For today’s meditation, we’re going to discuss what to do when our anxiety is threatening to overwhelm us. God calls us to cast all our anxiety onto Him – because He cares.
There’s been a lot going on these days. It seems like the moment we turn around, 2020 is like, “But wait, there’s more!”
I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s felt overwhelmed, stressed, anxious, heartbroken, and all sorts of other unidentifiable emotions.
I have to be honest: it’s tempting for me to just stick my head in the sand and pretend it’s all not happening. To not watch the news or social media, to detach and shut down.
Of course, there’s a place for boundaries and taking care of your mental/emotional/spiritual wellbeing, but that’s not what I’m talking about.
I believe Jesus wants us to deal with the emotions – the deep, roiling, burdening emotions. He wants us to be honest about them with Him, and then He wants us to cast them onto Him.
Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.
For today’s final meditation on our Fruit of the Spirit series, my husband, Tyler, is going to share with us what he’s learned about self-control. I’ve transcribed a portion of his sermon below, or if you prefer, you can listen to his sermon here.
We are going to define self-control as: the ability to recognize and choose the important thing over the urgent thing.
What would your life look like if you had that mastered?
Self-control is a virtue that I value, that I have been studying and striving for on a personal level. It is something that I regularly feel deficient in and it is something that I ask God to grant me every day. So hopefully I can share with you a few things that He has taught me recently.
So as it turns out, I am not the only one who feels self-control is a weakness. In fact, among the two dozen “character strengths” surveyed by researchers to over 1 million people around the world, self-control was ranked dead last as the one people were least likely to recognize in themselves. Conversely, when people were asked about their failings, a lack of self-control was at the top of the list.
Okay, so we know that self-control is a problem, but WHY is such an acute problem?
I have a hard time believing God loves me. Don’t get me wrong, I firmly believe He loves YOU. But it’s much harder for me to trust and accept that He loves me. If you’re like me and have a hard time coming to terms with how much God loves you, Ephesians 1 is a good place to start.
This incredible chapter is basically an outpouring of God’s compelling love. It’s so jam-packed with beautiful phrasings about God’s love that it can be a little overwhelming. It’s like walking into a Bath & Body Works – you’re completely surrounded by a zillion scents that your nose goes on sensory overload and stops working. So that’s why I thought we could stop and take each verse one at a time and enjoy the aroma of God’s intense love.
For this post, we will discuss the anti-inflammatory diet: meals, recipes and ideas for beginners, picky eaters and kids! This lifestyle can be beneficial for those with IBS, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromylagia, endometriosis, PCOS, and general chronic pain. Please discuss any diet or exercise changes with your doctor or a registered dietitian.
If you’re looking for more help with following an Anti-Inflammatory Diet, check out my course on Anti-Inflammatory Meal Planning!
After battling with chronic pain in my joints and endometriosis for several years, going from doctor to doctor, medication to medication, I turned to more natural methods in a desperate attempt to control my pain. Today, I am healthier and more functional than I have been in 8 years through a combination of eating an anti-inflammatory diet, exercising regularly (even when I’m in pain!), and finding the right medication balance for me. This is just my personal experience, but it has made such a difference in my own life that I believe it can help others, too!
Don’t forget to download the Anti-inflammatory “Eat This Not That” List – you can post it on your fridge or use it for meal planning to help you get started with your inflammation-fighting meals.
I’ve spent a lot of time searching Pinterest for anti-inflammatory foods that I could consistently eat AND feed my family at the same time. It was tough to find! Most of the recipes I found were inaccessible, difficult to make on a regular basis or just wouldn’t appease my picky eaters. However, over the past several months I’ve accrued a collection of some of my favorite anti-inflammatory recipes and wanted to share them with you!
What is the anti-inflammatory diet?
First of all, “the” anti-inflammatory diet is not a diet plan. It is a lifestyle and way of eating. I don’t like calling it a “diet” – I call it my eating regimen.
The point of an anti-inflammatory regimen is to cut out inflammation-causing foods and incorporate as many inflammation-fighting foods as possible. These foods are high in natural antioxidants and polyphenols – which are protective compounds found in plants.
Since different people will respond differently to various foods, the anti-inflammatory diet will look a little different from individual to individual.
Generally speaking, there is not “one way” to do an anti-inflammatory diet. Yes, you should absolutely cut out red meat, sugar and processed foods and then focus on foods that will reduce inflammation in YOUR body. What that will look like for each individual person is a little different.
One example: I am allergic to apples. Apples have lots of anti-inflammatory properties, but in my own body, they cause inflammation.
As we conclude our Fruit of the Spirit series, I thought it would be helpful to go over some of these questions about the Holy Spirit. Instead of trying to tackle this difficult topic by myself, I decided to reach out to Jeff Chacon, who ministers at Anchor Point Church in Tampa (he also happens to be my father-in-law and next-door neighbor!). His answers to these questions were deep, Bible-filled and clarifying. I hope they are helpful as you search for a deeper understanding of the Holy Spirit.
Yesterday, we all (hopefully) felt loved and appreciated. Our roles as moms and caregivers were honored and glorified. It made motherhood seem more enjoyable, more majestic. More important. It made me wonder: what if every day were Mother’s Day?
Today, we’re back to the same ole grind. Changing diapers without any praise. Feeding whining children, with no one around to pay us on the back. We wash clothes, clean dirty floors, wipe away tears, tend to our kids’ souls. With no one watching or cheering us on.
…right?
Except, what if I told you that you’re not alone…There is someone watching. There is someone cheering you on. Someone’s patting you on the back, giving you the credit you deserve and filling in the gaps when you need it.
Your Heavenly Father sees you, mama.
He sees you every day. All throughout the daily grind He’s cheering you on, applauding you when you succeed and mourning with you in moments of frustration. You are not alone.
Hey there, mama! This post is a continuation from our article on Transitioning to Two Kids. Here you’ll find even more advice, tips and encouragements from moms of multiples about transitioning from one to two kids. I’m so grateful for these moms who have gone before us! Hope this is helpful on your journey to multiple kiddos.
Hey mama! I’m excited to share this post with you about the transition from one to two kids. I’m sharing my own story, but I also have lots of helpful advice, tips and encouragement from moms who have gone before us! I hope this is helpful as you navigate the new waters of having two kiddos.
For the busy mom: listen to an audio recording of this post!
I’m a planner. Literally. My undergraduate degree was in Recreation, Parks & Tourism with a concentration in Event Planning. I enjoy planning things. In fact, one of my “hobbies” is planning vacations that I’ll (probably) never go on.
The older I get, the more I bump up against this problem with planning: oftentimes, my plans don’t coincide with God’s plan. And it’s frustrating, and, at times, painful.
Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
Proverbs 19:21
When God Had Different Plans for Me
At the beginning of 2013, I started to have debilitating pain in my joints. At the time, I was a riding instructor at a local horse farm. I would get home from teaching lessons at the end of the day and literally crawl up the stairs to our apartment because I was in so much pain. I started to see an orthopedic doctor and then a sports medicine doctor, and when neither helped, I went to a rheumatologist, a chiropractor, an acupuncturist, a physical therapist… the list goes on. I got a knee brace, shoe insoles, a plethora of medications and side effects, and a myriad of injections in my joints. Instead of getting better, the pain only got worse.
With every new doctor, I would hope that this would be THE ONE. This would be the doctor who would know what was wrong with me. This would be the therapy to finally “fix” me. This medication would make it all go away. But it didn’t. I found the truth in this verse: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Proverbs 13:12).
Three years into my journey with pain, I was consistently walking with a cane and taking several medications daily just to function. The pain kept me up at night—I spent a lot of nights crying on the bathroom floor, praying to God, feeling so alone and defeated. I was unable to work, barely able to go to church. There were days when I couldn’t even walk to the bathroom without help from my husband. This obviously wasn’t part of my plans.
