Zogreo Church continued, ...

Photo of Robert Shackleford provided by Robert

Click on the below article link to obtain background information to this blog post:

Examiner article

Robert Shackleford talked about his experience, “I am new to Monroe, but not new as a pastor.  I started my first church 18 years ago.  In 1996 I started a church in Warren, Michigan.  Our first service was held in a Wendy's restaurant, with five people in attendance.  Within one month we moved to McDonald's because it had a play area for our children's church ministry. Later we moved to Detroit and spent the summer holding Sunday service at the Belle Isle beach.  This was a great turning point for our young church.  It was wild and crazy awesome for us, because we experience such a rapid growth.  People in their swimwear were giving their life to Christ each week.  I learned hands-on from my dad, and also at formal institutions.  I spent years as a Bible student, learning God's word, in my personal studies and attending worship services and being taught by my dad.  I was a student at Tydale Bible College and majored in Pastoral/Theology.  I attended Anderson Seminary, and spent three years at Schoolcraft College, majoring in family counseling and clinical psychology.

My first assignment was assistant pastor, under the leadership of my father, who was the pastor of Whole Truth Church in Detroit.  Some of my duties included teaching mid-week Bible study, conducting evangelism training and overseeing the Sunday school department.”

As Robert marks his 1-year anniversary in Monroe, he reflected on this mile marker. 

“Well, our first experience with summer and fall was great for us. Zogreo started growing rapidly, however this past winter was hard on us.  We had to cancel Sunday worship a couple of times, church membership was at a stand still.  During the winter several families stop coming to church.  We struggled to meet our monthly rent.  Being a church planter it is very hard to maintain financially without any help from other churches. During the spring we relocated to another location to hold our Sunday worship services.  We have started an outreach ministry at a women's transitional home.  It is a place that houses women who struggle with drugs and alcohol.

We are in need of skillful musicians, a church website, passenger van that runs well, plenty of gospel tracts, and always financial support.”

  

Robert is asking for prayer to help his church grow and play a strong role in supporting the community.  He believes whole-heartily in the power of pray.

If you would like to help Zogrea family church and/or need support and a place of worship you can visit or contact the church:

Church address: 620 E. Fourth Street Monroe, Michigan 48161

Discipleship classes: Sundays 1:00 P.M.

Sunday worship: 1:30 P.M.

(734) 629-6080

email address: bishopshackleford@yahoo.com

Follow us on facebook:Zogreo Family Church

“Announcements:

Every Wednesday from 7:05 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. anyone can call in to our prayerline and be a part of our church prayer and Bible study. Once connected callers should put their phone on mute. (619) 326-2772 put in access code 369 5613

You can order my latest gospel CD on amazon and iTunes.  The name of my CD is Homeless Praise.

Zogreo Church presents a one-day prayer conference

Theme: How to live a life style of prayer that moves mountains

Date: Sunday July 20, 2014                     Time: 1:30 P.M.

Location: Eagles Nest Church 620 E. Fourth Street Monroe, Mi 48161

This prayer conference is designed just for you with special emphasis on personal prayer, deliverance and effective methods in prayer.  Come receive fresh perspectives and strategies for this paced 21st century, gaining real results.

You are invited to this life changing prayer conference.  Pastor Shackleford will show you how to P.U.S.H. pray until something happens.  All are welcome!

For more information call (734) 629-6080”

Debriefing, continued...

Lifetime Art Impressions, LLC photo

Click on the below article link to obtain back ground information to this blog post:

Examiner article

I was first exposed to debriefing in my volunteer work at a domestic violence shelter. This is my 8^th year in this environment and the staff utilizes this debriefing technique to process some of the trauma they see on a daily basis.

It is also used in a group forum at the hospital where I volunteer, a few hours a year, sitting bedside to veterans in their No Vet Dies Alone program. They have a Pasteur who meets with the volunteers periodically, or as needed, to discuss experiences.

As I learn more about mental health in my Master’s Program, I am realizing the power of verbal release; it is freeing to share turbulent feelings. It seems to open the door to emotions and it really does help to process difficult experiences.

It is so important to have someone you can trust and talk to as part of your support system. If you do not, utilize a church counselor, the community center, a crisis hotline or some other professional venue to obtain professional help.  

You will feel better if you are able to gather the courage to share your pain. It might not solve the problem but it will soothe it!

Do you believe it helps to talk to others about what you’re experiencing? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Mirrored emotions, continued...

Lifetime Art Impressions LLC, photo

Click on the below article link to obtain background information to this blog post:

Examiner article

Here is a portion of the insightful article about change and influence, from lifehacker.com, that I referenced in my Examiner article.

“You're probably familiar with Stockholm syndrome-the term used to describe how hostage victims tend to develop positive feelings towards their captors. Stockholm syndrome isn't a kind of brainwashing by the captor; instead, the victim adapts to the poor situation he or she is in. If most people can adapt to something as awful as being kidnapped, most people can adapt to smaller positive changes in their own lives. provide yourself with the proper influences. …and also look at how your environment and the people you know shape your life.

If you've ever found yourself making out-of-character decisions based on your emotional state—such as binging on ice cream after a breakup—you know how easily your feelings can overtake your actions. Rather than letting your emotions lead you towards poor judgment and irrational behavior, however, you can learn to compensate for different emotional states and to fabricate emotions to alter your mood. In order to do that you need to, simply put, get in touch with your feelings. The idea isn't so much to cry into a pillow about your wasted childhood, but understand what you're feeling when you're feeling it, what the root cause is, and what you can do about it. We're going to take a look at how you can dissect your emotional state to use it to your advantage, and also look at how you can fabricate emotion to change how you're feeling.”

Lifehacker’s recommendations to initiate positive change:

·      “You can't really control your emotions if you don't understand them, and one of the best ways to understand them is to take an acting class. To some this may sound fun, and to others this may sound like hell. Love it or hate it, acting lessons are one of the best ways to explore how and why you feel certain things. Your goal should be to find a class that will make you uncomfortable every time you go. In my experience, any class teaching the Meisner technique is very effective if you put a lot of effort into the exercises. It can be slow, tedious, and uncomfortable, but it's capable of bringing out emotion you might not realize you had.

Your emotions aren't in full force if you're not really doing anything, so you need to put yourself in uncomfortable situations in order to bring them out. This doesn't mean you should make yourself feel horrible, but that you should go out and do things that you might resist because you're worried about the downsides. Meeting new people is something that makes most people uncomfortable, and it's a great place to start, especially if it's a first date. Try new things that scare you. If you notice you're glued to the couch and don't want to get up, do the opposite. Spend time with people you don't like. Go to a movie you're sure you'll hate. Your experiences won't always be pleasant, but they should incite emotion that you can later analyze and better understand.

 Like an abbreviated diary, every time you have an emotional reaction to something, write it down. You don't need much detail, but just a sentence or two noting the emotion you're experiencing and the (possible) cause. For example, I get extremely irritable when I'm hungry. I will lose my temper far more easily when I'm hungry, so whenever I notice myself thinking irrational (and sometimes hateful) things, I always remind myself that I'm just hungry, I'll eat in a minute, and the "asshole" who accidentally missed the garbage can and didn't notice is mostly a result of my frustrated stomach. Until I started to pay attention, I never really noticed that I was a jerk whenever I was hungry. Instead, I just thought I was a jerk. This is a simple example, but the point is this: pay attention to how you feel and the other issues currently present, and you'll find it much easier to manage your negative emotions.

Fabricating emotion is difficult. Once you understand your emotions you'll find it a bit easier, but it helps to be able to recall how it feels, physically, to emote. We all know how to smile, for example, but you can probably count more fake smiles in family photographs than you can real ones. If you don't know how to create an authentic smile (also known as the Duchenne smile), it will be very obvious to everyone around you. The easiest way to learn to fake expressions is to practice them in the mirror. You can try them out to see what you look like and you'll immediately know if they're passable or not. You'll also note that it feels physically different to create an authentic-looking emotion than it does to create a fake-looking emotion. For example, an authentic smile shows more in the eyes than it does in your mouth. When someone smiles a true smile, their eyes wrinkle (creating "crows feet") because a new musicle—the orbicularis oculi muscle—is used. You'll come to remember this feeling and be able to replicate it away from the mirror after a little practice. It's not necessarily easy to emote in front of the mirror, but that's not as hard as you think. If your goal is simply to learn to smile better, you'll get there if you just stare at yourself for awhile. Eventually it will get so ridiculous that you'll have to laugh… If you need to change your mood and your mindset, the ability to fake it ‘til you make it is very, very useful.”

I was thrilled to find this article online today. If you click on the Lifehacker link above you’ll be able to read much more than I’ve shared in my pieces today. They go on to discuss how you can “prime your brain” and, of course, it gives the support information relevant to this. I am becoming more and more intrigued by how the brain works. I feel like going out and buying a model with the labeled areas so I can fully appreciate each part and better realize the individual function and how each area interfaces with the body. I’ve learned a lot in the past year about this remarkable organ but I have so much more to learn.

What are your thoughts about outside influences? Do you feel you are easily swayed by environmental variables? Leave me a comment and let’s discuss it.

Expression in recovery, continued...

Lifetime Art Impressions, LLC photo

Click on the below article link to obtain background information to this blog post:

Examiner article

I recently signed up for classes to obtain a professional certificate for Expressive Arts Trauma Therapy. It is something I am required to have, besides my Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling, in order to move into the doctorate program for Art Therapy. I truly believe in the healing power of creativity. Anytime I am suffering and I honor my pain through an art project, I learn and grow.

Yes, I did say “honor my pain” and this may sound odd to you but, like you I don’t thrive on or ask for pain, but when it is present, I try not to avoid it. I confront it by asking it what am I supposed to learn from it. I honor the experience through creative venues such as writing about it, creating photo opts from it or allowing my feelings to flow into a drawing or poem; any creative endeavor is soothing for me. I love that I'm learning more about this venue through in obtaining my professional certificate. 

My newest class is already very insightful. I’ll continue to share as I am empowered with more information!

What are your thoughts about art therapy? Leave me a note, I’m curious.