My husband (at left in photo) posted this on his blog this morning and it was so good, and so fitting for this week's fear discussion, I just had to reblog it. How does this fit with being anti-fear, with throwing out the hot potatoes lobbed in our general direction daily? It's simple. Having an optimistic attitude automatically puts us in a better position to resist fear. It's like being well-fed and hydrated and getting enough sleep give your body a better chance to fight off a bug. When we're grumpy and feeling sorry for ourselves we tend to grab hold of every negative thought, word, and deed that crosses our path. And the fear-filled voices out there are ALWAYS negative. By changing our mental and verbal focus we can better resist those fearful rotten potato bombs!

END DIS!

You will be enabled or disabled according to what you choose to believe. You can be an over-comer or an under-goer, but God wants you to win. In order to win you must first believe that you can. Why would you believe that? Because God said so, that’s why! 

He never said you would never have any troubles or challenges but He said He would be with you and give you the victory. “Thanks be to God who gives us the victory…” But we still need to take it. “He always leads us in triumph…” But we do the walking. 

Without trials there would be no testimonies, and there is no such thing as victory without opposition. But that’s no big deal because we were made to be like God and He’s the ultimate champion. The Word says, “those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” 

  

But reigning takes training, and you can’t do it if you’re always complaining!

You will have to train your mind to think like a winner, not a whiner. 

Because when you magnify all the problems around, you feel so much smaller.

 But when you acknowledge the Almighty within it’s like you suddenly get taller!
 
So don’t dis and act like God’s not in this! 

When you express your displeasure and disapproval you disrespect and disbelieve your Lord and Father. 

Complaining is the disease of the discouraged, disappointed and disabled. 

 So it’s time to END DIS! 

(And it seems that the Lord would say, “Don’t dis Me! The only kind of dis I want out of you is discipline and it’s not up for discussion." )
“Yeah, but if I don’t dis what am I going to do?” 
How about change your "D" for an "E"? Be enabled, encouraged and edified! Engage in some enthusiasm and excitement. Entice excellence and enrich your environment.

Here are some good en- words. I encourage you to use these to make your own good e-sayings. Engraft them into your mind and be empowered all day. And please post your e-comments for others to enjoy!

Energize, encounter, encourage, enforce, engraft, enhance, enjoy, enlarge, enlist, enliven, en route, enlarge, enterprise, entertain, entice, entire, envelope, envision, envoy, enwind, enwrap. Etc…

Now you….

"Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail.)"

Psalm 55:22 Amplified

"Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully."

1 Peter 5:7 Amplified

"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.

But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses." 

Mark 11:25-26

“Father God, as an act of my free will, I choose to forgive _________ for any offense, intended or negligent. I release them from any obligation to me in this matter and turn them over to You. I am free from any offense, unforgiveness, strife, or bitterness with ____________ from now on. From this point forward I refuse to recall, rehearse, or remember anything to do with this incident. Thank You for setting me free from offense. In the name of Jesus, amen.”

If you'd like to have your name included in the random drawing, leave me a comment and your e-mail address. (Click "comments" below. A window will pop up with a place to enter comments at the bottom.). Leave spaces between your name and the @ symbol, or type out the word "at" to avoid being picked up by those web spider things that steal e-mail addresses and add them to junk mail lists. Or something like that.

photo credits: aturkus  and hyperscholar

This was oft-heard medical advice when I was a kid, for everything from splinters in the finger to popcorn kernels stuck between tooth and gum. As a child, I wondered what it meant, besides my mother abandoning hope of rummaging a nearly invisible speck of wood from my hand with a needle while I wailed in hyper-sensitive terror.

To allow something to "fester" means you allow it to "suppurate," or fill with pus (there's your new word for the day). Pus is the by-product of an inflamed, possibly infected, bodily injury. In theory, if allowed to fester, the splinter would so aggravate the surrounding flesh, the body would produce pus - a nasty, yellowish-white goo - to force the offending object from the body. Yeah, gross.

Hey, our bodies are smart enough to work to get rid of an offense. Perhaps we should take a clue!

Becoming "offended" (please review yesterday's list of offense synonyms so you don't mistake an offense for something else, like hurt feelings, or righteous indignation) by someone's words, actions, opinions or choices is like ramming a nice, thick splinter right up underneath your fingernail.

As you ruminate on that offense - the unkind word from a spouse, the bill passed by the Senate committee, the foolish mistake of a child that costs you something valuable - and rehearse and rehash the incident to friends and family, you get a buildup of spiritual pus, an oozing, leaky flow of negative words and emotions that grows until the thing is sore and swollen and miserable. Injuries that swell and became hot, red and infected used to be called "proud flesh." Maybe they still should be. It's your pride that takes up the cause of an offense and clings to it. Just pride.
In pain (and wanting to justify your offense), you point out your boo-boo to anyone who will hold still long enough to look. You seek opportunities to discuss the source of your "owie," and then peel back the Band-aid of polite behavior to reveal the damage you've incurred. Naturally, you gain attention and sympathy from this, and that makes you a bit reluctant to let the thing heal. (Be honest, we all like a little sympathy and attention from time to time!)

An open, pus-filled sore is a breeding ground for all sorts of loathesome creatures, from staph infections to opportunistic fungi and parasites. Things you DO NOT WANT in your body. Leaving an offense untreated and waiting for it to clear up on its own, is the equivalent of rolling your wounded self around in the cat's litter box. You are going to end up with a bigger problem than a splinter. You may end up losing a leg. Or your life.  No nasty comment, no political agenda, no economic trouble, no misunderstanding, no personal opinion, is worth that kind of cost.

Tomorrow, we'll examine the early symptoms of offense, because the best way to deal with it is to rip those splinters out right away, no matter how bad it hurts at the moment! And we'll address what to do if you have some of those pus-filled abscesses in your life that need to be taken care of. If you aren't already a subscriber or a follower, sign up so you don't miss a post. Get the cure, so you can get over it! Fortunately, if you are willing to submit to the treatment, offense is treatable.

If you want to get this information all in one place at one time, it's in my book The Judas Trap available at Amazon.com. I'm giving away a free copy this week. (It's excellent preparation for the holidays... all that time with in-laws and family members provides plenty of opportunities to get offended.)

If you'd like to have your name included in the random drawing, leave me a comment and your e-mail address. (Click "comments" below. A window will pop up with a place to enter comments at the bottom.). Leave spaces between your name and the @ symbol, or type out the word "at" to avoid being picked up by those web spider things that steal e-mail addresses and add them to junk mail lists. Or something like that.

It's a hypothetical question, of course. No one in his or her right mind would LICK a germ-filled petri dish.We've all become hyper-conscious of viruses and bacteria in the wake of the H1N1 influenza outbreak. Suddenly, it's popular to wash your hands again! And it finally occurred to someone, somewhere, that grocery cart handles are potentially nasty! DUH! Of course, the little Clorox wipe-dispensers posted in store entrances are usually empty... But that's not what I want to write about.

Our nation is snared in the grip of an ailment far deadlier than any physical illness. I won't presume to say it's the result of the last election, or the economic downturn, or the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, or who was  named the latest judge on American Idol. This disease has infected humanity since the beginning of time. Pretty much everyone gets it at least once, and some folks never quite get over it. Even worse, some people become carriers, spreading the infection far and wide with their words and actions.

What's it called? OFFENSE. It's not a word we hear very often, but when you start looking at the synonyms, you realize offense and its victims are everywhere! According to Roget's Thesaurus, being offended can be described as being, feeling, or perceiving that you are, or have been:

• Wronged (an act of injustice has occurred)
• Displeased (disapproval of something or someone)
• Upset (emotionally agitated, or disturbed)
• Vexed (angry, irritated, or distressed)
• Provoked (annoyed, bothered, harassed)
• Indignant (exasperated, disgusted, fed up)
• Wounded (hurt feelings)
• Insulted
• “Rubbed the wrong way”
• Attacked
• Mistreated
• Resentful

The Merriam-Webster dictionary's definition of offense is “something that outrages the senses.” When you
feel outraged, displeased, wounded, indignant, or “rubbed the wrong way,” you've contracted a case of offense. Left untreated, it might kill you. Or at least make you miserable for the rest of your life. Like any nasty bug, offense weakens every bodily system, from your immune response to your ability to make rational decisions. I'm not joking when I say it's deadly.

Here's the test: go back over those words above, one at a time. Now, be painfully honest with yourself. Do any of them apply to you? Are you outraged by something taking place in your home, school, or community? Are you resentful that the Democrats won the last election, in spite of your vote? Does the current economic situation leave you feeling indignant, or even wronged? Are you upset over the cultural changes you see taking place in the world around you? Displeased with the choices a family member is making? Wounded by something a friend said or did?  Mistreated by your spouse?

If you can apply any of those words to yourself, you're infected.





I'll be posting instructions all week about recognizing symptoms, obtaining treatment, and preventing future infections. If you aren't already a subscriber or a follower, sign up so you don't miss a post. Get the cure, so you can get over it! Fortunately, if you are willing to submit to the treatment, offense is treatable.

If you want to get this information all in one place at one time, it's in my book The Judas Trap, available at Amazon.com. I'm giving away a free copy this week. (It's excellent preparation for the holidays... all that time with in-laws and family members provides plenty of opportunities to get offended.)

If you'd like to have your name included in the random drawing, leave me a comment and your e-mail address. (Click "comments" below. A window will pop up with a place to enter comments at the bottom.). Leave spaces between your name and the @ symbol, or type out the word "at" to avoid being picked up by those web spider things that steal e-mail addresses and add them to junk mail lists. Or something like that.