Tina Yeager's Blog, page 2

Believing the Invisible

“’I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May your word to me be fulfilled.’ … and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  In a loud voice she exclaimed: ‘… Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!’” (Luke 1:38.41-44).

I once heard a call to purpose. Not an audible voice or angelic appearance, but an urgent message which entered my thoughts and differed from anything my mind would conceive on its own.

The calling manifested itself without proof. I received no tangible assurances of success. In the moment, however, I felt sure the Lord had declared his destiny for my life.

As time stretched on, uncertainty daunted me. I often struggled to continue pursuing the call. When insecurity oppressed me, a nudge of encouragement rekindled my hope. Yet the insidious doubts remained ready to ambush me at the next turn.

My work has bourgeoned without any revenue or proven impact. This trying year has brought me once again to the question of futility. Am I carrying a promise? Or have I traveled this far to face an empty future?

Like every year, 2020 closes with the Christmas season. More than ever before, the message of advent and Messianic deliverance resonate with our current needs. Our empty hands reach in desperation for hope. No worldly claim offers what this ultimate story of promise delivers.

Mary’s angelic declaration of purpose left her without tangible proof. She suffered social rejection and faced the prospect of death by stoning. Her fiancé’s mercy nudged her back onto the promised path. She and Joseph still had a long, daunting journey ahead.

Yet, despite the hopeless circumstances, Mary showed no sign of doubting her call. She carried the Lord’s promise through opposition, homelessness, and darkness. The Lord’s servant persevered to birth hope incarnate into the world.

“Blessed is she who believes … “

My greatest wish this Christmas is to abandon my curse and receive his promise. I want to become filled with hope and bear the Lord’s word within me. May I persevere on the journey and believe like Mary.

I wonder if we all experience doubt about our purpose at times. Do you have a calling that remains unseen? What is your wish this Christmas? How might you commit to the path and believe in the invisible promise?

Be Encouraged,

Tina

A Sacrifice of Praise

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 

Hebrews 13:15, NIV

Holidays insist upon celebrations, thankful hearts, and cheer. Yet this challenging year has stripped our world of the usual mood. More of us grieve and suffer in isolation than ever before. Countless hearts slump under the weight of loss. Negative energy has proven more contagious than any virus. Fear and hopelessness have usurped joy’s rightful place in this season.

Beaming in celebration gets tough when the stars themselves have grown dim.

Many who tried to lift up our communities these past months have collapsed in fatigue. Complained they’ve got nothing left to share. The pain and struggle have pressed in around them and finally broken through to dampen their spirits.

This year isn’t the first horrific time upon the earth, you see. Troubles cause us to forget past survival and future promises. Ancient Hebrews trekked through centuries of slavery, decades of desert wandering, and several eras of foreign oppression. Near history tells of world wars, genocides, and various cyber and viral terrors. In fact, our nation’s pilgrim settlers suffered tremendous death rates and nearly lost hope of survival.

The darkness often attempts to convince light-bearers of its sovereignty. Especially in such times as these.

One candle reveals this as a lie. Light dispels darkness wider and larger than the light appears to occupy itself. And light-bearers merely host and represent the power they hold. We do not produce the fire from within us, but we must choose to carry the glow imparted to us into the cold abyss where beaming feels so entirely absent.

Gratitude might not come as our first response to this year’s closing seasons. Rather than an easy offering, the celebration and rejoicing might feel more like a sacrifice.
At least at first.

For praise draws us closer to God’s face, where His breath of Life will revive our heart-sparks. As we lift our souls to the Light Himself and thank Him for Who He is, our fires will brighten. And when more of us raise our soul-candles in praise, hope will beam across the gloom-sickened world.

Whether the stars dim or the world remains dark, we can choose to offer thanks this holiday. How will you light your tables with hope? Bring a glimmer of praise to your community? Share your ideas and feedback in the comments so we can increase our brilliance together!

Would you like something extra to bring you joy? Enter my Thanksgiving Warrior Giveaway at https://kingsumo.com/g/lolnib/thanksgiving-warrior-giveaway

Have a blessed Thanksgiving, my friends!

Fragrant Spirit

“For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.”

2 Corinthians 2:15

I struggled to breathe in the soupy tropical atmosphere. Pollen and dust hung in the steamy air as a perpetual haze which obfuscated our view of the sky. I longed to enjoy the outdoors, to inhale the blessings of creation, but met with suffocation instead.

I rejoiced at the call to move northward. The way proved more challenging and took longer than expected. I lingered in the limbo of rental space for a month. In this temporary house, the nauseating fumes of a gas leak drove me from my office space for several weeks. I’d shifted from the inability to exercise to the inability to work.

Securing a permanent home hung in the uncertain, invisible purgatory of lenders’ judgments and institutional bureaucracies throughout the transition. Late in the day, less than two days before we hoped to sign on a house, approval burst in like brilliant rays of hope.

We moved three shifts of storage units and moving vehicles into our bright new living place. While we’ve managed to unpack much of our things into closets and cupboards, this increased space cannot contain our overflow of gratitude. I now inhale deeply of crisp autumn air as I walk the steep neighborhood curves and forested park trails. The lake sparkles in the unfiltered sunlight. Even when the sun settles low at the brink of night, his rays stream with hope’s glory into my soul.

Oh, how grateful I am to breathe and bask in praise here in our new space!

Inhaling this fresh experience reminds me of my responsibility to serve those whose souls languish in this suffocating world. I am called to breathe in my Lord’s presence and then to become his presence to others. My life, my attitude, all that I say and do can add to the worldly haze for those who suffer or oxygenate their airspace with Christlikeness. Every moment I have this choice to exude the fragrant and fresh breath of Jesus … or not. My heart can overflow with rays of hope to brighten the world … or not.

I wonder how well the radiance and aroma of my Father’s glory blesses the world through me.

May my steps, uphill or downhill, lead others to follow him. May my way, however challenged and long, pave a path for others to persevere. May my heart, no matter how dark the hour of the day, shine rays of his hope into the world.

Flourishing in The Season You’re In

by Kristyn Schott

How are you feeling about the season you’re currently in? Are you thriving or barely surviving? Are you constantly wishing for a different season, to get out of the one you find yourself in?

You see, I think we often spend the season we’re in wishing to be in another one. The problem becomes when we spend our lives constantly wishing they were different, wishing these moments didn’t exist, we forget to actually live our life.

But you were not created to live like that! You were created to flourish – regardless of your situation or season.

Ephesians 2:10: “For we are God’s handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Philippians 1:6: “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

These verses don’t say that God created us to do good works as long as we’re in a good season; or that God works all things out for our good as long as our season is good; or even that God will only continue to work in us as long as we stay in a good season.

Why? Because God isn’t looking at our season, he’s looking at us in it, knowing how He created us to be and do. God created us to flourish in every single season we go through, whether or not we think it is “flourishing”.

We often tend to think of “flourishing seasons” as good ones, where we seem to have what we want and need, and everything is smooth sailing. But the definition of flourish is “to grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way”. Growth can happen even in the valley, even in the low times. The season that you are in is for God to purposely grow you in some area(s) of life. Maybe it’s patience in the waiting. Forgiveness in the hurting. Faith to let go and let God. Whatever it is—wherever you are right now—you have the ability to flourish, grow and develop as God calls you.

The second part of the definition is “especially as the result of a particularly favorable environment”. However, favorable does not always mean the “good, happy, nothing wrong” environment that we, as humans, tend to think of. Favorable means “to the advantage of someone or something” or “beneficial”.  The season you are in, even if it feels hard or unbearably bad, is set up to give you the advantage to grow in a certain way. I know that can be hard to understand at times, especially when we see everyone around us accomplishing things, getting things we want, thriving, hitting milestones we desire, etc. It can become so easy to dislike the life you are living currently and wish for a future life or a different season.

But I realized that if I solely focus on what I wished I had; I could not flourish where I am right now. And where I am (and you are) right now is exactly the season God has for me (for you). I am in a purposeful season, and so are you! Every season that we go through has a purpose.

Think of even when farmers plant their crops, there is a season of no blooming, no harvest, etc. That’s because every season cannot be that way or there would never be any time for growth. No time for weeding back the dead spots so that new crops can flourish. Jesus even says in John 15, “while every branch that does bear fruit he [God] prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” This season may feel like you’re being pruned, but it’s not a punishment, it’s a preparation. Preparing you to bear even more fruit in the seasons to come.

See, we were created to flourish. It’s in our DNA; it’s our identity. And we aren’t defined by our season. Our identity isn’t found in where we are right now.

Just think, a year isn’t defined simply by one season: fall, winter, spring, or summer. Neither are you defined by the season you’re in, the seasons you’ve been in or the seasons yet to come. Only God gets to define you because He created you. So, this season didn’t create you, but it is revealing who you are in your heart.

And I think in this season, a lot of the dark parts of our hearts are being revealed, and if you’re like me, you don’t like it. But God reminds us that He will give us a new heart and put a new spirit in us; He will remove from us our heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). That gives us the ability and empowers us to flourish in this season. But how can we begin to take action towards that? Here are 3 practical tips for flourishing in the season you’re in:

Don’t Wait “Until”

So often we see people make goals or decide to do something when they reach another season. I’ll just be happy when “x”, I’ll get to that when I “x”, I can start working on this when “x”. Guess what? You can be happy, get to that, and start working on things in this season!

Set yourself goals, look for opportunities, accomplish what you want in the season you’re currently in. Not one yet to come. Because every season is special and holds possibilities. And if you keep waiting “until” you’re going to miss every single season you ever go through.

For example, I am in a season of singleness (and have been for a while). Instead of me wishing for a relationship or for the day when I am married, I am choosing to embrace where I am and find the ways that I am able to grow, flourish, and serve God that I would not be able to when in a relationship or married. Or if I’m still struggling with mental battles from my eating disorder recovery, I’m still deciding to choose joy today, not when those thoughts disappear!

Spend time with God

When we spend our time around people (whether in person or on social media), we often begin to compare ourselves to them. Our season to their season. And comparison is the quickest way to stay dead where you are. Comparison really is the thief of joy. But God is the embodiment of joy, in His presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11).

Jesus even reminds us of this in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” When we compare ourselves to others, we are having our ability to flourish stolen, killed and destroyed. But when we spend time with God and fill our minds with what He says, we find abundant life, regardless of our season.

Spending time with God also reminds us of His promises and builds our faith that He can and will do what He says. It takes faith to flourish in a season that seems anything but; however, it’s in our faith that we find our ability to flourish. Oftentimes, what we’re going through is defined by what we see or feel, and while feelings are 100% valid, they are not the truth. What God says is the truth and He calls us to live by faith, not sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). And when we seek God first in this season, He will provide in the seasons to come (Matthew 6:33).

Remember This Isn’t Your Forever

No season lasts forever. No matter how long or short it seems, the next season will come in its time. You’re definitely allowed to grieve the season you’re in, but don’t let yourself stay in that dark hole that says this will never end. Because that is the lie of the enemy and he is absolutely wrong. Accept where you’re at in life. However, just because you accept it doesn’t mean you have to like it or get complacent in the situation. It just means you have to understand where you are and that you are there for a reason.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 – “there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens” (I highly recommend reading verses 1-14). There is a purpose for the season you’re currently in. God knows what season you need to be in today, so that He can take you into the season He has for you tomorrow. Or in 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, etc. The season you are in is providing everything that you need to flourish and grow right where you are, into right where you are supposed to go.

Last, but not least, stop trying to control everything and trust God. Once you realize that you are not in control—He is—your life will become much simpler. Oftentimes we try to control things and end up feeling much worse in our season because we see how far we are from something. Listen, God has you where you are for a reason, one that you may not understand but that’s the thing, you’re not supposed to. That’s why He is God and you’re not. Pray, seek God, ask for answers. His response may not come immediately but continuing to just live and be in His presence will adjust your mindset to trusting Him and following wherever He may lead.

So instead of wishing for that perfect job, that relationship or marriage, that body, that next event, or that season, live in the moment as you are. Because when you wish for those things, you lose sight of your purpose TODAY and you lose the ability to FLOURISH in the season God has you in. Think of it this way:

A flower doesn’t spend this season wishing for next season and how it’ll look then. Instead, it uses its energy and resources to bloom and grow where it is currently at. Have that same mindset with your life so that you are able to flourish, grow, and discover yourself in the season that you’re in today.

P.S. If you’ve found yourself or are finding yourself in seasons of a bad relationship with food, exercise, or your body, check out my book, More Than Conquerors : a devotional for girls and women who have struggled or are struggling with an eating disorder.

Weathering Grief

We’ve experienced more grief as a nation this year than we ever imagined possible. Many have suffered heartbreaking personal losses which make the world’s darkness unbearable. We long for comfort. A breath of air above the merciless waves of pain. No matter what condolences our neighbors offer in an attempt to rescue us from sorrow, mourners cannot avoid the stormy surges of grief.

The well-loved twenty-third Psalm notes how we walk “through the valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23:4, NKJV).  We cannot avoid, walk around, or skip over the grief. The Psalm goes on to assure us of God’s presence with us during times of darkness and sorrow. We know the Lord empathizes and understands our pain because Jesus expressed in Gethsemane how he felt “exceedingly sorrowful, even to death” (Matthew 26:38, NKJV).

The Lord supports and sustains us in our suffering, but the heartache does not vanish altogether. Though we cannot entirely skip the season of grief, there are a few tips that can help mourners survive the tempest.

Validate your grief. When loss shatters normalcy, feeling normal no longer applies. Many feel rage, numbness, difficulty concentrating, and sensing the deceased person’s presence. Grief tempts you to believe you’ve lost your mind, but your actual loss throbs in your heart.

Recognize others grieve differently. Each storm-stricken heart makes its own attempt to right the careening world. While one appears numb, another family member might be slapped with a rogue tide of anger. Permit different grieving. Allow space when needed. Avoid adding family conflict to the pain.

Postpone big decisions. Amid thrashing wind and waves, the mind cannot see clearly enough to plot a logical course. Wait for mental clarity and peacefulness, at least a few months.

Assign buffers and boundaries. Employ a system or friend to filter communications. Set clear boundaries about conversations, visitation, and needs. Supportive people will appreciate direction. Unsupportive folks are best kept at a distance.

Expect waves, not stages. After the initial shock, grief’s protesting and sorrowful waves can rotate in at any time. Even while recovering. Don’t pressure yourself to “get over” the stages by a certain date. Allow your heart the time it needs.

Permit emotional release, alone and with support. Give yourself personal time to weep and discharge anger. Find pillars and lean. Insightful friends and grief support groups can sustain you through rough waters.

Find a way to honor their memory. Attempts to bury memories deepen the pain and frustrate healing. You needn’t forget your beloved. Grant yourself permission to miss them. Honoring their memory sustains life in the wake of loss.

Allow yourself to look forward. Grief’s tempest won’t always threaten drowning. Bittersweet memories will return like salt-sprayed breezes flushing your senses. Loved ones etch blessings onto the walls of your heart—beauty deserving celebration. Mourn, as the waves come. Yet sail onward, noting the sparkle on the water’s choppy surface. Carry their legacy with you into a life of multiplying shared love and blessings.

Broken, But Not Beyond Repair

Guest post by Dena Yohe

Over ten years ago, my husband and I started a ministry to brokenhearted parents. A mom whose child almost died sent me an email one day: “As a parent, getting the news that your child is gravely (and perhaps mortally) injured is life altering. I had no idea what it meant to be truly terrified. I never even realized that I didn’t know what true fear was. The altered consciousness, the limited focus, the way, hours later, I realized I still couldn’t breathe properly. I’d hurt muscles and scraped my feet but never even processed those things because the part of my heart that lives in my daughter was nearly broken beyond repair.”

My heart went out to her because her words resonated with my own experiences. Yes, part of me lives in my children. Another statement I’d heard that resonated with me was this: “We’re only as happy as our saddest child.”

No wonder I’m a mess. My daughter has struggled with substance abuse, mental illness, and self-harm for many years.

Has your heart almost been broken beyond repair?

Have you been truly terrified?

As I write these words, I nod in affirmation. Maybe you’re nodding, too.

When my heart shattered over my daughter’s destructive choices and struggles, I entered another realm. Fear blanketed my heart. Years later, finding the words to describe my brokenness is still difficult. If you have a troubled child, you know. You’ve been there.

This passage from the Bible brought me comfort:

We are hard pressed, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body (2 Corinthians 4: 8-10 NIV).

Dear mom or dad, we may be mystified and baffled, but we’re not hopeless. We’re not beyond help. When we bring the shattered pieces of our lives to the Lord and lay them at his feet, He can put them together again.

We won’t be the same though.

 Suffering changes us, BUT God transforms the broken.

I like what author and pastor Mark Vroegop said in an interview: “Suffering is hard but hard isn’t necessarily bad. Our pain can bring us strange and unwanted gifts. God has gifted us with our pain.”

He uses pain to shape us more into the likeness of his Son and prepare us for heaven. In divine wisdom and by His mighty power, what appears ruined to us is redeemed.  Vroegop went on to say once we’ve had time to grieve, “It’s time for us to make our pain a platform for worship.” 

How is this possible? Scripture encourages us to focus on the good our suffering can accomplish.

The apostle Paul, who penned 2 Corinthians, understood. He and his companions endured severe trials. Notice the verbs he used in verses 8–10:

Hard pressed. Persecuted. Perplexed. Struck down . . . BUT . . .

Not crushed, not perplexed, not in despair, not abandoned, not destroyed.   

How did they stay strong? They kept an eternal perspective. They acknowledged their suffering was hard, but hard wasn’t necessarily bad. They had confidence this chapter of their lives wasn’t the end of the story.

Paul continued: Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen in temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (v. 16-18).

They knew God had more.

They let their pain become a platform for worship.

The Holy Spirit renewed them day by day and showed them the temporary nature of their suffering. What really mattered was invisible, couldn’t be taken from them, or cease to exist.

Their present reality—their hard—wasn’t the last word. They staked their lives on this truth. 

They were broken, BUT not beyond repair.

The same can be true for us.

Prayer: Dear God, I need Your help. My heart is broken over my child. Sadness crushes me. My pain is all-consuming. Show me how to focus on truth during these hard times. Train my soul to believe hard is not bad…it’s just hard. Real hard. Set my gaze on Jesus and the eternal glory that awaits me. I may be broken, BUT I’m not beyond repair. In His life-altering name. Amen.

Reflection: What can you do today to keep your focus on the eternal instead of on what breaks your heart? 

Dena Yohe is the award-winning author of You Are Not Alone: Hope for Hurting Parents of Troubled Kids (2016) endorsed by Dr. James Dobson, Family Life, and Focus on the Family. Co-founder of Hope for Hurting Parents, blogger, CRU affiliate staff, and former pastor’s wife, she’s the mom of three amazing adults, loves music, reading, and time with her grandchildren.

My Dwelling Place

 

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High

    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty”

(Psalm 91:1, NIV).

Gales whirl in a violent uproar outside my office window. Hail batters the roof like a viral-shaped threat to any who would dare brave the outside world. The tears of heaven’s rain streak through the haze on the outside of my window, leaving a lasting mark on my view.

Today’s storm bears the nature of so many current circumstances that serve to barricade us inside our walls. The structures which shelter us can also close in around us like a trap clamping tighter each day on our minds and souls. The beautiful grays of our walls grow drabber as we stare at them hour by hour. We once believed a home could offer us security and belonging. Sociology has long held that human beings have an innate, core longing for a secure place to dwell. But our recent world shift has revealed how desperately we need something else to fulfill our needs.

[bctt tweet=”The human spirit requires more than a hole in which to hide from the world.” username=”@tyeagerwrites”]

We crave shelter from something more ominous than a tempest, riot, or pandemic. And our man-cobbled huts cannot withstand the onslaught of pure evil. The architect of destruction and death seeks to isolate us from one another, our divine purposes, and the Source of LIFE Himself. The enemy batters us with horrific circumstances to cause us suffering and harm. He also attacks us within, storming our minds with fear and all its minions–suspicion, bitterness, insecurity, pessimism, doubt. And as our fear deepens, our hearts and souls grow colder toward one another. We become self-protective.

[bctt tweet=”Fear is love’s arch-nemesis. Fear compels human souls to commit their most depraved acts against one another.” username=”@tyeagerwrites”]

Fear also plagues the human experience and tempts us daily throughout our lives. This aspect of our journey on earth has not come to the Lord as a surprise. He crafted 366 verses into scripture to help us deal with the attacks of fear from our great enemy, including the words noted by the apostle Jesus named as the “rock” upon which our church would be founded.

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings” (1 Peter 5:7-9).

Our houses shelter us from meteorological storms and some of the pandemic’s risk, but only the Lord can offer us effective shelter against our greatest threats. Ephesians 6:10-18 lists armor and weapons the Lord offers us as divine protective gear. Whether we stay inside our houses or venture onto other battlefields beyond our doors, we must take care to put on the following pieces of armor each morning:

Belt of Truth – center yourself in the Lord’s truth, which holds all your spiritual equipment together
Breastplate of Righteousness – cover your heart with Christ’s righteousness
Boots of Readiness  – anchor your footing with the Gospel which unites us in peace with God
Shield of Faith – soak your faith in the presence of Christ, for His living water will extinguish the attacks of the enemy upon your mind, heart, and spirit
Helmet of Salvation – cover your mind with your identity and salvation in Jesus Christ
Sword of the Spirit – prepare a sharp-edged list of scriptures to combat fear and other destructive attacks
Prayer Spear – use prayer as your long-range weapon against the darkness

In addition to Ephesians 6, Psalm 91 also serves as a well-worn, favorite spiritual warfare passage. This powerful psalm begins with reminding us to take shelter in the Lord Almighty. In these days of facing trials within our earthly forms of shelter, we desperately need the encouragement that He is our true dwelling place and ultimate refuge.

The Lord has called me to leave the current house behind. In one month from the time I write this, I’ll migrate to a new state where I have almost no connections. I have a date when I must leave the house I’m selling. We have no forwarding address and no means to secure a new house at this time. But the house is not our shelter.

And we trust in the Lord our God.

So we move forward in faith, taking our ultimate dwelling place with us. No matter where He chooses as our dwelling place with Him.

Do you have a favorite blade of sharp-edged verses? Please share them with us! I’ll add a few of mine here:

Psalm 27
Psalm 34
Psalm 91
Philippians 4
Ephesians 6
1 Peter 5
Matthew 28:20
Psalm 139:5
1 John 4:4
1 John 4:18
Psalm 16
Psalm 21
Psalm 55:22
Hebrews 12:28

As always, I look forward to hearing from you!

Be Encouraged,

Tina

 

Safe Fun in the Summer Time

by Ginny Dent Brant

With the rise in skin cancers, protecting your skin and eyes from the sun has become more important than when I was a child. I’ve earned the right to develop melanoma from my overexposure days of lifeguarding and sunbathing. Who remember the days of using baby oil and iodine to attract more sun rays to our skin? I’m fortunate I’ve not had a skin cancer yet. Today, one must have a plan that includes using safe sunscreen as well as other forms of protection from the sun.

It’s important to use safe sunscreens whenever possible. Safe means the sunscreening ingredients include non-nano particle zinc oxide or titanium dioxide and other safe ingredients such as coconut oil, pomegranate seed oil, etc. which both contribute SPF and are natural.

It’s best to avoid chemical sunscreens which use ingredients such as oxybenzone, avobenzone, octisalate, octocrylene, homosalate and octinoxate for sun protection. These chemicals are known to cause many health concerns and oxybenzone is a potentially hormone-disrupting chemical that is readily absorbed by the body. Research shows that some of these are a major concern when used on children.

Safe sunscreens are not the only way to protect your skin from UV radiation rays. The best defense is a combination of sunscreen, clothing and hats, timing and shade, and protective eyewear. Tightly woven clothing with dark colors is a great way to protect your skin and is the newest trend in bathing suits for children. Yes, it’s time to cover-up. I mean use a real cover-up garment to shield yourself and loved ones from the sun. Wide brim or safari hats that cover the back of your neck and face are also helpful tools.

Large beach umbrellas are a must for a day on the beach. Pools are beginning to add partly shaded coverings so people can swim without the sun beating down on them. It’s good common sense to avoid the hot sun during midday from 12 – 4 pm. And of course, a broad spectrum sunscreen of at least 15 SPF should be applied every few hours according to instructions.

And don’t forget your eyes! Sunglasses with UV protection are a must even for children. Wearing sunglasses protect your eyes against UVA and UVB rays. Sunrays can damage your eyes and contribute to vision loss and cataracts as you age. Ask me, the gal who never wore sunglasses until about ten years ago. This same gal who used to have perfect vision and is currently moving towards cataracts and vision loss.

This is exactly what my father did after he was diagnosed with melanoma. You could see him floating in the beach inlet late afternoons with his hat, long sleeve top and long bathing trunks. Although melanoma can be found on parts of the body which are not exposed to the sun, my father never had another incident. He learned the basics of shading, shielding with clothing and hats, avoiding the midday sun, applying sunscreen, and using protective eyewear. These tips enabled him to have safe fun in the summer time.

What tips can you share for protecting your family while enjoying your fun in the sun?

Ginny Dent Brant is a speaker and writer who grew up in the halls of power in Washington, DC. She has battled cancer, ministered around the world, and served on the front lines of American culture as a counselor, educator, wellness advocate, and adjunct professor. Brant’s award-winning book, Finding True Freedom: From the White House to the World, was endorsed by Chuck Colson and featured in many TV and media interviews. Unleash Your God-Given Healing: Eight Steps to Prevent and Survive Cancer was released recently after her journey with cancer. More info at www.ginnybrant.com

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Sandcastles in the Desert Season of Life

Sandcastles in the Desert Season of Life

 

Deadly viruses and economic struggles have stranded us in a wasteland which seems endless. We hike up one dune of hope for a better tomorrow only to find another sea of bleak, dry circumstances stretching ahead. This season of unrest and suffering has worn us out. We’re far beyond a time of thirsting for relief. Many of us have grown to weary to hope for anything better.

Waiting for rescue. Searching for a new start. Anticipating the end of rising food costs and plummeting income. We can only hold onto expectations and remain motivated for so long. The past months have taken their toll and we’ve had enough of limbo. Straining to see past the next sand dune has left us with a headache and nearly sun-blinded squinting. We realize the futility of trying to see past the next sand dune or put all our hope in the latest mirage.

Because, after all, no one really lives in tomorrow. Our hope might not look the way we expected when we reach the other side of today. We live in this moment. And our life is either made or missed in the sand at our feet now.

When we’re stuck in the desert, we can perish from despair or make the dunes into sandcastles. The greatest hardships may hold opportunities. If we don’t apply our creativity and potential to the situations at our feet, we’ll miss the means to bless others. We cannot see resources or needs when we’ve dismissed our today’s with complaint and put all our dreams on rescues from tomorrow. If we identify the sand as an asset, we could instead shape our circumstances into shelter for others and ourselves.

Three steps help us build sandcastles in our desert. Each seems simple, but entails great creativity, intent, and effort.

1. Identify the needs around you.
2. Identify your resources, no matter how sand-grain common or small.
3. Pray and think creatively about how you can build shelters for others with the sand at your feet. How could you use what you have to create relief and blessings?

These three steps take us miles from despair and guide us toward a cool place to enjoy for a moment. We might need to brainstorm with wise friends during this season when our motivation and creativity run low. For the shared dreamers garner the greatest power of imagination and productivity of all. When several with mustard seed-sized faith and hope gather in prayerful support of one another, miracles grow.

Sometimes the rescue of those languishing in the desert need not wait for the sand dunes to cease. God works miracles for his people through the hands of his servants. In the midst of the desert.

Exodus teaches us how God provides during our journeys through the desert, not just after we arrive in a promised land. Jesus later taught us how the Lord can take our meager supplies and multiply them to feed multitudes in the isolated places (Mark 6: 30-44).

Pray about the thirsts around you and listen for those specific needs which the Lord impresses upon your spirit. Ask God to help you identify your resources and how to apply them. Trust the Lord to multiply the blessings of your sandcastles in the desert.

Feel free to view a full library of encouraging devotional videos now available on my YouTube channel.

If you’d like more tips on how to optimize your life and recover from this crisis, please join us for the upcoming virtual conference, Rebound Your Highest: Come Back Stronger After the Struggle.

And if you’re facing challenges with homeschooling, take advantage of the Savvy Homeschooler, an upcoming virtual event to equip parents for success.

I’m here and willing to pray for you. I’d also love to hear about your “sandcastle building” moments during this season. Please share them with us!

Be Encouraged,

Tina

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Out of the Abundance of the Heart: Guest Post by Canaa Lee

“The root centered around unaddressed pain and resentment towards her father”

My name Canaa Lee.  I am a retired high school teacher, a Christian counselor, and a radio personality.

          Out of the Abundance of the Heart is my intimate account as a child who did not grow up in church nor a Christian home.  I grew up in a two-parent home.  To an outsider, we looked like a good family but the broken relationship I had with my dad caused my life to spin out of control.  Every little girl wants to be Daddy’s little princess. I was often criticized and scrutinized by my family-especially my dad- which caused me to become hyper-sensitive.  As I became a teenager, I learned to keep my feelings to myself because my family did not seem to be interested in how I felt. When I graduated high school and went off to college, those emotions and feelings that were bottled up eventually turned into anger, bitterness and resentment.  I found that personal relationships were more difficult than I expected.  What I wanted more than anything in the world was a meaningful, committed relationship.  However, I kept making one poor dating choice after another.  In my mind, I thought that getting married would make my life complete.  These events were written on the canvas of my heart during my teenage and early adult years.

          During my mid to late 20s, I discovered the gift of writing poetry to express my deep-seated emotions and feelings that were locked away in the secret places of my heart.  Writing was therapeutic for me and allowed me to express my feelings and emotions in a productive way.  My dad died when I was in my early 30s. In order for me to cope with my emotions and feelings about my dad, I began to write again.  The death of my dad rocked my world and put me on a path of seeking for God.  I always believed there was a God, but I did not know much beyond that.  Death brought my mortality to the forefront of my mind.  Now, death was no longer just a concept in my life but a reality that I had been confronted with.  Within two years of my dad’s death, I met Jesus Christ and He completely changed my life.  I had a new and fresh perspective on life and was now dating with the purpose of getting married.

          During one of my first dates as a born-again Christian, I soon found out we did not have the same thoughts about relationships.  He became infuriated when I was unwilling to compromise my faith.  I thought to myself, what if I take the time to explain to him how I used to be, then maybe he would have a better understanding as to who I am today.  I decided to look for the poetry I wrote several years ago along with some letters that I wrote within the last couple of years.  During my search through my collection of poetry and letters, I realized I had enough writings to publish a book.  If I were going to take the time to share my heart with this man, I should take the time to share my thoughts and feelings with others as a testimony of how Jesus Christ changed me and mended my broken and confused heart.

          Out of the Abundance of the Heart is filled with poetry that has been locked away in the secret place of my heart.  The letters that I share in my book are thoughts and concepts that the Lord Jesus birthed in my heart to share with specific people in my life. These family members, friends, and acquaintances are ones who I encountered during the first weeks and first year of my supernatural conversion.  These letters flowed out of my newly converted heart and are thoughts are not my thoughts because I did not read the Bible for myself yet.  I just received Jesus Christ and He started speaking to me, and I began to write what the Lord put on my heart.  Out of the Abundance of the Heart is a candid and authentic account of my thought life before I encountered Christ and my thought life immediately following my encounter with Him.  Out of the Abundance of the Heart illustrates the radical transformation and confirms that Jesus Christ is real.

I would really appreciate it if you would support Divine Inspirations by Canaa by purchasing a copy from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0898K66ZG.

If you enjoy “Out of the Abundance of the Heart” and find some benefit in reading this, I’d like to hear from you and hope that you could take some time to post a review on Amazon by clicking on this link: https://www.amazon.com/review/create-review/?asin=B0885CSMBB. Your feedback would really mean a lot to me. God bless you and have a wonderful day!

Canaa Lee, retired high school teacher, Christian counselor, and  radio personality.

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