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thing I wish I had more time for is study and research.
I enjoy learning. I need it. My clients need it of me.
But mostly it’s a drive that lives deep within. I recall
as a youngster, one of my favorite questions was “why?”.
I think this sent my dad around the bend some days. Yet
my thirst for understanding still goes unquenched a lot
of the time. Perhaps this is one reason I’m captivated
by the quest known as “recovery”. I’m not always content
to settle for “coping”. I prefer aiming for Gods full
intent in peoples lives, not just second best. Of
course, their recovery depends more on what their aim is
than it does on mine. Having said that, I’m always in
awe at how God reveals Himself to hurting people in our
offices - people who need a fresh vision to inspire them
with a hopeful outcome in their life.
In the course of each
week, one of the great joys I have is to lead a ministry
called The Harbour. We are presently celebrating its one
year anniversary. The Lord is helping us reach His
inspired outcome to provide a safe place for people to
anchor in the midst of their storms and struggles. The
team of volunteers that run the program are some of the
most loyal and dedicated people I know. On average 22
people attend weekly, but our constituency is over 40
people. This is an amazing gift from God, and it’s all
been accomplished on the wings of prayer. Also,
The Harbour is now able to provide tax
receipts for donations, and we are very grateful to
receive contributions. (mailing address: 18 – 1110
Henderson Hwy. Winnipeg, MB R2G 1L1). Thank you -
to those who already support this ministry in prayer and
financially. For more info, check out our website at http://www.theharbourfellowship.ca/
My prayer
as I write this is that you will experience God as your
anchor today, and experience recovery for whatever it is
that needs to be brought in line with His original
design for you.
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Experiencing
emotional pain may be one the most difficult aspects of
being human. It’s hard to think about pain as anything
other than something to be avoided. Unfortunately,
because of our human condition, there are not many of us
that will manage to escape entirely from the pain that
comes with living. Many more of us will, at some point
in our life, experience unbearable pain and despair that
we could have never anticipated or expected. So what
happens when we are faced with an emotionally painful
time in our lives, what can we do to survive an
experience that seems intolerable, unbearable? Is there
a positive side to our suffering or can we even allow
ourselves to consider that anything good can come from
it? I believe that suffering is sometimes necessary and
that it provides an opportunity for us to discover
things about ourselves that we would never have the
opportunity to find out had we not experienced our
grief, pain and loss. I have had the opportunity first
hand to experience this kind of self discovery through
my own painful experiences - the sudden and tragic loss
of a loved one through death; the brokenness of a
relationship that leaves behind a painful scar. And it
has amazed me how I have seen others be transformed and
changed by their pain and grief when they are willing to
move with the process into a deeper wholeness. Surely
our pain will change us, but how we are changed is
dependant upon us, and what we chose to do with
it.
When it
comes to our pain, we instinctively want to run, to
avoid, and to defend ourselves from the deep
vulnerability that it brings. The alternative of running
from our pain, from the things that bring that pain to
our awareness, is to surrender to it, to accept and
embrace it and let our pain do the work its meant to do.
Letting go and releasing our hearts to the healing
opportunity that is hidden in our painful experiences is
perhaps that hardest thing we will ever chose to do but
it is also has the greatest potential for personal
growth. |
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If you want
to be happy, healthy, successful, and live longer, give
your spouse a kiss before you go to work each day.
That's the conclusion of a study conducted by a group of
German physicians and psychologists, in cooperation with
insurance companies. According to Dr. Arthur Sazbo, the
study found that those who kiss their spouse each
morning miss less work because of illness than those who
do not. They also have fewer auto accidents on the way
to work. They earn 20 to 30 percent more money and they
live about five years more than those who don't even
give each other a peck on the cheek. The reason for
this, says Dr. Sazbo, is that the kissers begin the day
with a positive attitude. A kiss signifies a sort of
“seal of approval” in the eyes of Dr. Sazbo and his
colleagues and, they believe, those who don't experience
it, for whatever reason, go out the door feeling not
quite right about themselves.
When my
wife and I first got married, neither of us had to think
about kissing – it just happened! But now, years later,
I find that I need to sometimes be intentional with it.
When I kiss my wife goodbye in the morning I’m meeting
her emotional need for affection. She tells me that when
I do this I give her the message that I care for her and
will protect her. It tells her that she is loved; that
I’m with her, and even that I’m proud of her. All from
one little kiss! I also get much from it: I feel like
I’m renewing my commitment to her – and that even if we
haven’t agreed on something lately we are still “Team
Westman.” Whether you give this study any credence or
not, an "au revoir" kiss every morning can do you no
harm! If you’re not a frequent kisser, why not try it
every day for a month and see what happens?
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