This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive) that we have put our hope in the living God who is the Savior of all, and especially of those who believe.
1 Timothy 3:9-10
A sweet, warm breakfast idea. Cooked like a grilled
cheese, but filled with melted peanut butter and warm bananas.
Cook: 10 mins
Total: 12 mins
Prep: 2 mins
Servings: 1
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients
Ingredient Checklist
cooking
spray
2
tablespoons peanut butter
2
slices whole wheat bread
1
banana, sliced
Directions
Step
1
Heat a skillet or griddle over medium heat, and coat with
cooking spray. Spread 1 tablespoon of peanut butter onto one side of each slice
of bread. Place banana slices onto the peanut buttered side of one slice, top
with the other slice and press together firmly. Fry the sandwich until golden
brown on each side, about 2 minutes per side.
Nutrition Facts
Per Serving:
437 calories; protein 16.8g; carbohydrates 56.8g; fat
18.7g; sodium 422.3mg.
The big question is: Do you know where your soul is going
after this life is over?
Jesus said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6)
The Bible is clear that no one can see the kingdom of God
unless they are born again (John 3:3).
John 3:18 explains in the simplest terms who will go to
heaven and who will go to hell: “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but
he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the
name of the only begotten Son of God." So, those who go to hell are
specifically those who do not believe in Jesus’ name.
Simply, if you receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, by
grace alone, through faith alone, you will spend eternity in heaven. If you do
not receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, you will be eternally separated from
God (Matthew 25:46).
The Bible says, "For God so loved the world, that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
We can choose to trust in Jesus’ payment for our sin, or
we can choose to pay for our sins ourselves—but we must remember that the
payment for our sin is eternity in hell.
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God
is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23).
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be
saved" (Acts 16:31)
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”
Isaiah 26:3 (NIV)
Frustration can be a part of any calling, including ministry. Here are five simple steps for dealing with frustrations in your life, based on the Bible.
Ask yourself, “Did I cause it?” The Bible says, “A man reaps what he sows” (Galatians 6:7 NIV). We are often frustrated by the very things that we bring on ourselves in life.
Ask yourself, “What can I learn from it?” Romans 8:28 says, “In all things God works for the good of those who love him”(NIV). There are many bad things in the world, but all things work together. God can even take the negative and turn it into a positive if we let him. Use daily irritations as an opportunity to become more like Christ.
Thank God in a frustrating situation. First Thessalonians 5:18 encourages us to, “give thanks in all circumstances” (NIV). You don’t have to be thankful for a bad situation, but you can be thankful in a bad situation. Frustration may be a blessing in disguise.
Turn the frustration into a funny, humorous event. The Bible says, “A cheerful heart is good medicine” (Proverbs 17:22 NIV). A sense of humor is God’s antidote for anger and frustration.
Ask God to fill you with his love.Why? Because 1 Corinthians 13:5 says, “[Love] is not easily angered” (NIV). Love is self-giving, not self-serving. We get irritated because we think everyone and everything has to revolve around us. Instead, love concentrates on the other person.
Jesus faced constant frustrations, but he never got irritated. He always made time for people. Sometimes, we get so preoccupied with our own things that we forget that people are the priority in life.
This week, try to see your frustrations as opportunities to become more like Jesus.
The following was
written by Dr. Melissa DeBose Hankins, a psychiatrist, and she gave me
permission to share it:
This is what the result of unresolved trauma looks like.
What many of us witnessed during last night’s Academy
Award ceremony between Will Smith and Chris Rock was a TRAUMA RESPONSE.
Watch the uncensored moment Will Smith smacks Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars, drops F-bomb
While I am in no way condoning violence, I think this is
a very public and very important opportunity for us to all understand what a
trauma response can look like.
A trauma response can take many forms (some surprising)
and look like:
Slapping someone for saying “the wrong” thing
Yelling at someone for not doing something “fast enough”
or “up to your standards”
Avoiding or not responding to a boss’s emails about
scheduling an upcoming performance review
“Having to” do everything “perfectly,” otherwise you feel
anxious or unsettled in some way
Yelling at staff or throwing things around your office or
OR when you feel frustrated or have a bad outcome at work
Not setting boundaries around your time and energy
because you’re worried about confrontation and upsetting the other person
Working endless hours without taking time for yourself or
the things and people you enjoy because your job is your primary source and
measure of your own self-worth and value
When a person has experienced trauma (“Big T” trauma or
“Little t”trauma) from their childhood (or, their adulthood), the brain and
body store that traumatic memory in ways such that aspects of that memory can
be re-activated by present-day interactions and situations.
When this happens, the person experiencing this re-activation
is split-second processing (on a subconscious or unconscious level) the current
event through the filter of that past trauma. This means that that person
is, for all meaningful purposes, experiencing things as if they are right back
in that previous circumstance of trauma. As a result, they are reacting
(taking action)—emotionally, physically, and/or verbally—from that place of
trauma.
Those past traumas can be diverse and range from:
Witnessing a parent being physically or verbally abused during
your childhood
You, yourself, experiencing physical, sexual, or verbal
abuse in your childhood or adulthood
Experiencing emotional abuse or neglect as a child
Being harshly reprimanded (this could include being
spoken to by someones with an angry tone and demeanor) or shamed by others as a
child for not doing a task “the right way” or not doing it “well enough”
Being told (and, perhaps, punished) as a child by an
adult caregiver that it’s not polite and/or not acceptable to say “No” when an
adult tells you to do something (including getting hugs from relatives, being
made to attend events with your parents even when it’s clear your parents
really didn’t want to go)
Being called out by a teacher in front of the class for
having the wrong answer and feeling embarrassment and shame
While some of the above may be horrific, and other things
may seem inconsequential, depending on the age of occurrence, the emotional,
mental, and physical resources that person had at that age, as well as any
prior traumas could determine the extent to which that person experienced
trauma. A 2 year-old accidentally wandering into a closet with a door
that shuts behind them that they can’t easily open, plunging them alone in
darkness for 15 minutes before someone finds them is a far different experience
than that of an adult in the same predicament.
In the case of Will Smith, he detailed in his
autobiographical book, “Will,” that he witnessed trauma as a child in the form
of violence at home. In his book he writes:
“When I was nine
years old, I watched my father punch my mother in the side of the head so hard
that she collapsed,” he wrote. “I saw her spit blood. That moment in that
bedroom, probably more than any other moment in my life, has defined who I am.”
“Within everything
that I have done since then — the awards and accolades, the spotlights and
attention, the characters and the laughs — there has been a subtle string of apologies
to my mother for my inaction that day. For failing her in the moment. For
failing to stand up to my father. For being a coward.”
So, while the “joke” Chris Rock said was about Will’s
wife, the fact that she was being targeted in combination with the look on her
face (signaling to Will her level of upset and distress about what was said),
triggered a split-second accessing of (and instantly being placed inside of
that) memory to an earlier time when he was 9yo and wasn’t able to protect his
mom (the woman he loved).
Will’s reaction last night was that of that 9yo
traumatized little boy who simply reacted in the way that 9yo boy wanted to
react back then.
Does having a history of trauma (big or little) give a
“free pass” for the present-day trauma reactions that involve the harming
(physically, verbally, or emotionally) of another? No, of course not.
However, it does highlight the extreme importance of
understanding trauma and it’s many manifestations, and addressing it with
effective trauma-informed approaches that address the emotional, physical
(because we hold emotions in our body), and mental aspects of trauma.
Hopefully, rather than simply vilify Will, and say he has
“an anger problem,” people close to him can help him recognize that this is “A
TRAUMA PROBLEM,” and help him get the trauma-informed help in the form of
therapy in combination with modalities as EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques, or
“tapping”), EMDR, or other somatic modalities that can effectively and
efficiently release the traumatized aspects held in his memory and body.
Once his trauma and his emotions are no longer dictating
his actions, he could have a much more measured and effective response to
situations such as that that occurred at last night awards ceremony.
My further hope is that if anyone reading this finds that
they are stuck in patterns of extreme reaction (such as Will experienced), or
even less severe reactions, but you recognize are getting in the way of you
living life the way you really want, please consider getting trauma-informed
support.
Even if you’ve not experienced “Big T” trauma, ALL of us
have experienced various “little T” traumas that have impacted each of us in
various ways personally and/or professionally—some with mild behaviors and
impacts, some not so mild.
As physicians, we are masterful at suppressing so many of
our emotions, and the thoughts and memories associated with them.
However, trauma has a way of impacting us in great big obvious ways (as
we saw with Will Smith), and not such obvious ways (perfectionism, workaholism,
lack of boundaries).
I’m not suggesting any of us go unearthing swaths of past
trauma (please don’t do this unless you are working with a trauma-informed
individual).
Simply be aware that it may be impacting you in ways you
recognize and have yet to address, or in ways you never quite thought of as
being associated with trauma. And, if needed, allow yourself to get the
support you need by working with a trauma-informed therapist, trauma-informed
coach, or other trauma-informed practitioner/modality.
A swivel of the hip and a shake of the leg and the crowd
goes wild. Girls scream, there’s fainting in the front row, and concerned
parents are wondering what, exactly, is going on. Elvis is in town.
When Elvis Presley arrived on the scene in the mid-1950s,
the world of pop music changed forever. He brought a new sound and a new
aesthetic to rock ‘n’ roll, influenced by blues, Christian gospel, and Southern
country, and sung in his distinctive baritone voice with a three-octave range.
His high-energy performances, meanwhile, sent his fans into a frenzy, while courting
controversy among society’s more conservative elements.
Elvis was more than a singer, though. He soon became a
cultural icon, whose sense of style ranged from a slick James Dean look
(complete with signature quiff and sideburns), to outlandish diamond-studded
jumpsuits that inspired the likes of Elton John. He was endlessly colorful and
entertaining both on stage and off, belying his humble Memphis roots and the
shyness he felt as a child.
In his personal life, Presley had his ups and downs,
struggling with both drugs and his health (he had a well-documented love of
peanut butter, bacon, and banana sandwiches). Still, his comeback concerts
never failed to impress, and few doubted that he deserved the title of the
“King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” As Leonard
Bernstein once said, “Elvis is the greatest cultural force in the 20th
century. He introduced the beat to everything, music, language, clothes, it’s a
whole new social revolution.”
Here are 15 quotes from the King himself, covering
everything from his famously provocative pelvis to his views on fame and
fortune.
Some people tap their feet, some people snap their fingers, and some people
sway back and forth. I just sorta do ‘em all together, I guess.
To judge a man by his weakest link or deed is
like judging the power of the ocean by one wave.
The first time that I appeared on stage, it
scared me to death. I really didn't know what all the yelling was about. I
didn't realize that my body was moving. It's a natural thing to me. So to the
manager backstage I said, “What'd I do? What'd I do?” And he said, “Whatever it
is, go back and do it again.”
Just because I managed to do a little
something, I don't want anyone back home to think I got the big head.
The image is one thing and the human being is
another… it's very hard to live up to an image.
In public, I like real conservative clothes,
something that's not too flashy. But onstage, I like ‘em as flashy as you can
get ‘em.
Money's meant to be spread around. The more
happiness it helps create, the more it’s worth. It's worthless as old cut-up
paper if it just lies in a bank and grows there without ever having been used
to help a body.
Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out
for a time, but it ain’t goin’ away.
I'm not a loner, I don't think. But I've got
to admit. Sometimes I like just getting off by myself. You know. Just off
somewhere alone. No crowds or anything. Where it's just peaceful. And quiet.
And you can think.
I figure all any kid needs is hope and the
feeling he or she belongs. If I could do or say anything that would give some
kid that feeling, I would believe I had contributed something to the world.
Money can never buy everything your heart
desires. It won't buy love, or health, or true happiness.
My momma taught me one thing right from the
very beginning, and that's that everyone's got a right to his own opinion. I
believe that. And I also believe that you can't make everyone like you.
I watch my audience and listen to them, and I
know we are all getting something out of our system. None of us knows what it
is. The important thing is that we’re getting rid of it and nobody’s getting hurt.
I've had a pretty good lesson in human
nature. It’s more important to try to surround yourself with people who can
give you a little happiness, because you only pass through this life once,
Jack. You don’t come back for an encore.
Ron
Edmondson offers a helpful description of the different types of guests you'll
find at your church.
One
thing pastor’s love is church visitors.Really,
what we like even more is church visitors who become regular church attendees,
but that process begins with visitors.
It’s
always a mystery why some visit a church and never come back. Those reasons may
be the subject of another post, but one thing I’ve learned, much of the chance
for return depends on why the person chooses to visit in the first place.
I
have discovered there are basically 5 types of visitors to a church:
Testers
These
visitors are just looking around…perhaps for a new church…perhaps because they
are dissatisfied where they currently attend church.
They
may feel they are not growing at their current church, or they aren’t
completely satisfied with the leadership, the programs, or the opportunities
for service available. If testers find what they are looking for, they’ll be
back, but most likely, there is a specific fit they are seeking.
I
wouldn’t suggest altering things to keep them, but make sure their questions
are answered.
Pleasers
These
visitors are usually coming to appease someone who asked them.
They
have less interest in attending church than they have in satisfying the request
of a spouse or friend. This is not a bad way to get them at first, and I’m
always happy to have them, but it is harder to get them to stick unless God
moves in their hearts for attending church to become their personal desire.
For
these visitors, the person inviting them is just as important as the visitor in
keeping them, but help the pleaser feel welcome, don’t make them feel
uncomfortable, and you’ve got a good chance of seeing them return.
Seekers
These
are people who know they are missing something in life but aren’t sure what it
is.
Church
may simply be another option, or it may be the only option, but these are the
true unchurched. These visitors are a mission field.
If
we introduce them to Christ, they become forever loyal to the church where they
found Him.
They
get upset at something the church does, the church enters a building program
that scares them away, or they simply grow bored. Likely, they’ll only stick
for a while at the new church, too, so don’t be take it personally if they
disappear, as it may not be anything you did or didn’t do.
Enjoy
them while they are with you.
Investors
Most
likely, these people moved to your community or some major issue caused them to
leave their current church.
These
visitors are active church attendees looking for a new long-term home. They are
ready to quickly commit and serve.
It’s
important to plug these people in as soon as possible.
Again,
churches love visitors. In fact, we like any of these five types.
Knowing
why someone is visiting your church, however, often helps the way you respond
to them and gives you a better chance of keeping them.
I
wouldn’t recommend you ask them which of these they are, but it’s good to have
in the back of your mind as you get to know them.
Did
I miss any type of visitor? Have you seen each of these?
