Monthly Archives: January 2016

Six No-Cost Ways to Encourage Yourself

January 28, 2016DEVOTIONALS, ENCOURAGEMENT, GRATITUDEstatgirl77

We All Need Encouragement

Every human being has some ho-hum days and some days when they just feel down. It is part of the human condition. Sometimes, such days are indicators that we need to take time to consider how we are living and whether we need to make some changes. Other days are just those ho-hum days.

God Longs to Give You Comfort and Hope

Here are five cures for those days when you just feel your life is blah, though you know it is not.

Simply talk to God, out loud , just as if He were a human being and could not understand you unless you spoke in actual words. Putting words to our feelings always calms us down because it prevents wild thoughts from spinning around and around inside. God wants us to bring each detail of our life to Him, the good and the bad. He tells us that in I Peter, chapter 5, verse 7: “Cast all your anxiety on Him [God] because He cares for you.” [emphasis added] It often helps to write out your prayers to God.
Count your blessings – literally. Start making a list. Here is a link to several versions of the beautiful hymn that says to “Count your many blessings, name them one by one. . . and it will surprise you what the Lord has done. ” Listen, really listen, to the words. http://yhoo.it/1SHAXP0
Get the focus off yourself by calling a friend who is going through hard times and give them the encouragement you wish you could hear for yourself. Do this in a conscious effort to obey God by helping to carry each other’s burdens. (Galations 6:2) http://bit.ly/23vE1lk You simply cannot “outgive” God. He always rewards obedience. Try it and see.
Soak your heart in the Psalms, or your other favorite Bible passages. Here is a link to a list of six Psalms that will encourage you, along with comments by a pastor, Zac Poonen, of a church in Colorado. http://bit.ly/1NCSfoR
Listen to uplifting music. Try some of the 30 uplifting Christian songs listed at this link. Whether you feel like it at this moment, you ARE an overcomer by the power of the blood of the spotless Lamb of God! http://bit.ly/1PUWUEr
Get outside and look at the beauty of God’s creation. Nature has power to soothe and to heal.
Nature is everywhere – because God loves us!

If You Feel Down Often

Dear reader, if you consistently feel down, you may be depressed and not realize it. Go to this link http://abt.cm/1CBrYso There is a quiz at the top of the page you can take. If you are consistently feeling down, you most likely are depressed and you need to talk with a counselor. Please, please do so. If you do not get help, you will keep feeling worse and worse. I was in that position many times over my lifetime until I learned to reach out for professional help when I needed it. Depression is dangerous and hurts you as well as everyone around you. If you do not get help, it gets worse each time it happens. Please get help. Do not try to do it alone.

Classic Hymns to Give You Hope

January 26, 2016ENCOURAGEMENT, TRUSTING GODstatgirl77

The Magic of Music

The simplest way I know to explain how God can comfort a troubled soul simply by hearing a beautiful song is “magic”, simply “God’s magic.” Scholars have produced a large body of scientific research on the power of music to soothe and to heal, books have been written, we all talk about it – but only God can really explain it.

The Classic Hymns are Filled with Bible Truths

Music. . . God's Incomprehensible Magic for the Human Soul — Music. . . God’s Incomprehensible Magic for the Human Soul

I count it one of my biggest blessings that I grew up attending a Southern Baptist Church and each week sang the old hymns of the church. The early hymn writers used the Bible as their primary source of inspiration. So the lyrics to these beautiful hymns are packed with Bible truths and phrases.

Below are some of my favorite hymns. Listen and let God touch your heart through His magic of music.

And don’t stop with just these few. If you enter the title of any hymn into a search engine, you will find an abundance of styles from which to choose. And if you do not know the titles, type in “List of Christian Hymns” or “Most Loved Christian Hymns”.

“He Leadeth Me” http://yhoo.it/1VmoYEw

“O God, Our Help in Ages Past.” http://yhoo.it/1TkFHJQ

“Jesus, the Light of the World.”http://yhoo.it/1OLqMFl

“The Solid Rock” http://yhoo.it/1S7xeKU

“Count Your Blessings” http://bit.ly/1POwAf1

The Magic of Love

January 20, 2016DEVOTIONALS, ENCOURAGEMENT, GRATITUDEstatgirl77

The first time I held my baby daughter in my arms I felt courage and determination flow into my heart. The hospital window framed the faint pre-dawn light as I nursed her and then snuggled her close. It was a moment I knew I would remember for all my life. I had never loved this fiercely before, ever, and I would do anything to protect her and take good, good care of her.

Not only did I feel an infusion of courage to face my dominating in-laws, I also felt totally, thoroughly happy. Blissful is the word. And that bliss endures to this very day whenever I see her.

This experience of falling in love with our children is common to most parents. And once our babies are all grown up and gone from our nest – but never our hearts – we have time to reflect on how giving love to our children changed us and how it benefitted us as much as them.

Why? Love floods the lover with warm and tender feelings, whether you are feeling love for your baby, a child, a pet, or another adult. There is a scientific basis for this that I did not know way back in the mid 1970s when my precious little baby girl was born. A hormone called oxytocin is released into our bodies when we experience love. Here is one explanation of this blessing God has given us.

This Bliss Hormone Can Heal Your Body: The Many Benefits of Oxytocin

A special chemical in your body, called oxytocin, helps to create the feeling of falling in love.

Sometimes referred to as the hormone of “forgetting oneself,” oxytocin plays an important role in birth, lactation, bonding, and orgasm.

The hormone of love, oxytocin, influences the digestive system as much as it influences the brain. Oxytocin has been proven to cool gastrointestinal inflammation to alleviate food sensitivities, autoimmune disorders, and even Candida infections!

Oxytocin can act like a psychological buffer. Nature wired both men and women to experience an oxytocin surge (or several) during moments of bonding with each other or their children.

Oxytocin naturally enhances a sense of:

Optimism
Trust
Mastery
Self-esteem

(retrieved from http://bit.ly/1Ph4e2E on January 20, 2016)

Simply loving my daughter for all these years has helped me far, far more than it has helped her. Being in love with my daughter has healed hurts so deep I did not know they existed. And trying to take good care of her has shaped my decisions for the good.

What is the source of all love? Chapter 4, verse 8 in First John tells us “Whoever does not love does not know God because God is love.” (New International Version) [emphasis added]. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

How like our loving Heavenly Father to make what He tells us to do be so beneficial for us. And how can we not love Him for loving us? Loving Him floods us with an even more intense feeling of bliss that truly transcends the power of words to express. Thank You, Lord!

Join me in returning this love to Him as you listen to the song “The Love of God” by Mercy Me. http://bit.ly/1V8qxWD

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is the love of God for those who fear Him.” Psalm 103:11 (NIV)

Think about it.

Daddy called me “baby doll”

January 12, 2016DEVOTIONALS, ENCOURAGEMENT, FAMILY, GRATITUDEstatgirl77

Words can hurt

Words can hurt and words can heal, as we all know. Bullying labels from childhood can sting long into adulthood. As a six-foot-tall teenager back in the 60s, my constant greeting from one boy was “Ho, ho, ho. Here comes the jolly green giant.” You can see the commercial that led to this emotionally crushing moniker at http://yhoo.it/1KaYAHH

It took decades, literally decades, before I could accept that God did not make a mistake when He made me six feet tall.

Words can heal, encourage, and nurture the heart

Fortunately, although I had the painful experiences common to all teens, I also had a loving, tender father. On the outside, and in the outside world, Daddy was a John Wayne kind of man – masculine, no-nonsense, strong and often silent. He was the superintendent of a rock mine and in that role as a leader of men, he had to be strong.

But as soon as Daddy came home each night, my world was complete and my heart was at peace, just because he was there. Daddy called me “baby doll”, a term of deepest endearment I still use with my own grown-up daughter. And it is a strange thing – whenever I call Sharon “baby doll” I still feel Daddy’s love – and that feeling gets richer and warmer each passing year.

A father’s love – a priceless inheritance for his family

My parents both did a wonderful job raising their family. They taught me values that have shaped my life for the good. As a Daddy’s girl, the tender love of my father was the greatest of all possible gifts. That love helped me accept the concept of a Heavenly Father who was loving and tender and who would take care of me and keep me safe.

This unfathomable love of God for us is described in Psalm 103, verses 11 through 14.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His [God’s] love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him; for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust. [emphasis added] (New International Version)

I am grateful beyond words for an earthly Daddy who showed me what my Heavenly Father’s love is like. And I am so very grateful I get to pass that love on to family and friends!

A Month Eating Out of My Cabinets – An Exercise in Humility

January 8, 2016GRATITUDE, HARD TIMES, THRIFT, TRUSTING GODstatgirl77

It had been such a beautiful Saturday morning! I “awakened the dawn”, as the Psalmist David says. For a solid hour, I sat with a cup of coffee and watched the sun rise and then dapple the trees with its rays, then shine in full brilliance.

After such a glorious start, motivation was high enough to tackle cleaning up my writing papers, a most necessary but long-delayed task. During that dreaded process I found an unexpected bill for $100, due this month, which meant I could not do the too long delayed oil change, pay the small fee to have the ring my daughter gave me 20 years ago repaired, nor could I keep buying lots of low calorie fresh food which had FINALLY helped me take off five of the 30 pounds I needed to drop because of high blood pressure. My happy bubble burst and I just lay down for a few minutes – to rest and to pray.

“Well, Lord, maybe now is the time to finally eat out of my cupboards until they are totally bare. You know I am trying desperately to lose weight and losing weight with the food that I already have in the house seems impossible, but I am going to try it. I will trust in You to either help me lose weight or else be content with staying as I am.

Please forgive me for ungrateful for all Your generosity. Help me fully appreciate that it is a luxury to even think about weight loss when so many are desperately trying to just stay alive. Teach me this month, dear Lord, what You want me to learn. And thank you for reminding me of the Scripture “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.” (Proverbs 24:10, New American Standard version). Help me be strong in what is really an easy task. And let’s have fun with it!”

To be honest, that thought about having fun with it surprised me, but then when I pray I am always surprised at the wonderful thoughts God gives. I’m sure He laughed at that one. Here is a record of the fun we had that month.

I immediately put a bag of pinto beans in water to soak.
I made a list of my low calorie soup ingredients, which were cheap as well as healthy and would be enough fresh food.
I checked everything in every kitchen cabinet and found I had more than enough to do just fine, I had: A box of popcorn, two boxes of diet chocolate pudding, five cans of beans, four cans of vegetables, a box and a half of oatmeal, two jars of applesauce, two boxes of six-pack crackers for snacks for my grandsons, one box of chocolate poptarts (my secret super indulgence for years), five tins of smoked sardines (which I genuinely like), two packs of ground beef in the freezer, and on and on – you get the picture. I had PLENTY of food in my cabinets and refrigerator.

Bottom line? That month was just fine. I never went hungry and even managed to stay the same weight. And through it all I was reminded, each day, with every meal and snack that I had, that I was eating far, far better than many Americans were eating this month and countless millions across the globe.

What I initially thought was a bad thing God had, as always, turned out for my good. I had needed a fresh reminder to be truly, sincerely grateful and to fervently pray for those struggling in true poverty.

What a kind and loving Father He is to gently nudge us toward truths we need to remember!

Trees. . . so pleasing to the human eye!

January 5, 2016CHRISTIAN VALUES, DEVOTIONALS, ENCOURAGEMENT, GRATITUDE, Prayer, TRUSTING GODstatgirl77

Few things are as calming to my soul as trees. All kinds of trees, in all seasons, in all locations – they all comfort my heart and, “magically”, make me feel secure. And I can explain why.

Pleasing to the eye

In telling us about creation, God says in Genesis chapter 2, verse 9:

“And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye [emphasis added] and good for food.” (New International Version).

I have always loved the outdoors, though I’ve been a city dweller all my life. Maybe that’s one reason I’ve always loved trees – they are a part of nature that is in cities and yet remain much as they would be in the woods. Their branches reach outward from a trunk in the same way, their leaves sway with the wind in the same way, and they stretch their branches up toward heaven in the same way. Trees do this whether they are in a city or in a wilderness where no one but God sees them.

The Bible tells us that God called all that He created “good”. I believe God thinks trees are beautiful, too. I believe that they are pleasing to His eye, just as they are to mine. Our all-powerful Father in heaven, our Creator and the Creator of the universe, could have made earth obtain its oxygen in an invisible manner. But He chose to cover the earth with beautiful flowers, bushes, and trees. . . majestic, glorious, upward-reaching trees.

Whether you live on a mountain with a panoramic view all around or, like me, in an urban area with one tree outside my window, I pray you will pause and let the beauty of trees bring you pleasure, as God intended. Let them remind you to lift your heart towards heaven, just as the trees lift their branches to heaven.

“The heavens declare the glory of God. . . ” (Psalm 19:1, NIV)

Together with all of creation, let us praise and glorify and love the wonderful One who made us and gave us such a beautiful earth to call our temporary home.

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