reality , right , and that's not in any circumstance , that's , that's not never where we should be getting our identity from , or sense of value and worth . Exactly , exactly . And there are so many people that I see around me who struggle with that so much that they don't see themselves how they actually are .

Speaker 3 32:28

So one of the issues with body dysmorphia is that yeah it does alter reality of what you're actually looking at and , as I had said earlier that when I was looking in the mirror and I saw bones jutting out , obviously there was no fat on them and feeling the need to scrape them it is . It is such a lie from the enemy that that's even a that's reality at all . I mean it's . It's literally . You're seeing something so jaded it's like you're looking at a fun house mirror almost Right , and even my weight right now , which we don't need to talk about , but there's still . It's what you see versus what's real .

Speaker 2 33:16

And you know , obviously at Revelation Within , we talk about mind renewal all the time . It's one of our favorite things to talk about , yes , and we love talking about it , because it is the way that God has really designed for us to break free of so many of the old patterns and cycles and the shame and guilt , and , oh , my goodness , you know . And so I wanted to ask you about mind renewal . What does it look like to you ? Like , let's say , someone is jumping into this podcast for the first time and it's like well , what is that ? What does it look like to you ? And then , how do you kind of weave it into your life ? What does it look like for you ?

Speaker 3 34:00

Okay , mind renewal has been a journey

Transforming Through Mind Renewal

Speaker 3 34:04

for me . Yeah , at first I think I thought of it kind of like a mental game that I would play with myself . I'm like , okay , we'll do this , we'll play this game . I don't know how much stock I put in it . When we first started doing this , to be quite honest , I was like , all right , I know the scriptures , I know what I'm supposed to do . That's self-reliance again . Right , exactly . But you know what's me saying these scriptures , what's me ruminating on these ? What is it even going to do ?

Speaker 3 34:37

I wasn't aware of the spiritual product that comes from obedience in the word , as listeners hear all the time . Romans 2 , 2 , do not conform to the pattern of this world , but be transformed by the renewing of your mind . Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is , his good , pleasing and perfect will . It's first you do , and then this is the result , and I think the obedience is what made the difference . And just saying , okay , I'm going to trust Again , it's a trusting God made the difference and just saying , okay , I'm going to trust Again , it's a trusting God , I'm going to do these things . And there has been a result , whether I expected it or not , and at this point , I have alarms set a couple of times a day to renew my mind Awesome , yeah . So that's one way that I do it's daily , and my favorite tool is the breath prayers .

Speaker 3 35:28

Right now , I also have gates set up . So what I mean by that is if I'm really tired and achy which what happens with my stupid autoimmune thing and I just want to lay on my phone and I just want to scroll . There's nothing innately bad with that , but what I feel like God has called me to do in order to protect my spirit and to make sure that I'm listening to what he says instead of what Instagram says I have to he's feeding you the Instagram feed , or not ? Exactly Right , I need to spend time in his word and I need to spend time in mind renewal . Before I let myself do that , do I always do it ? No , sometimes my flesh gets in the way , but that's one example .

Speaker 3 36:19

I have other gates too . When I get up in the morning , even before I take my medication , I felt like God said this a long time ago to me that , yes , there is physical healing that needs to happen , but the spiritual healing has to take place first , and so even before I take my meds in the morning , I need to read his word . It's almost like a different kind of medicine , and so there are specific times , but mostly just all day long . I'm like , okay , it's time to renew again , it's time to renew my mind , it's time to renew my mind . And so it is made such a big difference and my you know , my cynicism is gone . I don't know if anyone else does that . It's like , okay , yeah , sure .

Speaker 2 37:10

Yeah , what is a breath prayer ? Just real quick , what is that ? How do you do that ? So I know , I love the book .

Speaker 3 37:19

It's funny . Heidi bought it for me and I gave one copy to one person and I gave another copy to another and anyway I have it's my third copy now , and I gave another copy to another and anyway I have it's my third copy now .

Speaker 3 37:29

A breath prayer is basically it's a really wonderful for relaxation and for stress Well , for anything really . But you take a scripture and it's basically you're breathing it in and breathing it out . You're taking God's truth and breathing it in and breathing it out . So one example of a breath prayer would be the scripture be still and know that I am God . So you would breathe in , be still , and you just kind of breathe it in and you hold there and then you exhale and know that I am God and you do that several times and in that moment that scripture is just getting in and out . This just reminded me of something . There is an amazing truth that the word Yahweh , which is that's the name of God , when you read it in Hebrew it's actually looks like it's actually breathing in and breathing out . So his name is breathing in and breathing out .

Speaker 3 38:29

So his name is breathing in and breathing out and so everybody , whether you're a believer or not , is in the breath that God is in . He created us , he gave us life , he gave us breath . We are declaring his name every breath we take , but to put the scripture in with that is so incredibly effective . So , that's one of my favorites , Of course , like I had mentioned earlier , with lyrics in my head all the time , I'm always going back to worship songs as another mind renewal . Truth cards super important . Speaking truth and truthless super , super important .

Speaker 2 39:10

What is a truth card ?

Speaker 3 39:12

Oh , okay , well , as I'm going through and combating lies like the ones we spoke about earlier , that I hear the enemy saying I combat that with the truth in God's word , and then I write them down on note cards and I have them taped up around my house , like even at my computer right here I have one that says it isn't about the weight , it's about your worth . Perfect , right there . I don't know . Sometimes when I'm editing the podcast , you know there are some gems that I write down .

Speaker 2 39:50

Awesome , joy Lynn . Thank you . That's so fun . And you know what , when you were talking about that , you just really lit up . So I know that you know the listeners can't see , but you lit up when you talked about that and I think that's really telling of how God is meeting you in his truth and how his truth is changing your experience , your life , your day to day . Yeah , so I love that and I love imagining you having song lyrics in your head all day long . That's one of my favorite ways to renew my mind . But I'm not , you know , listening as much and doing as much as you are with music . So I I just love that as well . Thanks , joy Lynn .

Speaker 1 40:34

Yeah , Well , as we kind of wrap up , how do you feel like your view of yourself , your worth and how you think God sees you ? How has that all shifted ? I mean , I assume it has it has .

Speaker 3 40:49

It has , but this is what I still struggle with and Heidi you can attest to that she listens to me a lot and hears my struggles . I think the biggest thing is that I don't see God as someone who I have to perform for .

Speaker 2 41:09

Yay , yes , yeah , that's humongous .

Speaker 3 41:14

It is really big . I'm his masterpiece , which I oh , that's one of my favorite truths and it's not because of my own talent , it's not because of how I look , it's not because of what I do , but it's because of him . Yes , I'm perfectly and wonderfully made . Psalm 139 , 14 . I have to tell you guys , at the height of my eating disorder and my depression and I've always been committed to the Lord , I mean , obviously there's I grew up in that Christian home as we talked about , and you know there were bumps on my journey where I tried to explore some other things , but I've always known that I was created by the King of the universe . But that scripture , psalm 139 , 14 , and I might get a little emotional here but that scripture , psalm 139 , 14 , and I might get a little emotional here .

Speaker 3 42:07

There was a time where I literally physically could not say those words . I couldn't . There was some spiritual oppression happening and I don't know how some people feel about that . It doesn't matter . There's a truth and there's a reality that our battle isn't against flesh and blood .

Speaker 2 42:24

Right .

Speaker 3 42:24

There is a supernatural and the enemy did not want me to be able to say those things and I couldn't . And now I can , yes , I can , yes . Do I always feel it ? No , one of the things that I feel like , because there's been so many lies I feel through my life that I've heard and believed . As a worship minister , one of the biggest things I've been called to do is to be a herald and proclaim the truth of God , and every single song I sing , every single word that I have the congregation sing , it has to be truth , the congregation sing , it has to be truth . And I think that making those things so much louder than the enemy is very significant , and I think that that is the biggest way things have shifted in my life is that there's nothing that I don't want to be in secret .

Speaker 3 43:19

I don't want to have my secret sins , I don't want to be believing these lies and being in my own little world with my reality that I control , which is not real , but to be able to recognize that God is the one who is in control . He is the one who is paramount .

Speaker 2 43:37

So for the people who are listening and for us too , of course . Someone is thinking you know what I am such a mess I am so far from quote unquote , arriving . I just I hear so many people struggle and I struggled with this for many years about being in process , being on the journey , just wanting to skip the journey and just get to that place of being healed and free and all those things . What would you say to somebody out there who might be thinking that , someone who might be thinking is the process valuable ? Like , is it okay to be ?

Speaker 3 44:20

a mess . Yes , oh , I hope so . Oh , I hope it's okay . I , oh , my goodness . Yes , yes , it's okay . It is okay to be in process You're supposed to be . This is a journey . Life isn't a . This is not the ending . The ending is when we get to be in paradise with Jesus forever . Yes , yes , there's so much grace in walking in him . We don't have to be have it all together . About a year ago , heidi invited me to do this interview and I have felt like , oh , I'm not ready , I'm not ready , I'm not ready . No , we're never ready .

Speaker 1 45:00

That's the thing we're never ready Right .

Speaker 3 45:02

The process is so important the walking through the day to day , the walking with Jesus hand in hand , daily , moment by moment , being in that desperate place saying no , I can't do that , I can't do that , but you can . It's just so important to actually just take that time and recognize that it's all a process and that's where we're learning . That's where we're learning , that's where we're growing . If we weren't , if we weren't going forward , we'd be stagnant . There's death in that . We want life . We want life is moving .

Speaker 2 45:41

Life is moving . I love that , I love that , I love that .

Speaker 1 45:45

Chock full of so much wisdom and I knew a year ago it would be . Yes , I'm so glad that you had the courage to do this with us .

Speaker 2 45:55

Finally , I mean we're so glad , we're so grateful .

Speaker 1 46:01

Thank you so much for joining us today . Thank you , Joy Lynn . I trust that you listener have been blessed by Joy Lynn and her wisdom and the lessons God has been teaching her , and you'll come back and join us again .

Speaker 2 46:16

Yes , Come back and join us again on our next podcast of Revelation Within On the go . Podcast of Revelation Within on the go . See you next time .

Speaker 1 46:33

Bye , for now Bye .