Guidance

Facepalm Moments

When I first saw the image of Jesus doing a “Face palm,” I laughed. The exasperated look of our Savior, indeed, conveys the message of “why did you say/do THAT?” And you and I know what that is. It usually has something to do with sin. Sometimes, we look downright foolish. I mean, c’mon, how many times in life have we, ourselves, done a similar face palm?

Remember, lying is a sin.

In any case, some lesser face palm moments often involve us- and our big mouths. Yes, we really blow it here. It’s not just about “taking the Lord’s Name in vain” either. It’s not even about other expletives (you know the words). It, instead, has to do with the negative and untrue statement we utter.

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Marriage is About Honoring God

Marriage is very special to the Lord. He didn’t just create two genders and throw them together, hoping that they might be able to work out some kind of relationship. He actually create marriage when he created men and women. In other words, what’s important isn’t so much the relationship as the marriage itself.

Proverbs 18:22 NRSV
He who finds a wife finds a good thing,
and obtains favor from the Lord.

In our society, we have lowered marriage to simply relationship. It’s so much more than that. Marriage is an earthly picture of the Church’s relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. In Ephesians 5, Paul calls this kind of joining, two becoming one flesh, “a great mystery” (v. 32). And it is just that. When two—a husband and wife—join together, they become something wonderful. And that “something” is also a picture of how God wants to be joined with us.

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Can God Help Me? I’m an Alcoholic!

Let’s Keep it Simple, and see what God has to say—Looking in the King James Version of the Bible where early AAs looked for answers.

Believe that God is and rewards those who seek Him:

But without faith, it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.Hebrews 11:6

He will heal all that obey His commandments:

[the LORD]… said, “If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.” Exodus 15:26

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases”. Psalm 103:2-3

God’s commandments and love summarized:

(1) For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour. Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:3-4

(2) “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” John 3:16-17

(3)”Master, which is the great commandment in the law.” Jesus said unto him, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:36-40

(4) For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 1 John 5:3

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Our Perceptions Govern Our Lives

“It is all about how you look at things.” Ever hear that expression? We’re often advised to think positively, to believe in ourselves and to have faith in God. All of these things speak to our perspective on any life issue. All of these pieces of advice can feel like they’re easier to say than be lived, right?

When I was a little girl, living on the farm, come late summer and early autumn, our farmstead was besieged with grasshoppers. I tell you, it was a tiny snapshot of what any locust plague must have looked like. It was hard to walk anywhere without there being a grasshopper right there, almost crunched by my foot.

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Sexual Addiction Relapse Prevention

We have to become willing to tolerate the discomfort of a frustrated impulse – an incredibly difficult thing to do. Because not acting out is like developing a new muscle. It feels there’s something wrong, were being brainwashed, we’re making a terrible mistake.

Ironically, many of us sexual compulsives seem on the surface to be easygoing and flexible people. But when it comes to changing our minds about acting out, it would appear no force on earth can stop us. Here are some practical steps designed to break through the sexual compulsive’s “whim of steel”:

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Coping Techniques for Panic & Anxiety

Calming Breaths or “Deep Breaths”

    (1) Inhale slowly through your nose filling your belly, *not* your chest for five seconds.
    (2) Hold for about 5 seconds.
    (3) Blow air out slowly through your lips, as if you are blowing out cigarette smoke.
    (*) Repeat the process 3-5 times.

Act As If

    This is one of the best overall techniques — your brain both observes and drives your body. You can best break bad internal cycles by using your muscles to disrupt the pattern. Act as if you are brave and strong. Act kind and confident. Put on an act until it is no longer an act but a habit. This can work. Not all the time, but practice makes perfect eventually.

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Falling for the “Bad Guy”

“Everyone falls for the bad guy.”

Yep, that about sums it up. A lot of you ladies know exactly what I’m talking about.

We see him, the rebel, complete with dreamy bedroom eyes, tousled hair and a certain taboo nonconformity, brooding in a dark corner somewhere; we’re smitten.

There’s something alluring, dangerous and promising about the bad guy, isn’t there? Its intoxicating argument of an exciting, romantic and perfect life, however that’s defined, leads us into taking the bad guy up on his offer. We make some choices- and, let’s face it, they’re not exactly great choices for us, are they?

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God: Better Than a Hershey’s Bar

I love the series “Mad Men.” Most of the time, I confound my husband by binge watching episodes of it on Netflix. And I’ve been especially giddy as I’ve barreled through season six. I won’t spoil plotlines for you, but there was a particular scene in which the Madison Avenue advertising protagonist, Don Draper was pitching to Hershey’s. Yes, the Hershey’s, the famous chocolate candy bar.

Anyway, in this pitch meeting, Don calls the candy bar “the childhood symbol of love” and the “currency of affection.”

Yikes.

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