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10 Steps to a Stress-Free Holiday
“The stress-free way to enjoy the holidays is to plan, take one step at a time, and have a sense of humor.” Beth Tabak Can you feel the holiday jitters beginning? Suddenly there it is right around the corner. Relax! Take time to plan well now and...
Do Not Believe All You Read In The Holy Books.
Observation shows that human creative activity has a physical, a social and a spiritual aspect. (By human creative activity I mean useful and constructive activity by human beings). The physical aspect of our creative activity concerns our...
Freedom
In the land where "the sun always shines," the heavenly globe had not shone its bright face for many days. I drove into town during a torrential downpour. I had yet to see any golden, warming rays. In fact, three weeks had passed since I drove to...
Stress & Self Esteem: Raising One by Lowering the Other
Copyright 2005 Tanja Gardner
In our article about Exercise & Stress, we looked at the way these two factors form a self-reinforcing cycle that can work for us. With stress and self-esteem, however, the relationship is negative – both in the...
What in the World is Life Coaching?
In my speaking engagements I have often compared coaching today to psychotherapy in the 1920s. The level of public understanding of coaching, outside of people in a certain socio-demographic category, is still in its infancy. We are all so...
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Amazing Faith
Several months ago, I sat at my computer and watched the MSN
video clip that recapped Ashley Smith's encounter with Brian
Nichols. As I watched in awe, I was amazed by her amazing faith
in God. I asked myself, "If I were in that situation, would I
have the courage to speak out about my faith?" Would I have
enough love in my heart for this man who just killed 4 people?
I could really relate to this story because my church was just
finishing up a "40 Days of Purpose" series, based on Rick
Warren's book, The Purpose-Driven Life. One of the purposes of
our life is to speak out about our faith in God to anyone who
may need to hear it. Since I believe spirituality is such an
important part of living a peaceful, balanced and fulfilling
life, I am going to take on that challenge and speak to you.
When I think about why we need God in our life, several
important reasons come to mind.
We need to understand our Creator. God made each one of us, and
there are no two people alike in this world. If we think about
it, that is pretty amazing. Many of us can sometimes be very
hard on ourselves. We complain about the way we look. We feel we
don't have enough intelligence, creativity, or athletic ability.
But we need to remember that God didn't make a mistake when He
made us. He made us exactly the way we are for a reason and He
loves us completely. So why shouldn't we start loving ourselves?
We need God's grace. About a month ago, my three year old was
going through a phase of fighting his naps. It was the third day
in a row that he wouldn't take a nap. I was tired and needed a
break, and he refused to stay in his bed. My anger was
increasing every time I put him on his pillow, and he crawled
back down. By the fourth time of him testing me, I broke. I
angrily spanked his bottom as he fought to hit me back. I looked
at him and meanly said, "You are staying in your bed."
Exasperated, I shut his door and I was hit with overwhelming
feelings of guilt. I knew I didn't handle the situation with
love and I immediately cried out to God for forgiveness. I know
that my God had grace and was forgiving. It took me much longer
to forgive myself, but it was His grace that enabled me to hold
my son in my arms and apologize to him. We all make mistakes at
times. Isn't it awesome that
through our relationship with
Christ, we can learn to extend grace to ourselves and others?
God is the best friend you will ever find. When was the last
time you were upset and picked up the phone to call your earthly
best friend, only to find she or he was unavailable? When was
the last time you called on God and He was unavailable? Never.
God provides more than any human being could ever offer. He
gives unconditional love, complete presence, total acceptance,
perfect advice, and 24 hour availability. Wow! I don't know
about you, but I wish I could be that kind of friend.
We need God's example to teach our youth. This world is filled
with every kind of challenge imaginable. Maybe I don't remember
growing up as well as I think I do, but it sure seems harder to
raise children in this day and age. Violence in movies and video
games, sexual molestation and promiscuity, guns in schools,
increase in drug use, and broken homes are just some of the
struggles we face. Christ is a model for us to live by and teach
our children. It is through Him that we learn how to love one
another and live a life of integrity. With God's help, we can be
the example our youth need to grow and feel loved. By following
His example, our children learn to love, to forgive, to
experience joy, to trust, to be faithful, and to feel hope in
times of need.
We need God's wisdom. I don't know about you, but sometimes I
don't have all the answers to life's problems. I find myself
faced with an overwhelming challenge. It is comforting to know
that I can cry out to Christ for solutions. God's wisdom comes
in so many forms: His Word (Bible), songs, listening to Him
speak, "coincidental" conversations and answers that just fall
into your lap. Life doesn't come with an instruction booklet -
that's why we have Christ.
Life is joyful, but also difficult. We can't go through it
alone. So I encourage you to reach out to family, friends, your
community, and especially to God. Share your joy, your anger,
and your tears. I guarantee you He will always be by your side.
About the author:
Lori Radun, CEC - certified life coach for moms. To receive her
FREE newsletter and the special report "155 Things Moms Can Do
to Raise Great Children, go to
http://www.true2youlifecoaching.com
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| NATIVE AMERICAN SPIRITUALITY |
| A general overview with quotes, essays, and links. |
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| Holistic Spirituality Homepage. ... Holistic Spirituality. The Past Life of Your First Kiss. Interview by Laura Sheahen. With a new book on reincarnation, ... |
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| The Orthodox Church proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the Greek language, the word for Gospel is Evangelion which means literally "the good news. |
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