AN APPLE A DAY - LETTING GO OF THE SUPER-PERSON IMAGE

AN APPLE A DAY
DAY 115 OF 365 DAYS TO A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE 
(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30).

Let this scripture be an anchor for life  It is so easy to get off track when it comes to your health! 

One minute you are cruising along, planning your healthy meals, exercising regularly, getting lots of rest, tending to your relationships both with God and men; then suddenly the bottom falls out of the sky and disrupts your calendar and bombards your nicely planned and organized life. 

It isn’t you that causes these unexpected interruptions; it is life in general and the lack of any ability to foresee the future or to know the unexpected plans of others and how they will intersect into your days.  

Maybe you have things all neatly laid out; then a dear relative from out of town decides to come to visit at your house for two weeks which causes your schedule to be completely rearranged.  You must keep working through this visit because you had not planned it yourself and you have no scheduled off time.  Of course you just can't say "no."  You don’t want to miss a moment with this person you love and you are thankful to be able to offer them a place to stay; but you totally had not planned on spending that extra time; it cuts into your prep time for buying the groceries and arranging the healthy menus you want to follow on your diet.  You put off the projects you had planned in order to take more time after work with them.  You also want to prepare more "special" dishes for this not so frequent visitor; so you get off your healthy eating plan for a few temporary days.  "What difference will two weeks make?"  You repeat these words to yourself quickly as you pat yourself on the back for giving special people first priority in your life; as it should be!  You are determined to go with the flow and enjoy the moments.   

That is all good and right, so you just know everything else will fall right back into place later.  Then you find out the NEXT weekend (the one you thought you were going to have free to recover) needs to be used to take care of some unexpected visits from your grandchildren, who need you to be babysitting with while their parents tend to pressing life matters.  Hmmmm - a whole long weekend, not a few hours – a whole three days that you will need to rearrange your schedule for again.  Those projects you had planned get pushed back a little further.  Your recovery time just doesn’t happen as planned.  You had already given up your grocery shopping time and meal planning in order to give that extra time to the visiting relative….now you need to add three more days to the no-down-time schedule.  

You LOVE spending time with your grandchildren though; and you don’t want to ever say “no.”  You might miss some magical moment in their lives!  That might make your most awesome grandmother level drop below the average line for a few days.  No way!  You agree to keep those sweet kids without a moment's hesitation, and you plan to think of some way to feed and entertain them on your lunch hour the day before they arrive.    

Okay – this road is getting just a little bumpy, but you can walk on without faltering!   Just a few more days to overcome and all will be back to normal again.  You can just grab fast food on that grandchild weekend, the kids will love it for a change and you will not have to worry about time in the kitchen.  Win/Win??  Not really, but you will get by.  

You decide also to plan to meet your much loved and cherished visiting relative in a high calorie restaurant in order to squeeze in a little more visiting time while they are here.  Schedule overload?  Nah....you can do it, and a little dessert won’t hurt, right?  After all; it is all in good taste to enjoy fine food and coffee with those that you love. 

As you are working full time in the middle of all of this frantic rearranging, a new project kicks off unexpectedly at work and deadlines fall right in your face.  You start working through those lunch hours that you had been using for walking in the park for an hour a day.  Got to meet those deadlines – no choice!  No exercise or time to walk around the building on breaks during these next few weeks!  The Company will order fast food for all of us who are faithfully burning the midnight oil in order to get the marketing done in time for the big project.  Pizza, pizza, pizza and more pizza; not your typical healthy diet.  Oh bother!  

If you are not working late; you are busy entertaining, and you end the week with a house full of energetic children.  No down time for you Grandma; too much fun to be had this week!  

You are trying to figure out how to do the laundry and entertain the kids at the same time when suddenly you realize it is your husband’s birthday.  Yikes!  How on earth will you ever be able to plan any special time out with him with everyone else’s schedule whirling around in your brain?  Not to mention that you, by now, have consumed too much sugar, wiped too many runny noses and not had a green leafy vegetable on your plate for several days.  Sleep?  Are you kidding?

Whether you are a man or a woman; by now you have probably realized the dangers of the super-person syndrome are at work here!  

The timing for the rest of the week usually goes something like this; as you are planning dinner reservations for your husband in a kid-friendly restaurant that will cost a fortune and be very wasteful, your agent calls.  You have waited five years to find the right publisher for your new novel and your agent tells you they are in town, ready to buy and MUST see you sometime THIS weekend, because they will be hopping a plane back to New York on Monday morning.  Your heart sinks.  

You hang up the phone and pull out a carton of chocolate ice cream and devour the whole carton as quickly as possible.  It is runny and melting because of your tears falling into your bowl; and the grandchildren are all staring wide-eyed at you as if you suddenly lost your mind.  Your husband walks in with a big grin on his face and lets you know you can go for a ride in the brand new boat he just bought himself for his birthday.  It only gets worse from here.  Super-person syndrome is NOT where healthy people need to live!  You’ve got to end this now; but how?

Good news.  There is a possibility of solving all of this and getting your life back.  It will take great concentration and perseverance on your part and it will not be easy.  Let’s just take a deep breath and consider the fact that productivity and tangible accomplishments do not necessarily make you a better person!  Sometimes in life; “more” is NOT better.  

Quit feeling the guilt of not being perfect.  You ARE perfect without any of these things!  Did God not create you just the way you are?  You need to just slow down and de-stress; but how?  You tried scheduling your life but it is OTHERS who didn’t consider your schedule.  

Something just isn’t working here.  Let’s start to sort it all out and figure out how to forget the perfectionist attitude and all the stress that comes with it.  How can you achieve this without hurting everyone and everything that you truly care about?  The things that are happening are all good and all within your goals in life – you just need to find out how to pace them out and slow them down a bit!

Totally impossible and unachievable goals like these can undermine your health.  You can’t last long in this snowball effect without completely burning out.  In the end you simply wind up hurting all those you so want to please.  

Take a deep breath and read on.  Be brave.  If you are identifying with this super-person syndrome (I’ve often been guilty); then find the nearest phone booth and change back into your regular clothes!  Burn that super-person outfit as soon as possible and wipe it from your memory!  

You can be a good person without being a super-person.  You trying to be a super-person is actually enabling others that you are helping to become false/super-people, and at the same time you are crippling your chances of ever finding complete peace.  Let that sink in and read on (after you change in the phone booth.)

Now close your eyes and memorize these three little words.  KEEP LIFE SIMPLE.  Say them to yourself first thing every morning and each night before you close your eyes to sleep.  This is your new motto. 

Okay – easy for me to say; but how do you actually DO this?

Began by writing down one little sentence.  This sentence should explain your purpose in life.  It should address the things that are most dear and most important to you, the things you can’t possibly give up or live without.  I’ll give you an example with my own statement:  “My purpose in life is to joyfully and thankfully give glory to God, to be a loving wife, mother, grandmother, daughter and friend, and to use my God-given talent for writing as wisely and effectively as possible.”

Simple; right?  So go ahead and write your own statement now.  

Whenever things seem overwhelming and impossible; take this little index card with your life statement out and read it to yourself as a reminder.  Post it on your mirror if needed.  All things to all people is NOT your mission in life.  Remember when to say “no.”    

Now that you have your mission statement for a happy life – make yourself three little lists.  

(1)  A list containing everything that you must do in a day to survive.  This would include anything you must do in order to get through a day.  List those things like eating, drinking, bathing, cooking, cleaning, working a job, paying bills, etc.  Just the things that are typical in order to survive each day.   

(2)  Now make another list of only the things you think you must do daily to accomplish your life mission statement. 

(3)  The last list should contain everything you are presently doing daily that you think you can stop doing without affecting any of your life goals. 

You will probably learn a lot by studying and analyzing these three lists.  Now buy a new calendar and begin to make yourself hour by hour appointments that incorporate the thinking of your life mission into what you need to do to survive every day.  List the tasks of each day of the week out in a way that utilizes these three lists to your best advantage.  Keep it simple!  Study the last list for time wasters and unrewarding time spent and try to quit doing these things.  Try eliminating one unnecessary thing a day until the whole list from list number 3 is crossed out. 

Schedule your life in a way that is workable for obtaining your life mission while allowing yourself time to do the daily things you need to survive.  Let your needs take priority over your wants, but do not leave your "wants" out of the equation.  

Schedule all survival tasks like cooking, cleaning, shopping, laundry, etc.   Space these things out so that you don’t have to hurry or worry that you will not have your needs for the week met.  Can you delegate any of these things to someone else?  Are there any things on this list that you can afford to hire someone else to do?  Would getting a few things better organized cut down on your routine tasks?  Schedule in organizing sessions until it is all easier.    Make standard pre-printed extra copies of grocery lists that you can just check off what you need and don't need from.  Keep them in a handy place so they are available when needed.  Print out your recipes into a handy book you can keep in the kitchen.  Map out about seven standard, healthy menus for meals that you memorize and can cook without instructions and use them over and over again for your daily meal plans.  Keep standard food items stocked in your pantry and freezer.  Buy extra cleansers and paper goods so you don't have to run to the store all the time when you run out.  Think of easier and more efficient ways to organize your cooking, cleaning and laundry.  Follow through.  Keep it routine so it doesn't get overwhelming.

Allow lots of down time in each day.  This is important!  Block off at least one day of the working week where you do nothing at all after work.  Buy dinner out.  Allow at least two-hours to do anything your heart desires.  Take a bubble bath, read a book, call a friend.  This is your little weekly oasis of peace.  Bask in it.  Don't ever forget to schedule it.  This will get you through the rougher parts of the week.

Each morning get up in time to give yourself some extra minutes just to drink coffee, sit outside on your back deck or front porch, pray, read the paper, sing, have a conversation with your dog; whatever makes your morning start out good!  Don’t even look at that daily to-do list you made until you give yourself your morning time to relax and be thankful for each new day.  Eat a proper breakfast and dress properly for what you will be doing all day.  Then;  consult your to-do list and tackle the items of your daily work. 

When noon arrives, stop and take a break for at least an hour.  Do not run errands, tend to other people’s needs or talk business during this hour.  Eat what is healthy for you.  For me – I’m fasting for lunch, but I’m taking walks outside and enjoying a hot drink when I return from the walk.  Listen to music or invite a cheerful friend to go along and walk with you; but do not make your lunch “task” oriented in any way.  This is your healthy break – take it.  Do not skip it - ever!  Do not let anyone steal it from you.  You need this time of peace and joy for your health. 

Same thing applies to your early morning routine.  Sip your coffee slowly.  Notice how good the fruit tastes that you are putting on your breakfast plate.  Listen to the birds sing as you take breakfast on your patio outside and offer up a morning prayer of thanks to God.  Move as slow or as fast as you please.  Don’t keep anyone’s clock but yours.  Remember all of this before you pick up your daily to-do’s and start to tackle them, then take that long, luxurious time out again at lunch.  Be selfish – it isn’t selfish – it is healthy!  You staying healthy is good for your family and friends.  Take pleasure and do not feel guilty in doing this. 

After the mid-day break – tackle the rest of your list for the day.  Schedule your afternoon and run your errands on the way home from work. Save time and gas money by shopping on the way to and from other places.  Space your afternoon errands out according to need and try to frequent places that are on the right side of the road for you to stop conveniently without fighting traffic.  Schedule your cooking and time in the kitchen each evening; then sit down at the table to enjoy your dinner and do not rush.  Chew slow.  Savor the taste of the food.  Be creative and artistic with dinner when you feel like it.    

Don’t make appointments during this scheduled dinner time.  Ignore the phone and eat at the table instead of in front of the television.  

After you have relaxed for an hour with your food; schedule some time to clean up and do some housekeeping chores; but make it a brief time; not a long drawn out work routine.  Schedule housekeeping chores according to need.  The point is to schedule time for spaced out house work so that you do not feel overwhelmed and have to do everything all at once or in one day at the end of the week. 

Make the last two hours before bed be your real down-time.  Ignore the phone.  Do not turn on your computer or check your e-mails.   Schedule these things into your day time work time.  Do all of those things earlier.  Those last two hours of the evening are about relaxing and unwinding.  

Sip on some wine.  Watch a movie or a show that you enjoy or listen to music or read a book. Do not get into any heavy conversations with family members!  

Take about 15 minutes at the end of this time to think about your next day and make any notes you need to remember.  Look over your calendar for tomorrow.  While you are taking that last glance at your calendar for the day,  stop to write a note to yourself that describes your favorite part of the day that just ended.  Offer up your thanks to God for it.  Let that be your last major thought for the day.   You will come to cherish these notes.  I re-read and review mine at the end of each year to remember how blessed I am!  

Go to sleep in a clean, orderly room and make your bed as comfortable and cozy as possible.  Your bedroom should be an oasis away from the rest of the busyness of the house.  Pamper this room.  Arrange fresh flowers in the space, or fill it with special photos you enjoy seeing.  Arrange the furniture to allow for comfort and ease and order and rest.  Make the colors peaceful and cheerful.   Keep your bath area clean and organized and well stocked.  You can schedule all of this into your daily calendar of routine to-dos.  Keep your clothes closet in order and your clothes ready for each day.  That can save you an hour a day if you do it right.  I wrote a blog that might help with this:  ( http://dancinginseason.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-house-doctor-organized-home-is.html )  

Most of all, keep things as simple as possible.  If you sleep better with a sound machine or music going; please do.  Whatever it takes for you to rest is wise.  If you don’t feel sleepy but you know you need to sleep; try drinking chamomile tea, sipping a glass of wine and/or reading something happy, tranquil and peaceful. Get eight hours of sleep each night.  

Just this sense of order will help you de-stress and feel better, but here is the most important thing of all to remember.  Schedule two days of downtime each week.  One day should be for leisure and fun.  Spend time with your husband or wife.  Visit with your kids and grandkids.  Take time to call friends and do things with friends.  Enjoy your hobbies without feeling guilty or rushed.  Love and enjoy your home.  Love and enjoy your season of life and the seasons of time God has granted.  Spend some alone time if you are feeling crowded and tired.  Make this a day of leisure and doing the things you love without a schedule.   

One day should be for rest and worship.  God has explained to us that He created the Sabbath for men.  God knew we would need one day in seven to re-group, redirect our goals to match God's goals.  He knew we would need to have the time to worship without being in a hurry or pressed to move on to other things.  Don't schedule anything but worship on your Sabbath.  This will allow you to get REAL rest and the peace of God will fill your soul.        

These two days are key factors to eliminating the super-person syndrome in life.  They are SO NECESSARY!  Mark them off on your schedule and keep them for yourself.  When others make plans for you on these days without consulting you, simply look at your calendar and say “Oh – I’m scheduled on that day – could we make it another time?”  That will keep things from stacking up on you and layering until you find you are smothering in other’s people’s plans and having no time for your own mission in life.  


Once or twice a year schedule some vacation time away from the normal routine.  Plan it ahead and don't let anything rob you of this time.  It doesn't have to be grand or expensive; just get away from the routine.  Camp if you can't afford anything else.  Nature is an awesome way to renew your spirit and rest.  

God ordained holy days in the spring and in the fall that almost force you to take time out and away from the normal routine.  Those of us who keep God's Holy Days have come to understand how refreshing they can be!  

Try to find a change of scenery and explore some places where you have never been.  Make memories that last a lifetime.  They will sustain you when you have stressful days later.

Simple things; but they are not easy at first!  Get determined to make every effort to eliminate the stress of perfectionism and people pleasing, no matter how tempted you are to give in and cave to other people’s desires to run your life.  

Remember; learn to say "no" when you need to, schedule your daily life and follow your schedule, take a day for leisure and a day for rest each week no matter what.  Keep it simple.  It is fine to make all those other plans that people want you to help them with; just make the schedule fit your life and your time instead of theirs.  Take a break from the routine of life at least once a year.

Keep working on these things until you don't feel stressed out all the time.  One day you will find all that stress has been replaced by sheer joy.  You will wake up each morning ready to tackle the adventures of daily life.  Now that is life in the Kingdom!  That is what good health is all about!

    

  

COME AS A CHILD LESSON 136 DOES GOD APPROVE OF WAR?

DOES GOD APPROVE OF WAR?

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

Last week we left the People of God at Rephidim, near the foot of Sinai, fighting the Amalekites, and I promised this week to consider how God must feel about wars.  

This lesson will be a short veering away from the direct study of the Exodus, but I feel a pause here may be useful for all of us when we continue our studies on down the road.  The subject of war will present itself over and over in the life of the Israelites, especially war with the descendants of Amelek.

 

I will start this brave venture by realizing the obvious and stating it out loud; who am I to say what God feels?  It takes a whole lot of nerve to try to sort this question out because nobody really knows the mind of God; but I think God wishes for us to seek His ways and to care about His feelings and thoughts on various different subjects.  Hence; I tend to march bravely on through these types of landmines; trusting God to steer me in the right direction and show me the way.

Obviously, God was with the Israelites in the battle at Rephidim; and God was the sole reason they won the great victory.  We know that every time Moses held up the staff of God the Israelites won, and every time he lowered it, they went into defeat.  There could be no other logical conclusion but that God supported this particular war.  

Does this mean God approves of ALL war?  

In my humble opinion; I think God wishes there were no need for war at all; but since there is always a wayward human to start a war (such as Amalek's descendants in our story); I must assume that God believes in defending a just cause.  Not every war is for a just cause.

Keeping that in mind; I believe that God only approves of “just” wars.  A just war would be defined as a war where one party fights a perpetrator in order to eliminate a form of evil that is being caused by the perpetrator. 

God is holy.  Holiness and evil cannot exist side by side; thus riding the world of evil is very necessary.  It is shameful that riding the world of forms of evil would come down to war in order to achieve goodness and holiness; but people can be so evil that sometimes it does.

 

War should not be approached casually.  War should not be a big chess game that we play with human lives.  It is a huge and weighty decision.  The first question that should be asked when considering war is: Is it truly God’s will for us to go to war?   

Many, many wars have been fought that were NOT the will of God and Satan has used the examples of these wars over and over to achieve his purposes; which are the same purposes as Amelek; to destroy the people of God.

    

Through the history of mankind there have been many selfish human battles that had nothing at all to do with God’s will or defeating evil.  There are constant political wars being fought in order that mere men may gain power and financial reward.  My own country has been guilty of many such battles and I find this fact heart breaking.  We stand in the shadows though, when you look at the whole picture of evil nations fighting for evil reasons.  These wars originate from people with too much control, people who idolize themselves and think they can make the decisions that only belong to God. 

The second question to ask when approaching a war situation would be:  Are we fighting for a just cause?  Corresponding with the same question is the third criteria to consider:  Will fighting this war actually make the world a better place?

We can look back in history and clearly see that the fighting in Rephidim against the Amalekites was a just war.  The Amalekites were hoping to wipe Israel off the map before the nation ever became a real nation!  This was the very nation that God had planned to use to bring a Messiah into the world.  

What if the Amalekites had won?  

Where would we all be today?

We do not have to dwell on those thoughts because we are loved and cared for by a Holy God and Father who always has our best interest in mind.

  

The power and logic of the Amalekites clearly came from Satan and His intentions are always evil.   The Children of Israel were simply fighting for survival.  Their only motive was self-defense.  They did not start the trouble; it was not a human power struggle; but they were simply defending their right to exist.  This is just!  No one has the right to swing down upon another country or culture and eliminate them for their own convenience and control.  That is sheer evil.

The Amalekites were evil through and through.

 

These Amalekites were the descendants of Esau.  Remember how Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of soup?  All he could think about was the moment he was in and his own hunger.  Esau had no self-control and nothing held a true value for him.  Life was his for the wasting.  Nothing was sacred.  His descendants were like him.  They lived for the moment and the food they wanted to put into their bellies.  Nothing more.  They had no respect for others.  These people had long ago opted out of God’s covenant.  They wanted no part of it; though as sons of Isaac, they were entitled to be in the covenant with God.  They chose to walk away.  They chose to spit in the face of God; not caring one bit about their heritage.  

In doing this evil thing; they cursed the generations that came after them.  None of these generations have shown a change. Rampant evil still exists on the earth.  When people are willing to change; God is merciful and forgiving.  Jesus died for the Amalekites too; hoping that they would and could be transformed.  There has been no evidence through the many generations of such a change; yet God still holds out His hand; wishing to see such a thing; hoping that they chose to change the events of the timeline of history that God can already see at the end as He stands outside of time.  

 

The Israelites had politely requested to pass through the land of Edom where the Amalekites were living in nomadic groups.  They did not rudely intrude.  They sent messengers ahead who stated they came in peace and would stick to the King’s Highway and pass right through, without taking even food or water.  All they wanted was safe, peaceful passage.   

The Amalekites hated Israel though, with a hate that has lasted through the generations of mankind.  It has never left them.  Over and over, even after the Israelites came into the promise land, the Amalekites attacked the Israelites; looted their homes, murdered the men, raped and murdered their wives, and killed their children.  This deep-rooted evil way of life and hate never left them. 

When God gave the Israelites the first victory at Rephidim; God commanded that Moses write it down as a record.  God asked for Joshua to pay special attention.  I believe this was symbolic.  I think Joshua represents all commanders of war that go to war for a just cause, fight a godly battle and leave victorious because they listened and obeyed the God who sent them into the battle.  

Such men do not fight for the sake of hate, power or sport.  They only fight for a just cause, one to defeat evil in the land and to bring glory to God on the earth.

 

The Israelites, fighting such a war in the wilderness in order to survive as The People of God; have definitely made the world a better place.  The name and glory of God was honored and the nation that would bring Messiah to earth was preserved.  Perhaps this battle might have been one of the most important battles in history. 

Thus it just seemed necessary to me that we take a long pause too (just as Israel did after that battle) and consider what we know of God and how He approaches war.  We will see many, many more wars as we go through the old and new Testaments.   Sometimes; we will even be called to participate in wars.

So many have twisted the words of the scriptures and made it seem as if Christianity is evil because it has chosen from time to time to take a stand and fight for good over evil.  People making such statements are only considering the loss of human lives and not considering the good that comes to humanity whenever good prevails over evil.

 

I’m sure God takes no joy in the loss of lives, whether they are good lives or evil lives; yet there is a necessary time to defend your beliefs with the giving of your own life if required.  Jesus is our main example of such an honorable occasion.  

Christ was willing to lay down His life in the spiritual battle against evil, so that we could have a better world from which to live.  The journey to the cross was actually a very deep spiritual battle; which has been proclaimed "the battle to end all battles."  It achieved God’s main priority; a choice to rid the world of evil and injustice through mercy and kindness.  

Those who respond to this choice of the cross cannot be harboring evil and hate inside their hearts.  Unfortunately, there are many who do not respond, even to the message of the cross.  They cannot comprehend such a God, and they falsely claim that God has declared genocide against the Amalekites because He is an unjust and unfair God!  

This is far from the truth when you actually look at the whole picture!

We must remember that God has the advantage over our own human concepts because He is standing outside of time and we are still inside of time.  We cannot see the end.  We do not know how everything wraps up.  God does!  He stands outside of time and says; if people will be loyal enough to Me and My causes; I’ll change this point of history for them and abolish an evil end at this point in time.  He leaves the final outcome in our hands.  We all chose our own destiny.

God could see ahead when He gave the order to Saul to wipe out the Amalekites, women, children and even animals; so that none of them would ever exist again.  Saul failed on his mission and mankind has had to live with the results of wars with the ancestors of Esau ever since.

Was God declaring genocide on innocent people?  

Hardly!  Generation after generation of the Amalekites have been at war with Israel and God.  They always start the battles; and it is always for two reasons; hate and evil.  They are the ones who want to commit genocide.  They wish for anyone associated with Israel or God to be annihilated from the earth forever. 

The Amalekites have always believed in genocide.  They are the evil side of this battle; not the Christians who carry the goal of peace on earth.   

God has given us glimpses into how we will be judged in eternity.  He has said in Matthew 7:2:  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.  God’s orders against the Amalekites were only returning upon their heads the way they treated others; specifically Israel and The People of God. 

Think for a moment beyond Rephidim and Saul.  Think of the story of Esther and of the evil villain named Haman.  He was a descendant of Esau, an Amalekite, a descendant of Agag (the name for the rulers of the generations of the Amalekites.) Haman was evil and he hated and detested anyone who had descended from Israel, and anyone who followed the ways of The God of Israel.  God clearly disapproved of Haman; and Haman met his end by the hand of his own ways; just as the other Amalekites who troubled the people of God.

By the time we get to the story of Haman on the timeline of God’s people it becomes apparent that the Amalekites clearly represent those who are hopelessly evil and wicked; those who will never change from their hateful ways and follow the ways of a good, caring and loving God.  They are those who have no interest in covenanting with a loving and saving God.

Again I must point out that the only just wars are the wars that God has truly led men to fight.  Men cannot know the outcome of such wars; only God can see into the future.  Who is to say that the evil man stirring up the war is not like Paul, who converted and changed from a murderous hater to a loving and kind servant of God?  Yet again; the evil leader may turn out to be like Hitler, who decided on his own that one race could be superior to all.  Who is to say?  Only God knows.  Hence; if you go into battle without the support of God Almighty; you will lose and people will suffer needlessly.  Yet; there will be times when God will lead good and godly men to take up arms against evil and fight for their families and their nations.  The crucial thing is to make sure God rides ahead of you into battle.  Be very sure when you enter a war that you are following the will of God!

To say that God doesn’t approve of “just” wars would be laughable when you consider the fact that the scriptures plainly speak of a final battle, one led by Jesus Christ Himself. 

It seems that bible prophecy actually reveals NINE wars leading up to end times.  Most people only know of one – Armageddon.  Ezekiel 38 and 39 speak of the war of Gog and Magog.  Most believe this will be a battle between Russia and a host of Muslim nations invading the land of Israel.  Most scholars think this may be the next big war we see on the horizon.  However; the scriptures say that when this war happens Israel will be living securely in un-walled villages.  This certainly isn’t the case today.  Israel is constantly under attack, nothing feels secure and there is a wall running through the country for protection from their enemies.  The villages are certainly not “un-walled;" leading many to consider that this particular war may NOT likely be the next war.

Some think a future war mentioned in Psalm 83 will precede this war of Gog and MaGog mentioned in Ezekiel.  The prophecy states that once again someone will come against Israel in order to wipe Israel out as a nation; yet another Amalek.  Some think Israel will be victorious in defending their borders and after this war the nation will expand their territory and enhance their natural resources.  Scriptures found in Zechariah and Amos tend to back this theory up.  (Zechariah 12:6 and Amos 9:15.)  For a while Israel will feel safe and secure, then it is possible the Arabs will turn to their ally; Russia and the war of Gog and MaGog may result at that time.  Perhaps the Russians will state they wish to help the Muslim nations destroy Israel; but they will actually be seeking to control the oil reserves of the earth that are found in the Middle East. 

This has long been their desire.  

Ezekiel 39:4 states that these invading armies will be supernaturally destroyed by God.  It will happen through earthquakes, pestilence, fire, hail and brimstone and confusion on the battlefield.  (Similar to how God treated Egypt when they were holding His people captive and would not let them go, also similar to the plagues we read of in Revelation at the end of time.)  Some think, as a result of this victory, the Jews will recognize that God has defended them and they will turn to accept Christ.  144,000 Jewish people will convert and be used of God in the time of tribulation.  Many think the tribulation will not officially begin until right after this war takes place, though events of our current day tend to make us feel like we are already there!  

It is said that Israel will spend seven years destroying the weapons used in this war.  (Possibly taking care of ridding the world of its nuclear waste?)  All we can do right now is speculate. 

No one actually knows!

Only God knows the true end of this story of wars and evil on the earth.  

What I CAN tell you is that at the end of the story of war and evil is a thrilling new beginning!  God will bring us into a world of peace.  It will be a world of no wars and our leader will be The Perfect Lamb of God.  He will give us all that we desire forever and we will dwell with Him throughout eternity.  

Whatever we must go through to get there, whether it be in war or peace, will be worth it all.

AN APPLE A DAY - DO YOU HAVE A STRONG INNER-CIRCLE?

DAY 114 OF 365 DAYS TO A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE

DO YOU HAVE A STRONG INNER-CIRCLE?

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

We have covered a lot of ground in this blog post about the benefits of leading a healthy life.  For the last few articles we have discussed foods and the importance of good nutrition in our daily diet.  

This time I would like to take a small turn in another direction and discuss how important it is to be associated with a very close circle of loved ones that you consider to be as close as family.
 

A study of 1,500 people conducted on older people for ten years proved that those who had a large network of close friends outlived their peers by at least 20%.  It has been proven over and over that it is healthy to have good friends. 

Consider the fact that friends are there to encourage you to take better care of yourself.  Things that you might overlook become more obvious to them and a good friend will be honest with you and make recommendations to help you change to healthier practices.  

In a study of women who had breast cancer it was found that those that participated in a support group had a much higher survival rate than those who went through it all alone.  They also seemed to have more ability to cope with and control their level of pain than those who suffered alone. It was thought that the strong social support these women received helped to relieve the stress associated with fighting a devastating disease.    

In a study of women who suffered from ovarian cancer it was found that those with lots of social support had a much lower level of the protein that is linked to the more aggressive cancers.  Their chemotherapy treatments were more effective because of this. 

The trend in America these days is for older people to become more socially isolated.  This is not a healthy trend.  Ask any doctor or psychologist and they will suggest the average number of close friendships in a person’s life should be at least nine or above.  Is that surprising to you?

As strange as it sounds at first, It would seem from the research that social friendships are even more important in the survival rate than a spouse, children or other family members.  Though these direct family relationships ARE very important in our lives, they do not affect the rate of survival in old age as much as social friendships and support groups.  

That too may seem surprising to you; but consider the facts I mentioned earlier about support groups.  I’m definitely a VERY STRONG supporter of the natural God-ordained family unit, and I am constantly lobbying for it’s survival; but for our discussion today, I’m not necessarily talking about blood relatives.  

It may very well be the case that most people can be this close to their spouse, child or parent; and that is awesome if it is true for them; but there are other solutions out there for those who cannot (for whatever reason) cultivate this quality of relationship with their immediate blood relatives.
 

For that reason I am referring in this article simply to those that are the members of your deepest inner circle. These would be the people you choose to let come and go inside the dailyness of your life on a very regular basis; those with which you chose to celebrate holidays and special occasions, those with which you communicate and turn to when you are troubled, those you consult for needed advice on a regular basis; and those with which you can celebrate the joyful moments of life as well as your sorrows.  

Whether you are single, a single parent raising a child alone, a couple without children, a couple with a house full of children of assorted ages and sizes, or an older senior either living alone or married; you need this small inner circle of other human beings that you are close to and are comfortable being around for good health, happiness and total sanity.

 

Jesus had this arrangement going on in His life as a human being.  He considered Peter, James John and Andrew to be his closest of friends.  They were always involved in the most intimate and monumental moments of His life as a human being.  He loved ALL the disciples; but these were the ones he opened up to the most, the ones he leaned on for constant support, the ones He worshiped with, wined and dined with, went to weddings and funerals with.  

He stayed in their homes often.  They camped out with Him.  They invited Him to go fishing with them.  He returned the favor!   He knew and loved their families.  He entered their houses and ate meals with them without invitations or pretense.  He offered and prepared meals for them also.  He was always comfortable in their presence.  They felt free to express their deepest feelings and emotions around Him.  They knew they could always trust Him.

Two Mary’s; The Mother of Jesus, and a long time family friend whom he had helped through many difficult situations, were also very close to Jesus.  They were also within this little circle of people that He treated like close family.
 

Jesus had other brothers and sisters that He loved too; but the six people I named above were the ones he counted on constantly, day in and day out to always be there; to care for his needs, to laugh with and to cry with; to participate in sorrow with Him or to celebrate happy times with Him.  This inner circle of close friends also shared friendships with all the other disciples.  They looked forward to group events with the whole crowd.  Yet; these six were the ones He could just sit in silence with; without saying a word and not feel a bit strange about it.  These were the ones He held dear in his heart; though his heart was as wide as the ocean and full of love for everyone.
 

These types of close relationships are what true family is really all about.  Everyone needs family around them.  It is crucial to our health and well being.  Human beings need other human beings in order to be happy. No man is an island!

Unfortunately, for one reason or another; such family situations that normally come about often change.  People die.  People change.  People move away.  People move on to other lives; and many, many people on this earth are left without this support I’ve come to call true family.  Many live alone; with no one to talk to or no one to share their life’s ups and downs. 

Even those who are married and/or have children at home, or those who live with parents or other relatives or friends, can sometimes find themselves feeling isolated.  There are people around constantly; but they are not making any connections.  Either you or them are not interested enough to understand each other or communicate with one another.    You have polite conversations.  You exchange courteous gestures when appropriate.  You seem to get along well on the surface; but something isn’t quite enough to make you feel loved and cherished in their sight and in your relationship.  These relationships are nothing like those relationships where you have met someone special and instantly related to them and their world, or have had no fear of being your plain old boring self in their presence.  You try to keep up appearances with such people; but you long in your heart of hearts to be around someone who does not care what your appearance is like; they just love you for what and who you are, and they appreciate your own unique personality.  In other words; they are looking at you through God’s eyes instead of the eyes of the world.  Such people as this are gifts from God.  They are not to be taken for granted and when they come along; you should never neglect them or take them for granted.  These are who you need inside your inner circle of friends.

If your marriage is like the friendship I just mentioned above; you are truly blessed.  If your children can laugh and have fun with you as well as come to you for advice or just enjoy listening to music or walking through the park with you, no strings attached; you are blessed.  If your parents love you unconditionally, and never ever worry about the impression you are going to make on their important friends from work or the people from their Senior Center, and they do not constantly remind you of how many times you’ve messed up your life with stupid, thoughtless mistakes; you might have been blessed for a lifetime with perfect family love.  If you have a close friend that would drop their most important event of the year in order to come over and cheer you up; just because……you are deeply blessed and loved!   

None of the scenes I’ve just mentioned are the usual patterns of most lives.  They are all exceptions to the normal run of the mill lives we all tend to lead.  These are just the pictures of a  perfect world that needs to play out in our lives as well as our imaginations from time to time.  Often, many never really know of these things at all.  They cannot even claim one of the examples given, much less all of them; and that is just totally unhealthy.   If they are not very careful they will be sitting behind a wall all alone because of a locked-up heart.

So what can be done about this uncontrollable epidemic of loneliness and abandonment and rejection that half the world experiences every day?  

How do we all begin to get healthy with our relationships?

For starters, I am glad to be able to report that Jesus has lived in the place of lonliness too.  He suffered in that dark place of aloneness without one friend at his side many, many times as He walked the dusty roads of earth.  In the Garden when he was so distraught that he sweated great drops of blood; the disciples fell asleep.   They were not at His side; and they were not praying the prayers that He desperately needed at that time.
 

At the cross, The One who came into this world with angel songs and shepherd’s smiles and the hugs and caresses of a dedicated Mother and Father, had no one come to his side through the whole ordeal.  Even His Heavenly Father, that He had always communicated with and had a perfect relationship with, had to turn His head away and leave Him there alone for a brief period of time. Jesus felt all alone often.

At the foot of the cross no one shouted out his innocence or came to his defense.  The two Mary’s were there in the crowd for most of his suffering (to their credit); but the inner circle of close friends as well as the outer circle of close friends and relatives ran and hid and were only afraid and concerned for their own lives.  Peter, the one who was so very close to Christ, the one who openly vowed to be there till the end, through thick and thin, even denied that he knew Jesus! 

Jesus basically went through the time on the cross all alone, except for two outcast strangers.  Two criminals who deserved death actually were forced to be there at his side as he breathed his last breath as a human being.  

I am very sure Your Savior can identify with your feelings of being alone and abandoned or uncared for.  The answer is to turn to Him and let Him lead you to a better place.  He is the one person you can ALWAYS count on to be there, and as He Himself often said:  He is THE WAY, THE LIFE AND THE TRUTH.  Please do not ever take that for granted.  

Talk to him.  Tell him how you feel.  

Feel comfortable in the silence knowing that He is there ever ready to listen if you decide to break that comfortable silence.

Sing to Him.  

Pray with Him.  

Worship Him.  

He should always be your very best friend; the One that is closer than a brother.  

This one thing is the cure to all lonely hearts.  Rest in it.  Jesus is the bridge from miserable, sad and alone to hopeful, joyful and well-loved.  Cross the bridge.  Bridge the cross. There is something very special on the other side!  If you do not "cross" it; you will fail to find it.

Will your situation or your circumstances change because of it?  Not instantly; but if you talk to Him, He will tell you how to find new community and family in your life.   If you listen to what He has to say;  He can coach you right back into good healthy relationships with other caring and sharing human beings.  

Pick up The Word and begin to read.  These are His instructions.  Almost every passage will be a clue to what you need to do next to cure the lonely times of your life. 

Follow Jesus.  Imitate Him in all that you do in forming your next relationships.  

When Jesus began His ministry he found twelve to go with Him on the journey.  They did not pick Him, he picked them.  People do not just volunteer their friendships.  You must go out and seek their acceptance.  Do you know twelve worthy individuals that you would like to call close friends?  Start there. 

If you like, write their names on a list and begin to approach them one at a time.  Call them into your life by inviting them into your world, and if they seem comfortable, ask them to support you in all that you are doing. 

Don’t be surprised at those who disappoint you.  Many turned away from Jesus too (remember the story of the rich young ruler); but Jesus did not want the uncommitted to be His closest companions; He needed those who were willing to give 100 percent to the relationship.  Keep crossing people off the list until you find twelve that are truly committed and loyal.
 

Be willing to consider those who seem to be “the least likely.”  That is what Jesus did too.  Who would have thought that fishermen and tax collectors would make good disciples and close friends?  Is that not the strangest mix ever?   Jesus didn’t look at their positions in life or their knowledge, wisdom or education.  He looked at how good their hearts were.

Were they faithful, honest, loyal, caring and dedicated to the cause?  This was what made these twelve men shine.  Consider these qualities in your acquaintances and notice how the “least likely” have been good to you, or how they might have been those who stood by you in times of trouble and need when others did not.  

Have you overlooked the best candidates?

If Jesus had been friends and shared with certain people and they chose not to respond, His next response was not to persuade or try to impress, but to shake their dust from His feet.  Some will never come around.  Some will only be true until the wind blows them into another direction.  Don’t waste energy trying to make it happen.  You are losing time in seeking the faces of those who WILL respond.  Approach a potential friendship with hope and welcome.  If they do not respond and reciprocate; simply move on.  It will be their loss.

Now don’t get so arrogant with this exercise that you think I’m suggesting you form a following to worship you!  We all need constant reminders, just as Satan did, that we are not little gods to be worshiped!.  The worst type of  idolatry committed constantly by humans is self-worship.    If you truly want companionship with others; you must learn the attributes of being a true friend yourself.  

What are those attributes?  

Again; I must point to Jesus. Take up your cross and follow Him!

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  That pretty much sums up the best tip on being a friend that is as close as family.  Follow the golden rule and don’t sway from it.  

How good of a friend was Jesus?  He was willing to lay down His life for His friends.  Now that is a friendship that you do not walk away from!  

Close friendship takes work on both sides; and this is probably the main reason that many are so lonely.  Be willing to do the work yourself before you expect it to be returned by others.

May I suggest you do the work and make the time, no matter how hard it seems?  Your good health and happiness will be the result in the end.  You will be amazed at the difference it makes in your life.