Joyful Journey: Listening to Immanuel

I loved reading a chapter per week out loud with a small group of women.God was with us as we read and shared our responses to the readings.We are now meeting to continue the process of hearing from God and putting these teachings into practice!We are hearing from God as we actually put pen to paper! I love hearing how God is speaking, the tone is one of joy, compassion, humor…

Joy. What an amazing thought that Jesus came to complete our joy. This small book is an introduction to practices that will give you insights to how much God wants you to have joy today. I have given lots of copies of this book to people I love.

So much to learn and experience with this book. Worth checking out.

Great book on teaching you how to be still and journal with Jesus!

To me this book has become a treasure. An eye-opener in so many practical ways, and I am (positively) overwhelmed by the changes this influence has brought to me personally and to the rest of my family as a result. Finally we are experiencing peace between us, and the relationship feels safe. We are glad to be together and glad to see each other again. ( And book has only been read by me). This is also how the book defines joy; the feeling you have when someone is glad to be with you, regardless of the circumstances.The book gives a good insight into the last years fairly new knowledge of how our brains are functioning. A key word here is relationship, and why this is a major factor for experiencing joy. We are created for joy and relationship, and naturally also relationship with Jesus. The authors have chosen to use one of his names Immanuel, due to the meaning of it -God with us. He is always with me, he sees me, hears me, always understands how I feel, is glad to be with me, and has the solution in every situation. With this knowledge of him we can expect him to want interactive communication with us. The authors of the book share their experience of why and how this can be practically done. Through deliberately stirring up gratitude we prepare our mind to be relational, and opens up to communication with him. In many ways we can call it a method, and still it creates life and enhances our experience of our loving Lord.After reading this book, I found that Life Model Works, a Not-For-Profit organization have a lot more to offer. More books, blogs, articles, DVDs and cources to help us mature and build joy in ourselves and in our communities.

This is a fresh expression of some timeless principles. I'm fascinated with the brain research that supports the principles and the possibility of total healing for people who have experienced pain. I want to re-read this book several times and begin my own process of journaling as a way to synchronize with God and His thoughts and ways.

"Joyful Journey: Listening to Immanuel", is a wonderful tool for learning how to better enter into a closer relationship with Jesus, God with us. The writers did a good job communicating the practical outworking as well as the scientific/neurological reasons behind it. They created their own vocabulary to help communicate a process that is so easily misunderstood and questioned in the church. Without entering into a theological debate, they simply stated the importance and the necessity of listening to God for one's own personal journey with Him, and told their own stories to verify their position.I am taking their book very seriously and have been journaling like crazy. I am finding this helpful for tranformation, and developing a clearer awareness of God's personal presence with me on a minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour, day-by-day basis. This is what the church needs, to help the Body of Christ know Him more intimately, and to know exact how to do it! I would recommend this practical program to anyone who is hungry to apply scripture to everyday life. Whether you are in full-time "ministry" or not, this applies to you. The line between layman and minister is becoming fuzzier and fuzzier as we realize we all are ministers of reconciation, and to know this deeply, we all need to know Him more deeply. This book will help you do this!

At a women’s fellowship I was told to write a letter to myself as if God was directing my spirit to do. Well the letter would be send at a further date. To us. Needless to say that the letter came back when I needed it the most. When I write my Immanuel journal I sense his encouragement and love again and again God wants a relationship with us. Great source to use.

One of our challenges as believers is listening to God, well, in fact, hearing Him correctly. God is always talking to us and increasingly I believe His desire for us is an ongoing dialogue with Him during the day. But it's very easy to 'hear what we want to hear'. Our perceptions can lead us astray and give us a warped sense of who God is. As the authors state, being led by our perceptions can simply be another form of narcissism, believing everything we 'hear' to make us feel better ourselves. Journalling can achieve the exact same outcome.This is a short book that helps outline how we can understand what the Lord might be saying to us. I liked their emphasis on the importance of gratitude journalling and seeking to receive the Lord's response to our gratitude. I find in my own walk with the Lord that gratitude opens the door to God as He loves hearing our praise, hence the importance of continual worship in our days.The thought rhyming is the authors way of journalling with God, connecting with the Lord's heart and seeking to hear His thoughts on matters and responding appropriately thereon. They also introduce 'shalom checking' which is a means to help validate the process, that is, experiencing a degree of peace. But once again, the authors warn of the narcissistic habit of making one feel good about oneself.This little book has intrigued me and has prompted me to draw closer to the Lord, for my desires to be consistent with His and to learn more about listening to His heart.

Very powerful book, if you love science this book will bless you! It's a very quick read so not so overwhelming.

Excellent precise not just for professionals