Daily Articles

When Heaven Goes Silent

The emergency room was deathly still except for my husband?s anguished weeping.

Tearless, I held our little son Timmy’s chilling body to my breast, trying to warm him, unwilling to let him grow cold. Bruised from futile resuscitation efforts, he was naked except for a rough blanket wrapped around him and secured with a diaper pin.

The mortician peeked in. He was waiting. I wanted to run into the night with Timmy’s body and hide him somewhere where I could keep him safe.

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Grief and Depression: The 6 T’s of Moving Through Grief

One of the most moving scenes in musical “The Man from La Mancha” came as Don Quixote dying was roused by his lady Dulcinea to hear the words of the song, The Impossible Dream again.
“Tell me the words,” he asks.
“But they are your words, my Lord,” she responds.
He remembers then and sings the magnificent song that embodied his dream.

For years at funerals and during times of loss and grief, I have shared with those who are in the midst of their mourning these special blessings God gives us to cope with our sorrow and pain. They are Tears, Talk, Touch, Toil, Trust, and Thanksgiving. In my heartbreaks, my own words of comfort return to me as a benediction of grace. It was as if I heard an owl say, They are your own words, Philip. Listen to them.

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Holy Hope

I am convinced that God never ceases to form, reform, and transform all of creation. I am further assured and reassured that God in Christ works to lift our personal burdens and set us free from the chains that bind us. I therefore believe:

WE ARE RESPONSIBLE

To the extent that we assume our own responsibility, our serenity and joys increase. This response-ability is ours and belongs to no one else. It is also the basis for our personal morality and social ethic. As God’s earthly flock, we are not to be condemned for our natural human weakness, sickness, or waywardness. But we are accountable. We have the choice to be willful or to become willing and allow our divine Shepherd to tend us. We can always turn and return to God for health and salvation.

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The Awakening for Women

A time comes in your life when you finally get it. When in the midst of all your fears and insanity you stop dead your tracks and somewhere the voice inside your head cries out ENOUGH! Enough fighting and crying or struggling to hold on. And, like a child quieting down after a blind tantrum, your sobs begin to subside, you shutter once or twice, you blink back your tears and through a mantle of wet lashes you begin to look at the world through new eyes.

This is your awakening.

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Bickering Over Money

Do you and your spouse bicker over money issues? When the utilities, credit card bills, and mortgage are due, do you find you are more stressed out when it comes time to pay them? When husband and wife both work, and make their own money, sometimes who is going to pay “what” bill, and “how much” can become a confusing and frustrating situation.

Some couples make it easier on themselves by pooling all their monies earned into one bank account, and then paying all the expenses from that. This is the most organized and efficient way to manage the home finances. Also, only having one spouse do the budget and pay the bills, rather than both of you overseeing the checkbook and then bickering over it is best.

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Temptation vs. Self-control

Robert, a recovered alcoholic of three-months is invited to a friend’s birthday party. His wife of ten years doesn’t want Robert to go to a party where there is going to be alcohol but he goes anyway. Heavy drinking is going on and people are offering him drinks. Robert desperately wants to find reasons for having a beer. He wants a drink, he needs a drink, and the more he thinks about the rush it will give him the more justifiable it sounds. He rationalizes how one beer won’t hurt. Robert gives in and has a beer. An hour later he is drunk. He stumbles to his car and prepares to drive home. Robert never made it home. The crash killed him instantly.

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How to Detach From Emotional Abuse

Be consistent in your efforts. Your abuser needs to see that YOU are not going to be bullied around any longer. When detaching with love/respect there are 5 things to remember:

    1. Be consistent – don’t one day detach and the next day break down in tears

    2. Remain Calm (don’t fight back)

    3. Let the abuser know you are ready to talk when they are ready to talk

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God Speaks in Six Great Ways

God speaks in six great ways: in nature and creation; in the moral law; in
the Scriptures; in Jesus Christ; in human conscience; and in history. All
these things are, of course, forever imperishably true. And all of us know
them to be true, and have known it for years; yet many of us believe no more
now in the practical Voice of God than when we first heard them.

We cannot carry on a conversation with God through nature, or the moral law.
We find God’s general will in the Scriptures. We find God still more
directly in Jesus Christ. But human conscience is no perfect reflector of
God, and history only points to His existence and His general will. We want
something much more direct.

We want to know that God can and does speak directly to the human heart. The

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How is Your Relationship with God?

Why are some people afraid to get close to God or have a meaningful relationship with him? I think it is because when we sin, or when we commit habitual sin in our lives, we feel guilty over it. God has equipped every one of us with a conscience for this very reason. A guilty conscience is a warning signal that goes off in the mind, letting us know that we have done wrong. The problem is people try to eradicate those guilty feelings without eradicating the cause of it. But this is like taking painkillers instead of treating the disease.

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