Tag: healthy

  • Don’t Give Up

    Needing some me-time, I traveled to my sanctuary place near the water and pen these words:

    I go to my Sanctuary
    Quiet reigns
    Except for quacking geese
    Nearby culinary smells of
    Freshly baked bread
    American flag flutters over the boat stern
    A solitary sailboat with jib hoisted
    Moves slowly across the lake
    Peace prevails without
    From within, my spirit begins to calm

    There are no guarantees for a happy or healthy life. Even or especially in the middle of this all-encompassing COVID-19 pandemic. There’s a verse that’s meaningful to me. I hope it is for you too.

    The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged – Deuteronomy 31:8.

    He tells us not to be afraid or discouraged. I have to admit that I’ve been both throughout most of this past year. Even today I wrestle with fear, anxiety, and doubt. I feel jittery, tense, wanting to be someplace else. If I can keep the above words in the forefront of my mind, they’ll give me calm assurance. Confidence. Trust in the One who’s got this whole mess under control. He knows the beginning from the end.

    He will not abandon me or you in the middle of a crisis or afterwards. Just knowing He is there beside me each step of the way causes my mind and heart to feel at peace.

    When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn,” – Harriet Beecher Stowe

    *When’s the last time you felt unable to focus because of anxiety and worry? What’s it like for you?

    *What are you fearful or discouraged about right now? How can you get past those negative thoughts?

    *****

  • Wanting just a little bit more – (Part I)

       Do you ever struggle with wanting something you know isn’t good for you? Maybe it’s an addiction, or wanting a bigger this or that, or a longing for a certain someone to notice you. I don’t mean just desiring this object or person, but craving it to the point of not being able to enjoy or appreciate present blessings. I know that feeling. No matter how much I try to talk myself into the fact that others don’t have it any better than I do (in fact, I might have it better but I’m just not noticing), it doesn’t work. I still end up obsessing to the point of making my life miserable at times. Why do I do this? Deep down, I know it is not healthy or even remotely productive.  It’s part of our fallen nature to want what we don’t have and try to question God’s ways.  

    Look at Eve and Adam. The serpent in the Garden, masqueraded as Satan, placed a delectable fruit within focus of Eve. The fruit (maybe it was an apple) looked appealing and smelled appetizing. What harm could come from taking a mere juicy bite? After all, they reasoned God would want them to be happy. And this looked like a happy way to go in their eyes. Adam and Eve figured it would taste yummy too, so they succumbed, ate the fruit, while believing they knew better than God. Wrong!

    What are some of your struggles?

    ***

  • Healthy thinking

    “As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly” (Proverbs 26:11).   puppy dog

    Time to ask myself…do I continue to repeat my foolishness? Am I as ignorant/senseless as a dog? Do I keep doing what I know isn’t healthy or productive for me?

    I’d like to think of myself as having more intelligence than an animal. Unfortunately, there are times I return to tempting circumstances or people without regard to the consequences. Statistics say if you repeat a certain pattern over and over that you’re likely to embrace the new pattern as habit. The key is to repeat positive patterns vs. self-centered ones. Then I must practice those positive traits.

    True wisdom and wise living comes only from God and emulating a godly pattern of living. Filling my mind with whatever is true, right, pure, lovely, or praiseworthy is the way to acquiring God’s peace in my life.

    “Finally, brothers, 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” (Philippians 4:8).