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As I stood in the bathroom stall and wept quietly, I wondered if I would die from the pain that filled my chest.   The heaviness that engulfed me threatened to smother me, and I gasped for air as my mind raced. “Is this my life now?  Is this the way it will always be?  Will the pain ever end? “ On the outside, I appeared to be stable.  I was working at a demanding job, parenting three kids, volunteering in the community, and I was serving alongside my husband at the church he pastors.  However, inside, I was crumbling.  I was suffering from a hopelessness that was so crippling that it left me weeping, curled in the fetal position on my closet floor.  The pain coursed through my veins, filling every cell of my body with fear and regret.  My pain overpowered me at times, and I wondered if I could die from the weight and sadness of it all. My body didn’t know which state to be in – I was constantly transitioning from “fight or flight”...

THE TIME IS NOW (week one) THE HARD RIGHT ·   Haggai: OT after Zephaniah, before Zechariah ·   Stage of life: You expected more, Different. ·   College—I’d know what I wanted to do, Graduated—Job. Married—Better marriage. ·   Kids fill void—Now just busy and broke. ·   Came to church—Tried God—Expected more. ·   Backstory of Haggai ·   4th year of King Solomon’s reign—Magnificent temple—idols ·   In 587 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar and his army crushed the Southern kingdom of Judah destroying the temple. ·   The Jews were taken into captivity for decades.(50years) ·   In 538 BC, about 50,000 people were allowed to travel back to Jerusalem, the capital of Judah, to rebuild. ·   Started rebuilding—Foundation/Altar—Samaritans opposed them. ·   14 yrs—project on hold—no progress, no prayers, no effort! ·  Focused on o wn houses ·   God raised up Haggai to call the people back to the task....

Finding A Way To Feel By Beth Mabe Gianopulos Friday, April 7, 2017 “Slowness to anger makes for deep understanding, a quick-tempered person stockpiles stupidity.”   Proverbs 14:29  MSG Even as I said the words, I knew that I should not say them.  I was angry, and I could feel myself losing control.  As my emotions took over, I yelled more and said more hurtful things.  As the anger began to subside, I saw the hurt faces around me and knew that I had made a terrible mistake.  At that point, the crushing guilt and regret took over.  Anger can be a good emotion.  Anger compels us to seek justice and to change situations that are unfair.  However, anger that is not righteous and that is uncontrolled can be devastating.  Why is anger so hard to control? We live in a society that teaches us that some emotions are acceptable and others are not.  From our childhood we are instructed, “Don’t cry.”  “Stop gettin...

·   Read John 15:4-11 ·   Pray ·   Emotion isn't a learned skill or acquired capacity, it's a primal component of human nature ·   No one has to tell you to be happy, angry, sad, etc. ·   Jesus was full of passion and emotion ·   Anger with money changers ·   Grief when we wept over death of Lazarus ·   Emotion also found in the language of Jesus ·   Jesus was incredible practitioner of pathos, a rhetorical term for an appeal to the heart through emotions ·   Today we call it emojis ·   Even when audience lacked the ability for religious reasoning, Jesus able to reach hearts through emotive language. ·   One way was through the use of repetition ·   11 times in six verses (John 15:4-10) ·   Stated the command to “remain in Him” ·   Repetition and example ·   Ex. teens, human brain not fully developed until age 25 ·   Why this command? 1) It is impossible to be fr...