On Enduring Hardships

Have you ever felt like everything in life is working against you? Like, not just that things aren't going your way, but like you are in a constant battle in every area of your life just to take half a step forward, just to keep on existing, and you don't have any idea what is going to happen next because you keep thinking that nothing else bad could possibly happen, but the hits just keep coming?

My guess is that you have, at least on some level. We all seem to go through these cycles of life, sometimes worse than others, and we all usually feel at one time or another that there is no hope and no end to it. It can be really hard to have any hope for the future, and let me just tell you that you are not alone if you feel or have felt this way. 

I myself have been feeling that way lately, like the world is working against me, and like I will never be making progress in life again. As is my habit, I have been turning to the Bible for counsel. I have been looking for motivation and advice from those who have gone before me and have gone through hard times and come out the other side. I found the perfect role model for this, and I'd like to introduce you to her. You probably already know her. She went through quite a bit of hardship in her time as well, and there was a lot that she had to live through that would have left her without hope, as well as very fearful for the future, had she not chosen to entrust herself to God. That woman is Queen Esther. 

We always talk about Esther this time of year in many of the circles that I run in, with Purim right around the corner, but this year her story resonates with me more than usual. (For those of you who don't know, Purim is the Biblically-based holiday where we celebrate Queen Esther and the victory of the Jewish people by the hand of God against Haman, who was trying to have them all killed. The word "Purim" is a Hebrew word that means "lots," because they "drew lots" or cast dice to decide the day that the Jews were initially meant to be killed on. Check out this article from Chabad for more information.) 

Most years for Purim we look at the story as a whole (which you should do if you haven't, by the way. You can read the Book of Esther on BibleGateway for free here.), but this time I am going to invite you to look at just Esther herself and what she can teach us about how to endure hardships. 

Esther's given name was actually Hadassah, and from what we know about her formative years, she was no stranger to hardship. She lived in Susa (one of four capitals of the Achaemenid Persian Empire), and was raised by her cousin Mordecai, because her parents had passed away. We don't know why, or exactly when her parents died, but it had to have been when she was pretty young because her cousin is said to have "brought her up" in Esther 2. Esther 2 also tells us that they were in Persia in the first place because they had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar among those who were taken captive with King Jehoiachin of Judah. So she's starting out in exile from her own people, and an orphan being raised by her cousin. Already not an ideal situation.

The story starts with the king of the region (who the Bible tells us was a pretty powerful guy, ruling over 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush) starting his search for a new queen. To do this, he basically sent officials around to take any young, available women they could find, and bring them to a facility where they were to undergo beauty treatments for literally a year, at which time they were brought before the king one by one so he could pick which one he wanted to be his new queen. Anyone not chosen would be put with the other concubines, where they were kept together in isolation unless specifically requested by name by the king. They were not allowed to return to their families. 

Esther was one of these women who was taken for her year of beauty treatments, and although we are told that she found favor with those in charge and was able to get the best that someone in her situation could hope for, I can't help but think that this was probably somewhat of a traumatic experience for her. She was taken from the only family she ever knew, she was living in secrecy (Mordecai had instructed her not to disclose her given name, nationality, or family background, which is why she is called Esther and not Hadassah), and had a vague hope of being queen, but the odds were that she would just be confined to the king's harem as a concubine for the rest of her life. Yet she continued to find favor with those in charge of her, and she actually was the one chosen to be Queen! Yay, right?

Wrong.

Some amount of time later, the king honors Haman the Agagite for something that he's done, putting him in a place of honor above all the other nobles, and commanding everyone to kneel to him and pay him honor. Well, Mordecai, Esther's cousin, chooses not to do this, and Haman is so offended that not only does he want Mordecai dead, but he finds out Mordecai's familial heritage, and he wants to kill all of Mordecai's people, the Jews, all through the entire kingdom. So, in order to make this happen, Haman tells the king about this people group who keep to themselves and have weird customs, so weird in fact that they don't obey the king's laws, and it would be in his best interest if they were wiped out. The king, trusting Haman and not realizing that his new wife is actually part of this people group, hand over his signet ring to Haman, giving him power, and tells him to have at it.

So now, Esther is still living in secrecy as queen, and her people have been sentenced to death. There's even a day picked out. Talk about hopeless. Even if she keeps her identity hidden, the rest of her family and her entire people group is about to be wiped out and she will be left all alone. 

Esther's cousin Mordecai sent word to her that he wanted her to go before the king and ask for mercy for the Jewish people, and she is understandably hesitant. If she were to go before the king unannounced, the king could have her killed. Not only that, but the reason she is queen in the first place is because the queen before her broke the protocols for who is supposed to go before the king and when (she did not go when summoned), so this king is already pretty well known for not standing for people messing with his protocols. 

Esther was put in an impossible position, and she knew that left to her own devices, she would likely die. In fact, when deciding what to do next, she says what is one of my very favorite verses from this book in Esther 4:16 (NIV):

 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

In her distress, she turns to the Lord. And this is one of the biggest things we can take from her response to hardship. She gathers her friends and family around her and prays, fasting for three days while doing so, all with the ultimate plan to put herself entirely in God's hands, trusting that He would either protect her, or she would die, and either way it would be His will. 

This resonates with me so deeply as I go through some tough times of my own. In her darkest hour, Esther was on her knees before the Throne. She put everything else aside, even the very basic human needs of eating and drinking, so that she could urgently and diligently seek her Father's wisdom, trusting and knowing that He would make a way for her, and submitting to that way, even if it wasn't what she herself wanted. 

As I sit here, not knowing where I am headed, but knowing that wherever it is, it may not be what I would choose, I can know with the wisdom of Esther that God will provide a way for me. All I have to do is trust Him. 

We can even go one further, if we look at something that Mordecai said to Esther shortly before her prayer and fasting, and something that contributed to her decision on what to do. It is the most popular verse in this entire book, Esther 4:12-14 (NIV):

When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

Mordecai pointed out to Esther that God would still send someone to save His people, even if she did nothing. The only one who would be missing out on anything, is her. In fact, Mordecai tells her that it's quite possible that she has been put in this very position "for such a time as this." We know from the end of the story that this is, in fact, the case; Esther goes in to the king, he grants her permission to stay, and over the course of three nights she works up the courage to tell the king what is going on. He uses the information to sentence Haman to death, and although it's too late to take back the decree to kill the Jews, he puts out a new one telling the Jews that they can legally fight back, and they do, and the holiday of Purim is created in honor of the fact that the Jewish people were not wiped out by Haman thanks to Queen Esther and by the Hand of God. But the part I want to sit with for a moment is what Mordecai said to Esther, and the ramifications of it on anyone who goes through tumultuous times.

Esther was told that if she stayed quiet, God would raise up relief and deliverance from somewhere else. Why? Because that was His ultimate plan, and He was going to make sure that it happened. And she may be the one put there, in her exact situation, to be how God made His plan come about. The very idea that we may be put into what feels like a very bad situation so that God can do something greater through us than we could ever hope to accomplish is a little bit daunting. 

But what it essentially means is this: The world may be broken, and we may feel like it is breaking us, but we cannot count out God using us, even in our most broken state (especially in our most broken state), to bring about relief, deliverance, hope, and joy to those around us. And just because we don't want to be in our situation doesn't mean that it isn't right where we are meant to be.

Have hope this Purim, this month, this year, this season of your life. Read the Book of Esther. Remember that God is always, always working in and through us, and that you may be put exactly where you are for such a time as this.

Celebrating Hanukkah this Year

 

This year, Hanukkah, like most of the holidays we have experienced in the past 2 years, is going to look a little different. We still aren't really doing parties, family gatherings are small (if they're happening at all), and it's a lot harder than it used to be to find fun things to do to celebrate outside the home.

This doesn't have to get us down, especially when we get down to the roots of what Hanukkah is all about! Hanukkah is about having courage to worship God in the worst of circumstances. It's about standing up in the face of darkness, and shining the light of God no matter what the consequences may be. It's about coming together (whether that be physically or in spirit) to bring glory to God's name and remember all of the things He has done for us, and celebrate with confidence the things that He will do for us in the future. Hanukkah is about celebrating that God has always delivered His people, and He always will!

As Christians, Hanukkah is also about celebrating Jesus as the Light of the World and our ultimate Salvation! He is the key to our final and greatest Deliverance, from our sins and into the presence of God. He is also the Light of the World, and we are the vessels that His light shines through in the darkness that tries to take over the world around us. He is our hope, and in Him, we bear that hope to the world.

All of these things are things we can celebrate in our homes, and we can do them no matter what the world looks like around us.

If this makes you want to celebrate Hanukkah this year, or if you already celebrate it and it makes you want to celebrate with others, I have good news for you! For the first time ever, I have written a Hanukkah devotional this year! If you want to dive deeper into what I have discussed in this post, please join us this year for Light of the World: A Christian Devotional Guide to Hanukkah, an 8-day free PDF devotional! Each day I will provide you with a brief study on a different aspect of Hanukkah, some Bible verses to read and meditate on, some reflection questions, and I’ll even throw in a recipe or two!  There will also be a group, either on Facebook or MarcoPolo, that I will host where we can gather virtually and go through this devotional together during Hanukkah (Nov.28-Dec. 5, 2021)!

If you are interested in this devotional and/or joining a group to do it together, please fill out this sign-up form and look for the PDF in your email in the next week!

Whether you join me with this devotional or not, I hope you have a wonderful Hanukkah and winter season. May it be full of light, love, hope, and peace!

Mercy and the Pandemic

Are you tired of hearing about the pandemic? I'm tired of hearing about the pandemic. It has been dominating our lives, changing our daily rhythms and patterns, causing crises of all different types, driving us crazy, and causing lots and lots of tension between us.

Now, these are things that are bound to happen when we are told to stay at home or our daily lives are disrupted. We feel that things are out of our control, with they are, and we start to flail around a bit and we tend to take it out on each other. Just like when we were kids and our parents packed us up with our suitcases and duffel bags to go on a family vacation. We were confined with our siblings in the back of the car, or in the hotel room, or in the spare room at a relative's house. We fought. We argued. We were at each other's throats. We felt entitled to be right, to win our arguments. To prove that we were better, more mature, smarter than our siblings, all the while proving the opposite.

And how is this any different? We are confined in our houses and apartments with our families, we are being told what to do, we don't know when it will end or what is coming next. We are out of our element. Our lives are out of our control.

Just like our younger selves, we are agitated, we are functioning in defense mode.
We are fighting.
We are arguing.
We are at each others throats.

Does anyone else feel convicted by this? Maybe even a little bit ashamed? Called out? Because when I had the idea to write this, I felt that way. That's why you're reading it a week or so later, because I put it off, but it kept bouncing around in my head, so here I am. 

Maybe you haven't been acting out against anyone you live with, or maybe you live alone. Maybe you've been rude to your spouse, talking down to your kids, avoiding your roommate, or maybe you're one of many hiding behind a screen, lashing out at others online. Have you entered into The Great Mask Debate? Have you torn the mask from someone's face in the name of Freedom, or accused someone of letting the government control them? Or maybe you've mercilessly shamed someone for not wearing one, calling them selfish, saying they don't care about others and would rather see them die than be told what to do. Or perhaps you've weighed in on other COVID-19 related policies, conspiracies, or predictions, calling out those you see as crazy or blind. Or maybe you have been high-and-mighty about any of the other numerous issues that we are tearing ourselves apart over throughout the world today. Whichever side you are on, I believe that you are wrong when you act in this manner.

I'm not here today to take sides on any issue that we may be dividing ourselves over, or even to really address those issues other than to point out their existence and the fact that we tend to build a fortress on one side or the other, open fire on those we see as our opponents, and are willing to fall on our swords before we extend a little kindness and mercy to those we may see as being wrong. No, I'm here today to talk about mercy. 

Now, there is a difference between grace and mercy, and the two are often confused. If you are being graceful, then you are giving something undeserved, such as kindness, love, gifts, you name it. From a Christian perspective, we understand grace as God giving us life, love, salvation, and all the loving gifts that he gives to us on a daily basis, even though we are so undeserving of them. He sent Jesus to be a sacrifice, to die, to take on our sins, even though we in no way deserve it. 

Mercy, on the other hand, is not giving something that is deserved, like a punishment of some sort. Our wrath, so to speak. God is merciful to us by not giving us the penalties of our sin, which is death, because of the gift of Jesus as a sacrifice for us to take our place, which He graciously gave to us. 

See? They are different. But they go hand in hand. 

Grace is easy enough. We tend to not have a whole lot of trouble giving undeserved gifts. It makes us feel good, in fact, to give something to someone who doesn't deserve it. Does a homeless person deserve anything from us? Do people we don't particularly like deserve our kindness? Do people who do wrong to us deserve our forgiveness? No, but we are nice people. We are good people. We are godly people, so we give it to them anyway.

But mercy... mercy is hard. We like to have a sense of justice. And it's easier to be nice, give freely, and forgive when we feel that justice has been accomplished. It's hard not to punish someone for something they did when we think they deserve it. It's hard not to act harshly when someone has done something, said something, been something that we see as Not Okay. In fact, many times we see it as Our Christian Duty to bring about what we perceive to be justice, forgetting that God has said that that is His job, not ours (Deut. 32:35, Rom. 12:19). In reality, it is our job not to give them what we think they deserve, instead loving them, and acting in mercy and grace.

"But they are being stupid, it is my job to set them straight."
"But they are being a jerk, someone needs to teach them a lesson."
"But they are wrong. It is my job to change their mind so we can agree."

All of these things have a root of nobility, but are usually acted upon out of a sense of selfishness, hatred, self-righteousness, or in the name of our view of justice. Very rarely is the other person's point of view considered, and even more rarely are their feelings taken into place. Is our own sense of entitlement to being "right" more important than the hurt that we may be putting others through? 

I'm not telling you how to think, how to act, or even accusing you of anything. I am simply asking you to examine yourself and act in mercy. In your homes, at work, on the internet, everywhere really. This pandemic has taken much from us. It has taken away routine, financial security, events, places to go, things to do, and much more. Don't let it take away our relationships with each other, and don't let is take away our love. Have mercy in the pandemic. Love one another.

 "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus."

-- 1 John 4:7-17

Radical Unity

If you are reading this around the time that I am putting it out, then you, like me, are being affected in some way by COVID-19. For most of us, that means we are spending most of our time at home, and having little to no in-person social contact with people who do not live with us. And this can be hard.

I know for me personally it has been hard, which actually came as somewhat of a surprise to me. I do not think of myself as being much of a "people person," and my regular week pre-COVID didn't look a whole lot different than my weeks have been looking under this pseudo-quarantine that we have been under. I was still at home by myself most of the time (as my husband is an essential employee and still works almost as much as he ever has), although I had the opportunity to work transcribing things, and I have not had much (if any) available to me as of late. I still went shopping about once a week, since my husband and I only have one car and he uses it for work. There are two major differences between my life then and my life now. The first one is that I don't get to go out with my husband, like to restaurants, the movies, etc. The second one is that I don't get to go to church, or gather with other believers in my life group, or in any other way, and this is the thing that I miss most.

One of the scriptures that has come across my radar lately that has struck me as particularly important is out of the book of Acts, chapter 2. It is concerning the gathering together of believers and what this should look like, and I thought that this time in seclusion would be the perfect time for all of us to examine and maybe reconsider the way that we relate to each other and gather as fellow believers, and how important we regard it as being. This was an eye opener for me, and I hope it will be for you as well.

The passage I am referring to is this:

 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about 3,000 people were added to them. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers. Then fear came over everyone, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as anyone had a need. Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple complex, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with a joyful and humble attitude, praising God and having favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to them those who were being saved. -Acts 2:41-47 (HCSB)

Now this passage takes place directly after the account of Peter giving his message on Pentecost and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. We are talking about the first century church, right after it started growing post-messiah. At this point, they were only ten days removed from when Jesus last stood on the earth.

I want us to look for a minute at how these believers interacted with each other. They were together, they worshiped together, they examined the Word and poured over the teachings of the apostles together, they devoted themselves to meeting together, they held all things in common, they had joyful and humble attitudes; they went through life together. 

You may have noticed that it talked about them holding all things in common. I have also seen this translated as "they were all of similar mind" or "like mind." This does not mean that they had everything in common, it means that they were bound together by what they did have in common; their love of God, and their belief that Jesus was His Anointed One (Messiah, Christ).

So we are looking at a diverse group of individuals who gathered together often, not just on Sunday or Saturday for a weekly day of worship.

We are looking at a group of believers, a church, who studied together. Really studied, not just sat and listened to their pastor preach and then went home.

We are looking at a church who broke bread together, ate together, spent time hanging out, getting to know one another, and sharing their lives together.

We are looking at a church who was bound by their similarities, not torn apart by their differences.

And we are looking at people who did all of this joyfully, humbly, and with good attitudes.

Do our churches look like this today? Do even the small groups, life groups, or friend groups that break out of our churches look like this today? Do we care enough about each other to sell our excess to make sure that everyone has what they need? Do we regularly sit down to eat together, worship together on a personal level, edify and encourage one another? Do we act like the family that we claim to be?

I want to say yes, but I think the answer is more consistently no. I know I am guilty of not doing these things, not acting like a family member of the body of messiah, and instead looking at how it can benefit me and how I can use it to feel more full and feel like I am living my life how I should. 

I think that too often our focus is on ourselves and what we can get out of church, and not what we can give. And even more than that, we think of it as a part of our lives, and sometimes not even a very big one, instead of being the focus of our lives. 

"Are you telling me I need to base my life around church?"

Yes. No. Kind of.

We should be inviting other believers into our lives, going through life with them like they are our family, because they are. We are all one, we are all the body of Christ, and we should at least make an effort to function like it. 

We may not always get along, but that's more or less because we don't want to. We prioritize being right on certain issues, whatever they may be, over agreeing on the things that are the most important, bonding over those things, learning, and growing along side others. If we take a step back, we can see that differing view points can actually help that and make studying together more interesting and productive.

We might think we don't like other believers, or even that we don't belong with them, but if we are Christians, then we do belong with them, and we should learn to like them because we are a part of them and they are a part of us. And there will always be people that we don't get along with as well as others, but that's just a chance for us to practice humility, patience, kindness, and self-control, all things that we should be good at (or at least growing in) as Christians.

I think that while we are living somewhat secluded lives, while we are in this strange time of life where we are in between when we used to get together with others and when we will be able to again, we should take a nice long look at how we gather, especially as Christians. If we have a relationship with God and have made a covenant with Him to bear His image like we are supposed to, then it is our job to show Him to the people that we encounter with how we live our lives and how we act. It stands to reason then, that we should stand united with our fellow believers in every possible way. We should encourage one another, draw from one another, give to one another, spend time together, interact with each other, live life together, encounter God together, and share Him with the world together. 

We should have a certain level of intimacy among us, because we are a family. 

We should live in community like we were created to do, we should fellowship with each other in radical unity, because we are united in Christ, the one who can bring together even the most unlikely individuals, binding us all together with the same love that we are supposed to be to the world around us. 

Imagine a life where we all function as a body like we are supposed to, because we all know how to complement each other because we share it with each other.

Imagine a life where we treat our faith like it is the most important thing in our lives, letting everything else flow out of it, and being united with others who do the same on an intimate level.

In this time of isolation, I encourage you to ready yourself for when we can all gather together once again. I encourage you to create deeper friendships, get involved with the believers in your faith community, and love each other like God intended. Let's come together out of this in radical unity, facing the world as one family, one body, united in Jesus our Messiah.

For when things get out of control.

Lately all the talk and hype has been surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak and quarantine, whether you're watching the news, on social media, or just talking to anyone at all. Naturally, this has been not only affecting our day to day lives, but the way we see the world, and of course we are all asking questions like: 

What is everything going to look like when this is all over?

How many people are going to be affected by this?

Am I going to be affected by this?

It is understandable that we would have these questions, and there really isn't anyone who can answer them for us right now. But this does not need to cause panic in our lives.  I can, of course, give you the typical Christian responses of "God's got a plan for us," "God is our healer and our protector," "He didn't give us a spirit of fear," and there are plenty of others like that going around. These reasons are all true, and we should take any wisdom that comes from the Word of God to heart, but assuming that these comforts are wearing thinner and thinner the longer we are cooped up in our homes, I have a somewhat fresh thought for you to consider.

As many of you may know, Passover is coming up in a few weeks. The story of the first Passover in and of itself should be inspiring to us in times like this. God hearing His people's cries and delivering them from from a hopeless situation, all the plagues that happened in the land of Egypt that God kept his people safe from, and then that last night in Egypt, everyone staying cooped up in their houses and following God's instructions so they would be safe during that last, terrible plague. The one that killed. In fact, that first Passover -- people quarantined in their houses, celebrating their pending deliverance among themselves, being careful and staying in to stay safe during a plague -- probably looked a little like Passover celebrations will this year to those of us celebrating it, so this story should really resonate with us this year!

But as I was doing some reading in the book of Exodus (which is where you can find the whole Passover story if you're interested), I came across a verse that I found interesting, considering what is going on in the world right now.

"By now I could have stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with a plague, and you would have been obliterated from the earth. However, I have let you live for this purpose: to show you My power and to make My name known in all the earth." - Exodus 19:15-16 HCSB

Now, the context of this is God speaking to Pharaoh through Moses, explaining basically why they were surviving all these plagues and why Pharaoh was able to refuse them the right to leave, but the concept of it was interesting to me. It made me think of us and our situation.

Sure, you can be scared of the virus, the same as you can be scared of anything that could kill you or the people around you. But ultimately, it is God who is in control. And lots of times, we see crazy things happen that remind us that we are ultimately not in control of our own fates or where our lives will take us. Think about it. We were all doing just fine, and then out of nowhere we are home bound, our jobs, the economy, our health, and pretty much everything is somewhat up in the air and we are seeing that we do not control the world and what happens in it.

Our self preservation kicks in and we do irrational things like stock up on toilet paper in order to make ourselves feel in control, when really we are struggling with the concept that we are not. But you know what? That doesn't have to be scary. In fact, it can be reassuring. 

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 reminds us that it is in the parts of us that are weakest that God's strength comes through the most. When we are humbled and our ego is out of the way, His strength shines through, and we are able to truly bear His image, which is what we were created to do. 

When we are weak and not in control, it opens the door to not only remind us of God's power and divine control, but it also opens the door for His strength and love and light to be shown to other people through us. We get to be the ones who pass on the message. And we don't get that opportunity if we are clinging to control, trying to make a name for ourselves instead of showing everyone where hope and life and love really comes from.

So, I implore you, embrace the vulnerability. Embrace the fact that you cannot control what is happening, or what will happen. Rejoice because you follow a God who can. Dance for joy because He is stronger than you ever could be, and that He has you here on this earth at this exact time for a reason, and that reason does not cease to exist for any virus, or quarantine, or loss of resources. 

Rejoice in your weakness, because when we are weak, then we are strong.

Keeping Yourself Healthy, Body, Mind, and Soul

If you live basically anywhere in the world right now and don't live under a rock (which I apparently do, because I didn't even know about the whole people-panic-buying-all-the-toilet-paper thing until Thursday when I ran out and ended up having to buy way too much online in order to get any at all), then you know that the COVID-19, or corona virus, is now officially a pandemic, and is all people are talking about all over the world. This understandably, is causing quite a bit of anxiety and fear to a lot of people.

Maybe you are someone who is at a higher risk of getting sick, or at a higher risk of being more negatively affected by getting sick, and are anxious about leaving your house. Maybe you have loved ones who are higher risk and are afraid for them, or maybe you even know someone who already has been affected by it. Or maybe you live in an area that is more highly affected already, and are falling into the fear that is sweeping your area. Or perhaps you're like me, and it isn't necessarily the virus you are afraid of, but the economic implications, and the possibility of your household suffering from a loss of work. Or maybe you're just freaked out because people are all so panicky and acting irrationally and a little crazy!

Regardless of exactly why you may be feeling some fear and anxiety, most of us are experiencing some, on some level anyway. It may feel like there isn't a whole lot we can do about anything right now, besides staying home, staying away from large groups of people, and washing our hands. While these are all good tips, you may be thinking that they are not going to ultimately stop the virus, especially because it came out of nowhere and so fast. It was already upon us by the time we were worried about it.

Well, there are a few things we can do to help ourselves and those around us, so I have compiled a list of tips here to not only help keep our bodies healthy, but also to keep us from worrying ourselves to death and so we can fell mentally sound during these trying times.

1) Try not to worry so much. 
I know, that's kind of a tall order, and it's more easily said than done, but if you can cut down on your worrying and stressing, it will help your sanity and your health. When you are under a lot of stress, your immune system suffers, and now more than ever we need to try and keep that from happening. If you're like me, knowing that stress can hinder your immune system just makes the whole thing more stressful! But there are ways that we can cut down on that. And if you are a Christian like I am, it can be made even easier because we know that God is in control of the whole situation, so there is no need to worry! That being said, we are human and prone to worrying. So here are some things that may help cut out some of that stress:

• Prayer/Meditation/Quiet Reflection. As a Christian, I make it a priority to read and meditate on the Bible daily, as well as having a daily prayer time. During part of my prayer time, I make sure to set some time aside for me to just sit in God's presence, taking deep, calming breaths, and listening. A lot of times when we pray it's all talk, which is good, but we should also listen. And be still. This can be great for our health, because we are taking some time where we are doing nothing but being in God's presence, and the more we do that, the easier it is to remember during stressful times that we are always in his presence, and to bring the peace and truth that we find in our quiet moments with Him into the more stressful ones.
• Exercise. Moving your body helps your mind to relax, even if it's just going for a walk with loved ones.
• Journaling. Sometimes writing down all of your worries helps you to sort through them and see them for what they really are, or even just get them out of your system.
• Talk it out. You don't have to bottle up those feelings and worries, tell someone about them. It will probably make you fell better, and maybe they are dealing with the same worries and can empathize with you, or maybe call out your more irrational fears and bring you some peace of mind. It also is comforting to realize that you are not in all of this alone.
• Read your Bible. God is in control, and the Bible is full of stories and accounts that prove that. And reading and dwelling on His promises should help you feel better about your life, especially when you remember that He is in control no matter what happens.
• Stretching, particularly before bed. Stretching can release tension that you are holding in your body, and can help you sleep better.

2) Make sure you're getting enough sleep.

And good quality sleep at that. Getting a good solid 7-9 hours of sleep a night can do wonders for your immune system, and for your peace of mind. If you are having trouble sleeping, try one or more of these suggestions to help:

• Stretching before bed, as I said in the first point, helps to release tension you're holding in your body and relaxes your muscles so you can fall asleep easier and stay asleep.
• Try turning off all screens an hour or so before bed. Instead, do something relaxing like reading a book or taking a bath, something that will calm your mind a bit instead of stimulate it like the TV or your phone or tablet will.
• Drink a nice, soothing cup of herbal tea. Just make sure you give it time to go through your system so you don't need the bathroom in the middle of the night!

3) Get some exercise.

Especially if you can go outside or open your windows while you're doing it. Exercising helps to oxygenate your cells, making them stronger and healthier, giving your immune system a boost and also shipping out any toxins that are already in your system.

4) Eat lots of fruits and veggies, and try to stay away from processed food.

Fruits and veggies and other unprocessed foods like whole grains and beans give your body all the nutrients it needs in a way that is easy to absorb, keeping your immune system up. When you eat processed foods, like packaged, pre-made, foods with junk in them, or foods with a lot of processec wheat and/or sugar, your body has to use more energy breaking them down and gets less nutrients than what you need to be healthy, which could potentially compromise your immune system.

5) Drink lots of water!

This can help your body flush out any toxins that are in it, and keeping your body well hydrated keeps all of its different parts operating how they are supposed to. 

6) Take some high quality, immune boosting supplements.

You're probably thinking vitamin C, and that's definitely a good one. But probably more importantly is vitamin D, especially this time of year when it's hard to really get any from the sun. Taking a supplement of this could be huge for your health. It does a lot of different things for you, including fighting inflammation, which in turn helps you fight infection. And it can help bring your mood up too! Another good thing to think about taking is a probiotic. Your gut is pretty much the center of your health, and taking a probiotic not only helps add good bacteria, but also helps to get rid of bad bacteria that may be in your body.

There you go! If you follow this simple advice, it should help you as you try to stay healthy, and help you keep your sanity as well! Keeping your body healthy goes hand in hand with keeping your mind and soul healthy. If you're one of the people impacted by cancellations and are stuck at home, try to make the best of it and spend some time with your family, catch up on your reading, or any of the other things you just haven't had time for. This may also be a great time to work on your relationship with God, while you have the time, and shine your light to help bring hope to those who need it!  

Surrender Your Surrender

Surrendering has always been a big part of the, for lack of better term, “Christian walk.”  We talk about it all the time, we encourage each other to do it, and, more often than not, we admit that we struggle with it.  Giving up the right to ourselves is hard, and it goes against everything in our human nature, not to mention what everyone around us is saying.

“Take control of your life!”

“Make yourself your first priority.”

“Do what makes you happy.”

“Make a name for yourself!”

How many of these have you heard from people that you know?  That last one is my favorite because every time I hear it I just think, “so I guess the whole ‘Tower of Babel’ thing was lost on you..?”

But anyway, we have a lot of pressure on us not to surrender, and I think it kind of infiltrates how we surrender, even when we are actively trying to.  And I think that in order to fully give ourselves over to God, we need to take a look at this.

When you think of surrendering, what do you think of?  Let me help you out; one thing I think of is Peter, getting out of the boat and walking on the waves toward Jesus, surrendering to Him and letting Him guide and protect him through the storm (until Peter took His eyes off Jesus anyway, but that’s not my point), or from an applicable viewpoint, us surrendering our circumstances to God when they get bad and letting Him lead us through.  Another thing you may think of is surrendering to God your bad habits and sins, seeking forgiveness and accepting the repercussions, as long as you can get yourself right with God again (thinking of David after the Bathsheba incident here.”

So basically, we need to stop holding on to all of our bad habits, our fleshly desires, and any control we think we have over crazy stuff happening because God is the only one who can see us through, and this is necessary if we want to be true followers of Him, right?

Well, yes. 

But wait, there’s more.

Many of us are willing to give up the bad things in our lives – our flaws, sins, scary or bad circumstances, fears, doubts, lusts – but how many of us are willing to give up the good things?  Our talents, gifts, families, friends, spouses, when things are starting to look up, etc.?  Because God doesn’t just want you to give him the bad, but He wants the good right along with it.  Otherwise you’re not truly surrendering.

I think a lot of people recognize the bad things in their lives and see that they need God to help them work those things out, but they look at the good things and think that as long as it looks good to them, it must be God’s will, so they keep going however they see fit.  But we need to remember that we are part of a whole here, and just because we perceive something as good, it doesn’t necessarily mean God sees it as good for us. 

A lot of times we go after something that we think is good and beneficial for us without stopping to be still before God and listen for His guidance, because we think that if it is good, it must be God blessing us.  But we don’t get to decide how God blesses us.

We need to surrender our idea of what it is to surrender.  Until we are willing to completely give up our control of our lives, and our perceived purposes, and our time on this earth, then we are not willing to surrender ourselves to God.

Yes, you absolutely need to surrender your hard times, but also your good and joyful times.  And you need to surrender your flaws, sins, and weaknesses, but also your talents, strengths, and good deeds.  You need to turn every single part of you over to your God and King.  Remember that God is the source of your joy, not anything that you can do or have or achieve.  And you do not determine your purpose, but it was determined long before you came into existence, when you were simply a thought in the mind of your Creator. 

If you are in control of what aspects of yourself you are surrendering, are you really surrendering?

What about you; do you need to surrender your way of surrendering?