Tips to Feel B.E.T.T.E.R.

How to Feel Better

 

 

Ever had one of those days (or years) when you just can't seem to pick yourself up out of the "discouraging dumps". . .you start to lose interest in the normal things that you once enjoyed.  ??    Well not long ago my daughter was telling me how she felt so discouraged and just wanted me to help her "Feel Better."  "Please tell me what to do, Mom!  I don't like feeling this way."   When your child is in need of help and you don't have a clue how to help them, take the request to the Lord.  After all, He is their Heavenly Father and loves them more than you ever could.   So that's what I did.  I quickly whispered, "Father help me to help HER know how to feel better."

Almost immediately an acrostic began to come to my mind, so I started jotting it down.

B- Busy.   Get busy.  Most of us find when we have nothing to do that's when the enemy comes in to steal our joy, tempt us to do wrong. Simply put:  "Idleness is the Devil's workshop."

E- Exercise.   I know this may seem silly.  But really it's not.  When we exercise our bodies, the special little chemicals in our brains called Endorphines are released, and they are our bodies' natural way to help us feel GOOD emotionally.

T-Think Positive.  Guard your thoughts.  Being idle can tempt us to think negatively, if we're not careful.  Whatsoever things are of GOOD REPORT, think on These Things. 

T-Treat others as you want to be treated.    Sometimes when I'm burdened or discouraged, I find my thoughts to lean towards the negative spectrum...causing ME to feel negatively about everything AND EVERYONE around me.  If I think negatively about others (or even myself) then I am apt to TREAT others (or even myself) unkindly.

E-Eat right.   I know...this seems obvious. . but think about it.  When we're discouraged, we're apt to either STOP eating all together, or eat TOO much---and it's likely that we're eating too much of junk. . . causing a vitamin and mineral deficiency...which has a direct affect on our brains (our thoughts, and subsequently our bodies ~ which affects our relationships.)  It's like a snowball affect. 

R-Rest & Relax.   Discouragement tends to keep us awake at night, which in turn steals our bodies' time to regroup, refresh, fight germs, and replenish the neurotransmitters called serotonin....those have a direct affect on our thoughts and impact whether we will feel "good" or "bad."     Relax....Rest in the LORD..He has control of every aspect of our lives.  This should cause us to breathe a sigh of Relief!   

It amazed me to see just how QUICKLY the LORD gave me a response to share with  my daughter.  I got tickled as I began writing the letters and acrostic down as He was guiding my thoughts.  I told her that if you notice, these tips are even in PERFECT ORDER.  If we are NOT BUSY then it snowballs downhill from there.  God is so good.  He says, "Before you call, I will answer, and while you are still speaking, I will hear."  That means even before I came to Him with this problem, needing an answer, He already had the answer...and while I was still speaking, He took the time to listen to me....then gave me the solution to share with her. . and NOW I'm sharing this with you.

Simple tips...but I hope that you will always remember when you're feeling discouraged, these are some practical tips to putting you on track to Feeling B.E.T.T.E.R.  

Feel free to pass this little "Rx" ( prescription) along to anyone you know that may need some encouragement.  :)

Hope you all have a great week!

Thank You, LORD, for answering me so quickly when I presented this problem to You.  I am still tickled at how quickly You responded by giving me these thoughts to share.  I pray that You will receive glory for all that is done this week in our lives. . .may we always look to YOU to help us.   

In Jesus' Name, Amen. 

Flat Lined Faith

And Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief: for truly I say to you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, 'Remove hence to yonder place;' and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you."  Matthew 17:20

 

Are you facing any obstacle that seems impossible to overcome?  Has this caused you to feel "negative" and view life through the eyes of a pessimist? 

See no evil; See nothing BUT evil; Half-way-see-no-evil!

 

Jesus told his disciples to SPEAK to "their mountain" even with faith the size of a tiny mustard seed.   What words are being uttered from your mouth today?  "This is impossible."  "I can't do this."  "This is totally unfair."  "This makes absolutely no sense."  Negative thoughts that are "uttered into the air" are pollutants, aren't they?   Of course they are!  They not only make living difficult for others around us, but the negativity also causes our faith to flat line...just like the negative (-) sign is a small "flat line." 

Look at Mark 16:3 "And they SAID among themselves, 'Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?'."   They were anticipating a potentially REAL problem.  Heading out to the tomb, they anticipated the huge stone being there and them not being able to move it.  How many of us borrow trouble?  And when we borrow trouble, we not only get trouble, we are charged lots of interest in the form of stomach ulcers, lost sleep, family problems, anxious spirits, and unconfessed sin in our hearts from a lack of faith in God. 

Read the very next verse (Mark 16:4) "And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great."  So, once they were within "viewing distance" from the tomb, they realized the problem was NO longer a problem...it had been rolled away. 

Are you looking into the foreseeable future and anticipating a huge obstacle?  I have been too.  But, let's not question the size of the problem, okay?  We can at least admit that there's a "P.P.O." ~ "Potentially Problematic Obstacle," but still have faith that God is already aware of and has already remedied the problem.  All we have to do is keep on walking in that direction. 

Let's look up to the LORD, and view this from the perspective of the cross.  The LORD overcame death and our sin just so we can face any problem in life, through the power of His shed blood on Calvary.   Is there anything that is impossible for our God?  No, there is nothing that He can not and has not already overcome. 

Isn't it special that when we look to the LORD and the cross on Calvary, we can now see a positive sign? +
No more flat lined faith!!! :)

Number 13:30 gives us a wonderful example of positive faith! "And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, 'Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it'." 

There's a mountain that God wants you and I to overcome this very day...this very hour.  It could be a matter of obedience to a calling, or a need to overcome a particular stronghold...either way, let us go UP (and that's a positive thing to do) AT ONCE, and possess it!  He's already given it to us....all we have to do is claim this particular victory as ours and then go UP at once and possess it!  We are WELL able to overcome it. . .

but not by OUR might...but by HIS Spirit!  (Zech. 4:6)

Infuse the air around you with positive faith and not "flat lined faith."   Having trouble finding something positive to say?   Psalm 34:1  "I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth."   Commit that verse to memory and quote it, out loud, over and over, believing that HIS Praise shall be in your mouth---and that takes the pressure off in case you're having trouble finding the right "praise words" to speak.  He'll give you the words to praise Him and speak to your mountains in faith! :)

What a gift!  God will give you the praise and faith
to speak to those mountains!
Whatcha waitin' for?  Time to start talkin'! :)

What's that I hear?  
The sound from the rhythm of a heart beating once again!   

Oh Father, we ask for You to place Your praise on our lips and keep our mouths full of Your praise, continually.  THANK YOU for giving us the faith to speak to these "mountains"...believing that when we arrive, we'll find the obstacle already removed!! 

In Jesus' Name, Amen!

H.E.L.P.

Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry for help come to you. 

Psalm 102:1  (NIV)

The King James Version of Psalm 102: 1 is "Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee."  But I wanted to use the NIV because of one word:  "help."

Have you ever been in a situation where you were completely at the end of yourself?  Maybe your heart was broken and your spirit was crushed.  (Psalm 34:18)   You knew you needed to pray, but actually were unable to find any words to express your lament.  The only word you could cry out was "HELP!"  That's a desperate place to be.  Well, maybe it will 'help' to know that I've been there.  And if we're all  honest, we've probably all been there at some point in our lives. 

One word...HELP.   A cry out for intervention, deliverance, guidance, strength.  You name it, "Help" is desperation in one word. 

Psalm 102:17 says, "He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer." (KJV)  The word "regard" means "respond to."   We all know of His promise to "hear us when we call."  How many people "hear us" whenever we unload our burdens to them?   Certainly anyone we talk to "hears us."  But how many of those same people actually RESPOND---and DO SOMETHING about it??   Well, here we have God's promise to respond to the prayer of the destitute.  

Destitute in Hebrew is "arar" which means "naked, poor."  Completely stripped down to nothing, we bare ourselves before the King---with nothing to hide. 'This is where I am..I'm in a desperate situation!" 

The first step to getting help is to recognize you have a problem and need help, right?  Notice whenever God dealt with His children He always asked them a question.  Several times that question was:  "Where are you??"   "Adam where art thou?"  God knew exactly where Adam was.   He wanted ADAM to know where ADAM was.   Adam had to recognize "Uh oh, I'm in trouble...and this is where I am....I blew it."   When Cain slew Abel, God asked Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?"   God knew where Abel was..but He wanted CAIN to admit where Abel was..."I murdered Abel."  

In order to have God respond to our cries for help, we need to remember a few things:

H.E.L.P.  --  Humble ourselves.  ( I can think of nothing less humbling than to be stripped down naked before my God, can you??)  But remember, that's the first step to GETTING HELP...recognizing where you are...admitting it..removing all masks and baring all before the Throne of Grace.  I Peter 5:6 says, Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time..."  

Then the next step is to Expect God to hear us.   How many times have you and I gone before the Throne of Grace with an attitude of "Oh well, I wonder if He even listened??"  (bad attitude, I know..but let me be honest...I've been there.)  One of my favorite promises of God is Micah 7:7--"Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me." (KJV)  Take that one to the Bank of Faith and cash it in!   Cha-Ching! 

Not only should we expect God to have his "listening ears on," but we also should have our listenin' ears on too!   Listen to His voice.  Matthew 17:5 clearly states God the Father's desire for us:  "...This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him."  In our desperate cries for help, we need to take time to be still and listen for His voice.  Surely He will tell us something in order to guide us through our moment of need!  

The last part is particularly special to my heart tonight.  Praise Him in advance.  The Lord showed me this weekend, in the midst of a "storm," when the "rug was pulled out from under me" and I had no idea what to do.  I reached for my Bible Promise "Bread Box" and He gave me these two scriptures:  Hebrews 10:36 "For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise."   "The Will of God??"  What IS His will for me in this??  Hello?   I Thess. 5:16-18 "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."  Aaahhh!  I get it now!   For this very moment, we are to Praise Him. Psalm 34:1 "I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth."  Even if you can't muster up the "cheery" spirit to praise Him,  it's okay, because David says, "HIS Praise will be in my mouth."  The Holy Spirit will produce the praise from within you by putting a song in your heart.  

This is the best way I can think of to ask for HELP.    No need to dial 911 in this situation.   :)   Don't forget to praise Him, continue to pray and have a joyful spirit (by staying in His presence)---because it seems to me He is saying that "after you have done this, you will receive the promise."  He will announce to you something specifically for YOU and your situation.  H.E.L.P. is on the way!

Father, Thank You for my times of distress.  Yes..I praise You for my need for Your Help.  For You have revealed to me a strategy for getting a response from YOU.  May You uplift all my sisters and brothers who are in dire need of Your help as well.  Turn Your face to us, for we humbly bow before You now, baring all to You---our hearts are in desperate need of just a glance from You.  In Jesus' Name we pray..Amen.  

You are what You Think

"Now the just shall live by faith:  but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him."  Hebrews 10: 38

We're all familiar with the phrase, "You are what you eat."  Recently, I began to wonder if it would be better to say "you are what you think."  Don't you think there is some truth to that statement?

You can do an experiment to test this "theory."  Next time you begin to feel "down and out," frustrated, discouraged, confused, down-right grouchy, STOP and think. . . and while you're thinking, ask yourself, 'What Am I thinking anyway?"  I can almost gair-own-tee (guarantee) that your thoughts have become negative.   "This is never going to work out."  "We'll never see the light of day."   "This house is a disaster."  "Why can't they pick up their own clothes?!"  "That pile of laundry just keeps GROWING."  "I can't do anything right!"   "These kids will never learn."  Oh my--those are to name just a few.  

We are surrounded by negativity.  The atmosphere has become bogged down with negativity.  No wonder we're discouraged and walking without faith!   Faith can barely breathe when stifled by negative thoughts.

How to Fix a Fearful Heart

Okay....it's Saturday when I'm writing this...and to be awaken to the news of yet another powerful earthquake that struck, with a possible tsunami to follow just made my heart sink.  *sigh*   More Bad News.   

I know the Lord is reminding us that He is the One in control, and I really believe He's trying to get our attention.   He's coming soon.  No doubt.   The news of His arrival being announced by the blast of the trumpet SHOULD BE a welcome relief for God's children.   But honestly, how do you feel when you think of the rapture taking place?  Is this honestly something you are looking forward to?  
Does this give your heart a sense of peace and longing for His return ~OR~ do you feel a sense of impending D O O M???

I guess it all depends on the condition of our heart..and whether or not we are truly saved.   How's our relationship with Him been going lately??    Are we busy about the Master's Business, building His kingdom ~OR~ are we busy about our OWN business by building up a beautiful sand castle that is about to be washed away by an enormous tsunami!?!?  

How to "Think Straight" Today

Proverbs 16:3 says, "Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established."  Who doesn't need help "thinking straight" these days?  Could it be that simple?  Wake up to a new day, and say, "Here I am Lord...I've got so much to do today...so much is expected of me, by so many people.   I can not do this without some outside help!  Instead of taking it upon myself to do, I hereby ROLL all of this onto YOUR shoulders!  Now, please honor Your Word--You promised if I roll my works onto You, that You will in turn HELP ME THINK STRAIGHT."   

No matter what you've got "on your plate" for today---rejoice!  The Bible teaches us to "rejoice in everything."    Since He has offered His limitless help, put your HOPE in God.  Then what?  
W A I T patiently for Him.  Be still, and listen.  If you yield to the still small voice of His dear Holy Spirit, He will then orchestrate your thoughts in such a way that by evening's tide, you'll be amazed at the beautiful concerto your day turned out to be!  

Proverbs 16:3~~What a promise!  This is a promise we can take to the "Bank of Faith" and cash it in, immediately ready for withdrawal! Cha-ching!  

So remember:      Rejoicing in Everything 
                         +  Hoping in God = 
                            V I C T O R Y in Jesus!