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are you tired of chasing more but still
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feeling empty God has promised us a life
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of abundance one full of Peace purpose
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and joy but not in the way the world
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expects in this episode we’ll uncover
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what living a life of meaning and
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fulfillment looks like and how you can
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experience it starting
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today hello everyone my name is Craig
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Booker if you’re struggling with finding
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meaning and F fulfillment You Are Not
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Alone the challenges of life can often
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cause us to struggle with fear anxiety
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and other mental health challenges it
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can often cause Believers to struggle
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with their faith in this episode we’re
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talking about what it means to live an
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abundant life even while facing mental
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health challenges so let’s dive in in
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this episode we’ll discuss meaning and
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fulfillment also known as the Abundant
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Life
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we’ll break down practical steps you can
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take towards a life of meaning and
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fulfillment and third we’ll answer tough
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questions like what this all means for
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those facing mental health challenges If
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we’re honest with ourselves we all want
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lives filled with meaning and purpose we
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long to have a life that matters the
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problem is is we often search for these
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things in areas that cannot fulfill us
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there are three areas that I have found
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that we often search for these things
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one is in Fame and admiration of others
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two is in material possessions and three
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is working hard to find security and
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monetary wealth the problem with these
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things is that they might provide a
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temporary high but that will soon fade
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what is Abundant Life the Bible speaks
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directly on meaning and fulfillment but
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calls it something entirely different
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let’s take a look look at what John
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10:10 says the thief comes only to steal
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and kill and destroy I have come that
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they may have life and have it to the
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full if you look at other translations
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like the KJV or ESV they describe this
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life to the full with the word
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abundant the full or Abundant Life goes
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beyond material wealth it’s a life
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characterized by spiritual richness
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peace and a sense of purpose all right
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some of the key aspects of meaning and
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fulfillment first off is purpose and
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meaning living abundantly starts with
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understanding your purpose and aligning
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your actions with your core values it’s
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about pursuing what truly matters
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whether it’s relationships personal
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growth or spiritual or your spiritual
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journey two is we focus on quality not
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quantity and an abundant life isn’t
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about accumulating more things
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accomplishments or wealth but about
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quality experiences and meaningful
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relationships it’s about depth not
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superficiality third is contentment
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gratitude abundance doesn’t mean having
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everything but appreciating what you
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have it involves cultivating an attitude
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of gratitude for the small things and
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finding joy in the present moment
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regardless of your external
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circumstances four is healthy
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relationships building deep Christ
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centered connections and Walking with
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God daily five is generosity and service
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abundance overflows when we give to
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others all right let’s discuss some of
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the common obstacles to living an
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Abundant Life number one is fear and
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worry we need to trust in God
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Philippians 4:6 sayso not be anxious
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about anything but in every situation by
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prayer and petition with Thanksgiving
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presents your request present your
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requests to God number two is
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materialism find contentment in God not
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in possessions Matthew 6:1 19-21 sayso
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not store up for yourselves Treasures on
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Earth where MTH and Vermin destroy and
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where thieves break in and steal but
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store up for yourselves Treasures in
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Heaven where moss and Vermin do not
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destroy and where thieves do not break
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in and steal for where your treasure is
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there your heart will be also next is
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Disobedience sin hinders the flow of
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God’s blessings Romans 6:23 says for the
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wages of sin is death but the gift of
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God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
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lord all right let’s talk about
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practical steps to meaning and
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fulfillment first up is identifying
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priorities we need to focus on what
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matters most next is eliminating
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distractions remove what drains your
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energy or draws you away from God third
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is practicing gratitude daily
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Thanksgiving transforms your perspective
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next is setting boundaries protect your
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time and energy for things aligned with
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your purpose and last we need to serve
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others generosity enriches both the
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giver and the receiver all right so you
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may say Craig this is great but why does
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this matter when I feel anxious
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depressed or weigh down by life I
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understand your thought and your feeling
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behind this I know the emotion and the
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pain that is behind this question and I
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want to try to address this issue so
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first off let’s be clear Abundant Life
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does not necessarily mean material
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wealth or a life free from
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difficulties it’s about experiencing the
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fullness of God’s presence peace and
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purpose even when life feels
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overwhelming a Abundant Life is a
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spiritual reality that transforms how we
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Face our
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challenges I also want to be clear that
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mental health struggles like anxiety
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depression or burnout are very real
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conditions these feelings can make it
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incredibly difficult to experience God’s
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presence many people often wonder if
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they might be doing something wrong or
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have sinned because of this struggle the
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critical thing to realize is that God is
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Not distant we can look to the Bible for
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examples of people who faced real mental
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and emotional struggles in First Kings
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193 through 4 we see Elijah who is so
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discouraged that he wants to die
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consider David described as a man after
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God’s Own Heart who wrote Psalms crying
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out in deep despair yet in every one of
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these examples God showed up the
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question I always want to ask is how can
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we live this Abundant Life when our men
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health is under attack the key here is
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learning to invite Jesus into our
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struggles in Matthew chapter 11: 28 when
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Jesus said come to me all who are weary
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and burdened and I will give you rest he
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is offering us his presence in the
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middle of the storm if you are anything
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like me you might be trying to battle
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your mental health issues alone in
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Matthew 11:28 Jesus invites you to bring
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your doubts your fears and your mess to
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him this is where we begin our journey
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towards Abundant Life when we surrender
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our pride and decide to be vulnerable
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with Jesus a life filled with meaning
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and purpose begins when we decide to
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trust in God with our mess and surrender
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our plans surrender our desires and our
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fears to God all right let’s review what
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we’ve learned we started by discussing
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this idea of meaning and fulfillment and
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what the Bible calls Abundant Life
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Second we discuss practical steps to
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finding meaning and fulfillment in our
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lives and third we answered the question
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what does this mean for those facing
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mental health challenges if you’d like
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to dive deeper into some of these topics
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I will put some links up here in the
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video to other videos that take this a
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step further, I would encourage you to
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check those out
