Healthy Living | Intercer Adventist News

My Real Enemy

January 22, 2019 By admin

Julie O’Connell was my very first nemesis. I met Julie on the first day of second grade. We were both new students at our school, so we stuck together. We relied on each other to navigate the new school, we sat together at lunch and learned the rules of “four square” during recess. Plus, Julie had red hair and I had never met anyone with red hair before.

Julie loved being my friend because I would always trade my school lunch for her packed lunch. You see, her mom refused to allow her to buy the school lunch, but I was more than happy to make the trade off. To this day, Mrs. O’Connell’s tuna salad sandwich is the best I’ve ever tasted. For the first three weeks of second grade, Julie O’Connell was my very best friend.

But then it all went down hill. One day after swimming lessons, Lori Matthews came up to me as I was changing out of my bathing suit. She told me that Julie had told the entire second grade that I was smelly. Smelly?! That’s the worst thing you can possibly be in the second grade.

At first I didn’t believe it, but Lori’s story was so convincing that I finally began to accept it. Julie O’Connell became my very first nemesis. The next three weeks were spent avoiding each other, sticking our tongues out at each other, and rolling our eyes when we knew the other one was looking. Until one day, Julie came up to me at recess with tears in her eyes and said, “Jael, why would you tell everyone that I am smelly? I thought you were my friend.”

After a brief conversation, we finally figured out what happened. Lori Matthews had pitted us against each other, for reasons I still don’t understand today. Julie and I realized that there was no reason to fight with each other. We were not enemies.

We live in a world in which we are constantly pitted against each other. We view our neighbors as our enemies if they worship differently, love differently, or even vote differently. I fall into this trap all the time. My prayer is that whenever I feel the urge to dislike or even hate someone because I think I have them all figured out, I remember that they are not the real enemy.

The real enemy has already been defeated.

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12, ESV).

Jael Amador writes from New York.

The post My Real Enemy appeared first on Answers for Me.

The Bear Tree

December 31, 2018 By admin

When I was a teenager, my parents, twin sister Laura and I lived in a 100-year-old, remodeled ranch house on 40 acres of rolling hills at the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas. The drive home from town took an hour on a long, winding road through the mountains. The four of us saw lots of wildlife, especially on evening drives. Creatures always seemed to appear in those twilight hours.

Most people get anxious when they see animals dart onto the road, but we loved it. We spied everything from raccoons and bands of coyotes to red foxes and bobcats. Once, we even spotted a mountain lion. I remember one late summer night vividly. We had turned onto the last stretch of road, four miles of gravel that led up to our house, but we had yet to see any animals.

Knowing how disappointed we were not to have spied an animal, dad prayed out loud, “Father, we ask that you would bless us with a sight of Your creation, Amen.”

As he prayed, I silently added my own request to see another mountain lion.

From our less-than-ideal vantage point in the backseat, Laura and I huddled together with our eyes fixed on the illuminated portion of the road. As we wound our way through forest and field, however, we did not spy a single solitary creature.

Odd, I thought, we’ve always seen something by now.

Then, as our gray car rounded a bend, I spotted a dark figure to our right.

“What’s that?” I asked, leaning forward to point at the rounded shape outlined in the ominous darkness.
“It looks like a big bear!” Laura chimed in excitedly.

Our parents started to chuckle as the bear shape morphed into an old oak log, and Laura and I sat back in disappointment.

Now we were halfway up the gravel drive lined with the darkened silhouette of oak and pine trees, and I tried to concentrate on looking for animals. My eyes felt weary of staring and I wondered if God would answer our prayer that night.

We rounded another long bend in the road. Then another. Still nothing. Climbing up a short hill, we could see the roof of our two-story white home.

Then, less than a quarter mile from home, Mom gasped, “Look, girls! Black bears!”

In a tall, shaggy pine tree on the lefthand side of the road, three furry faces looked down at us. Laura and I sat speechless. She and I turned to each other, our jaws dropped in awe.

It was three bear cubs.

Dad stopped the car in the middle of the road, and we sat with our headlights on bright about 20 feet from the base of that lodgepole pine. The cubs were one-fourth of the way up the tree and looked a little bewildered as they peered out at us. We sat and stared at the three cubs for a couple of minutes. Bears usually have two cubs in a litter, so seeing three felt especially remarkable.

At one point, Dad peered over the steering wheel to look for the mother bear. As far as we could tell in the pitch black around us, mama bear wasn’t nearby. Just three cubs who now seemed anxious to move out of the limelight.

Finally, dad put our car into drive and we continued on. We talked about the bear cubs the rest of the drive home. A neighboring rancher had told my dad that bears occasionally roamed the area, but we had never seen any before. We definitely did not expect to see triplet cubs.

That night as we pulled in front of the house, my dad remarked on how God loves to bless us, and how that bear sighting was another reminder of God’s faithfulness. We never saw bears again, but every time we see that tall, shaggy pine tree, it reminds us that God answered our simple prayer.

Lindsey Faith Hoyt writes from Northern Nevada.

The post The Bear Tree appeared first on Answers for Me.

Unplug the Machine

November 12, 2018 By admin

Christmas of 1996 was the holiday-from-you-know-where for my husband and me. Despite the very best of intentions, I practically ruined everything by trying to make it something to remember for everyone in our family. Oh, it was something to remember, all right. If ever there was a Christmas machine that needed to be unplugged, it was certainly running willy-nilly at my house that year.

Soon after that self-inflicted fiasco, I marched myself down to the nearest library. I wanted to find something, anything that would help me learn how to do things differently the next year. That’s when I stumbled across Jo Robinson and Jean Coppock Staeheli’s book, Unplug the Christmas Machine: A Complete Guide to Putting Love and Joy Back into the Season (Quill, 1991).

Within the very first pages, the authors explain their mission. “We have written this book to help people create more rewarding Christmas celebrations,” they write. They contend that there is no one right way to celebrate the holidays. “The people who find the most pleasure in Christmas are the ones who have taken control of the celebration and shaped it to conform to their own wishes and values,” they add.

The book starts by examining the traditional roles men and women play in the Christmas celebration and how these roles cause problems. According to Robinson and Staeheli, women typically are the Christmas Magicians. “Like their mothers before them, women are responsible for transforming their family’s everyday lives into a beautiful, magical festival.” This added responsibility, along with all the other duties women fulfill, often pushes the level of stress beyond toleration.

If women are the Christmas Magicians, the authors explain, then men are the Christmas Stagehands. “Like their fathers before them, men expect to play a subordinate part in the celebration.” Although many men are happy to let their wives take charge, they often find that being so uninvolved is one source of their dissatisfaction with the holiday.

Then there’s the role of children. The authors state that children are one of the prime targets of the Christmas Machine because toys make up such a big, dependable part of holiday retail sales. Unless parents work hard to teach their children otherwise, children quickly come to believe that present-opening is all there is to Christmas.

The authors also discuss the problem of dealing with difficult relatives at family gatherings and cultural mores surrounding the gift exchange. The remaining chapters give ideas for simplifying and enriching the holiday celebration.

Return to balance

Reading this book gave me great insight into some of the reasons why that particular Christmas had gone so awry. I was trying to create an unrealistic, magical holiday while totally excluding my husband. I also put an inordinate emphasis on the gift exchange. This book helped me to see that although my intentions were good, my plan for a “perfect” holiday was destined to fail from the very beginning.

If you’ve ever felt disappointed with Christmas and longed to do something about it, this book is a must-read. It’s not too late to get hold of a copy and begin unplugging the Christmas machine in your house this holiday season.

Nancy Twigg writes from Tennessee.

The post Unplug the Machine appeared first on Answers for Me.

Read more at the source: Unplug the Machine

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Answers for Me.

As Little Children

November 7, 2018 By admin

Dear God: I can hear my grandchildren wrestling in the living room and I’m not sure I’ve ever heard anything more delightful. The baby is just developing his belly laugh and my four-year-old loves making him laugh. They giggle for the shear joy of it and luckily for me, they do it often.

When was the last time I laughed out loud out of joy. A lot of the time I act like things are pretty grim and are no laughing matter. But in reality, life is good. I have children who’ve grown in the Lord, married loving people and birthed children who are healthy and happy – thus the giggling. Sure, I’m getting older and have some aches and pains, but I’m so blessed. God thank for you for all you’ve given me, including the joy of laughing out loud and help me do it more often.

In Jesus’ name. Amen!

Dee Litten Whited writes from the east coast.

The post As Little Children appeared first on Answers for Me.

Read more at the source: As Little Children

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Answers for Me.

Prescription Drug Overdose

December 6, 2017 By admin

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Prescription drug overdose in the US is now the leading cause of injury death, more than motor vehicle traffic accidents.

In 2012, health care providers in the US wrote 259 million prescriptions for painkillers. That’s enough for every American adult to have a bottle of pills. This same year 41,502 people died from drug overdoses. Prescription drugs accounted for 53 percent of these fatalities. Of the 22,114 deaths which occurred from these overdoses, 72 percent involved opioid analgesics and 30 percent involved benzodiazepines.¹

When the Centers for Disease Control in the US identified the five top health issues in our country, the second major concern is the prevention of prescription drug abuse and overdose. Linda C. Degutis, DrPH, MSN, who is the director of CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control states:

“The problem of prescription painkiller overdoses has reached epidemic proportions. The annual number of overdose deaths from these drugs now exceeds deaths from heroin and cocaine combined. This is a public health crisis and measures must be taken now to reduce the death toll.”²

Conservative Christians are vulnerable to prescription drug abuse. They “know” that alcohol and street drugs are “bad.” But there is a temptation to turn to medical professionals to get more prescription drugs than their condition needs. Then shame locks them into hiding their addiction.

The most common addictive drugs, which can give a state of intoxication, are depressants. These barbiturates and tranquilizers are used to relieve anxiety, but can quickly become addictive with tolerance levels changing. Stimulants, which give people a sense of alertness, can also be abused. Overdosing on any of these can lead to death.

Church members can be quick to judge those struggling with prescription addictions as morally weak. But there is a growing awareness that a problem with prescriptive drugs is both a medical problem and a spiritual problem. Help can come from both medical professionals and those who can provide spiritual encouragement.

If you’re struggling with an addiction to prescription drugs, don’t hesitate to get help. Talk with your medical doctor. If you are tempted to overdose or have taken too many pills, immediately call 9-1-1 and ask for help. You can also talk to someone from the American Association of Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222.

If you have a family member or friend who seems to have an addiction to prescription drugs, be an encouragement to that person. Begin praying for them. Talk with them. Don’t make excuses for them or try to control their lives. There may be denial and anger. Curtis VanderWaal, MSW, Ph.D., Chair of the Social Work Department at Andrews University, gives these additional suggestions:

“There are, however, some important things which you can do to deal more effectively with someone who has a drug or alcohol problem. You should try to be: Firm – explain why you feel use of alcohol or other drugs can be harmful, causing problems which require counseling or treatment. Understanding – listen to the reasons why he or she uses or abuses alcohol or other drugs. This can be difficult to do, but it is important if you want to maintain a level of trust and convey a sense of acceptance. Supportive – assist the user in finding help and provide moral support through tough times ahead.”³

God has a tender regard for all who feel overwhelmed by pain in this world, whether it’s physical, emotional, or spiritual. A person addicted to prescription drugs may feel that it is impossible to let go of medications that help them survive. Jesus once said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26, NIV).

If you feel the weight of the world pressing you down, remember, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 24:18). Know that you have a kind and compassionate God who wants to set you free.
Curtis Rittenour writes from the Pacific Northwest.
¹ www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns
² http://www.cdc.gov/media/dpk/2013/dpk-2013-review.html
³ http://www.adventsource.org/as30/plusLine.article.aspx?id=703&umschk=1

Read more at the source: Prescription Drug Overdose

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Healthy Living.

My Real Enemy

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The Bear Tree

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Unplug the Machine

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As Little Children

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Prescription Drug Overdose

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