God Used Zombies

By Cheryle M. Touchton
The Pocket Full of Quarters Lady


John 3:19
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
KJV

“How about them?” My friend Susie asked. We were in the mall witnessing. I always coach the people I’m training, that if they notice someone or feel some kind of “drawing,” they should trust that and speak up. Susie was very good at hearing the Holy Spirit.

I looked over and saw two young men working a kiosk that sold protective screen covers for electronic devices. Both had hair spiked in a Mohawk and holes in their ears stretched so wide that my pointer finger would have fit through them. Violent looking body art covered the arms of one.

“Sure,” I laughed. “Why not.”

“So,” I said, as I walked up to the kiosk. “What did your mother say about those ears?” 

They looked a little startled so I repeated my question.

“Mine hated it,” one said as he gave a cheeky grin.

“My mother was cool with it but my grandmother hated it,” the other said.

“What about the body art,” I asked the one covered in permanent color.

“Same thing,” he said. “Mother was cool. Grandma hated it.”

“What if you change your mind?” I asked. “The holes don’t look like they will grow back together.”

“Oh,” one said. “You can have surgery.”

“How long have you had it?”

“Five years.”

“I guess you must know if you like it,” I said. “How old are you guys?” They were 24 and 26, old enough to know what they wanted.

“Tell me about your body art,” I said. “You have some interesting pictures there.”

He pulled up his sleeve. It turns out that the bloody pictures were Zombies. He started to explain Zombies but I stopped him.

I always wonder what God is going to use to get someone's attention. This time, it was Zombies.

“I know all about Zombies,” I said. “I’m a writer and I talk about them in one of my books. I actually did research on them.” That got their attention.

“I travel the country helping people find faith in Jesus,” I said. “I run into people living on the streets, miserable and alone. I call them the walking dead. Their heart is beating. They walk, talk, and sleep, but their eyes are dead and they are dead inside – just like from Night of the Living Dead.” I also call them the night people because they want to hide how they live under the cover of darkness.

“Wow,” one said, impressed. “That is exactly what a Zombie is. They are the living dead.”

“I meet them all the time,” I said. “Jesus is the only person who can bring them back to life. When they pray to receive Jesus, I see the light come back into their eyes.”

That comment launched us into a discussion. These young men were philosophers. They had been friends for a while and thought alike. According to them, the afterlife had to do with intellect and was more complicated than we could comprehend as humans. One of them hoped that he might actually make it heaven but he had no idea if that was possible. They both had some church background and had a vague belief in Jesus. They had given the antichrist a lot of thought. One asked if I thought it was President Obama. The other stated that since the antichrist was someone who attracted everyone, it was most likely Jesus.

They pretty much believed in everything and nothing all at once and took great delight in trying to draw us into an intellectual debate. They had all of the cockiness and swagger of young people who thought they could figure out the answer to everything but were proud of themselves for being comfortable with not having to know for sure.

I couldn’t help laughing out loud. I was completely enjoying these impudent young men. I knew better than to debate – they would have happily taken me apart.

“Sounds to me like you are attracted to Jesus if you think he could be the appealing antichrist,” I teased. “I’ve heard people suggest that the President was the antichrist but I have no inside information on that. I have to admit that Jesus being the antichrist had never occurred to me. That was a new one and I’ve heard a lot on the road. I probably have opinions about everything you just asked and said, but it doesn’t matter what I think. It only matters what the Bible says. The Bible says Jesus is the Light of the World and the truth and the way. It calls Him the Good Shepherd and says that the only way to the Father is through him. He is certainly my light and the light for the former Zombies that choose that light. The Bible says we have all sinned and fallen short and that the wages of sin is death, so I’m not surprised when I meet the people I call Zombies. The gift of God is eternal life and my favorite line in the entire Bible is that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

I paused for a minute and added, “You know, Jesus himself came back from the dead.”

“I know,” one of them said softly.

I felt it. "It" was the conviction of the Holy Spirit. I could tell that Susie noticed it too. I never lose my awe of watching what I call the Holy Spirit hook – that moment when the Holy Spirit grabs them.

“You only need faith the size of a mustard seed to call on the name of Jesus,” I whispered. “I suspect you have that much. You admitted that you believed. I’d like to ask you to call on Jesus right now. There is a line in the Bible that says, ‘I believe. Help me in my unbelief.’ We could include that in the prayer. You have no idea of the wonder that waits for you at the other side of that prayer.”

“Ok,” the tattooed wonder said eagerly. “Wait! I should probably make sure he is OK with this.” He turned to look at his friend.

“I am,” the other young man said. “Why not?”

Together, they said they believed in Jesus – that he died on a cross and rose from the dead. They prayed, asking God to help them with any part of them that didn’t believe. They confessed their sin and asked Jesus to be their Lord and Savior.

When they finished praying, all of the cocky confidence was gone. They were stunned into silence. I let the feeling settle over them.

“Thank you,” one of them finally said.

“What you are feeling is the Holy Spirit,” I explained. “Believe me, you have only just begun on this journey. The Bible says all of heaven is rejoicing and there is no party like an angel party.”

They gave me their names and addresses for follow up. I gave them a tract that told them what to do next. They let me take their picture so people could pray for them. They were respectful and gentle as we said goodbye – forever changed.


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Let's Go Witnessing

By Cheryle M. Touchton
The Pocket Full of Quarters Lady

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Luke 10:1-2 NIV

“What percent of time are people with you when you are evangelizing?” Steve asked. He’d just spent a day following me through a mall, watching and praying for me as I shared the gospel. Ten people prayed to receive Jesus and a couple more took The Jesus Challenge to ask the Jesus they don’t believe in to reveal Himself to them. It was a good day.

“Not much,” I said. “I’m by myself most of the time.”

“Think about it,” he pushed. “What percent?”

I counted. It was six months into the year and I’d evangelized with 8 people. Some had spent multiple days with me. I compared that number to the total days I’d evangelized and estimated I’d been alone 90% of the time.

“That is a waste!” Steve said. “You should be with someone 90% of the time. People need to see what you do.”

“I invite people to come with me,” I said. “I think it scares them. I encourage contributors to go because I want them to enjoy what they make possible. Now that I think about it, I lead more people to Christ when someone is with me. I don’t know if it is because the Bible says go two by two, because someone is praying, or because I’m more focused.”

“It’s probably all of the above but I’m not talking about the efficiency of more salvations or even blessing people. I’m talking about people waking up to how simple and straightforward it is to lead someone to Christ. I enjoyed seeing what you did today but it was more than that,” Steve said. “I needed to see how simple it is to lead someone to Christ. There were no tricks, no manipulation - just straight scripture and an invitation. I guess I thought talking about religion was private and people might get offended. These people today seemed to want to hear what the Bible said.”

“They do,” I said. “God made us that way. Everyone is born with a need for Jesus. Evangelize simply means to give good news. I often introduce myself as a ‘Good News Christian.’ Everyone wants good news. People mix up evangelizing and proselytizing. It is not my job to manipulate or talk anyone into salvation. I simply share good news and invite people into the Kingdom. For many, the invitation is too good to pass up. Did you notice that if someone didn’t want to talk, I affirmed their privacy, handed them a tract, and pointed to the prayer. Most of them were reading it as we walked away. Many accept Christ just by reading tracts.”

“I did notice,” Steve said. “Today wasn’t scary for me. You just let me watch and pray. That is what I want you to offer to others. Just invite them to follow you, watch, and pray. Anyone can do that. I needed to know how easy it was to fulfill the Great Commission and maybe next time, I’ll want to take a turn talking. If I hadn’t watched, I might have thought it depended on my words. I still can’t believe how simple and straight forward it is.”

Within 48 hours, my phone rang and Steve said excitedly, “I just got a Father’s Day gift. My family took me out to dinner and I led my waiter to Christ. I plan to go out witnessing tomorrow night.” Steve is beginning a journey that is going accelerate his spiritual intimacy, awe, and faith in a way that nothing else will.

So, let’s go witnessing. Invite me to your area. All you have to do is follow, watch, and pray. You can do that. If you want to take a turn talking, ask and I’ll let you, but all you have to do is follow, watch, and pray. Evangelism may not be your primary spiritual gift but you can learn to use your spiritual gifts to fulfill the Great Commission. If you go witnessing with me, I promise you a day of watching the Holy Spirit work. I promise I won’t push or make you uncomfortable. You’ll leave with a fresh understanding of just how much the world wants to know Jesus. Let’s go witnessing.
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Cheryle M. Touchton is the Director of Pocket Full of Change Ministries. This ministry exists because people like you are called to help fund the work of the kingdom. To help keep the Pocket Full of Quarters Lady on the road leading people to Christ, you can donate at

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Windblown

This post is dedicated to my fun and funny friend, Jan Lucas, April 28, 1961-August 14, 2010

I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Eccl 1:14 NIV

Are you feeling windblown today? Are you fretting over people, places, and things you can’t control? Are you trying to win when winning does not matter? Are you upset over events that are meaningless within the perspective of eternity? A recent series of events has given me a new perspective on chasing after the wind.

I couldn’t imagine my friend, Jan, dead. She was only 49. I shuddered as I remembered laughing with her over everything. She lit up a room when she entered. Even when she was upset, she found humor. She worked full time as an assistant to a department head at a university and part time as a licensed mortician. Through her university job, she traveled all over the world and had an amazing understanding of cultures. Her training and experiences as a caring mortician gave her calming perspectives and insights that the rest of us depended on. They say if you want something done, you give it to a busy person, and Jan’s church had come to depend on that. The last time I saw her, I sat with her in her church and was amazed at how many people came over to ask her about some church project they were working on. I teased that she had fingers literally in every pie professionally and personally. Her husband and two daughters beamed as they watched her flit from person to person. Beautiful Jan was full of earthly life one minute and in heaven the next. It seems inconceivable that it could happen so quickly and yet it did.

Jan was a member of a weekly spiritual support group that I participated in for 3 years. We discussed our relationships with God, family, friends, church, and employers. We shared our feelings and struggles. Honesty was our guiding principal and we were careful to protect secrets. We occasionally met for lunch, for coffee in individual homes, and even visited each other’s churches for special occasions. We were friends.

Jan was the 4th member of that 6 person group to die since I moved away 4 years ago and all but 1 of the women were younger than me. Each died of differing conditions that destroyed the frail human body quickly. As I remember discussions and admittedly even whining in those intimate gatherings, I realize how truly windblown most of us are. As a group, we discussed issues with children, husbands, jobs, and finances as if they mattered. With perfect hindsight knowledge, would those things have been so important if we had known those lovely women had such a short time left on earth? Perhaps we’d have chosen to sit together in parks talking with God and each other while feeling the sunshine on our faces. Maybe we wouldn’t have cared so much about scattered newspapers left by hapless husbands and thoughtless remarks by distracted children. Unreasonable bosses, dwindling checkbooks, and church disputes lose their power with the decay of earthly bodies.

One of my mentors has a saying, “Life is life.” My life has vicissitudes that mimic things that matter. My husband recently had the thrill of getting to observe the next Mars Land Rover. Bob and I are excited about a planned romantic getaway. My granddaughter’s 2nd birthday is soon. As I write this, my mother sits in the waiting room of a cancer doctor. I spent the morning researching depressing elder care options for my beloved aunt and uncle. I reviewed the gloomy ministry checkbook and wondered what we were going to do. I talked to my youngest granddaughter and ached to hold her. I washed clothes, answered e-mail, and made my husband breakfast and dinner. Are all of these things meaningless under the sun? The answer is yes and there is relief in that answer.

When I look at life through the eyes of eternity, loving God and people more is all that matters. I can pass through thrilling and disturbing life events with the knowledge that my eternity is secure and forever. When I realize that an entire earthly life is a tiny blip in all of eternity, I understand what it means to live 1 day, 1 minute, and 1 second at a time with the peace that passes all understanding. Mathematically, a life of 5, 30, or even 100 years are all the same when the ratio is to an eternal timeframe. As I wait for news of my mother’s health and God’s wisdom regarding the next steps for my aunt and uncle and ministry checkbook, I do so while being held in the loving arms of a Father who has a perfect place already prepared for me. When my husband arrives home tonight, maybe I won’t care if he leaves his dishes in the sink or hugs the cat before he hugs me. When we love God with our entire minds, hearts, souls, and strengths, love for our neighbors becomes a guiding principal that improves the world around us. That sure beats feeling windblown.

PS – I’d still welcome your donations:
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Tortured by Life

I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. Ps 6:6NIV



“I know Calvary Baptist,” the woman next to me said. “They help people. They moved me into my house. I’d heard they helped old people so I called and a bunch of men showed up with a truck and moved me.”

“Have you ever worshipped there?” I asked. “We call ourselves the church without walls and moving you in is a great example. We like to be the church to our community.”



“Oh no,” she said. “I’ll never go to a Baptist Church. I was married to a Baptist preacher for 5 years. I found him in bed with a 17 year old.”



“Don’t blame all of us Baptists because of one bad one,” I said. “When I get back from this missionary journey, maybe you can go to church with me.”



I was sitting in Walmart, just a mile from my home in State College. My first stop on the 2010 Pocket Full of Quarters Missionary Journey was to get my nails done. I couldn’t believe how busy Walmart Nails was on Thursday afternoon. Four of us waited together and I already knew this woman had fallen down 27 stairs in 2004, was about to have her 7th knee surgery, had had 2 heart attacks, and had been abandoned by her 1st husband after 8 months. Her face showed the tell tale hollow sad eyes of someone tortured by life.



In fact, all three women waiting with me looked tortured. They knew about Jesus but none had a close personal relationship that could relieve their torture. The 33-year-old sitting across from me was recovering from a near fatal aneurism that left her stunned and disappointed with life. The woman on my left was overweight, in bad health, married to a Muslim, and had been trying to get pregnant for 10 years.



“My family wasn’t happy I married a Muslim,” she said sadly. “I figure it is all the same God but they didn’t see it that way. Jesus is in the Qur’an, you know.”



I nodded, while opening my purse and handing her 2 Christian tracts, Jesus and the Qur’an and Word Religions.



“Thanks,” she said. “You remind me of my friend. She is married to a Baptist preacher. She’s always talking to me about Jesus. I’ll read these.”



“She’s probably praying for you,” I said, smiling at her. “God probably sent me here.” I told her about traveling across the country helping people get to know Jesus. I gave her a card with a quarter in it. “This quarter represents the free grace of Jesus. That is the biggest difference about my Jesus. He loves us unconditionally and offers free grace. We don’t have to do anything to work for it. We just accept it. That information will tell you how.”



“I need prayer,” she said, looking down at the tracts. “We’ve been trying to have babies for 10 years. It isn’t going to happen without doctors we can’t afford.”



“My Baptist preacher husband and I tried to have babies, “ the first woman spoke up. “He used to get on his knees every night and beg God for babies. All that prayer didn’t do him any good.”



“I’m guessing that was before the 17-year-old,” I quipped, hoping to lighten the mood. It worked for a minute. She actually smiled.



“This is going to sound terrible.” She hesitated as if trying to decide to say something else. We all waited. “A man broke into my house and raped me. I got pregnant. We didn’t know whose baby it was so my husband got tested. He was sterile. The baby was from the rapist. I didn’t believe in abortion so I had her.”



Everyone waiting for nails service sat in stunned silence. They’d all been sharing their tortured tales but no one could top that story.



“How long ago was that?” I finally whispered.



“1975,” she said. “I guess it was good because I wouldn’t have my daughter.”



“You’re still grieving everything,” I said. “After all this time.” She shuddered and nodded. Everyone leaned forward to hear our quiet words.



“I’m dating a nice man but I won’t marry him,” she whispered. “Too many bad things have happened. I can’t be happy.”



“Yes you can! Life is hard,” I said. “The Bible warns us about that but there is a way to be happy. You’re tortured by life but you don’t have to carry all this around anymore. I have some scriptures here about grief. You can move past all this and be happy. I promise! I know people who have dealt with worse but letting Jesus help them.” I opened my purse and handed her a card with a quarter in it and a scripture card on grief and Jesus. Walmart Nails called my name so I stood up. The 2010 Pocket Full of Quarters Missionary Journey had begun.







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Cheryle M. Touchton is the Director of Pocket Full of Change Ministries. For more information or to schedule a speaker for an event, go to www.pocketfullofchange.org or call Gail Golden at 904 316-5462.



This ministry exists because people like you are called to help fund the work of the kingdom. To help keep the Pocket Full of Quarters Lady on the road leading people to Christ, you can donate at

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Copyright: Pocket Full of Change Ministries

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Journey to the Cross - Hearing Aids - Good Night God

Every night before my 2-year-old grandson, Noah, goes to sleep, he and his parents say their prayers. Noah ends this precious time by saying, “Goodnight God. Goodnight Jesus.”



The Bible tells us to talk to God evening, morning, and at noon. The hearing aid we are going to put on today is the hearing aid we need when we are tired and our defenses are down. In those last moments, before we retire for night, we have one more opportunity to hear God.

Morning Meditation

Read Psalms 55:16-17

Ps 55:16-17

As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice. KJV



• Call on the name of God.

• Enjoy your salvation.

• Pray and cry aloud, knowing He shall hear your voice.

Morning Prayer

• Ask God to give you the energy to spend the last few minutes of your evening, listening to His voice.

• Thank Him in advance, for what He is going to say.

• Tell God your joys, fears, and needs. Praise Him in everything.

• Pray for knowledge of God’s will for you today and the power to carry that out.

• Ask the Holy Spirit to interpret the scriptures you are about to read.

Morning Bible Study

My Bum Bum was a spry little man with a twinkling grin. No one could have had a better grandfather. He could say the alphabet backwards as quickly as he could forwards and his ability to say words backwards kept me giggling. I would sit in church and listen to his booming tenor voice, knowing no one could sing better than Bum Bum.



My cousin named our grandparents Bum Bum and Nanar and no one seems to know why. Bum Bum treasured my Nanar throughout their 55-year marriage. I have the love letters and cards they continually wrote to each other. “Thet, I’m sorry,” he wrote after an apparent argument. “I love you and didn’t mean to scold.”



On our wedding day, Bum Bum walked up and whispered, “You may not believe it now but you’re going to get mad at that man. Just make sure you never go to bed mad at him. Work out all your arguments before you go to sleep.”



At the time, I didn’t know Bum Bum was speaking the words of God. When Bob and I decided to take this advice, we had no idea how hard it would be. In those early years, when two strong willed people were trying to learn how to become one with each other and God, that commitment made for some very long nights. The advice, that I attributed to my grandfather and later learned was from God, has served us well for 35 years and I now give the same advice to newlyweds.



Read Ephesians 4:26-27.

Eph 4:26-27

Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry — but don't use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don't stay angry. Don't go to bed angry. Don't give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life. (THE MESSAGE)



• Does God say not to be angry?

• What does God warn us about our anger?

• What happens if we go to bed angry?



After God tells us “don’t go to bed angry” in Ephesians 4:26-27, He continues with some questions and instructions. Read Ephesians 4:28-32.

Eph 4:28-32

Did you used to make ends meet by stealing? Well, no more! Get an honest job so that you can help others who can't work.



Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.



Don't grieve God. Don't break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don't take such a gift for granted.



Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk.



Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you. THE MESSAGE



• What are the instructions for the dishonest?

• What are the instructions about how we are supposed to talk to one another?

• How are we supposed to feel about God?

• What does God have to say about mean behavior?

• How are we supposed to treat one another?

• Why do you think these questions are right after God tells us not to go to bed angry?



Read David’s evening prayer in Psalms 141-1-4.

Ps 141:1-4

O LORD, I call upon You; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to You! May my prayer be counted as incense before You; The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering. Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, To practice deeds of wickedness with men who do iniquity; And do not let me eat of their delicacies. NASU



Note how much of this evening prayer revolves around David’s longing for God to help him refrain from sin.

• How do we know this is an evening prayer.

• What is David asking of God?



And finally, read Daniel’s evening prayer.

Dan 9:20-23

Now while I was speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God, while I was still speaking in prayer, then the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering.



He gave me instruction and talked with me and said, "O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding. At the beginning of your supplications the command was issued, and I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed; so give heed to the message and gain understanding of the vision.” NASU



• What does Daniel say about his physical state when he had a visit from Gabriel?

• What elements of confession do you see in this prayer?

• Do you think Daniel’s weariness made him more open to hearing the message of God?



As we close this series on hearing aids, I urge you to turn up the volume on your hearing aid. Open your ears and listen. Listen in the morning, throughout your day, and at night. Listen to the Still Small Voice as He gently urges. Listen to the God of Fire as He speaks through mighty acts. Listen as you pray without ceasing. Finally, listen when you are tired. Confess before you lay your head down at night and sleep the deep sleep of the innocent. Read Acts 28:27. Hear with your ears and understand with your heart so God can heal you.



Acts 28:27

For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. KJV

Application

The 12 Step program of Alcoholics Anonymous has a step that encourages daily prayer and meditation. It also has a step that suggests taking daily inventory, promptly admitting where they have been wrong.



The book Alcoholics Anonymoussuggests that alcoholics constructively review their day nightly, looking for places where they had been resentful, selfish, dishonest, or afraid. It goes on to ask a series of questions like:

• Do we owe and apology?

• Have we kept something to ourselves which should be discussed with another person at once?

• Were we kind and loving towards all?

• What could we have done better?

• Were we thinking of ourselves most of the time? Or were we thinking of what we could do for others?



The book suggests that after reviewing the day, we ask God’s forgiveness and inquire what corrective measures should be taken. (p 86 Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Addition)



What members of Alcoholics Anonymous have discovered is that at night, when they are tired and their defenses down, they are more likely to get honest with themselves. They’ve also discovered that sin puts a barrier between them and God and makes them more likely to drink again. For them, nightly confession of sins makes the difference between life and death.



Tonight, before you go to bed, review your day. Use the above questions from Alcoholics Anonymous or use Ephesians 4:26-32. Put on the hearing aid of nightly confession and listen to God in the openness of weariness. Say, “Goodnight God, Goodnight Jesus,” with a clean conscience.

Journey to the Cross - Hearing Aids - Pray Without Ceasing

The second “hearing aid” we will discuss is to pray without ceasing. How can we pray without ceasing with cell phones ringing, watch alarms going off, and rap music blasting from the next car? What good would it do to pray without ceasing when our calendar is full?

One of Daddy’s excuses for taking off his hearing aid is that random sounds coming from everywhere blend and confuse him. It’s much like that with hearing the voice of God. Hearing aid technology does not allow Daddy to tune in the frequency he wants and tune out everything else. In our spiritual walk, with practice, we can develop that ability.

Morning Meditation

Read John 10:27-30.

John 10:27-30

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. NASU

• Sheep recognize the voice of their shepherd. Like a sheep, listen for your shepherd.

• No one can snatch you out of your shepherd’s strong gentle hands. Let them cradle you.

• The Father gave you to Jesus. Enjoy being His gift.

Morning Prayer

• Ask God to teach you how to pray without ceasing.

• If you have trouble hearing His voice, ask that He speak more distinctly.

• Ask for the courage to follow the sound of His voice.

• Tell God your joys, fears, and needs. Praise Him in everything.

• Pray for knowledge of God’s will for you today and the power to carry that out.

• Ask the Holy Spirit to interpret the scriptures you are about to read.

Morning Bible Study

Have you ever read a book twice? When you know the ending, you can better see how the seemingly random events fit together. My husband loves the television drama, “Twenty-four.” I watch it because I want to spend time with him but for me, the events are too startling and upsetting. If someone watches it first and gives me a synopsis, I’m not as traumatized by this 1 hour of breath-taking terror. I take comfort in knowing the ending, no matter how bad it is.



I’m also comforted in knowing that my Father is the director of our lives and knows the ending. I refuse to let myself be distracted by the theological debate that tries to figure out how God can know the ending and still offer free will. I just want to hear the voice of my Director and follow His cues. When I can’t distinguish His directions from the screaming of the other actors in my drama, I don’t have a clue what to do next. When I’m confused, I see my life as singular events and start living in breath-taking terror. When I hear the Director’s voice, I rejoice in all things, knowing that all things work together for good. The only way I can distinguish my Director’s voice is to be constantly in dialogue with Him.



Read 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. NASU



• How often are we to pray?

• What is the direction before the words “pray without ceasing?”

• What is God’s will for us?



Jeremiah was a prophet of God who lived in a spirit of prayer. People depended on him to hear a word for God and repeat it to them. Read Jeremiah 42:4.

Jeremiah 42:4

Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, "I have heard you. Behold, I am going to pray to the LORD your God in accordance with your words; and I will tell you the whole message which the LORD will answer you. I will not keep back a word from you." NASU



• How could Jeremiah have such confidence that he could hear God?

• How do you think his confidence affected the people around him?

• Are you that confident about hearing God’s voice?



Nehemiah was another prophet. Read his prayer in Nehemiah 1:5-6.

Neh 1:5-6

I said, "I beseech You, O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and loving kindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, NASU



• How often was Nehemiah praying on behalf of Israel?

• How did Nehemiah see God?

• How do you think he developed this opinion of God?



Read Nehemiah’s confident words in 2:11-12.

Neh 2:11-12

So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days. And I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. I did not tell anyone what my God was putting into my mind to do. NASU



He didn’t doubt that the “plans in his mind” were from God. Is it possible for us to be that sure?



Now read Ephesians 6:18.

Eph 6:18

With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, NASU



• How often are we to pray?

• Why do you think the scripture uses the word “perseverance”?

• What do you think it means to pray “in the spirit?”



Recognizing the voice of our creator isn’t difficult when we see Him everywhere. Read Psalms 150.

Ps 150

Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty expanse. Praise Him for His mighty deeds; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness. Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre. Praise Him with timbrel and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe. Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD! NASU



• What are some prayer reminders in this scripture?

• How are we supposed to praise Him?

• Who is supposed to praise Him?



Jesus prayed continually as He took His own journey to the cross. He prayed on mountains, in gardens, before crowds, and in the wilderness. Read Luke 5:16.

Luke 5:16

But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray. NASU



• What did Jesus often do?

• Why do you think He needed to “slip away?”



Now and again, we can live in a spirit of prayer in the midst of the noise and chaos we call life. More often, like my daddy and his confusing hearing aid, the sounds blend, forming a series of indistinguishable noises. We may even be tempted to remove the hearing aid. That’s when we need to briefly “slip away” and fine-tune our hearing aids.

Application

Since 1979, I’ve maintained the habit of talking and listening to God every morning. The time alone with God is precious and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. If I have an 8:00 AM flight, I’ll get up at 4:30 AM to spend time with God. In those quiet moments, God is as real as anything or anyone I can see, hear, or touch.



If you’re impressed, don’t be. Lest you think me too spiritual or disciplined, I must confess that it has only been in the last few years that I have even begun to have a tiny understanding of what it meant to “pray without ceasing.” I certainly had no idea how much clearer God’s voice could get with even feeble attempts at this exercise.



In 2002, God called me out of corporate America and into a life that I viewed to be fulltime service to Him. This calling was to travel the streets of America, listening to people and talking to them about God. I wasn’t sure if this was a permanent call but I was and still am sure of the directions for that moment of my life. I now realize that in anything I’m called to do, it’s full time service to Him.



In corporate America, my days were heavily scheduled. It worked for me to get up every morning and ask God for knowledge of His will for me and the power to carry that out. When I left my morning quiet time, I’m embarrassed to admit that I almost had the feeling I was saying goodbye to God until the next morning. But alas, God was faithful and answered my morning prayer as I experienced walking through my corporate days feeling like God was directing my steps.



When I left the rigors of a packed calendar to enter a life where I didn’t know what to do next, I had to develop an entirely new perspective on what it meant to hear the voice of God. On the road, I had to follow minute-by-minute instructions, without the benefit of a calendar, secretary, to-do list, outside family pressures, or an earthly authority. Not wanting to miss a single adventure, I knew I needed to improve my listening skills.



I began simply. When I stopped my car, I noticed the nature around me, and praised God for His beauty. The world became a church where worship was the only choice. With heavenly eyes, each place was more beautiful than the next. The rocks literally cried out in their call to worship.



I noticed God’s children and asked whom I was supposed to talk with. Amazingly, God answered directly by putting people in my path and preparing their heart for conversation. Often, they would walk up and begin a conversation while I was still praying. Occasionally, people would talk about their spiritual needs without prompting. One woman simply said, “Do you know how to pray?” As I began to pray without ceasing, I grew to expect direct answers.



Then I got the bright idea to ask God, while I was still driving, where I should stop. What a delight that was. When the Still Small Voice whispered, “Stop now,” the pleasure, adventure, or miracle in store was indescribable. I grew to expect a mighty work at every stop.



Suddenly, I realized what a powerful resource my Christian CDs were. Being a musician, I should have figured this out earlier but another confession is in order. Up until then, my driving time was for conversation – via a passenger or cell phone, listening to talk radio, or daydreaming. I began worshipping with music as I drove and as the trees and bushes rushed past, the music lifted my soul.



As my dialogue with God improved, I began to wonder what my corporate life would have been like if I’d prayed continually. Would I have been willing to follow God’s voice with a 9:00 AM appointment written in black ink on my schedule? Could I have praised Him in His sanctuary when that sanctuary consisted of gray walls, work cubicles, and people in suits? What would have been the results? I don’t know if God will ever call me back into corporate America but I’m intrigued by the question.



For today, pray about everything.

• Praise Him in His sanctuary and view everywhere as that sanctuary.

• Praise Him for His blessings and view everything as a blessing.

• Ask for His will and the power to carry that out, assuming He will say yes.

• When the sounds get indistinguishable, slip away to pray.

• Ask God what to do, trust your instincts, and continually obey in faith.

Neighbor Needs - The Secret to Dealing With Chronic Pain and Related Depression - Part 6

Neighbor Needs

By Cheryle M. Touchton
The Pocket Full of Quarters Lady


The Sh’ma: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself. Luke 10:27 NIV

Do you know what your neighbor needs? Do you care? Pain has a way of stealing our energy for anything or anyone else but ourselves, causing us to become so self absorbed and needy that people close to us feel trapped. Instead of taking the world “by storm,” we take the world one hostage at a time, as our own needs demand the care of those who are unfortunate enough to care for us. Instead of loving our neighbor as ourselves, we need and demand more than most of our neighbors are willing to give. We sense their resentment, and our own resentments grow as self-pity drives us further into a needy nightmare.

I lost the 1970’s. Seriously, I have little memory of them. They passed in a pain and pain medication induced fog. I married in 1971, began compulsively binge eating, and stopped living. Eventually, weight gain destroyed my health as my body cried foul to the continual abuse. By 1975, health problems were in full swing and my mother and husband despaired over the amount of care I needed. I slipped on the ice and nursed an injured knee. I had a breast biopsy, a difficult pregnancy, gall bladder surgery, and a radical hysterectomy. I couldn’t take hormones so I was 26, had a small baby, and in full menopause. I hurt everywhere from the atrophy of inactivity and the damage to my body. Need I say more? I was the needy neighbor everyone first tried to help and eventually avoided. In the end, I was left with a resentful husband and a mother committed to nursing me back to health while making sure I understood how to avoid this problem in the future.

In 1979, I took stock of my life, put unnecessary food and any pain medication down, joined a support group for food addiction, and got out of bed. It was over a year before anyone even realized I was better. When family members grew ill in 1980, and I began helping, people were naturally dubious. I had to insist they let me help. It startled me to realize how self absorbed I’d become and what a drain I’d been on those who loved me. I vowed to spend the rest of life making amends. I did much damage to my body during that time and still have lingering difficulties, but I fully realize that if I’d continued on the path I was on, I wouldn’t be here. Today, when I hurt, I use it as a reminder of how I was, count my blessings, try not to whine, and focus on someone else. It works. Jesus knew what He was talking about when He told us that the most important thing we could do is to love God and others.

Neighbor Need #1: Resist the urge to give into others constantly taking care of you.

For people who occasionally have health problems, accepting help can be hard. They have to learn how to let others help them. For people with chronic pain, being taken care of can be a trap that we relax into and never return from. I must confess to finding relief in shutting my door, taking a pill, and letting Mama take care of everything else. Being constantly cared for is eerily similar to an addiction and even today, years later, my instinct is to flee from it. Now, miracle of miracles, when I grow temporarily sick, I have to make myself let others care for me. No more “needy neighbor” for me.

Neighbor Need #2: Do what you can for yourself.

No matter how ill we are, there are always things we can do for ourselves. My husband has the spiritual gift of service and knows when I’m in pain. Now that he is not feeling hostage to my pain, he naturally volunteers to do things for me when I’m in pain.

When someone offers me help, I apply a spiritual exercise of asking myself a couple of questions.

Question 1: Could I do this myself?

If the answer is yes, I ask a second question.

Question 2: Would it damage my body to do it myself?

If the answer is no, I do it for myself. I want to save my husband’s generous nature for when I really need it and keep my body moving as much as possible.

Neighbor Need #3: Do a small secret service for someone every day.

There is nothing like doing something secretly for someone else to get me out of myself and my own problems. It can be as simple as picking up a sock and putting it away without complaining or as elaborate as sending money anonymous to someone in need. It doesn’t matter what we do. It only matters that we do it.

Someone assigned me that task in 1979 and I was surprised to learn that I’d stopped doing things for others simply for the sake of doing it. When I did something for others, I demanded credit. I may have gathered a few rewards for my actions on earth but there were surely none stored up for me in heaven. Through the years, Bob and I have made a game of doing secret things for each other without getting caught. It is quite the trick to get away with it when the other person is expecting it.

Neighbor Need #4: Pray for the needs of others

There are so many ways to pray for others. We can seek out prayer lists and use our seasons of pain to pray for others. We can offer to assist with a prayer hot line from our home or be a part of our church’s prayer committee. God will hear and answer our prayers and we avoid the trap of self-pity.

During that time I was so sickly, my prayers were all about healing for myself. I felt sorry for myself and my prayers reflected it. Again, I was surprised to learn how self absorbed my prayers had become. Now, it is one of the greatest delights of my life to have the privilege of praying for others. I take intercessory prayer seriously, constantly seeking and giving it.

Neighbor Need #5: Constantly speak your faith aloud to others.

Speaking our faith aloud, reminds us of it and suddenly we have more of it. By speaking our faith aloud, we become inspiration to others and that will encourages us. Speaking faith aloud beats being the Neighborhood Whiner King or Queen and people around us become more willing to help when we really need it.

In high school, I often spoke my faith aloud. I led my then boyfriend and now husband, Bob, to Christ. Somewhere along the line, I stopped speaking my faith aloud. When I started again, I was timid but the results gave me confidence. Now, I’m often introduced as an evangelist and people tell me I have the gift of evangelism. I always laugh because I know that without God, I’m just a poor sick person, stuck in bed, and draining the energy out of everyone around me. For me, speaking my faith aloud is as essential as breathing because it keeps me healthy.

Neighbor Need #6: Forgive others for not taking care of you the way you expected or needed.

People are not perfect and sometimes we just have to pray, “Father, forgive them they know not what they do.” They grow tired of taking care of us and that weariness turns into understandable resentment. I can remember being so angry with my husband when he left me alone with my mother to go on what I considered an unnecessary business trip. It felt like he didn’t care. I later realized that he cared but he had to find a way to keep living. When I forgave him and loved him unconditionally, he turned into the kind loving caring husband I craved. Resentment poisons us and keeps us sick. We must forgive if we want to get well.

The trick to loving our neighbor as ourselves is to love God with our entire minds, hearts, souls, and strengths. If we do that, our bodies begin healing and instead of being the needy neighbor, we become the person who meets neighbor needs. It is worth the trouble it takes to stop working on anything in life except loving God and others.

This is the final part in the 6 part series on dealing with chronic pain and related depression. I sincerely hope these words have helped you. Below is a summary of the tips offered in this series:

• Mind Matters: Focus your mind on what is lovely about your life. Educate your mind about your condition and follow medical directions.
  
• Heart Helps: Fire self pity and decide to be happy.
  
• Soul Soothers: Deal with addictions or strongholds that are coming between God and you. Spend time every day in meditation, prayer, and Bible Study.
  
• Strength Solutions: Get out of bed and start moving. Eat right, exercise to the level possible for your condition, and get the help you need.
  
• Neighbor Needs: Stop thinking so much about your needs and begin meeting the needs of others. Do what you can for yourself and share your faith aloud.

================================================== Cheryle M. Touchton is the Director of Pocket Full of Change Ministries. For more information, to schedule a speaker for an event, or to make a donation, go to the website or call Gail Golden at 904 316-5462. Copyright: Pocket Full of Change Ministries

Strength Solutions - The Secret to Dealing With Chronic Pain and Related Depression - Part 5

Strength Solutions

By Cheryle M. Touchton
The Pocket Full of Quarters Lady


The Sh’ma: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself. Luke 10:27 NIV

Does your strength need solutions? If so, join the club – or should I say the gym? America is obsessed with strength and it seems like there are gyms on every street corner. Diet shows top television ratings, physical trainers have migrated from the west coast into Middle America, and dusty exercise equipment hides in the corners of many homes. Strength solutions are readily available. The trick is to apply them.

Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and our job is temple maintenance. God gave some Cathedrals to maintain while others have simple country churches with sagging walls and peeling paint. Many spend their life grumbling about the temple they’ve been assigned or coveting the temple of others instead of loving their own precious temples and keeping them in the best condition possible.

Temple maintenance is relatively simple and scientific. We’re to eat right, get plenty of sleep, exercise, and go to specialists when necessary. There is a plethora of information available to tell us how to do that. The difficulty is having the spiritual discipline to do what is right. Add chronic pain to the mix, and we feel like resigning from our maintenance job. Here, we must remember two things – temple maintenance is always our job and we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

Pain Leads to Decreased Energy Leads to Depression

Chronic pain drains energy like a thirsty bath tub drain sucks circling water into its wide mouth. We respond by slowing down, which lowers energy even more and weakens our body. Low energy mimics depression, causing us to seek medical remedies that have frustrating side effects and possibly might not be necessary. Synonyms for energy are vigor, force, or zeal. When we lose our zeal for life, we stop living. When we stop living, we stop moving. When we stop moving, our body weakens as our strength follows our energy right down that preverbal greedy drain. Resulting depression ensures that we stay in that lifeless state of misery and inactivity.

In my twenties, body aches from obesity, fibromyalgia, and other related chronic medical conditions lied by whispering I’d improve it I went to bed. I stayed in bed, believing I was doing the right thing, and the result was I grew weaker instead of stronger. The resulting weakness lessoned my chances of getting better. I wanted to live and felt sorry for myself because I was stuck in bed. Clinical depression followed, making it seem impossible to break the cycle. In 1979, I stomped my foot at pain, got out of bed, developed a close relationship with God, and did what He said. The results were that I begin living again.

This article is about loving God with your entire strength. The secret to building strength is to love God with the amount of strength you currently have and allow Him to replace your strength with His. As you serve Him, your ability to serve Him improves and you become stronger. When we stop focusing on our weakness and begin focusing on loving God with the strength we do have, we stop serving our poor battered body by giving in to the pain, and instead use what puny strength we have to live. We listen to God’s voice along with the voices of the medical community and are obedient to both because our motives are to serve God. We accept the pain we cannot change, gain the courage to change what we can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Below are some strength solutions I’ve found to work in my life.

Strength Solution #1: Daily, rate you pain between 1-10, with 10 being the highest, and react accordingly.

A nurse taught me to rate my pain level every day on a scale between 1-10. She asked me to think of a minor pain and make it my 1. I immediately thought of a paper cut. She then asked me what the worst pain I’d ever experienced. I struggled briefly, trying to decide between gall bladder attacks and child birth and finally made child birth a 9 and gall bladder attacks a 10. I’m told kidney stones are worse, but thankfully, I have not experienced them - yet.

I react to increasing pain levels by paying attention to what I did the day before and try to avoid it in the future. Now, most days, I stay somewhere between a 2-3, which is manageable. At a 4, I respond with alarm because I know that a 6 makes me what to go to bed.

Strength Solution #2: Seek legitimate medical help and do what they say.

Pain is actually our friend because it indicates that something needs attention. Studies show that 50% of Americans have experienced chronic pain. When our body is annoyed, it screams. Hopefully, those screams drive us to solutions. The advice of the medical community comes in various forms:

Medication

Before taking medicine, I ask if the medicine heals or masks the symptoms. Years ago, I was willing to take both but found pain relievers addictive and dangerous. They masked my symptoms and made it easier to do nothing. They made me sleepy, which drove me to more inactivity and increased pain levels. Today, I only accept medicine for pain relief, if my pain level is at 8 or higher.

Surgery

For some reason, surgery frightens me. I kept a gall bladder way longer than safety demanded due to fear and the inevitable surgery was brutal because of the delay. I learned my lesson. When I injured my knee, I was quick to accept the doctor’s surgical advice and only suffered a few weeks. If I trust my doctor and he or she says surgery is my best option, I stomp my foot at the demon fear and run (if I can) not walk to the surgeon. If I don’t trust my doctor, I find a doctor I do trust. The Bible repeatedly combines strength and courage and I refuse to be in pain due to fear.

Diet and Weight

Diet and weight have an astounding impact on pain. A key aspect of temple maintenance is proper nutrition. As I mentioned in an earlier article, I discovered that eating white potatoes daily increased my pain. Extra weight also increases my pain. I don’t like hurting and am willing to reduce any food that increases pain. Find out what foods help or hurt and respond accordingly.

A special note– if you find out a food is increasing your pain level and you eat it anyway or if you weigh more than is healthy, you may be addicted to food and need the help of an organization like Overeaters Anonymous. It is impossible to love God with all your strength when you’re addicted to any substance.

Exercise

I’m in favor of physical therapy, trainers, gyms, and any form of directed exercise. I have learned to be careful and seek the advice of the medical community before committing to an exercise plan. I’ve been to physical therapy for knee pain, fibromyalgia, and heal pain and the results were good – as long as I did what they said. A personal trainer helped me learn to move through pain and push to the level just before I do damage. I belong to a gym that has a program that works for my body. I’ve found nothing more beneficial for reducing pain than exercise. A note here is that exercise usually increases pain before it decreases it. Safely push through the pain to the results.

Talk Therapy or Other Mental Support

Stress and my reaction to stress increases my pain. Several times, I’ve used talk therapy to help through difficult situations. Those sessions were focused on single issues, were short in duration, and had good results. The trick with talk therapy is like anything else – take the medical advice offered.

Bed Rest

Rarely has a doctor actually suggested bed rest. The times that they did were brief and usually in response to an acute injury or procedure.
Pain lies by whispering, “Go to bed.” I’ve found that my doctor usually disagrees. I trust the doctors and do what they suggest.

Strength Solution #3: Get plenty of rest but not too much.

Our bodies need 7-8 hours of sleep. My body feels better if I get sleep the same time every night. I avoid work situations that require “all nighters” and the enticing cheaper “Red-eye” flights because they are not worth the cost to my body. There was a time in my life when I used sleep to avoid feelings. Now, I get enough rest but not too much. Too much rest reduces my energy and starts the pain cycle upward so I resist the urge to give into afternoon naps - except when sick or on the Sabbath.

Strength Solution #4: Recognize the difference between low energy and depression and respond accordingly.

There was a point in my life at which I still cared about things but my energy level wouldn’t power my aching body into action. Pain, low energy, and depression feel so eerily alike that it is hard to distinguish what is going on with our bodies. I’ve found it helpful to know the difference.

• Depression and low energy make us unavailable to family, friends, and co-workers. When depressed, almost nothing matters. When energy is depleted by pain, we still care but feel powerless to respond.
  
• Depression and low energy steel joy. When depressed, we have little or no memory of what joy feels like. With low energy, we recognize that we should be enjoying events and miss the experience.
  
• Depression and low energy send us to bed. Depression makes us feel too heavy to get up and we feel stuck. With low energy, if something is a high enough priority, we may not like it but can push ourselves in the short term to do it.

Unfortunately, low energy and resulting weakness, can eventually cause depression as the prolonged grief of missed experiences changes us mentally and physically. Energy increases energy so if our energy is low, we need to move more, eat better, and follow medical advice. Depression is clinical and needs medical attention. Know the difference. God wants us to love Him with all our strength. Some of us are naturally stronger than others but all can grow stronger. To date, I have not found a way to be pain free but I have found a way to reduce my pain to minimal levels and have a happy and productive life. What works for my body and my medical conditions are as follows. Your solution may be similar but will also have many differences.

• Nutrition – Years ago, I eliminated sugar, processed flour, high fat foods, and eating between meals. Recently, I have drastically reduced eating four legged animals. I average between 1400-1800 calories a day and take vitamin supplements recommended by my doctor.
  
• Exercise - I stretch 10 minutes every morning. I do a 30-minute low impact cardio, strengthening, and stretching workout at a gym 3 days a week and make sure I walk at least 5000 steps every day.
  
• Medical Advice – I get the recommended medical checkups and go to a doctor immediately when something new happens. I do what they say.
  
• Energy – I distinguish between low energy and depression and react accordingly. After my son died in 1995, I grew clinically depressed and needed medication for a few months. When my energy is low, I move more, even though I don’t feel like it.
  
• Rest – I sleep 7-8 hours a night and resist the temptation to sleep more – no matter how I feel.

I’m able to do all of this on the days I’m spiritually connected to God and able to listen and respond to His voice. On those days, I’m so good that I think I deserve the body of an Olympian athlete but alas, I’m just lumpy bumpy me stumbling through my days, some of them achy, and trying to be the best Cheryle I can be. What I will say is that I love my life and God and most days, pay no attention to pain. The next article will be about how you can reduce your pain by loving your neighbor as yourself. Until then:

• Believe you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.
  
• Accept your temple maintenance job – eat right, exercise, get enough rest, and seek help when you need it.
  
• Ask God for the serenity to accept the pain you cannot change, the courage to change the pain you can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

================================================== Cheryle M. Touchton is the Director of Pocket Full of Change Ministries. For more information, to schedule a speaker for an event, or to make a donation, go to the website or call Gail Golden at 904 316-5462. Copyright: Pocket Full of Change Ministries

Heart Helps: The Secret to Dealing With Chronic Pain and Related Depression - Part 3

Heart Helps

By Cheryle M. Touchton
The Pocket Full of Quarters Lady


The Sh’ma: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself. Luke 10:27 NIV

“Listen to your heart,” a well-meaning person encouraged. When you hurt, there is no shortage of advice.


I tried listening to my heart and things got worse. I’d had a series of health problems that left me feeling broken. I was only 26 but felt 80. I hurt most of the time. My relationships were struggling. I envied my husband’s life and youthful body. That resentment drained my already floundering emotions, which added to my misery. The misery led to depression which sent me to bed. Staying in bed insured that my damaged body never got the exercise and blood flow it needed to heal. In short, I was stuck in a slimly pit of pain, self-pity, and inactivity. The problem with listening to my heart was that it lied. It whispered nasty things like:

• Eating chips will make you feel better.
  
• You need to stay in bed.
  
• Nobody loves you.
  
• There is no reason to try.
  
• You will never be happy.
  
• You will feel bad forever.
  
• That the pain means you cannot live your life.

These nasty indictments started a chain reaction that seemed impossible to break. Sound familiar? I’ve seen a similar pattern in countless people I’ve met in my missionary journeys across America. So what can you do? The answer is simple. You stomp your foot at your lying heart and decide that your heart’s only job is to love God completely. You combat negative emotions with the word of God.

Heart Help #1 Combat Negative Emotions With Scripture

You can replace every nefarious heart whisper with truth from the word of God. For example, thoughts about eating chips can morph into “My body is the temple of the Holy Ghost and doesn’t need junk food.” Your need to stay in bed can become “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Feeling unloved evaporates when you read what the Bible says about God’s love for you. When pain threatens to stop you from living, you remind yourself that Jesus’ did His greatest work as the world beat him and drove nails into His hands and feet. Read God’s word aloud to every wayward emotion.

Heart Help #2 Choose Happiness

Abraham Lincoln said that most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. I am still astounded at the power of that statement. When I was sick, hurting, and miserable, I had no idea I could choose happiness. When a mentor suggested it, I grew angry. He issued a two week positive thinking challenge. He instructed that I take two weeks and only allow positive thoughts in my head. He said that negative thoughts would sneak in but that I needed to immediately kick them out. It they lingered for more than five seconds, my two-week challenge was to start over. Since I had nothing to lose, I tried it. My first attempted didn’t last five minutes. I was astounded at how my unruly thoughts controlled my emotions and caused unhappiness. For example, I noticed the newspaper lying on the floor. My thoughts went like this. How many times had I asked Bob to put the newspaper away when he finished reading it. He didn’t even try to do what I wanted. If he loved me, he’d do what I asked. He must not love me. My feelings boiled their way to rage that caused me to lash out at my husband. When I tried to think positive, I discovered that anger at the scattered newspaper was a secondary emotion to grief about feeling unloved. That feeling was a lie. My husband loved me. Unfortunately, cleaning up newspapers was not one of his ways of showing it. When I focused on positive things about my husband, I started noticing all the other loving things he did. I felt better so I acted better. When I acted better, he grew more loving. Eventually, he even started putting the newspaper away. The same thing happened about pain. Thoughts of pain flooded my brain. Being female with a tendency to think in absolutes, my heart whispered words like, you hurt everywhere. Go to bed. You can’t do anything anyway. Those discouraging whispers were lies that doomed me to unhappiness. I didn’t really hurt everywhere – it just seemed like it. There was plenty of things I could still do. When I began focusing on possibilities, I began to accomplish more. My heart was encouraged by those accomplishments and I began to feel better about myself. It became easy to choose happiness. It took six months before I reached 2 weeks of positive thinking but my life improved every day during the process. Today, I know that if I am to love God with my entire heart, I must choose happiness no matter what else is going on.

Heart Help #3 Fire Self Pity

One of my favorite prayers is the Serenity Prayer. It begins with accepting the things I cannot change. Health problems had broken my heart and I was drowning in self pity. Accepting what I could not change meant firing self pity. I was shocked to discover that I almost enjoyed my feeling sorry for myself. After all, I’d earned it. An emergency hysterectomy at age twenty-five meant I’d never birth another child. I’d only had one baby and longed for more. No amount of time or positive thinking was going to change the fact that my body would not produce another child. I checked into adoption but my health problems made me a poor candidate. To get better emotionally, I had to accept the bitter fact that I was done making babies. Once I accepted it, my heart began to heal. Heart healing led to physical healing. When my body healed, adoption became a possibility. Today, I’m grateful for that hysterectomy because it lead to our adopting Kelley. Being around Kelley Touchton Pekarek is like having your own personal antidepressant machine. She brightens lives everywhere she goes. Self pity is a luxury that people living with chronic pain cannot allow. It may be the single biggest reason people stay stuck in their pain. Wallowing in negative emotions will keep you on the merry-go-round of pain that leads to depression that leads to more pain. The only way to stop it is to step off the merry-go-round completely.

Action Steps

Previous articles discuss improving your situation by loving God with your mind. The next 3 articles will discuss pain and how we can reduce it by loving God with our souls and strengths, and loving our neighbors as ourselves. Until then, help your heart:

• Chase away negative thoughts with the Word of God.
  
• Decide to be happy.
  
• Take the 2 week positive thinking challenge.
  
• Fire self-pity.
  

====================================================== Cheryle M. Touchton is the Director of Pocket Full of Change Ministries. For more information, to schedule a speaker for an event, or to make a donation, go to the website or call Gail Golden at 904 316-5462. Copyright: Pocket Full of Change Ministries

Making Lemons From Lemonade

No - I didn't say it backwards. Years of "positive thinking" training taught me to make lemonade from of lemons. Then I had an aha moment. I had it backwards. God is in charge. His ways are best. God always gives me lemonade and I misinterpret it and think I have lemons. When I remember to love God with my entire mind, heart, soul, and strength, I stop whining about lemons and recognize the lemonade. When I recognize the lemonade and take a giant gulp from my glass of life, I am refreshed.

Everything Is Lemonade

Take yesterday for example. I serve on an International non-profit board that meets several times a year in Albuquerque, New Mexico. When I was elected, I lived in Phoenix - a one hour flight away. Now I live in State College, Pa. What used to be a 1 hour flight takes 9 hours and an extra overnight stay. Whine whine whine.

Then I remembered I was in ministry and it was my job to travel the country telling people about Jesus. Usually, ministry supporters fund missionary trips. Yesterday was a chance to pass through 3 airports, travel in six vehicles and eat in public places - all funded by an outside organization. My lemonade was that God had funded an entire day of missions with hundreds of potential people to serve. It was lemonade all the time but I thought it was lemons.

When I recognized the lemonade, suddenly I grew grateful for the longer trip. Once grateful, I noticed the lovely clouds, the amazing snow over the Denver mountains, and the children frolicking in the airports. Everywhere I went became an adventure. Bumps on the plane were opportunites for intense prayer and offering comfort to worried passengers. I smiled at people, comforted a women recently divorced, briskly walked everywhere (so it counted as my daily exercise,) thanked military people for their service, and tried to be Jesus to the world.

Lemonade is better then lemons any day of the week. No wonder it was so much work trying to make lemonade. I aready had it. Why, when uncomfortable with circumstances, do I assume they are bad? Where does my faith go? Didn't God say that if I love Him and are called according to His purposes, everything is going to work out for my good? Why do I try so hard to turn life back into lemons?