End This Anxiety!

OK, I admit it. Lately I have had to battle my own anxiety. Believe me, The Holy Spirit has been bringing the scriptures to my mind that I learned as a child. And while I acknowledge the truth of them, it does not end my anxiety. What can I do to end this anxiety?

Are you, too, paralyzed by a spirit of fear? Do you sometimes dread the future? Perhaps you even feel abandoned by the Lord, left to solve problems on your own. The good news is that God cares about our fears, and He wants us to learn how to respond to anxiety when troubles come. His plan is not for us to crumble with feelings of panic. Instead, He wants us to know that He is aware of what’s taking place, and He also has our best in mind. Though troubles come, He promises to bring good out of each one (Romans  8:28).

Where Fear Originates

Fear is not from God (2 Tim. 1:7). Rather, it comes from the Enemy, who is looking for a place in your life to plant seeds of doubt and anxiety. Satan uses worry to distract you from effective Christian living. Don’t listen to his lies! Instead pay attention to the voice of the Holy Spirit, who will never prompt you to become anxious or fretful.

Remember: God Is Faithful
David wrote, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil…” (Psalms 23:4) Now, if there was someone who had a right to be afraid, it would be David — he faced danger everywhere he went. But why in the face of such trials would he have no fear?

We find the answer in the final words of the same scripture: “For You are with me.” David did not waver from his assurance of God’s faithfulness, and he left no room for any buts or what-ifs. Instead of giving in to fear or the unknown, David focused solely on the Lord. Recognizing that God was with him, he saw no reason for alarm.

Keep in mind that even when life takes a sudden turn for the worse, our sovereign God promises to protect us (Isaiah 41:10; 43:2). You may not realize it, but He is especially close when trouble comes (Ps. 46:1). And He wants to calm your most restless fear so that, like David, you will be able to walk through the valley, knowing He is right beside you.

How to Overcome Fear and Anxiety

To gain victory over anxiety, you must learn the simple principle of focus. When you keep your eyes on Jesus Christ, the intensity of life’s struggles will diminish and your faith will strengthen. The one sure way through dark, fearful valleys is to walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). In fact, when you keep your heart set on Christ, you will eventually realize that difficulties are evidence of God’s earnest desire to draw you closer to Himself.

Remember, Satan plants the seed of fear with a single purpose — to divide our minds so we will fail in our faith. But no anxiety, threat, or challenge is greater than God’s ability to conquer it. And through the indwelling Holy Spirit, divine power is alive within every believer. Faith keeps us positioned to receive God’s strengthening in times of emergency, trial, and sorrow.

The only way to find true peace and confidence is to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. If the Enemy whispers, “What if . . . ?” the believer can answer with full assurance, “I belong to Christ, who has a wonderful future planned for my life.”

The Lord has pledged to guide each of His followers through every situation, no matter how dark those valleys may seem. The moment you place your trust in Him, you have taken your first step toward eternal victory over fear!

I feel better already!

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Tasty Treat For Diabetics

One of the treats I missed most when diagnosed with diabetes was my daily bran muffin. But now that I've learned how to compensate for the sugars in the purchased bran muffin, I can make my own. And they are just as good! Really! These muffins are truly a tasty treat for diabetics!



Ingredients
2 cups wheat flour
2 teas sugar substitute
1 TBS baking powder
1/2 teas sea salt
2 cups All-Bran cereal or All-Bran Buds cereal
2 cups apple juice, no sugar added
1 large egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions

1 - Stir together flour, sugar substitute, baking powder and sea salt. Set aside.

2 - In large mixing bowl, combine All-Bran cereal and apple juice
Let stand about 2 minutes or until cereal softens.

3 - Add egg and oil. Beat well.
Add flour mixture, stirring only until combined.
Portion evenly into twelve 2 1/2-inch muffin pan cups coated w/cooking spray.

4 - Bake at 400 F about 26 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

This will yield 12 muffins, 10 of which I freeze and take out as needed.

Yum, yum! Now who says diabetics can't eat wonderful treats?

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Happiness and Your Intuition

What does it take to make you happy? That's an age-old question, and I'm beginning to think it's not really as complex as we think.

Of course, there are sometimes external situations that make the immediate experience of happiness difficult.  But to the extent that we are masters of our own fate, our happiness is largely in our own hands.

The problem – or one of them – is that we sometimes over-think what makes us happy.  Many of us have deeply rooted emotional issues that prevent us from listening to our intuition. 

We want to live up to the expectations of our families, for example. 

Or perhaps we are afraid of failure.  Whatever the issues are for each of us, they get in the way of our ability to follow our hearts. 

In turn, our analytical brains begin working overtime, trying to rectify what we think we should do. 

Suddenly, it feels challenging – if not impossible – to understand what it is that will bring us happiness and satisfaction in life.

In my case, I experienced a period in my twenties in which I was afraid to pursue a career as a writer. 

Being a writer is not as safe and predictable a career as, say, going and becoming a dentist.  There is a lot of uncertainty that goes along with being a writer. 

So the part of me that was afraid of failure felt that I should pursue a career that was more predictable and “responsible.” 

The result was that I spent years analyzing – in painful detail – every career choice I made, trying to find something that was more fulfilling than many more stable career paths would have been for me, but was also more predictable than writing. 

Of course it didn’t work.

Finally, I realized that as long as I am making a significant portion of my income from writing – even if I still have a day job – I will probably be quite happy.  It is as simple as that. 

Our hearts intuitively know what makes us happy, and all we have to do is listen to them.  Though of course, that can be easier said than done.

Author, Lecturer & Columnist April Lorier. Founder & Director Emeritis of C.O.P.E. Inc. Her testimony before the Calif. State Legislature helped with the passage of The Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect Law in 1974. Her latest book, available at AMAZON, is God's Battered Child: From Abuse to Leadership

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Supernatural Powers of MUSIC

If you are a regular reader, you know how I feel about music. I feel it is a gift from Abba Father. Ask yourself why it is you can really worship when worship music is playing.

Or when you can't sleep, begin singing to God, even if it's only in your head. It will help you drift peacefully into sleep.

Music bypasses the brain and goes straight to the soul (mind, will, emotions). Music has supernatural powers!

Doctors had told the mother of 7-year-old Charlotte Neve to "prepare for the worst," after her daughter suffered a rare brain hemorrhage and was left in a coma.

Ms Neve cuddled with Charlotte for what she thought would be the last time, when a familiar song the two used to sing together came on the radio; "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele. (Photo: Getty/Cavendish Press)

Charlotte's mother began singing it to her once again, and to the doctors' amazement, Charlotte began to smile!

In two days time, the little girl had started speaking, and focusing her eyes, and even got up from her bed.

Now, two months later, Charlotte is relearning how to walk and talk, and although not all of her sight is yet intact, she has reportedly gone back to school and dance lessons.

"It's a complete miracle," Ms Neve told the Telegraph. "Doctors told me to say "goodbye"… I started singing [the song] to her because she loves Adele and we used to sing that song together.

Charlotte started smiling… it was the first time she had reacted to anything since the hemorrhage.

"The nurses were astounded and told me to keep singing, and she smiled again. The nurses said it was like I 'unlocked her' and from that day she started getting better and better."

Try to convince Ms Neve that her love and music does not have supernatural powers!

The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.  Zephaniah 3:17

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How Many Days in Jail?

A Phoenix Pastor is facing 60 days in jail for holding Bible studies in his home.

In addition to two months in jail, Michael Salman has been ordered to pay more than $12,000 in fines and three years of probation, all for using his private home to host weekly religious meetings.

The Phoenix city prosecutor's office said he violated city building codes by hosting a regular gathering in his home.

The battle between the Salman family and the city has been going on for about five years. In the summer of 2009, nearly a dozen police, along with city inspectors, raided their home.

The Salman's say the city is attacking their religious freedom.

"We want to stand for not only our beliefs but for every believer in Phoenix that wants to host a Bible study in their home, that they can do it without fear of the city coming in and saying, 'No, this is no longer just your home. This needs to become a church,'" Suzanne Salman said.

Salman said hosting weekly Bible studies is the same as anyone else hosting weekly poker games.

But Arizona courts have consistently ruled against him. They declared he was running a church out of a private dwelling and said the city did not violate his constitutional rights to religious freedom.

Godwoman

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Healing Touch is a Gift

If you were asked to name the greatest gift of mankind, what would you name?

I think the answer would depend on your personal needs.

For example, if you were abused physically, as many of us were, you might say the gift of loving touch is the greatest gift of mankind.

I was recently in the position where I was able to evaluate the different grades of nurses from the bottom classification, CNAs, to the top of the chain, RNs (registered nurses).

RNs have the most nursing education, yet some are not the best caregivers. Some state-registered nurses have the attitude of logging in for their eight hours and getting through a work shift without any 'episodes.'

During my recent observation, it was not a registered nurse who displayed the greatest gift, the gift of soothing touch, but someone who was simply assisting in the care of hospital patients.

My most memorable example was Lisa, a health care corporate executive helping patients during the busy holiday season. 

When a particular patient went into a full-blown panic attack, Lisa calmly sat bedside, calmly rubbing the patient's back in loving circles.  Within two minutes, the panic attack was over!

Lisa had the gift of gentle, loving and healing touch.  Not every trained and licensed health care professional has such a healing gift.

Those who have been physically abused know what I mean when I say that the greatest gift of mankind is the gift of touch. In a way, a healing touch helps to compensate for what the abused had to endure as children.

Touch, however, is not the greatest gift to the world. Jesus is our greatest gift from God with the ultimate healing touch for humankind.

When we recognize the gifts of mankind, though, the gift of human-to-human healing touch is surely at the very top of the list!

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