We all want encouragement from others and the gold pulled and spoken to us. Are we doing it for ourself and others? Do you really know how to powerfully encourage and pull the gold from others? What about in difficult situations when the person in front of you is clearly not making healthy choices. In this episode I talk about the basics of how to encourage, to how to flip difficult situations, pulling the gold, giving yourself grace for the timing, using your story and encouraging other through growth. I also give specific examples of “how to” and words that can be very powerful to encourage and pull the gold from yourself and others. You were made to be a brave encourager! 11 Steps to becoming a brave encourager:   Start with the non-verbal basics – smile, nod and talk with others.   Validate and empathize – validation acknowledges what the other person says,   Give Simple Compliments   Beyond the Basics –See the Gold Flip “the Reality” in Front of Your Eyes Encourage Through Growth Be All In Give yourself grace with timing Go Big Use Your Story Specific Encouraging Words Purchase the book The Brave Encourager: https://www.amazon.com/Brave-Encourager-Power-Encouragement-Changes/dp/B09TN45H36/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3HGP5FPY2E5GD&keywords=the+brave+encourager&qid=1646608516&sprefix=the+brave+encourager%2Caps%2C223&sr=8-1 Join my mailing list: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/t5u2y5 Find more: www.heidimortensonlmft.com If you are in crisis, help is available by call or text 1-800-273-8255 24/7. You can also visit https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org. You are loved!

Do you have people in your life that you love very much but are struggling to get along? Does it seem like they never listen to you or that you continue to repeat yourself to no change? Well, maybe it’s not necessarily them, but it’s your perspective on them that’s causing more problems. I’m not saying it’s 100% your fault, because I am sure there are very clear things your loved ones do need to improve on and change. But how do you want your loved ones to be towards you when you are struggling? Do you want them to continue to point out what you are doing wrong? Or encourage you and pull the gold you don’t even see in yourself? That’s what Jesus does to each one of us. In this episode, I will talk about what I write about in my book, The Brave Encourager.  I talk about how we get encouragement wrong and I share 8 things that encouragement is NOT. Often times we think we are encouraging and are coming from a good place, but it’s very discouraging for our loved ones. Encouragement can be the single thing that moves someone into their destiny or out of a really bad decision!   Purchase the book The Brave Encourager: https://www.amazon.com/Brave-Encourager-Power-Encouragement-Changes/dp/B09TN45H36/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3HGP5FPY2E5GD&keywords=the+brave+encourager&qid=1646608516&sprefix=the+brave+encourager%2Caps%2C223&sr=8-1   Join my mailing list: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/t5u2y5   Find more: www.heidimortensonlmft.com   If you are in crisis, help is available by call or text 1-800-273-8255 24/7. You can also visit https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org. You are loved!  

Sometimes the most cocky and most confident people are insecure and struggling with illegitimacy. Dr. Ray Self had everything money could buy but he wasn’t happy. He heard this message from the Lord: “You have built a house of cards on a foundation of sand.” After he lost everything, the Lord showed up in a bigger way than he could have imagined. He now runs the International College of Ministry, has written 2 books, has a podcast and a wonderful family. Here how he shares what the Lord shared with him about schemes. A scheme is a plan against your life. It is a weapon formed against you that hits your entire life and repeats itself over and over. Schemes can be: Rejection Fear Anxiety Shame Illegitimacy – the biggest scheme of all for Christians Illegitimacy is an identity where you start to question yourself. You don’t believe that you are a son or a daughter. You are like an orphan without parents. “Are you really saved?” How can you get free from the scheme over your life: Recognize there is a scheme Pray, ask for forgiveness for your part. Many times we cooperate with the scheme. Ask God to give us strength to beat the scheme In the name of Jesus Christ, we renounce the scheme. “In the name of Jesus Christ I declare it broken”. Declare the truth from the Word of God   International College of Ministry: https://www.icmcollege.org/ Self Talk Podcast with Dr. Ray Self: https://podcasts.apple.com/ly/podcast/self-talk-with-dr-ray-self/id1519332577 Join my mailing list: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/t5u2y5 Find more: www.heidimortensonlmft.com If you are in crisis, help is available by call or text 1-800-273-8255 24/7. You can also visit https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org. You are loved!

When people drive you crazy or upset you do you attack? Or do you hide and isolate? Or perhaps you’re like me and people please, perform and try to make everyone “happy” and “feel good”? Whatever you do when difficult interactions happen, the Lord wants us to respond more like Jesus in these situations. So how do we do this? In this podcast episode, Heidi talks about shame shields that we use with other people that creates disconnection, and how God designed us to be in connection with Him and others in the midst of all situations. Purchase the book The Brave Encourager: https://www.amazon.com/Brave-Encourager-Power-Encouragement-Changes/dp/B09TN45H36/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3HGP5FPY2E5GD&keywords=the+brave+encourager&qid=1646608516&sprefix=the+brave+encourager%2Caps%2C223&sr=8-1 Join my mailing list: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/t5u2y5 Find more: www.heidimortensonlmft.com If you are in crisis, help is available by call or text 1-800-273-8255 24/7. You can also visit https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org. You are loved!

Do you put up walls between yourself and others? Do you struggle with perfectionism? Are you using food, alcohol, work or some other form of numbing to protect yourself? Do you keep joy at a distance because it’s too scary to consider? Comments from others, trauma, accidents, loss and many other real life difficulties can cause us to learn to armor up with others in our life. We stop living and we start protecting. This episode will identify the armor that we put up and what God’s idea behind this is. Let’s live free the way God designed for us to live. Based on the research by Brené Brown, typical armor we use is: Perfectionism Foreboding joy Numbing Purchase the book The Brave Encourager: https://www.amazon.com/Brave-Encourager-Power-Encouragement-Changes/dp/B09TN45H36/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3HGP5FPY2E5GD&keywords=the+brave+encourager&qid=1646608516&sprefix=the+brave+encourager%2Caps%2C223&sr=8-1 Join my mailing list: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/t5u2y5 Find more: www.heidimortensonlmft.com If you are in crisis, help is available by call or text 1-800-273-8255 24/7. You can also visit https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org. You are loved!

Do you ever feel like you have everything but you aren’t happy and it isn’t enough? Or you feel like a failure when so much is around you? Caleb Wampler shares his experiences from serving in big ministry but the same time feeling like he was failing. Then God drew him into a deep hunger with wild encounter with Jesus that forever changed him. Caleb is now an evangelist traveling the world bringing thousands to the Kingdom of God. Listen how he shares how God pulled Him into burn for Him and stay on fire for God. God gives us dreams in our heart. Jesus is the prize. Kingdom Encounters International: https://calebwampler.com/ Join my mailing list: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/t5u2y5 Find more: www.heidimortensonlmft.com If you are in crisis, help is available by call or text 1-800-273-8255 24/7. Yo

Have you been struggling to sleep well lately? Do you struggle to fall asleep? Are you up in the middle of the night like me?  There are many reasons for the sleep struggles right now. One is that in the spirit there are a TON of things going on. The enemy is at work in our atmosphere. There has been an increase in sleep issues since the beginning of COVID-19. How important is sleep to my mental and physical health and how can I improve it? This episode will be a deep dive into the impact our sleep has on our mental health and very helpful hopeful tips for us all to improve our rest during an unknown period of time. Sleep is critical to physical health and effective functioning of the immune system. It’s also a key promoter of emotional wellness and mental health, helping to beat back stress, depression, and anxiety. The average adult needs 7-9 hours a good sleep a night. No less or no more. There is no such thing as “catching up” – you either get the sleep or you don’t. Consistency is key. Here’s what good sleep improves: Our immune system. We are less apt to get sick when we get healthy amounts of sleep Our brain function - contributing to complex thinking, learning, memory, and decision-making, it can help kids stay sharp Our mood and mental health– it can make us irritable   Purchase the book The Brave Encourager: https://www.amazon.com/Brave-Encourager-Power-Encouragement-Changes/dp/B09TN45H36/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3HGP5FPY2E5GD&keywords=the+brave+encourager&qid=1646608516&sprefix=the+brave+encourager%2Caps%2C223&sr=8-1 Join my mailing list: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/t5u2y5 Find more: www.heidimortensonlmft.com If you are in crisis, help is available by call or text 1-800-273-8255 24/7. You can also visit https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org. You are loved!

Often times people don’t go to therapy until things are bad. We are afraid to reveal ourself to someone else. We are afraid to be judged. It can be scary and it can be overwhelming. It’s for “those people over there”. What actually happens in therapy? In this episode I will talk about what actually happens in a therapy session and what you should expect. I will also talk a little bit about healing prayer and how we know we need therapy verses healing prayer and what the difference is.   Join my mailing list: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/t5u2y5 Find more: www.heidimortensonlmft.com If you are in crisis, help is available by call or text 1-800-273-8255 24/7. You can also visit https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org. You are loved!  

With the isolation and depression of the pandemic, communities are trying different initiatives based on Shawn Anchor’s Happiness Advantage to improve the wellbeing of their members. Not all Christians are on board with these wellness initiatives, especially with the issues in current politics. In this episode, I interview my friend Julia Lines, Isanti County Administrator in Minnesota. She shares how she had some criticism of the wellness initiative from religious members. Hear how I respond that God is bigger than we think, is the originator of much research in the secular community and how God sees people who look and vote differently than us. The summary of Shawn Anchor’s work is that “Small changes ripple outwards”. This is a kingdom principal! Caroline Leaf has her own research that is Biblical and mirrors what Shawn is talking about. Shawn Anchor’s 5 steps for creating lasting positive change: 3 Gratitudes Journaling Exercise Meditation Random Acts of Kindness Shawn Anchor “The Happiness Advantage: Linking Positive Brains to Performance” TED Talk: https://youtu.be/GXy__kBVq1M Caroline Leaf “Science of Thought” TED Talk: https://youtu.be/yjhANyrKpv8 Isanti County Orange Frog Initiative: https://www.co.isanti.mn.us/779/Orange-Frog Join my mailing list: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/t5u2y5 Find more: www.heidimortensonlmft.com If you are in crisis, help is available by call or text 1-800-273-8255 24/7. You can also visit https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org. You are loved!

 Do you struggle with communicating with others? Do you feel like many conversations end up in a fight when that wasn’t your intention? Healthy communication is not clearly laid out in school, in our homes, or in the work place. We make assumptions, get offended, and care more about what people think than God.  In this episode, you will learn the most important communication skills to be healthy no matter how others respond. Brené Brown Empathy Video: https://youtu.be/1Evwgu369Jw Join my mailing list: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/t5u2y5 Find more: www.heidimortensonlmft.com If you are in crisis, help is available by call or text 1-800-273-8255 24/7. You can also visit https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org. You are loved!