Article: Ten Reasons Why We Should Go to Church

I wrote an artice for EzineArticles a few weeks ago. It gives reasons why you should go to church. I know sometimes that it is so hard to go. Sometimes you wonder what difference it makes. But it makes a lot of difference in your life and in the lives of those you love. Also, it is pleasing to God.

" So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore" is a book on this very subject. It is quite interesting. It has a lot of good reviews.

Ten Reasons Why We Should Go to Church
By Karen Dobson

Do you sometimes wonder why you need to go to church? Sometimes I get so busy that I think, "Why do I need to go today? I'm tired." It is easy to forget that you are a part of a spiritual community. You are a part of the body. And someone may be there waiting for a good church welcome just from you! The truth is we really need to go.

Whenever I make myself go to church I usually feel better. I am blessed by the service. I am blessed by singing praises to God.

I listed below 10 reasons why we should go to church.

1. If we are Christians we have the Holy Spirit within us. Everywhere we go, He goes. When you are in church with other Christians you have more power from above.



2. When we go to church we sing praises and thank God for His goodness to us.



3. As Christians we are all one body; we need to fellowship with each other.



4. When you go to church faithfully you are a witness to others. Your neighbors and relatives see you go to church.



5. We are one in spirit. Holy Spirit activates our worship.



6. We are one in hope. When we gather at church we give each other hope and encouragement.



7. As we go to church we become more fulfilled in the Spirit and become closer to God.



8. We show support and love to each other.



9. We stand strong when we are together.



10. We gather strength for the rest of the week. Our lives can be hectic and difficult sometimes. We need the strength we get from being with other Christians.

There are more reasons for going to church and why it is so important. The main reason to go to church is that God knew how important it would be for us. That is why He commanded us to go.

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So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore

What Will Change in Your Life if You Change One Thought?

Do you keep hearing about changing your thoughts to improve your life? I do. I believe it is true; at least to a great extent. What if you worked on changing one thought? The one that drives you nuts? Maybe something happened years ago? Maybe something happened to you physically due to a bad accident. Or maybe someone hurt you that you trusted and you just can't forget about it. What if you worked on that one thought. When it comes to you at night make a conscious effort to think of something else. Or maybe think of the opposite of this thought that bugs you.

Maybe you feel you can't do something that you have been longing to do. Maybe you feel incompetent. What if you start thinking the opposite. Instead of thinking I can't do that because I am not smart enough you could start to think, "Hey, I am smart! I am able to do this and I am able to figure this out. I can do it?

What would change if you changed that one thought? I know it is not easy. I have problems sleeping at night and I relive the past. But what if I just start trying. Just maybe I could change one thought and then maybe later on another one.

Let Everything Be Done in Love

"Let all your things be done with charity." 1Corrinthians 16:14

A reference in the Scofield Reference Bible says "Let all things be done by you in love."

Those words in the Bible are not always easy to do. Sometimes they are difficult. At least for me. I got a call from my son last night. He was anything but pleasant. I was so hurt and angry by what he said. I stewed and steamed most of the night. Finally I put it out of my mind.

This morning I started praying and asking God how to handle it. I knew what I wanted to do would not improve our relationship. I needed grace and wisdom. This verse came to my mind. It says everything we do should be done in love. Whether the other person does or not, this is what we are to do.

My preacher used to say that the reason it hurts so bad when a loved one hurts us is because we love them so much. He said we should be thankful for the love that is in our heart.

Now after reading this verse again I can see that I still need to reach out to my son. I am trying to understand his heart.

The Lord is good. He loves me when I am not loveable. That is how I should love others.

Self Confidence

Self confidence is an important quality to possess. I have heard before that Christians were not to have self confidence. I think that is not exactly true. We are to have our confidence in the Lord but at the same time we must have confidence in ourselves. We need the confidence to do what He tells us to do.

Everyone suffers from lack of self confidence at times. But there are some of us that endure this practically all the time. It is a form of fear. The fear that we will be ridiculed or the fear of failure or of making a mistake.

Below are some quotes I found that I think will help you. Write them down and read them each day. Read them over and over. Realize that you are special and there is no one just like you.

• "Even a small star shines in the darkness." Finnish Proverb
• No man is so poor as to have nothing worth giving: as well might the mountain streamlets say they have nothing to give the sea because they are not rivers. Give what you have to someone. It may be better than you dare think." Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• "Whoever you are, there is some younger person who thinks you are perfect. thee is some work that will never be done if you don't do it. There is someone swho would miss you if you were gone. There is a place that only you can fill." Jacob M. Braude, Braude's Source Book for Speakers and Writers

The Lord told Joshua to be courageous and strong. We are to be courageous and strong too.

Book Review: Racing Towards Excellence

A copy of the book, Racing Towards Excellence, Demystifying The Inside Track to Academic Career and Financial Outperformance, by Muzaffar Khan and Jan Sramek, was sent to me to read and review. The book has 274 pages and was published by Leveraged Publishing of London in 2009.

This book is divided into two sections. The first one is called "Theory" and the second part is called "Practice". The book is written mainly to college students and young adults but it applies to any person of any age group. It explains the importance of personal development and gives the reader steps to do that. It tells about life skills being needed to accomplish your goals and becoming a balanced person.

The first section of the book seemed to ramble to me. It gave a little background information about the authors lives and how they came to write the book.

A point that the book made was that our lives are made up of four accounts which is the framework of our performance and happiness. These accounts are:

• Emotional Health




• Material Health




• Mental Health




• Physical Health

You must invest in all four accounts to have happiness. Because each account needs a positive balance for survival, each account is important. If any account gets too low, you cannot be happy. If you are hurting on the inside because of a failed relationship or you feel rejected by others, it could lead to depression. This does not lead to happiness no matter how much money you have.

The book defines success and long term happiness as one and the same.

The objective of this book is to help you understand yourself and build solid foundations for your personal development.

One thing that the book states is that you should treat yourself and others in a nurturing way. This will add to each of your four accounts. You can create either virtuous cycles or vicious circles for yourself by your actions and habits. You must be willing to defer gratification in order to wait to obtain something you want of value.

The habits you have show whether you are treating yourself with loving intentions or not. If you repeatedly do things that hurt your life, you are not treating yourself with love. You can start a new action and make it into a habit in your life in 30 days. If you change one bad habit and replace it with a good habit you are on your way to changing your life for the better. After thirty days you will have the momentum to keep changing your bad habits into good ones.

Three simple ways to improve your performance are:

• Learn to read faster.




• Learn to memorize.




• Learn to type faster.

These are ways to improve your performance that most people don't really think about. It helps in learning and studying for exams and it helps your on the job performance as well.

The authors also give ideas on time management. Some of them are:

• Use your personal time wisely by evaluating how you use your time.




• Technology and computers are part of our daily lives. Learn to use them more efficiently so they do not become time wasters.

In the last part of the book it discusses leisure being an important part of our lives. It helps to decrease stress in our lives. Do things you enjoy not just things that are comfortable. Do things that are not harmful to your life. You can change your leisure habits so that they are more enjoyable and at the same time help your performance in life and not hinder it.

I think the main point I got out of the book is that you need to treat yourself and others with loving intentions. In this way you help yourself and the people around you at the same time. Keeping your life in balance leads to happiness.

The one thing that I saw from a christian perspective is that I feel they left God out of the equation. He is our power to change the one that guides us into the right paths.

Racing Towards Excellence

Super Mom Equals Myth, Be a Great Mom Instead

Super Mom Eauals Myth. Be a GREAT Mom Instead

We all want to be the best moms we possibly can and with all the responsibilities that go with being a mom and life in general, it can be a LOT to take on. But we watch other moms and they seem to have it so together…so we push ourselves harder.

In our efforts to be that Super Mom, sometimes we sacrifice when it comes to caring for ourselves. We develop poor eating and sleeping habits, we may not exercise as much as we should and we just get plain old get stressed out.

But you know what?

All those bad habits are passed onto our children. Thus, defeating our attempts at being that ideal Super Mom.

Forget the Super Mom Trap ad grab Aurelia Williams’ “Real Life Guidance to Getting out of the Super Mom Trap”. Aurelia is a Certified Life Coach, the mother of 3 children herself and specializes in helping moms just like us.

In this concise and actionable 29-page guide, she shows you:

- How various media portrays the Super Mom, making you feel guilt for our perfectly natural imperfections.
- Easily saying no and without the guilt.
- Stories of real moms who are breaking free from the Super Mom Trap and how you can too.
- Learning to delegate (no, YOU don’t have to do it ALL) and getting more done.

If you’ve had enough of trying to be everything to everyone, but still want to ensure your family and personal happiness, grab a copy of the guide now. You can download it instantly, plus you’ll get a bonus 25-minute “Stress Less” audio recording making it even easier to unload all that is bogging you down.

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A Prayer for Our Nation

Are you concerned for our country? I am. It seems things go from bad to worse. Not just the economy but people seem to not care about others. Children are not being taught respect and kindness. I found this prayer by Billy Graham. It speaks volumes.

A Prayer For Our Nation

Most Merciful Father, we come before you today to ask for your forgiveness and to seek your directions and guidance.

We know your word says "woe to those who call evil good," but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We have exploited the poor and called it 'lottery'. We have rewarded laziness and called it 'welfare'. we have killed our unborn and called it 'choice'. We have shot abortionists and called it 'justifiable'. we have neglected to discipline our children and called it building 'self esteem'. We have abused power and called it 'politics'. We have coveted our neighbors possessions and called it 'ambition'. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it 'freedom of expression'. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it 'enlightment'.

Search us Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. 'Amen!'

Effective Steps for Managing Anxiety

Have you ever been in a situation that brought on sweats, rapid heartbeat and shortness of breath? You probably weren’t having a heart attack but an anxiety attack. If you suffer from anxiety disorders, learning to manage it is the first step to overcoming it.

Anxiety is characterized as extreme reactions to fearful situations. When someone follows you into a dark alley, those anxious feelings of a racing heartbeat and sweaty palms gives way to heightened senses and a rush of adrenalin that can save your life. This is the fight or flight syndrome.

In the case of frequent anxiety, the fearful feelings are dread of a particular situation and not the situation itself. Getting caught in traffic can cause an anxiety attack over what might happen when you get to work late. Starting a new job can bring on anxiety attacks. You don’t know anyone and fear of that unknown can send you into a panic.

Everyone experiences panic or anxiety in small ways. Like the fight or flight example, it can save your life. In new situations, we get panicky but when the outcome we fear fails to materialize, the anxiety stops. For someone with chronic anxiety, this is not the case.

Every situation that brings anxiety is not life-threatening. More than likely it is an extremely stressful situation that has brought on the anxiety as a way of dealing with it. Unchecked anxiety of this type can lead to depression.

If you suffer from anxiety attacks on occasion or a more frequent anxiety disorder, there are steps you can take to keep your anxiety under control.

1. See a professional. This is always a good first step. Self-diagnosis of any type of physical or mental condition is unwise and can be dangerous. A professional psychologist can help you understand your anxiety and prescribe medication or other effective techniques.

2. Get a good night’s sleep. During the sleep cycle, your body repairs itself. You feel more rested after several hours of restorative sleep, reaching the REM stage. Most people need eight hours a night which varies within an hour or two each way.

3. Exercise on a consistent basis. Exercise helps you to use oxygen more efficiently. It helps to get more oxygen to the brain. It also increases focus which may help you see solutions to problems rather than simply worrying about them.

4. Pray and Read God's Word. If you are having anxiety pray for help and guidance. Memorize scriptures on fear.

Worry Less

More Life, Less Worry

"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" Luke 12:25

"What if she gets hurt?"
"What if some of the girls ignore her?"
"What if..." I had a whole list of 'what if" worries to give my husband when our daughter left for her first youth-group retreat.
You see, I'm a worrier. But admit it--it's easy to worry when a child is out of sight, right? I've always worried when others are in charge of her ever since she fell and cut her lip right before my husband and I went out for our first "date" since adopting her. I called home to check with the babysitter--twice--while we sat at a "relaxing" meal...And the babysitter was my mom!
Okay, I'm a worrier. but I've improved. Really. I've noticed that when I trust God a little bit more, I worry a little bit less. That's better, isn't it? And life is so much sweeter.
Worry unplugs us from God's Power source. Kathryn Lay

The above story is from the book, "A Cup of Comfort Devotional for Women" by James Stewart Bell and Carol McLean Wilde. It has stories and writings by different women.


A Cup of Comfort Devotional for Mothers and Daughters: Daily Reminders of God's Love and Grace

Four Reasons Not to be Down

Hello

I was reading a flyer by the International Mission Board. It was talking about world hunger. Below are four facts that were listed:

1. 800 million people are chronically hungry at any given time.


2. Every day, almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes.


3. Of 6.5 billion people in world, 1.3 billion live in absolute poverty and an additional 2.6 billion live in moderate poverty.


4. 1.1 billion people lack adequate access to clean drinking water.

Whatever the problems we are facing in America, these four facts make things seem better.

We have clean water to drink. We can take a hot bath each day. We have electricity. We have food to eat. There are so many blessings we can not count them all.

Let us count our blessings today. That will help cheer you and me and the people around us. God bless.

Ease Tension in Marriage

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." James 1: 19, 20

If you are looking for a way to help ease tension in your marriage, try putting into practice the above verse. Listen to the other person. Wait to speak. Think about your answer. Don't be overcome with anger. It will take a little effort on your part, especially if you don't see any effort by the other person. But just tell yourself you will try it for two weeks. See if there is a difference. If you can see improvement in your home then you will know it is working.

It may mean you have to bite your tongue and count to ten quite frequently. At first, you may not notice a difference. But keep trying.

I am going to make the effort the next couple of weeks. Hopefully, I will make it through the first day. I know the devil will be fighting me all the way. It will take some discipline and prayer. If I make it through two weeks I will let you know.

It is worth a little effort to improve your relationship.

Inspirational Quotes

Below are a few inspirational quotes I found.

Sometimes adversity is what you need to face in order to become successful. Zig Ziglar

You cannot tailor make your situation in life, but you can tailor make your attitudes to fit those situations.
Zig Ziglar

If you go looking for a friend, you're going to find they're very scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you'll find them everywhere.
Zig Ziglar

Remember happiness doesn't depend upon who you are or what you have; it depends solely on what you think.
Dale Carnegie

Feeling sorry for yourself, and your present condition, is not only a waste of energy but the worst habit you could possibly have.
Dale Carnegie

If only the people who worry about their liabilities would think about the riches they do possess, they would stop worrying.
Dale Carnegie

The successful man will profit from his mistakes and try again in a different way.
Dale Carnegie