(This was a really hard one for me to write. I cried so many times because I am not only an overthinker but I have broken and damaged thoughts. Don’t worry; you are not going through this alone. I am with you through this.)

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Devotional:

Mind Renovation

We’ve probably all heard how much out thoughts impact out lives. While theologians, leaders, authors, self-help gurus, and CEOs may have different viewpoints about life and politics. Most agree that out thoughts are incredibly important and dictate the trajectory of our lives. Take a look at some of these popular quotes:

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.”

Henry Ford

“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”

Teddy Roosevelt

“The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.”

Marcus Aurelius

“Our thoughts makes us what we are.”

Dale Carnegie

The Apostle Paul challenges us at the beginning of Romans 12 to “not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of out minds.” The Greek word for the word renewing is anakainōsis and it literally means renovation. So, according to the verse, out transformation occurs when out mind undergoes a renovation.

We know that a renovation happens when someone wants to change the appearance of their home or business. Maybe it’s because something is broken or damaged or perhaps it just needs to be updated. A mind renovation is similar.

What kind of renovation does your mind need?

Maybe you’re still focused on the broken and damages thoughts you’ve been thinking for years. It could be that you’ve been playing an outdated recording in your mind that someone said to you during your childhood. Do you find yourself constantly complaining? It is easier for you to fixate on the things that could go wrong in your life? Are you jealous and envious of others and how their lives seem better than yours? Do you feel overwhelmed and defeated by how you view yourself?

Whether we usually have a positive outlook on life or we struggle every day with what our minds obsess over, we could all use some guidance when it comes to our thoughts. Often, we refer to unwanted thought as negative or bad. but what they really are is toxic.

While many of our thoughts may not have much value, plenty do. Some are incredible thoughts that impact others for the better, while many of out thoughts are bent toward that negative. So, it’s true that we can’t change every thought that needs changing. We can think about out thoughts and attempt to change the ones that are toxic.

Over the next four days, we will learn how to test our thoughts, capture toxic thoughts, fix out thoughts on Jesus, and make a plan to put it into practice.

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Reflect:

* Think about your most common thoughts. How do they make you feel?

* In what area of your thought life do you need a renovation?

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Verse:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sister, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 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.

Romans 12:1-2

All the love,

Cheyenne

Devotional:

A couple of years ago while I was in university at Southern Illinois University, well after midnight, I began sobbing uncontrollably while lying in bed. I didn’t know if it was stress, life related, or my mind was going back to a hard time in my life. I didn’t know if God was trying to get through to me; so that I would turn to Him or was it Satan taunting my thoughts because of the lack of sleep I have gotten.

How do we handle problems that seem too large for out human grasp? How can we recover our spiritual balance in such situations, and gain the assurance that we are following a divinely ordered path forward?

In my own desperate hour, I somehow was drawn to the apostle Paul’s struggle with his “thorn in the flesh”—that relentless, excruciating problem for which there seemed to be no promise of immediate relief. Paul found his spiritual footing in acknowledging three important truths:

God is still in charge.

Satan is not in charge.

God uses our problems to achieve His intended purpose.

1. God is still in charge. On the surface, a phrase like “there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me” (2 Cor. 12:7), make it seem as if God had abandoned Paul and left him to the wiles of Satan. But nothing could have been further from the truth!

Remember, this is the same Paul who penned Romans 8:28: “we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Paul saw clearly that all that was happening.

2. Satan is not in charge. Satan and his emissaries are, in one sense, mere messenger boys—unable to do anything without God’s sovereign disposition. That is a hard truth even for some devoted Christians. Yet, Paul affirms that as debilitating and discouraging as his own problem was, this “messenger of Satan” was in fact given for a greater purpose—one that would result in the maturing of his own humility and faith. Resulting in God’s greater glory and honor.

3. God uses our problems to achieve His intended purpose. Problems that involve long-term suffering—whether spiritual, emotional, physical, or all of the above—are often accompanied by these logical questions: Why? What good end could a loving Lord possibly achieve through this suffering? Why do believers suffer when so many who reject Him seem free of such an experience?

Suffering is never punishment—Christ took all the punishment for out sin on the cross “so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21). A mature faith knows that suffering is actually a discipline that enables the believer to share in Christ’s holiness and ultimately yields that “peaceful fruit of righteousness” (see Heb. 12:3-11). We are to consider it joy when we encounter trials, for “the testing of [our] faith produces endurance,” and to “let endurance have its perfect result, so that [we]may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:3-4).

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As we end this study; pray this prayer with me:

Heavenly Father, I know that my "thoughts are not your thoughts, [and] neither are your ways my ways" as you declare, but this is a HARD situation to be in. I don't understand it and I honestly wish it away. But you are in control You have a plan that is better than mine ever could be, even as difficult as it seems at the moment. Remind me that you are God and you care more about my future than I ever could. Hold me as I fall apart, and build me back up. Thank you for everything you've done for me. 
In Jesus' precious name, 
Amen.

Verses to look up:

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21

because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete , not lacking anything.

James 1:3-4

All the love,

Cheyenne

Devotional:

One night, while I was driving home from Carbondale; where spent the weekend with friends and church, I found myself wrestling with five negative and intimidating statements from my past:

“You’re just like me!”

“You will never…”

“If God ever takes His hand off a man, He never…”

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“It’s too late for you!”

Somehow, the vibrations of the highway seemed to be jarring those long-forgotten statements loose from their hiding places; each one accompanied with its painful recollection of repeated failure. I was perplexed. Why was it like that? In spite of all the positive and encouraging statements I’d heard over the years, those five negative statements were so deeply and indelibly etched in my spirit. Though spoken years and miles away, they were as fresh in my mind as if uttered only minutes prior.

As I prayed to be free of these words, God showed me the three weapons available to me—and to you—that will ultimately gain the victory.

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1. ) His Word: First, I brought each of the five statements before the Word of God. Reflecting on each one, I asked this question: “Is there anywhere in God’s Word where it is written that this statement is inevitably true of me?” Searching the Bible verses I could recall, I asked the Lord to reveal the truth about me. I almost laughed when I discovered that, not only did God’s not label me with any of those five accusations, it actually included frequent, strong, and pointed statements to the contrary.

2.) His Name: I declared in faith, “In the strong name of Jesus, whose I am, who lives in me, and who is causing me to become like Him, I break the curse of these words.” By this time I was rejoicing. Tears were running down my cheeks as I began to experience a freedom I had not known for years.

3.) His Blood: With thoughts of Calvary filling my heart, I mentally dragged each of those five curses to the foot of the cross. “Tell me,” I internally shouted, “did you escape the atoning work of Christ? Has the blood of Christ not touched and conquered you, that the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from all unrighteousness?”

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One at a time, those five curses that are driven first into submission by the Word of God, then unable to stand when confronted by the name of Jesus, now began to crumble and fade into nothingness at the foot of the cross where Jesus’ life was poured out for cleansing on my behalf.

Are accusing statements from others buried in your heart; periodically surfacing to rob you of God’s best for you life? Are you operating on false assumptions based on words you may have only casually overheard or read, but believe to be true about yourself?

You can be set free from that curse through the three weapons of His Word, His Name, and His Blood.

Pray the prayer with me:

Heavenly Father, Satan has been like a roaring lion in my life, roaring lies  into my soul. I want to take each one of you and ask you if these are truths or lies. Also in the name of Jesus, I reject the lies of Satan and this work he's done in my heart. I accept your truths and the work Jesus did for me at Calvary, and I chose to turn those thoughts over to Him and accept new, truthful descriptions about myself. Thank you for taking away these lies.
In Jesus' name, 
Amen

Verses to look up:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Philppians 4:8-9

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:4-5

All the love,

Cheyenne

Kara Walker: American painter

Walker attended the Atlanta College of Art with an interest in painting and printmaking, and in response to pressure and expectation from her instructors (a double standard often leveled at minority art students), Walker focused on race-specific issues. She then attended graduate school at the Rhode Island School of Design, where her work expanded to include sexual as well as racial themes based on portrayals of African Americans in art, literature, and historical narratives. Walker, an expert researcher, began to draw on a diverse array of sources from the portrait to the pornographic novel that have continued to shape her work. Other artists who addressed racial stereotypes were also important role models for the emerging artist. While still in graduate school, Walker alighted on an old form that would become the basis for her strongest early work. Widespread in Victorian middle-class portraiture and illustration, cut paper silhouettes possessed a streamlined elegance that, as Walker put it, “simplified the frenzy I was working myself into.” Kara Walker is among the most complex and prolific American artists of her generation. She has gained national and international recognition for her cut-paper silhouettes depicting historical narratives haunted by sexuality, violence, and subjugation. Walker has also used drawing, painting, text, shadow puppetry, film, and sculpture to expose the ongoing psychological injury caused by the tragic legacy of slavery. Her work leads viewers to a critical understanding of the past while also proposing an examination of contemporary racial and gender stereotypes.

Walker’s first installation bore the epic title Gone: An Historical Romance of a Civil War as It Occurred Between the Dusky Thighs of One Young Negress and Her Heart (1994), and was a critical success that led to representation with a major gallery, Wooster Gardens (now Sikkema Jenkins & Co.). A series of subsequent solo exhibitions solidified her success, and in 1998 she received the MacArthur Foundation Achievement Award. Despite a steady stream of success and accolades, Walker faced considerable opposition to her use of the racial stereotype. Among the most outspoken critics of Walker’s work was Betye Saar, the artist famous for arming Aunt Jemima with a rifle in The Liberation of Aunt Jemima (1972), one of the most effective, iconic uses of racial stereotype in 20th-century art. Nonetheless, Saar insisted Walker had gone too far, and spearheaded a campaign questioning Walker’s employment of racist images in an open letter to the art world asking: “Are African Americans being betrayed under the guise of art?” Walker’s series of watercolors entitled Negress Notes (Brown Follies, 1996-97) was sharply criticized in a slew of negative reviews objecting to the brutal and sexually graphic content of her images. Saar and other critics expressed concern that the work did little more than perpetuate negative stereotypes, setting the clock back on representations of race in America. Others defended her, applauding Walker’s willingness to expose the ridiculousness of these stereotypes, “turning them upside down, spread-eagle and inside out” as political activist and conceptual artist Barbara Kruger put it.

Fierce initial resistance to Walker’s work stimulated greater awareness of the artist, and pushed conversations about racism in visual culture forward. In 1998 (the same year that Walker was the youngest recipient ever of the Macarthur “genius” award) a two-day symposium was held at Harvard, addressing racist stereotypes in art and visual culture, and featuring Walker (absent) as a negative example. Rising above the storm of criticism, Walker always insisted that her job was to jolt viewers out of their comfort zone, and even make them angry, once remarking “I make art for anyone who’s forgot what it feels like to put up a fight.”

In 2007, TIME magazine featured Walker on its list of the 100 most influential Americans.

In 2008 when the artist was still in her thirties, The Whitney held a retrospective of Walker’s work. Though Walker herself is still in mid-career, her illustrious example has emboldened a generation of slightly younger artists – Wangechi Mutu, Kehinde Wiley, Hank Willis-Thomas, and Clifford Owens are among the most successful – to investigate the persistence and complexity of racial stereotyping.

(YouTube link below; skip to 4:25)

All the love,

Cheyenne

Kris Rey is a former SIU Saluki Alumni. She works and teaches in Chicago film production at Northwestern University. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Film Production from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and earned a Master’s in Education from DePaul University May 2010. She has been in twelve films and directed four films; including I Used to Go Here that was released this past summer.

She was apart of the first people in Alt News 26:8 (which is a alternative Emmy winning show on SIUC campus). She is not from Illinois because her father was in the U.S. Navy so she traveled around a lot. She went to going in Tennessee where she found here love for filmmaking and documentaries. She went to Southern because she knew some alumni that went there from her hometown. When she chose to come to SIU it was only 3-hours from her parents house. She described that when she was on the campus it looked like a college that she seen it in the movies; with the clocktower, campus lake, and other places you think a campus looks like.

Alt News started her career for the love of all things directing and impromptu filmmaking. Her work showed through her features.

I Used to Go Here is about a former student of SIUC following the launch of her new novel, 35-year-old writer Kate is invited to speak at her alma matter by her former professor. After accepting the invitation, Kate finds herself deeply enmeshed in the lives of a group of college students. Kate Conklin’s engagement collapses at the same time as the tour for her debut novel is cancelled due to poor sales. Shortly after Kate receives an offer to speak at her alma mater, Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, by her former professor David Kirkpatrick. Returning to Carbondale, Kate is surprised to be situated at a bed and breakfast across from the former house she lived in while at university. She meets the current occupants, three boys named Hugo, Tall Brandon and Animal who allow her to visit her former room. After a successful reading of her novel Kate is offered a teaching position by Kirkpatrick and decides to mull the decision over during the rest of her time in Carbondale.

On different campuses across the world, they are planting a system to create a change for diversity. Fund opportunities for students of diversity.

Race Based Trauma is and refers to the mental and emotional injury caused by encounters with racial bias and ethnic discrimination, racism, and hate crimes. Any individual that has experienced an emotionally painful, sudden, and uncontrollable racist encounter is at risk of suffering from a race-based traumatic stress injury.

To help the stress reduce in this is situation or any other situation that you do want to be in by using the 5-step process:

Dr. Boddie

I’ll go through it with you. Hold up your hand; start with saying 5 things that you see, then breathe.. then continue down until you hit number 1 or you start to feel better or safe.

• 5- Things that I see
• 4- Things that I can touch
• 3- Things that I hear
• 2- Things that I smell (hopefully pleasant)
• 1- Thing that I taste (or would like to taste)

Dr. Wendi Wills discussed about how much we can make impactful changes if we are proximate to the lived experiences of those who have been impacted by racism. The only way that we are going to make any progress on this journey to racial healing and justice is if we have space and time to truly honor the stories of those impacted and come up with solutions.

Listening is a powerful tool. It’s a tool that we don’t use enough; especially in society today. We also have to remember to practice sitting with discomfort listening to some stories that are uncomfortable. So that listening with discomfort we can come out on the other side healed and give other people the opportunity to become closer to understand what people are experiencing.

Wendi Wills

Pay attention to the behaviors that have practically become innate. The ones that are almost like a reflex or just come out without you thinking about it. These certain behaviors are just as bad as blatant racism. You can’t fix a problem that you are unaware of.

Recognize that your actions have an impact. Change your behavior.

Racism happens all over the campus of SIUC (Southern Illinois University- Carbondale) and also all over the world. From race-based traumatic injuries, hate crime, cruel and intentional acts, to the systematic racism and institutional barriers. Vicarious trauma by how the media and some news events and police shootings are impacting the day to days existence. Some of the symbols that we’re using; the intergenerational symbols, monuments, confederate flags that you hear about how they carry down from generations.

Students are most impacted by the silence. When these things happen you need to speak out about them. Meanwhile, going through a national pandemic.

Jaime Clark

The most important thing the SIU and others need to know going forward is that race – based trauma can have impacts on the wiring of our brains. They can create symptoms like PTSD, but isn’t even treated or known how to be treated in the health field.

Just because racism is happening, you don’t see it happening all the time everywhere. It is still going on. In the classroom, athletics department and at games. Create a safe space of ally ship, and just because you don’t identify with the group that is being judged or oppressed doesn’t mean you can’t help.

Kyra Hunter

(YouTube link below; start at 6:15)

All the love,

Cheyenne