Making the Choice to Rejoice

                                                   
                                                        

Phil 4:4 says: "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I will say rejoice!" In the original language this is written in the imperative, meaning that it is a command, not simply a suggestion, or an option. It is an act of our will, not merely an emotional response. So what does it mean to rejoice? How can we rejoice even in the midst of extremely difficult circumstances? I look forward to hearing some of your thoughts and encouragement on this subject over the next few weeks. In looking up the word rejoice, I found that it means to "take joy in something or someone, focus on the joyful aspect of something; to enjoy." The verse says rejoice IN THE LORD. We may not be rejoicing in a circumstance, but we can rejoice in the Lord in the midst of that difficult, by focusing on Him and His unchanging character. When we choose to do this as an act of obedience to Him, He gives us true joy. ALWAYS really does mean in every circumstance. When we choose to praise Him, we invite His powerful Presence into our circumstances. "He inhabits the praises of His people." He will use even our suffering for His glory of we are faithful to obey Him in the midst of it. What are you facing today? How can we encourage you to rejoice in the Lord? 
By Katherine Fellrath
(blog contributor from Choosing Joy Women's Ministries)https://www.facebook.com/pages/Choosing-Joy-Womens-Ministry/199338723598608

Hope In Times Of Loss

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In Honor of Breast Cancer awareness month (October) and also in admiration and thankfulness of my mom (cancer survivor and sister Cathy (also survivor) I would like to share this Loss Essay on the subject and also invite you to order customized pendants for people you know going through similar fights in life. Please visit https://www.etsy.com/listing/117703467/hope?ref=shop_home_active_10
How to deal with Loss and the effects of Cancer and how to help someone you know who is dealing with it or any other kind of illness or grief. I feel that understanding and knowing how this kind of loss affects people, we can be better equipped to reach out in the right ways and appropriate times.

When someone is faced with the news and diagnosis of "Cancer" there are many losses that this person will experience. Cancer comes with many symptoms and your life is suddenly being struck with a threat in more ways than one. Some of the types of losses that an individual will experience are a threatened loss or a looming threat of what is to come, a loss of what might have been. Someone could also experience the loss of face, and being worried about what people will think , a loss of identity. With all these types of losses one will face with the threat of having cancer I would like to focus on  the loss of a sense of community and friends and that essentially being the loss of a social life and the effects it can bring.

It is ironic and such a sad reality to know that when someone is dealing with cancer and has all these different losses in their life already the one thing you need more than ever is people, friends, and community but they cannot have it all the time and actually at times not at all. Everyone in life has a role or two or many in their lives that they maintain before this illness strikes. The role of a mother or father, the role of a sister or brother, daughter or son and the role of a friend, a ministry church volunteer then cancer strikes and there they are more alone than ever before. This is called a loss of role they once had.  I believe that  people are not educated about the disease or are scared to reach out and they tend to back off, they look at them differently, they don't know how to respond or give to this person in their new "role" sometimes or the person with the cancer may start to act differently when in public and it shows forth their own distance and insecurities or the pain is showing and the lack of energy so people tend to not involve the person much anymore. 

I can think of another situation that would better explain on a more personal level. My mom had Breast Cancer over 20 years ago and she lived in the country of Washington State. When she was going through the Chemotherapy treatments and radiation there was a time that there was a pretty significant snow storm and she and my father were pretty much snowed in and unable to get anywhere for a couple of days and we also couldn't reach out to go to their house. She was in need of people and connections during this time already but it just increased her need all the more in this type of predicament. I remember my mom was starting to loose more hair at this time in the winter and it was very cold, she was alone in the country and so cancer patients go through so many different losses than one might initially consider as a loss. 

One way that a person with the loss of community , friends, and their network of social situation can deal with this and improve the quality of their life amongst these losses would be to join and be involved with a support group or to find a Hope Coach or other cancer survivors and be involved as much during this time.  By joining a group or community of people that understand your situation it can help them to grieve over the losses. To grieve means ; "that intense emotional suffering that we experience following loss. Since loss also can be defined as  "to bereave" it's also vital to have this person in a support group. To bereave mean to be robbed, something taken away. The person is learning to live without what they had before and we accustomed to. They are learning a whole new way of life and may feel very lost and alone so to have support and people around them makes sense.

Vicki Yount

Take Time To Be Still

Taking time to renew your mind daily takes discipline. It's easy to be busy in this day and age and to be distracted with technology and all your 'to do's' on your lists of activity and plans and demands. 

As you may know from my blog, I love to travel and try new adventures. This photo you see attached to this blog post is a pic I took a couple years ago when visiting my family in Washington State for a late Christmas and Happy New Year family reunion. We rented a farm house on Whidbey Island and we all packed into this enchanting old estate. I woke up the first morning and looked out my upstairs window and this was my first view that morning. I still can't believe it's a real image. I did not use a filter on this either. This photo literally everything is "quiet", and still. The grass is frozen over by the frost created by the 23 degrees we had that morning. The bushes are frozen and can't move, there is no wind, and the colors all compliment each other to make this gorgeous view.

The first thing that comes to my mind when I look at this picture now is 'BE STILL'. I think we need to practice and make a habit of being quiet and still in our daily lives. Just like eating healthy takes developing a new habit or stopping an addiction to eating or drinking too much wine or trying to stop going online to check facebook is a habit that was created by doing it over and over, so we also need to learn to practice the new habit of stillness. 

Life Coaching Tip for you today :

1. Today wherever you are, find a window and stand there looking out at whatever is there, and stare out that view for at least 3-5 min. After you do this, take deep breaths in through your nose and exhale out through your month 3 times. Enjoy the peace of the moment and remember to do this as a new habit daily. 

Verse of the day: Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God"