If you’ve never struggled with your mental health, it can be hard to understand what it feels like to have your mind and body hijacked by the crushing weights of anxiety, depression, or other debilitating mental illnesses; I assure you, as someone that has walked this trying road, there is more to these terrifying experiences than a lack of a proper understanding of God’s Word. 

God’s Word is an amazing tool that does help us all find healing in our lives. Nonetheless, many times when we are experiencing clinical forms of mental distress, we also need the help of our community and professionals to find balance in our bodies again. Don't be afraid to get help.

Understanding the physical connections between our bodies and minds helps to free us of the shame and guilt that holds us back from seeking healing through a holistic approach. God uses many ways for us to find peace not only through our connection with his Holy Word and prayer, however also through seeking health for our bodies, mind and spirit that promotes our physical and mental well-being because health and wellness will always work hand in hand.

Prioritization plays a crucial role in maintaining physical and mental health. By prioritizing activities like exercise, healthy eating, and self-care, we can improve our overall well-being.

Psalms 119:15

“I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.”

2 Timothy 1:7

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

The Waiting Room is The Start of Healing. 

Healing from hurt, anger, bitterness, resentment, loneliness, trauma, distress, illness, torment, jealousy, insanity, and/or internal wounds. 

Healing is a type of cure or curing, it is the act of getting well or mending, is also the act or process of regaining health. Jeremiah 30:17 says, for I will restore health unto thee and I will heal thee of thy wounds sayeth the Lord because they called the an outcast saying this is Zion whom no man seeketh after.

When our bodies are ill it will cause us to feel restless. We may produce physical symptoms of illness. But healing begins to take place in the Father's waiting room where He provides peace and healing for our souls. Sometimes we don't always understand the emotions and thoughts that we often internalize but one thing we can know and understand is that we can always trust God and that His hand is in everything. 

In order to find peace and rest it's important that we know this even when we cannot understand, but we can choose to have faith and trust in Him. Wound healing takes time and occurs in stages. This is not meant to be easy or painless. He knows that.

 Allow Jesus to open our wounds and heal us of our natural and spiritual diseases.

 Matthew 4:23 says, And Jesus went about all Galilee teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. 

Jesus never did anything that He did not see His Father do. Jesus cured disease and he wants you to know that he wants a personal and intimate relationship with you. He wants us to have the same with His Father. The waiting room is a place of healing and it's His demonstration of His love and care for us

-Leslie Marks, MSN, FNP-BC

May Thoughts

Managing Mayhem: The month of May, may have introduced your life to all kinds of chaos. The world is experiencing drastic changes. Life today maybe drastically different from anything you've experienced. Your emotions could be constantly causing ask kinds of negative thoughts and producing mad feelings. 

Don't lose heart. All is not lost. Instead of allowing Thoughts to ruminate and anxiety to take over, Stop, take a deep breath and remember the GOD you serve Specializes in Chaos Control. The beginning of the Bible starts with a world in total chaos but ends in Perfect Peace. HE is a Master over ever Disaster.  

May you experience HIS Management over Mayhem during this May.

- Shendoria Middlebrooks , BSEd

Isaiah 26:3King James Version

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

God’s Over Our Life

God has blessed Job Reddick with such a power declaration in his song “No Fear”

“I got enemies at every side
It ain't lookin' good, I ain't gonna lie
Arrows flyin', devil's tryin'
To make me think I'm goin' down this time
You might think that I'd be afraid
Runnin' scared with a shaken faith
But the God I know says it ain't over
The God I know's gonna make a way

Yeah, though I walk through the valley
I will have

NoLooking at the definitions listed above, I would think there would be distinct words to separate such different meanings. Perhaps they are more similar than I realize. When I am honoring Christ, displaying fear, or reverence, of his Headship and Lordship in my life, perhaps that fear of tomorrow is captured in my reverence. That fear is present, however it’s not active in my life, when I regard Christ to be my source of life. When we are actively worshiping Christ, our minds are no longer worried about tomorrow or what might come, we are consumed in a reverence of Christ; that whatever comes, it is well with my soul, because it is well with Christ’s Lordship. fear (no fear)
The mighty power of Jesus is fighting for me here
No fear when I'm walkin' through the fire
'Cause I know who's walkin' me through
No fear when the floodwaters rise
If I got my eyes on You”

As a noun, fear is: · an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat: · a feeling of anxiety concerning the outcome of something or the safety and well-being of someone: · the likelihood of something unwelcome happening: · a mixed feeling of dread and reverence: "the love and fear of God" As a verb, fear outs on a different characteristic: 

• to be afraid of (someone or something) as likely to be dangerous, painful, or threatening:
• feel anxiety or apprehension on behalf of:
• avoid or put off doing something because one is afraid: apprehensive
• used to express regret or apology
• regard (God) with reverence and awe:

Fear is a word that is multifaceted in its definition. We can demonstrate fear of tomorrow just by carrying anxiety that things will not go as we hoped for or apprehension just to start something. We can also display fear as a form or reverence and respect. When we are speechless and in awe of the Lord’s goodness, we express high regard of His Headship over our lives, the lives of families, the world and the universe. (Can I interject here that God is the God of the universe and He is the Creator of all things. We are not worshipping the universe or declaring its headship, God alone is the worthy source of our praise). 

Looking at the definitions listed above, I would think there would be distinct words to separate such different meanings. Perhaps they are more similar than I realize. When I am honoring Christ, displaying fear, or reverence, of his Headship and Lordship in my life, perhaps that fear of tomorrow is captured in my reverence. That fear is present, however it’s not active in my life, when I regard Christ to be my source of life. When we are actively worshiping Christ, our minds are no longer worried about tomorrow or what might come, we are consumed in a reverence of Christ; that whatever comes, it is well with my soul, because it is well with Christ’s Lordship. 

Life can be so heavy and hard; it can consume our every thought and veer us down a path away from Christ. If we can hold onto His hand, even when we’re broken and shattered, He will guide us back to Him and we will find peace and rest.

Psalm 23 “The lord is my shepard (That’s a relationship) I shall not want (That’s supply) He maketh me to lie down in green pastures (That’s rest) He leadeth me beside the still waters (That’s refreshment) He restoreth my soul (That’s healing) He leadeth me in paths of righteousness (That’s guidance) For his name sake (That’s purpose) Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death (That’s testing) I will fear no evil (That’s protection) For thou art with me (That’s faithfulness) Thy rod and thy staff shall comfort me (That’s discipline) Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies (That’s hope) Thou anointest mine head with oil (That’s consecration) My cup runneth over (That’s abundance) Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life (That’s blessing) And I will dwell in the house of the lord (That’s security) Forever” (That’s eternity)

This was a powerful sermon that I heard and had to share with you. God loves us! Let’s hold onto His Headship in our lives and not fear what is to come. Let us remember that our relationship with Christ is more valuable than any other possession that we could have in this life.

In His Love, 

Patricia 

Patricia Velasquez, PTA, BS, CWCA, CLT  

 

What Is Prayer? 

 Prayer is communication between us and the Lord. Prayer is a two-way conversation and we cheapen it if all we do is talk. The best conversations that we will ever have are back and forth conversations. Make sure that you’re allowing yourself to listen to God. There is so much that the Lord desires to tell you. Let’s not only be good talkers, but also good listeners.

"It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without heart." "Whether we realize it or not, prayer is the encounter of God's thirst with ours. God thirsted that we may thirst for him." "Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of Containing God's gift of himself."

 Encouraging Prayer Quotes

"Saints of God need to become more separated in the matter of prayer, and fasting adds intensity and power to prayer. 

The Rewards of Fasting.

 -Rev. B.R. Hicks 

"Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference." 

- Max Lucado

"Prayer lays hold of God's plan and becomes the link between his will and its accomplishment on earth. Amazing things happen, and we are given the privilege of being the channels of the Holy Spirit's prayer." 

- Elisabeth Elliot

 PRAYER IS …“Difficult times are pregnant with glory moments just waiting to be birthed in the lives of those willing to labor through the pain.”

-Sharon Jaynes

"Prayer is to surrender to God's will, not yours."

 - Regina Marks

"To pray is to enter the treasure-house of God and to gather riches out of an inexhaustible storehouse. "

- Charles Spurgeon