Tag Archives: Anxiety

Something About Brain Cells

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Charles L. Allen wrote the following in his book, “All Things Are Possible Through Prayer”:

“We use different parts of the brain for different purposes. We use the upper brain cells when we worry and brood and feel fear. The lower brain cells control the muscular activities of the body so that when we engage in physical activity, it relieves the upper brain cells and allows them to function normally.”

The next time you are in the clutches of worry, fear, or anxiety try jogging on the spot, scrubbing a floor, or dancing a jig and notice how those nagging emotions give way to the new activity.

It works for me.

This Stress is Killing Me!

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God, Give Me Peace. This is the sixth prayer in Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To. Following, is today’s excerpt from This Stress is Killing Me:

One of the most powerful prayers God always says yes to is “Please give me peace.” After all, everyone wants peace–peace in the world; peace in our communities; peace in our families; peace in ourselves.This last kind of peace is perhaps most important because if we’re not at peace with ourselves, then it’s impossible to enjoy life, no matter what good things we possess. We can have youth, health, beauty, money, an amazing job, and a wonderful family–but if every day of our life is full of stress, then every day is going to be a nightmare. On the other hand, if we are at peace, then we can handle almost anything that life throws at us. … Most of us struggle with anxiety on a daily basis. We live in a perpetual state of reaction–reaction to the thousands of external forces that act on us all the time: TV, radio, friends, family, work, e-mail, bills, responsibilities, current events, carnal desires, worldly temptations, the weather. We’re constantly being pushed and pulled in so many directions that it’s hard to stand still and keep our equilibrium.

My greatest need for peace came on May 24, 2005, when a 5 p.m. phone call from my doctor revealed that “something was growing in my right lung.” This showed up on an x-ray I had just had at 2 p.m. the same day! I remember slowly hanging up the phone after being told a specialist appointment was being arranged as we spoke. My stress hormones were bouncing around my body like a lucky hit on a slot machine. That’s when I prayed loudly and sincerely, “God, PLEASE grant my your peace!” And it was granted..immediately.

Tomorrow: Okay, I Admit It: I’m Afraid…God Give Me Courage

Another Sunday Prayer

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It’s Sunday again and I’d like to share another prayer of the people:

Breathe on us breath of God as we welcome Your Holy Spirit into the silence of our hearts.

Father God, help us to realize that talking about You is not the same as knowing You, and talking to You.

Help us to overcome the obstacles that prevent us from enjoying a closer relationship with You. Help us to trust You completely in the problems we face and the decisions we make each day.

When we are self centered, help us to center on You and the needs of others.

When we are feeling depressed and anxious help us to rest in Your never-ending love and to feel the comfort and peace that Your love brings.

When we lose our sense of compassion, help us to remember Your constant compassion for us and make us aware enough to feel it in our lives.

Make us humble enough to know that You are our help in every need and without You we are incomplete.

Father we pray for our friends and families and for each other and ask that You would replace our grief with peace, our sickness with healing, our poverty with prosperity and our sadness with joy.

We pray for world peace, for unity among all people, for governments of all countries and for courage to stand up to the unacceptable acts of those who have no concern for the lives and welfare of their fellow human beings.

Help these people to find a way to channel their destructive behavior into productive action that they may become caring members of our society.

May our prayers today be acceptable in Your sight, and may we try to make our lives acceptable to You in every way. Amen.

 

Worry vs Lemons

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Last night I attended a seminar on anxiety and depression, and the speaker touched on the subject of worry and how useless it is. This reminded me of a remark made by my Pastor in a sermon a few years ago.

“If you insist on worrying you begin to look like you were baptized in lemon juice.”

Need more be said?