Christian Counseling, Business and Life Coaching in Connecticut by Living Water Life Coaching - Bible and Pastoral Counseling in CT

The Battle is On Men…Lets Make a Choice to Win!!

dpgull — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 02:21:15 +0000

A great free resource from The Resurgence. I know Mark Driscoll is very controversial, but I think we men need a kick in the teeth every now and then. I call it tough love:)

Porn Again Christian-E-book by Mark Driscoll

Change is Good???

dpgull — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 15:09:21 +0000

A lot has gone on over the past 8 months here in CT. Crazy stuff that only God could do. A new baby boy, a great business opportunity, and the possibility of moving in the next few weeks. Yet as I lay here right now in bed on a Saturday, with my head and lungs congested, my body feeling very old, I can only question is all this change good for me? In SO many ways all of this change was an answer to prayer. God has showed up and it is clear I know it was Him who did this, yet why am I so exhausted, so run down?

I think it has to do with moving to fast in the moment, not allowing the change to be processed as the body can handle it, but forcing the change (even good change) to move faster than God wants it to move. I (we) need to embrace not only the change, but the process of the change, and realize that it is a part of God’s work in me (us). We cannot be continually progressively sanctified unless we are changing. Moreover, if we allow God to facilitate the change, and lead us through the change by surrendering the process to Him, then we can allow God to be glorified through it, and we can use His strength while we are weak. Make sense?

“Father I come before you now, giving you thanks and praises for the work you do in those who call upon your name. Forgive me for making this change about me, and trying to run ahead of your time and place. Please restore my health and energy as I seek to follow you though all of this. In Jesus name…AMEN”

It is not what you eat, but what is eating you!

dpgull — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:58:02 +0000

Ok so this post may be a tough one for some people. Please know as I write this, I speak from my own struggles and victory that our Lord has given me. I am grateful and humbled by God’s amazing healing and grace around this and I want to help others experience the same powerful victory, that is where my heart is. If you are reading this and you are struggling know that I can both relate and empathize with you. Yet I feel very strongly that I must not pull any punches when I talk about this issue.

When I speak and teach on how God wants us to treat our bodies, what we put in it, what we do with it, and how important it is to our growth and ability to serve God, I always get someone who interprets this as “Old Testament” legalism. I get the line that “all things are clean to me” and “God is concerned with my soul more than my body.” Of course this defensiveness is natural. As Christians many are told that proper behavior means abstaining from, drinking strong beverages, drugs, illicit sexual activity, anger, violence, etc… But food, now everyone likes a good “feast”…How can this be a sin? Food in itself is also an absolute must to survive. We can’t abstain from eating for more than a few weeks or we will die at some point. So we need to eat, that is not the issue…

The issue is that for many in the church (just as society as a whole) food has become the drug of choice. We medicate ourselves with food, and we use it to combat all of the bad emotions and stress of our lives. We use it as a reward system, as a way to ease the pain of relational problems. In many ways it is really not what we eat, but what is eating us up inside that creates all sorts of issues with how we treat and relate to food. In the end it is a heart issue. When taken to the extreme the consequences are devastating, not just from a physical health perspective but also from a spiritual. When we over eat we dull our spiritual senses, we cant hear or relate with God effectively. For many of us it is the sin of gluttony. Gluttony is not always the image of some slothy medieval lord snarfing down a whole side of wild boar while drinking a big gulp. Gluttony is a condition of the heart where we seek to fill the void in our hearts with food believing that it can solve our problems. Gluttony says, “Too much is never enough.” Gluttony says “super size me,” and “have it your way.” Our American society is a gluttonous society. We love excess, and sadly this has infiltrated the church in subtle but devastating ways. Food has become an idol before us.

So what do we make of all of this? First we must realize that many (yes many) of us struggle with a condition known as “emotional eating.” We eat when we are emotionally hungry, not physically hungry. We have a switch that has been programmed into our sinful selves that responds to this in varying degrees telling us to feed ourselves when we are in fact, not needing food for survival purposes. Also our SAD (standard American diet) consists of many ingredients that are actually physically addictive to our bodies. White flour and sugar are like heroin for many people. I could go on and on.

Please know that this has absolutely nothing to do with what we look like. Body types are unique and we are all fearfully and wonderfully created. Some have heavier builds, others lighter builds. Of course there are medical conditions around this as well, but most weight and health issues are a result of our diet and lifestyle, not hereditary as many rationalize they are. This is about being healthy and vibrant and having the blessing of good health and vitality in order to both serve God and bring Him Glory. Very few of God’s people have a proper Biblical understanding of a proper diet. We must resist the temptation to dismiss God’s dietary laws as Old Testament legalism, and embrace the timeless truth of what God says about diet, exercise, and proper stewardship of our bodies. We do this in the spirit of the law, not to earn our salvation or create a purely works based theology, but simply because we want to honor God, and allow him to bless us.

Health and wellness is not only a passion for me, it is a calling of mine to help God’s people discover all they were created to be, and I want to help those who struggle with food.

God vs. Gad

dpgull — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:03:48 +0000

Sometimes perspective is simply a vowel away!

devotion.aspx

From our Friend Ryan…

dpgull — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 23:04:37 +0000

I met David several months ago at a hard place in my life, and since then he’s been with me every step of the way – and finally I can see some light in my future. He’s a powerful counselor and coach and understands what it takes to connect to his clients. He works to the utmost of his ability for those in his care, and builds far more than a merely functional relationship with his clients; he works ferociously to connect and support them emotionally and spiritually. There is truth in the fact that there are many counselors out there, but few that are called in the depths of themselves to a passionate pursuit of the discipline – David is one. Given his support, freedom is possible.

-Ryan

A few kind words from our Friend Fr. Matt!

dpgull — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:05:34 +0000

I met Dave several months ago and our early exchanges showed my that he was a man passionately devoted to his faith. While we originally began the relationship to work on marketing for our church it quickly became a very spiritual friendship. I have observed Dave in both a counseling and coaching setting and can say that he is competent and professional. But more than that, in a counseling setting, his gift and passion are truly at work in ways that make him what a Christian counselor should be; empathetic, insightful, trained, anointed, mature, personally whole and dependent upon the Holy Spirit for true wisdom. I heartily recommend his services to anyone needed counseling and life coaching.

Fr. Matthew Mirabile
Director, Center for the Cure of Souls
Pastor, Church of the Archangels

On the “Mark” Driscoll

dpgull — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 01:47:17 +0000

Trial
Part 19: Doctrine from True Teachers
2 Pt. 1:16-21

Pastor Mark Driscoll | June 14, 2009 | 01hr:06mn

James 4:7-10

dpgull — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 02:20:41 +0000

” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

A few good words from our friend Dan…

dpgull — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:07:20 +0000

Dave Gullotti helped me at a critical point in my life. I was basically at rock bottom dealing with depression, addiction, and a constant inner struggle. I was constantly feeling worthless in the highest degree. He was able to guide me to see things that I needed to do and understand. All without giving me a single answer. He put things in front of me and let me decipher my conclusions, while guiding me to a better place in my life.

I had the joy of being teammates with Dave in a church softball league. He is a wonderful life coach as well as a friend. He is very open about himself, which allows you to do the same in return. He is able to form a quick bond and genuinely cares about people. His caring does not begin and end with your session. He lives his life with great compassion and love for people. That is just one of the many things that makes Dave a great person.

I would recommend Dave to anyone without question. Whether the issue is big or small, he is fully capable of helping to get on the right track. You will quickly see his love for helping people and it will go a long way in getting to where you need to be. He has made it his life goal to share his tremendous God given gift that is second to none. Without his help, my life would be on a constant downward spiral.

Warm Regards,

Dan V.

“Hope is one of the Theological Virtues”

dpgull — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 02:32:04 +0000

“A continual looking forward to the eternal world is not (as some modern people think) a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do. It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is.” -Clive Staples Lewis