Luke 8:54

"And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid arise." Luke 8:54

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Quote of the Day

"There is more room in Christ, in God, in Heaven, to give me rest and peace and joy, than in the whole universe to disquiet, trouble and grieve me. But the Holy Spirit alone can fill me with it." (G.V.W.)

"I take the promised Holy Ghost,
 I take the power of Pentecost,
 To fill me to the uttermost.
 I take; He undertakes." 
( A.B. Simpson, Streams in the Desert V. II)

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Express Yourself to Health

Health and Beauty

Express Yourself to Health 


An amazing concept that I have been exploring recently is the idea of healing though attitude.



I've realized this fact in my own health journey – my mental state actually does play a huge part in the success (or lack thereof) of my health.
How I view myself, or my family-life status, or circumstances really is important. When I am able to sit and “observe” these things through writing I find a peace and security. An actual therapy.

I think all would agree that pain, anger, frustration and sorrow, are all negative emotions. But I have recently ascertained that these emotions in and of themselves are not necessarily what makes me sick; but are signs that can be read, observed and heeded. What in actuality causes illness when these emotions come is how I react to them. For example, I've ignored negative emotions because I felt I didn't have the time to address them and therefore was unable to come to any conclusion or even share them with Christ. So there they sat, like a neglected messy closet, the door shut, yet still there...one more thing to crowd the overflowing “back burner”. Or I fight against them and try to tell myself it isn't real, I imagined it, or I simply won't accept them.
 


When I calmly accept my negative feelings as His best and try to learn what it means and accept it as my body telling me something – then I begin to heal.



I would even go so far as to believe that people who aren't habitually objective (either in mind or on paper) are most likely prone to illness or have chronic illness.
Recently I was lent a book called “The Fourfold Path to Healing” by Thomas S Cowan MD. He wrote –

When we are sick, the Ego literally cries out for objectivity because illness provokes such strong emotions. It is when we involve the thinking, objective Mental Body in our lives that we can unfurl our sails, so to speak, and move forward over the sea of emotions to achieve our purpose in life.” (91)


We can use our emotions to our advantage or be enslaved by them. Our conscious effort in how we perceive these emotions determines how we will react to them. And how we react will affect our achievement at healing.
Emotions are unreliable. Any female can attest to this! But our perception, our thinking, can be cultivated in order to use our emotions to attain better health. When I started to accept certain uncomfortablities as “messages” to learn from, instead of meaningless pain, I felt less overwhelmed. When I felt less overwhelmed I was less stressed and able to look more objectively on my circumstances.


But on the other hand, I have noticed that when my relationships are suffering, or I am financially lacking, or experiencing a grief, no matter how unrelated these circumstances and the emotions that come with them are – they affect my health. Yet again, it isn't the negativity in itself but how I respond to it. When I allow these things to overwhelm me, when I forget to take it to Jesus to bear, when I “keep” it, to myself and dwell on it, and internalize it, it alters my physical state. The pattern has been too consistent, even in my own health, let alone the obvious pattern in others around me.  



Think of the person that you know that is chronically ill. Are they stressed? How do they react to their emotions? Are they bitter? What is their relationship with their parents like? The Bible even says to honor your parents, “that is may be well with thee and thou mayest live long on the earth.” (Eph. 6:3)
How about those who have overcome their emotions? I have read many articles of how a handicapped person went over and beyond what was expected of them, and have achieved greatness. Something often greater than even the common John Doe would consider an amazing accomplishment. Why? They considered their “negative” handicap as a challenge instead of a disablement. They chose to face their hardship with confidence. They didn't ignore it. They didn't tell themselves it wasn't real. They didn't allow a defeatist attitude. These people accepted their circumstances and chose to believe they could move beyond the physical, emotional, mental impossibilities.



How do we escape the trap of allowing our emotions to dictate our behavior? We must realize that feelings are fickle. They are real, but always changing and therefore unreliable. Our will is stronger than our emotions. We can choose to take our unruly emotions and lay them at Jesus' feet. He will take them and guide us. He is a much better Master than our emotions! Express your emotions. Whether that is by writing them down or praying aloud. 

 (It is interesting to note that when looking for images for this post that anything that had to deal with negative emotions showed people in crouched closed downcast positions. While looking up acceptance and peace showed people with open arms, looking up to the sky.  When experiencing something negative it is human nature to become closed, internalize and feel downcast.  Yet when we are okay with our circumstances we look up are accepting and embrace the circumstance.  As Christians we are given an easy choice to embrace even the negative and trust our heavenly Father that knows how to give good gifts even better than our earthly fathers and accept the victory we know He will give us as His children.  Even before we understand the why we can start looking up!)



Once while experiencing awful pain I wrote a poem. I found real physical relief while writing. My emotions once analyzed and expressed made my pain easier to endure and from then on I began the habit of expressing my emotions; and it has benefited me throughout my entire health journey.



This principle could help many people if taken into practice. Especially people that are introverted and given to a tendency to internalize their problems. Even when people internalize a positive emotion (such as excitement) it can create illness. I know of a little girl who became sick every holiday because of this habit of internalizing her emotions.




Some people are passive in their prayer. Or general. Or only pray “in their mind”. I 
would encourage you to be specific. Tell Jesus exactly how you feel. Don't be shy about going on a walk and praying aloud. Not only does this strengthen you spiritually, but it actually benefits you physically!




The subjection of the will is accomplished by calmly resigning thyself up in everything that internally or externally vexes thee. It is thus only that the soul is prepared for the reception of divine influences. Prepare the heart like clean paper, and God will imprint on it characters to His own liking.” ~ M. Molinos Daily Strength for Daily Needs p. 307


Try making this a daily practice. At the end of the day go to a quiet spot and either pray or write to Jesus about your day. Tell Him exactly how it went and how it made you feel. If any event produced a strong emotion (either positive or negative) include the details and conclude how it made you feel and how you would like to respond. Give Him any emotions. Remove any self-imposed burdens and give them up to Jesus. You could even sing like David to Him. Empty your soul and be amazed at the beauty of this godly principle to fuller health. It works!




Quote of the Day

"O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." (Matthew 26:39)

"Since it was to do the will of God He came, we may feel it strange that the Lord Jesus should have prayed this prayer. Yet it brings to light an important distinction. Evidently it was possible for Him to pray that the cup might be removed from Him, while it was certainly unthinkable that He should ask to be excused from doing the Father's will. The cup is, so to say, secondary to that will. It represents the thing through which the divine will finds expression- in this case the death of the cross. The Lord Jesus was wholly taken up, not with His passion as such, but with the design it fulfilled. He drank the cup because it was His Father's will, not because it was the cup. For Jesus 'the cup' was something He shrank from; for us it more often represents something we would hold on to. Our great danger may be to hold dogmatically to some 'thing' associated with the divine plan for us. Every cup, however divinely appointed, should be held to very loosely. It is not that which claims us supremely, but the present will of our Father." (Watchman Nee)

Friday, October 24, 2014

Time To Vote

Political Issues 


Time To Vote 

For all my American readers it's time to vote again!  May 20th I encouraged everyone to get out there and use your voice for the Primary.  Now it's time to vote in the General Election, November 4th 2014. 

Who is Running:

Federal Congressional Candidates:

U.S. Representative --  

Paul R. Labrador (R)
Shirley G. Ringo (D)
Mike Simpson    (R)
Richard Stallings (D)

Idaho State Office Candidates:

U.S. Senator -- 

Nels Mitchell (D)
Jim Risch      (R)

Governor--

A.J. Balukoff (D)
John T. Bujack  (LIB)
C.L. "Butch" Otter (R)
Steve Pankey (C) 
ProLife Richardson (IND)

(For a full list of Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, State Counselor, State Treasurer, Attorney General, and Superintendent of Instruction please click here)

District 1 Idaho State Legislative Candidates

State Senator-- 

Christian Fioravanti (R)  
Shawn Keough (R)

State Representative -- 

Position A 
Laura Bry (D)
Heather Scott (R)

Position B
Andrew C. Sorg (D)
Sage Dixon (R)



Other Resources:

/http://www.idahovoterguide.org/district-1/
http://ballotpedia.org/Christian_Fioravanti


Notes:
Our current Governor ("Butch" Otter) is a Republican and has many conservative viewpoints but I have recently found out that he supports Common Core. (For more on Common Core please see: Dr. Duke Pesta Explains What's Wrong with Common Core and HSLDA's Video on Common Core)
Also, Shawn Keough (our current State Senator) is Republican, but has some liberal viewpoints.  I strongly recommend you looking into Christian Fioravanti.


Thursday, October 23, 2014

Quote of the Day

"A wise bird knows that a scarecrow is simply an advertisement.  It announces in the most forceful and picturesque way that in the garden which it does its best to adorn, some very juicy and delicious fruit is to be had for the picking.  There are scarecrows in all the best gardens.  Every thoughtful bird learns in time to regard a scarecrow as an invitation to a banquet.  He feels as a hungry man feels when he hears the dinner bell ring, and swoops down upon the delicacies to which the scarecrow calls him.  If I am wise I too shall treat the scarecrow as thou it were a dinner bell....Every giant in the way which makes me feel like a grasshopper is only a scarecrow beckoning me to God's richest blessings.  Faith is a bird which loves to perch on scarecrows.  She knows that there are scarecrows where there are strawberries.  All our fears are groundless."  ~ Frank Boreham 

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Cozy Mittens

Practical Homemaking

Cozy (Christmas) Mittens 


Time for Christmas project ideas!  (I know -- already!)  I found these and they look so simple and cozy, I thought I would give them a try.  I also thought they were worth sharing with you!


knit-mittens-313r-md110598.jpg



Cozy Mittens Step by Step Instructions 
Women's Mittens Instructions


Friday, October 10, 2014

Quote of the Day

For our Lord, Joseph's tomb made the death clear beyond doubt. The tomb was the climax of the death. He was dead and buried. For him who follows it means this, a burial clear out of sight in the soil of the need of men's lives. He who simply gets in behind and faithfully follows will find himself actually being buried in the needs of men. And only where there is such a burial can there come resurrection power into the life.” 
 S.D. Gordon QT, 139

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

How Can I Help?

 Political/World Issues 

How We Can Help




Guest writer Chris Hutto  shares how we can practically be a voice for the voiceless.  




 We know that as Christians we are commanded by God to witness. We also know that as Christians we need to speak out for those being “drawn to death” through abortion. But what does that look like practically in everyday life? How do we go about spreading the Gospel? How do we abolish abortion? After writing about these subjects I have had a lot of people ask me what we can do to fulfill what God has commanded of us.


First of all I have to say that the work of abortion abolition is not that complicated. Truly there are lots of things we can be doing but we have to keep a few things in perspective for it to be effective.


Our goal should always be the Gospel. 


If we want a lasting change in the hearts of people we have to show them the cross. You can convince a lost person to be “pro-life” but if they are not shown God's law they will have no foundation to base their new belief on and will be easily persuaded back to the world's way of thinking. Abortion isn't wrong because babies are human or because they feel pain but because God says it is wrong. Every unborn child is made in the image of God. (Gen. 9:6) People don't need to be shown that abortion is ethically inconsistent with human rights but that those that commit an abortion are transgressing against the perfect law of a holy and just God. Abortion is a sin but God can and will forgive because of His wondrous mercy!





Abortion abolition has to be the personal work of believers.


Many people believe that Christian ministries should be the work of our spiritual leaders and pastors but the Bible shows us that the work of God is the work of the Christian. We shouldn't wait for others to do right before we do what Christ has commanded. We shouldn't subcontract our Christianity out to special groups or those in the “ministry.” Just because we give money to charity or missions doesn't exempt us from participation.


Our message should extend far beyond that of the mainstream pro-life groups.


Most pro-life organizations focus on the humanity of the unborn children instead of the commands of a righteous God. It is good to recognize that unborn children are human beings but that shouldn't be the main reason abortion is wrong. How do you prove to the lost and willfully ignorant majority that the unborn are babies? Do you mention that they feel pain or that they have a heart beat? Maybe you could mention that they have their own distinct DNA or that they dream. Does this prove that abortion is wrong? Do not animals share these same things? Most pro-life groups make abortion a political issue instead of the sin of murder. Our focus shouldn't be regulating abortions but abolishing it. Slavery was abolished in England without bloodshed why can't abortion be abolished in the same way? 

  So now that we have set the foundation for abortion abolition now let me write about what we can do about it. I need to say that everything we do must be done in the Spirit. Without God we can do nothing. Truly it would be pointless. The Spirit does the drawing. We are commanded to walk in the Spirit and because of this relationship with God our response to the world around us will be effective in reaching them for Christ. If the work of the Lord is done in the flesh it is a waste of time and will actually be harmful to the name of Christ. I will give you a detailed list of some of the things that I have done or have seen others do that is effective in the work of abortion abolition. Of course it doesn't have to be limited to this list and if anyone has any other ideas I would love to hear about them.




Prayer. 

Psalm 6:9 “The LORD hath heard my supplication; the LORD will receive my prayer.” James 5:16 “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”     


Philippians 4:6 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. “

1 John 5:14 “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:”

Do we believe in the power of prayer? Through Christ's death on the cross the veil was rent which led to the Holiest of all. Now we have direct access into the throne room of God. (Matthew 27:51; Hebrews 9:3; Hebrews 4:16) We are commanded to come boldly unto God. We are the children of God. He desires to give us good 
things. We love the unborn but how much more does God love those tiny children that He personally is forming and creating in the womb? Prayer isn't some ritual but a conversation with our Father. We need to pray to God that he would work mightily on behalf of those being drawn to death. Abortion can be abolished but it will take a miracle so why would we ever want to exclude the one and only Miracle Worker?




Speaking out.   

Proverbs 31:8 “Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.”


We have to be the voice for the voiceless. Who else is going to? They can't speak for themselves. God will hold us accountable for whether or not we did this very thing. We can't leave the work of abortion abolition to the dedicated few or we will never see it done. Every believer must speak out for the unborn.


 James 1:27 says, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” How much more fatherless can a child be than the one being destroyed at the abortion mills by their own parents? 



They have a physical dad but they do not have a father. We can speak out by first talking to our family and friends about the sin of abortion. We can encourage our Pastor to preach against it. We can go to the high schools and talk to the children about it. You would be amazed at how open many of the high school kids are to hearing about abortion and the gospel if we will just only take the time to converse with them. One of the best ways to start a conversation with some one that you have just met is to ask for their opinion on abortion. Most people love to give their opinion and most of the time will allow you to give yours. To do these things you will have to face a lot of fears but it is always worth it. Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” 

Write about it.
One of the ways we speak out is through writing. Most of us write emails and texts all the time but what do we write for the unborn? We may think that we don't have enough time but we truly make time to the things we 


want to do. If you have Facebook maybe that could be your way of speaking out for the unborn. We will write about our vacation or our newest epiphany why not spend some time writing about important things. You may lose FB “friends” but again, it's worth it. Maybe we could write an email to all our contacts encouraging them to take some time out of their day to research the abortion problem. There are sometimes opportunities to write in a local newspaper. What kind of impact would it have on our state if every Christian wrote their Representative or Senator and told them that abortion must stop?   [I would be more than willing for you to use maidarise@blogspot.com as an outlet for any writings you would like to post on abortion.  Please just contact me if you would like to use this blog as an outlet.  Believe it or not, Maid Arise actually does have quite a few readers according to statistics. :) ]

Also, click here to contact Idaho's Senate Leadership.  And here for the House's Leadership.   
Holding Signs. 

For some people this might be a bit intimidating because you are expressing your belief in a very public way. I 
understand but this is one of the best ways to start a dialog with people. Protests and demonstrations have been one of America's most common tactics in bringing awareness to important issues.

 I'm not saying that we should start a traditional protest with chants and slogans but standing out in the public places like side walks and parks with signs starts many wonderful discussions with people who probably wouldn't have taken the time to even think about the issue of abortion. I have had quite a few great talks with people that after talking had a different perspective on it. They really had to think about their position and why they believed it. I was also able to share the Gospel with them. It is such a blessing to be able to see the light come on in their head when they hear the true Gospel of Christ for the first time. Most people know who Christ is but many have never been shown that He is their Savior. 


Handing out tracts and drop cards.


This is a great way to bring awareness to the abortion issue and to share the Gospel. This is also a good way for someone to engage in evangelism that may be afraid to talk with someone face to face. Sometimes after a conversation with someone I will give them a track so they can continue to learn about what I was just sharing with them. Tracks are great to hand out at events. You can hand out hundreds in just a few minutes. Drop cards 
are also great. As there name implies you don't even have to hand them to people. You can just drop them anywhere. The drop cards we use for abortion abolition are just the right size for putting in the credit card slot on gas pumps. You can leave tracks in library books or waiting rooms. Living Waters has a great selection of Gospel tracks on their website with a solid Gospel message. We use drop cards from ahagear.com which is Abolish Human Abortion's online store. (Some drop cards on their site have abortion images.) 







Abortion “Clinic” outreach. 

This truly is a combination of all these things. This is where you must be prepared for spiritual warfare. Because of the situation people's emotions are heightened. You will be able to warn the children's parents one last time before they destroy it. We must have answers for the mothers for they have all the reasons in the world to justify their actions. We must be compassionate for these women but also bold for the truth. 


High school Outreach




Again this is a combination of the above. Many people call the clinic work the Front lines of abortion abolition but truly it starts at the high schools. This is the next generation. These are the people being lied to. Many have already had abortions before they reach the age of eighteen. Amazingly, many are open to talking about abortion and the Gospel. The children in the high schools are encouraged in their promiscuity. They often have no respect for sexual purity or the life of the unborn. They must be warned and the works of darkness exposed. 




Voting. 

Abortion isn't just a political issue but because of the callous attitude of politicians it must be addressed on this level. As Christians we should never support a candidate that is in favor of child sacrifice. If he wont protect the freedoms of the smallest and most innocent among us how do we ever expect him to protect and stand for our conservative values. But really that is beside the point. We should not be putting our support behind someone 


that loves what God hates. This is a very serious issue. It isn't just a political bias or agenda it is life and death. Abortion isn't the equivalent to taxation or gun control it is the destruction of 1.2 million lives a year. It is the number one killer of Americans. Twice that of heart disease. Proverbs 6:17 says that God hates hands that shed innocent blood. Abortion is hated by our Creator. But not only abortion itself but the hands that commit such things. That is a pretty strong statement. We should be conscience of the moral standing of who we vote for. They represent us. Lets make sure that they hate the things God hates. 




Just the Beginning... 

I am sure that there is more we could do but this is a start. I hope that it will be a help. Maybe you have another idea. I will be writing another post on what to say when people challenge our biblical stand next time. There are some really common statements that “pro-choice” people will say and they all have simple answers. I know that this can seem overwhelming but I hope that I can help encourage someone to take the first step in speaking out for the unborn.

Please share your thoughts here on the blog or contact Chris.  To contact Chris please click here.