BREATHE

A friend described God as an egomaniac because of verses like Psalm 150:6, " Let everything that has breath praise the LORD." His thoughts were that any being that "required" praise must have a swollen sense of self-importance and a need to keep people in their "place."  My guess, however, is that this friend had never completely surrendered himself in praise. The Bible mentions praise close to 400 times, not because praise is a burden that we must carry. Instead, when we praise the Lord through our good times, through our challenges, through our tragedies -- as impossible as it seems, we receive the reward. Psalm 66:2 says "Sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious."   It is easiest to praise God during good times. When we are happy and thankful, it is natural to WANT to offer praise; still, sometimes we are SO happy that we forget. An amazing thing happens, though, when we DO offer praise during the good times. Getting lost i...

John 15:1-7 , says, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.  Remain in me, as I also remain in you.  No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.  Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches.  If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. I was driving to my mom's house the other day; halfway there, I noticed that I'd been driving on "autopilot."  I had been trying to control the outcome of m y worries, cares, and plans  to such a degree that I allowed my body to drive without me. Very quickly, I brought my thoughts back to the wheel; I also thought about the passage above.  I get so wrapped up in the temporary cares, w...

But it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding, Job 32:8. Mark Tyrell talks about an old l egend. According to the tale, Nasrudin was walking alone at night when he saw a group of people approaching in the far distance. Instantly, his imagination began to toy with him: "They are surely robbers!" he thought. "No, why just robbers? Murderers, cutthroats! About to set upon me, a lonely traveler, leave me for dead and steal all my possessions! How are my wife and children going to cope without me?!" Nasrudin's heart began to pound. His mouth became as dry as his palms became wet. He shook from head to toe and found himself breathing like an unfit man running to the finishing line of his first marathon. Having thoroughly terrified himself, he stumbled into a nearby graveyard and cowered shaking inside an open tomb, awaiting his fate.  Meanwhile, the harmless strangers, concerned by his dramatic behavio...

The “bar” has been lifted (or the limbo stick lowered...depending on your preferred image) in the lives of our teens and even tweens compared to when we were in their place. In middle-school, they are pushed to take high-school classes and tests; in high-school, they are prompted, cajoled, and strongly encouraged to take dual enrollment classes and knock off college credit with no guarantee that the laborious studying will be rewarded with the coveted credits. Teens could be enjoying a couple more years of unencumbered wonder as they ease into adulthood; instead, in the name of success, they are pushed to reach their full potential, intellectually, spiritually, and otherwise; they are prodded to excel in athletics, the arts, or a club or two, and sometimes keep a job. They wear many hats at school, within their families, and in their communities while participating on various teams, suffering through standardized tests, some caring for younger brothers and/or sisters, worry abo...

ANXIETY RELIEF ~ “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV) Emotions are vital. They signal that our body is either in “homeostasis” (equilibrium) or in crisis. When, however, they become “body-bullies,” building, growing, and controlling what we can and can not do — it’s time to surrender those feelings to our Lord and focus on relief.  Let’s recognize ANXIETY as a signal instead of allowing it to trigger more and more anxiety.   HOW?         Purposeful breathing                          Taking a walk       Prayer                           Listening to praise music     ...

I've been talking with several people who are experiencing strongholds in their lives. When I struggled through a spiritual stronghold, it colored my entire life; everything I touched, every thought, word, every action was tempered by the memory of this trauma that I could NOT surrender. A spiritual stronghold is a painful or traum atic memory, habit, or lie that the enemy continues to recyc le in our lives. He nudges us to be afraid, to remember every failure and/or injury, every personal affront and undignified moment. The enemy has a way of embedding hang-ups in us until we believe they are part of our identity. Evil thrives on our fear and pain, prompting us to hold onto the past like an infant clutches a blanket. When we allow the stronghold inside of us, the darkness expands to envelope our soul. Strongholds prevent us from moving forward, keeping us in a frozen state of fear and pain. How do we break strongholds? I used to live in Oak For...

Breathe Peace into the New Year I had never been able to “keep holy the Sabbath.” It should be a simple thing. Take one day per week and rest. Exodus 20:8 tells us, “ Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” “For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a day of sabbath rest to the Lord” (Exodus 35:2). In fact, this verse is so serious about sabbath rest that it ends with, “Whoever does any work on it is to be put to death.” Yikes! For years, I'd tried to cram in all of my work in six days, leaving Sunday for church, prayer, and . . . football. Somehow, this never seemed quite right. I tried going for long walks on the beach with the Lord after church, but I couldn't walk ALL DAY, and I wondered, “Is walking work ?” Leviticus 23:3 explains sabbath rest further, “‘There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it ...

Admittedly, for the last few years I've "gotten through" Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years..."The Holidays."  I have tried to focus on Jesus; I've concentrated on my blessings and hope and love and family, but a shadow has followed me, an emptiness. I've been missing my Dad. Since his death from cancer several years ago, getting together with my family -- especially during this season -- has been bittersweet.   It gets a bit less painful each year. It's easier to recognize my Dad's touch on my life as a blessing rather than his absence as a gaping hole. I can reminisce about the days he and I would kayak together, packing a lunch for along the way. I can now think (without crying) about when he would wake me up at 5:00 am to run with him, a habit that I continued for a long time even when I lived too far away from Dad for us to run together. I can recall with a smile the times we would sit and talk together and when he would just be there ...

Well, I'm cheating....I have a short anger-blaster book that people have asked me to share.  It's too lengthy to blather the whole mess right here, so I'll stick some of it out here and if you like it and want more, just follow the link.  Sound good? Here goes: Anger DE-escalation Tools When triggered, your “fight-or-flight” response is also triggered, which causes your heart to race, blood flow to change (possibly causing tingling, coldness, and numbness). Your breathing to speed up – might even include chest pain, breathlessness, and a choking feeling, dizziness or blurred vision. Your muscles tense and prepare; you sweat, your pupils dilate, and you are more alert. Your goal is to shut off this effect, tell your body that there IS NO THREAT, so your BRAIN can engage, allowing you to RESPOND rationally rather than REACTing in ANGER. Here is how: Belly Breathing : Belly Breathing is a simple way to diffuse fight or flight, and it is easy to use ...

Galatians 6: tells us, "In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry."  At first blink, it looks like a caution against anger; "DON'T EVER BE ANGRY YOU NASTY SINNER!"   After a couple seconds, though, it looks different. It IS a cautionary statement, but also an acknowledgment that anger is natural.  We all get angry; it's what we do with anger that matters -- to us, to God, to those we love, and those around us. I have a friend, call him Nathan.  He is kind, passionate about his friends and loved ones, a great listener, caring, and giving -- would give the shirt from his own body to help someone in need.  Nathan is in jail right now after he tried to help a friend. In the process of trying to rescue his friend from a crack house, his anger reached its boiling point, and he broke the jaw of a "bad guy." Unfortunately, even though the crack dealer (bad guy) wouldn't dare press charges for fear his occupation...

Come quickly, L ORD , and answer me, for my depression deepens. Don't turn away from me, or I will die (Psalm 143:7). When I was trapped in what I thought of as the “quicksand” of depression, a friend invited me to take comfort in Psalm 143. She thought I might identify with David who was also in a deep state of despair at that time he wrote the Psalm. Unfortunately, when I was up to my eyeballs in the “quicksand” of depression, I found it impossible to see clearly. What I saw in the Psalm was a healthy (even robust) man, surrounded by people who loved and respected him enough to help him hide from a KING. I saw David as a guy, enduring (or enjoying) adventure and intrigue. David's life was a pony ride compared to my (feeling-sorry-for-self) life of unbearable nerve pain, imprisonment in my home, and heart-breaking loneliness. Depression shifted my focus inward and the more I looked at ME, the more pain and depression I felt. When I tried to look outsid...

Just breathe. Inhale...exhale. Deep breaths; you can do it. What if you can't? What if the pain, pressure, anger, depression, and/or anxiety is so intense that it feels like a headstone has fallen on your chest, and the weight of it has you pinned -- immovable. Breathe...just breathe. Emotions are powerful. They can be empowering when used for good, but destructive when they take control.  I have a friend, let's call her Annabelle. Her anxiety over her  adult  children is so high that she endures panic attacks when her son doesn't call every few hours. John, on the other hand, has the attitude that his children, "were a gift from God. He entrusted them to me during their formative years; now I have to trust my [adult] children to make good choices and live productive lives." John says that he avoids anxiety by trusting God and by realizing that worry is not productive. So, how do you STOP powerful emotions like anxiety, panic, even pain when th...