Dreams: Finding Joy in the Chase We Call Hard Work

It was a beautiful, joyful experience. Then, it ended and life as a wife, mom, and general manager of my home resumed. For a moment I wondered why I couldn’t hold on a little longer to the satisfaction of knowing a job well done. As usual, God gave me an answer to this wondering in a reminder to get back to work. 

How Stress & Anxiety Affect Physical Pain

By Karen Morgan, DPT Angelica For the past two Octobers, Angelica’s back “gave out.” As a personal trainer at a local gym, this flummoxed her. I treated her for each episode, but it was during the second episode that I thought to ask what sources of anxiety or stress could be feeding her pain. Tears

Keep Calm and Trust God

By Jen Roland According to the American Psychological Association, 77% of Americans face physical symptoms of stress, such as fatigue, headaches, and difficulty sleeping, but only 28% of them manage their stress well. About 40 million adults deal with anxiety disorders and 1 in 6 Americans take at least one psychiatric drug to treat mental

Am I Spiritually Healthy?

What does spiritual health look like? I think it’s revealed in the same way physical health is: through our fitness, wellness, and capabilities. The physically fit individual can do what needs to be done, and feel well doing it. Practically speaking, the physically fit person can take out the garbage without feeling out of breath. So, the spiritually fit individual can do spiritual things and feel well doing them. They can live in this world but know they are not defined by it. They allow the Holy Spirit within them to be evident in their actions. They flex the spiritual muscles of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control because they have developed them through regular habits.

Diagnosing the Decline in Your Motivation

The last few weeks I paid attention to my attitude, the words and attitudes of others, and the knowledge I already have regarding motivation. This was not difficult since I spend most of my days motivating others to better their health. Funny how sometimes things we perceive as unclear come into focus when we look at them. I’ve taken what I gathered and observed, and sorted it into six topics that often decrease motivation, and just might be killing yours.

Rest Easy

Saturday is my Sabbath, the one day per week I attempt to focus away from this world and fully on God. On this particular Saturday I was awoken by strong winds outside my window. I find irony in being woken from sleep so I can start resting, but life is often that way. 

I started the day with this verse, the classic and probably most quoted passage on rest. My intent was to read it and pray my way into this day of spending time with Jesus. But irony struck again when I found myself drawn to a particular phrase in those familiar verses, as God began to peel back another layer from his Word and reveal something new.

Finding Love in a Hateful World

If you missed the last two blogs in this series, you might go back and review what I was pissed off about and how we can go from pissed off to peace. Now that I’ve taken hold of peace and made it a priority in my life, I am ready to tackle the topic of love.
As I was preparing to write this blog I attended a conference during which one of the speakers addressed how we go about loving the God who loves us. In fact, the conference theme was “Pursuing Christ Together in Love.” Funny how he delivers the words you need at the right time.

How to Have Peace, Love, and Joy When You Are Pissed Off

Walking through this latest season of pandemic surge, I had not been able to shake loose this dark cloud I felt over me. I went about my usual things: prayer, Bible reading, exercise, work, family time, even summer fun times. None of them settled this dust bowl I was in. It’s been swirling around me, pulling me into its filth and blinding me from seeing anything good. I knew it was there and I didn’t like it, yet I could not escape. It took some time to realize the reason for my entrapment. The problem wasn’t the dirty vortex of opinions, accusations, and misinformation that seem to continuously spin around as we debate politics, masks, vaccines, and international terrorists. What was tethering me in my position was not an external force, it was an internal choice to remain pissed off. 

Pure Joy

Doesn’t Christmas feel strange this year? The usual large celebrations are dwindling down to small gatherings, if they are happening at all. Things I excitedly anticipated in the past are either cancelled or so unrecognizable this year that it’s hard to imagine enjoying the experience at all.