Monday, October 26, 2015

WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT ANXIETY?

These One A Days are added to daily.  There are over 1100 stories and commentaries on this blog.  It is added to daily.

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      Click on http://wyrickswritings.blogspot.com to read selected Sermons from over 50 years of Rev. Wyrick's ministry.

       To view Rev. Wyrick in 4 of his highly acclaimed One Man Dramas click on the below

                   http://www.speakerneil.com/
 
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   We all will agree that anxiety does exactly what the Greek translation in the New Testament says it does – it strangles the living daylights out of us.

    Indeed, when too much fear-factor takes over, it runs around in circles wearing holes in our brains.

    It creates ulcers in our stomachs and makes our emotions go to pieces.  When we are overly anxious we think crooked rather than straight, and promptly make more problems than we had in the first place.

   Fear, of course, can be healthy.  It can lead you to drink milk rather than poison, stop at red lights and go see a doctor when you don’t feel well.

   But anxiety, and therein lies the difference, is a spiritual polio that paralyzes mind, body and spirit.  Its essential ingredient is numbness.  It makes people afraid of high places, close quarters and unknown tomorrows.  It curdles.  It crumples.  It cripples. We only have so much time and energy, and it wastes both.

Jesus said, Take no thought for the morrow.  And you may be thinking, That’s easy to say, but I’ve got so many bills to pay I can’t help worrying, or, my health is really bad and I can’t stop being anxious about it.  But just so you can read it right and therefore understand it better, Jesus’ word thought means anxiety.

Dig further to get the proper meaning to Christ’s statement and one king-sized insight sits waiting for you.  Don’t too greatly trust in your own planning, is what Jesus is really saying.

 Having said that lets take a further look at anxiety;  this emotional response to a real or imagined threat.  The use of memory as an enemy or a friend.  The remembering a moment when we produced courage and feeding on that memory or a multitude of moments when we gave into fear and build on them.

So confidence is a great deterrent.  Confidence in one's own ability but even more so confidence in a relationship with our Father God, this link with

Courage...a prayer for and a practice of courage...

Steadfast when you are suffering the anxiety of being opposed.

Taking those steps forward when everything in you cries to step back.

Reading yet another positive thought in your Bible and another positive thinking book and filing away yet another positive thinking thought.

Proverbs 28:1 tells us that “the righteous are as bold as a lion.”

There is an old Italian proverb that goes this way: Better to spend one day as a lion than one hundred years as a sheep.

And yet another way to get rid of anxious thoughts?  Completely?  Difficult...but enough to make a difference... by repetition...by saying the name "Jesus" over and over again...not because you can't remember that you are a Christian but to overload your mind with the fact of your Savior...to make the throne of grace front and center because you are bulldozing other thoughts out of the way.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Php 4:8

It's repetition time again.  Turn up the volume of your mind so that is on "shout."  There are times when quiet meditation is good...after such times as I am suggesting...but give it your all...in a sense echo your thoughts up and down the halls of heaven.

Bruce Larson, in his book “Believe and Belong” tells of how he helped people who were struggling to defeat the giants in their lives. He writes, “For many years, I worked in New York city and counselled at my office any number of people who were wrestling with these situations.

       Often I would suggest they walk with me from my office down to the RCA building on Fifth Avenue. In the entrance of that building is a gigantic statue of Atlas, a perfectly proportioned man who, with all his muscles straining, is holding the world upon his shoulders.

There he is, the most powerfully built man in the world, and he can barely stand up under his burden. ‘Now that’s one way you can live,’ I would point out, ‘trying to carry the world on your shoulders.

But now, come across the street with me.’ On the other side of Fifth Avenue is St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and there behind the altar is a statue of Jesus as a boy, perhaps eight or nine years old, and with no effort, he is holding the world in one hand.”

I'm talking about replacement therapy.  Replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts.  Replacing shouting out your reason for panic or your reason for Christ driven control.  Pushing old habits out of the way and setting up new patterns of thought.  You put some of your present negative thoughts patterns in control of your life by dwelling on bad thinking...go to reverse...turn around and head the other way...you'll hear them chasing you but...

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Rom 12:2

And prioritize your problems.  Don't worry as much about little problems as you do with big ones.  It is amazing how much extra wearing out people do to themselves by giving every problem equal worry time.

Senator Mark Hatfield writes of touring Calcutta with Mother Teresa and visiting the “House of Dying.” It was a home where sick children are cared for in their last days and where the poor line up by the hundreds to receive medical attention. Hatfield was watching Mother Teresa and her companions care for those who had been left by others to die and he remembers being so overwhelmed by the magnitude of the suffering they faced everyday. Hatfield approached Mother Teresa and said, “How can you bear the load without being crushed by it?” And Mother Teresa responded, “Senator, I’m not called to be successful. I’m simply called to be faithful.”

Which is a place to stop and think about this being faithful to the Lord.  Mother Teresa could never have done her work, burdened as she was a dozen times a dozen daily things to worry about if she could not would not be faithful in her faith.

Be faithful in your faith...even while weeping.  Be faithful in your faith as you give God your worrying mind and allow Him to infuse it with that "peace that passeth understanding."

Some times the things you are worrying about may not grow smaller but you, with God's help can grow bigger.  You truly can.

Is getting rid of all anxiety easy or possible?  Not as long as you and I are human.  But it can be controlled.  Laid in the lap of the Lord, walking hand in hand and heart to heart with the Master...saying in a sense "It's your world Lord and I leave me in it to your guidance and control." does give a sense of peace that can be overwhelming.

I've medically been in life or death situations more than once and I just said, "God you created me and got me this far so I just turn over to you the life I've been turning over to you for a long time.  So what's new."

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QUOTES ON ANXIETY

Today is the tomorrow we worried about yesterday. ~Author Unknown

       Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy. ~Leo Buscaglia

       Troubles are a lot like people - they grow bigger if you nurse them. ~Author Unknown

Never let life's hardships disturb you ... no one can avoid problems, not even saints or sages.
Nichiren Daishonen

       Ask yourself this question:
"Will this matter a year from now?"
Richard Carlson, writing in Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

Let us be of good cheer, remembering that the misfortunes hardest to bear are those that never happen.
James Russel Lowell

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                    A new quote below from Rev. Wyrick's 9th book THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN (read the rave reviews below the quote)

Lincoln had seen a house of cards about to fall and realized how it could establish a precedent that would truly destroy what the Founding Fathers had created. 

       Divided by two, in short time it might well have become a division of three. 

       The northeast, once not sure if it even wanted to be part of the original thirteen colonies, might then have pulled out. 

       A few years down the road, some state in the Confederacy, unhappy with the new uniting, might have done the same.  Bad habits come easily and are slow to leave.

 

       "Positive, powerful utterances...skillfully enhancing our understanding and appreciation of Lincoln while revealing the Divine source of his strength."

       Lt. Colonel C.A. Olsen (Ret.) Asbury College (Professor Ret.)

       "The Spiritual Abraham Lincoln is an extremely well written book that investigates what might be termed the spiritual side of President Lincoln. It's both scholarly and very readable. I came away impressed at Mr. Wyrick's portrayal of the President and with an altered and enlarged vision of the man:'

       William Hoffman, Award winning fiction writer; author of Blood and Guile, and Wild Thorn

       "Wyrick has authored a wonderful examination of the spirituality of one of American history's most devoutly religious leaders...a pleasant and readable book that has a rich depth of information."

              Maynard Pittendreigh Presbyterian minister

        "When it comes to invoking religion in support of any of their decisions, politicians need to sit at the feet of Abraham Lincoln. Reinhold Niebuhr once called him 'America's greatest theologian.' Why so great? Because he invariably distinguished between human works and the works of the Almighty. As Wyrick says, 'He wore the mantle of humility easily: because he was more impressed with what God was doing in the world than with what he, president of the United States in the midst of an awful crisis, was doing. That is why in his last major speech he distinguished between both human causes in the Civil War and the Almighty's 'own purposes.' Lincoln would have agreed that it is better to leave God-talk out of politics than to decorate human proposals with divinity. This is a book for our American time. Through his careful study of Lincoln's career, Wyrick compels us to remember that piety belongs in politics only when piety transcends politics."

       Dr. Donald W. Shriver

       Emeritus professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York. Author of An Ethic for Enemies: Forgiveness in Politics

        "V. Neil Wyrick's fine work allows the reader to appreciate Abraham Lincoln's Christian commitment and his prophetic role in American history. Should have a wide readership."

       James H. Smylie Professor of Church History (Ret.) Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Virginia

       "Neil Wyrick's The Spiritual Abraham Lincoln should be read by anyone attempting to understand the man who was probably the most complex person to ever hold the office of president of the United States. Dr. Wyrick is intent on demonstrating that the spirituality so often expressed in Lincoln's writings and speeches was not merely lip service to a Deity, but rather expressions of a profound faith in a real God. It was this faith that provided the wisdom, compassion, insight and sometimes steel that Lincoln would need in full measure as he led the United States through the Civil War. Dr. Wyrick's clear and unpretentious style of presentation is very much in keeping with the character ofhis subject, and in so doing, Wyrick makes his point very well that Lincoln, his beliefs, and the faith that formed them, are as relevant to a troubled America in 2004 as they were in 1863."

       Daniel Allen Butler, author of "Unsinkable"; The Full Story of the RMS Titanic, The Lusitania and The Age o f Cunard

QUOTE BELOW IS FROM WYRICK'S WRITINGS

          There is no other organization in the world like the church.  It is a breed unto itself.  It is a congregation of sinners, not a country club for saints.  To become a member you have to profess your unworthiness. 

CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING TO TAKE YOU THERE


      (These are selected sermons from over 50 years of ministry and as a worldwide evangelist Rev. Wyrick preached them all the United States and all over the world)
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            CLICK ON  www.go60.us   IT WILL TAKE YOU A NEW WEBSITE FOR SENIORS....click on "Voice" on the home page and then on the list of authors click on Neil Wyrick

Recent articles Rev. Wyrick has written for this web site are:  REFLECTIONS


·         Here Comes Summer (July 2012)

·         Spring (May 2012)

·         Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow (April 2012)

·         Wayward and Windy (April 2012)
  
Just remember that “the pain of discipline will cost you pennies, whereas the pain of regret will cost you millions.”

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How can we keep our faith from being a weak and fruitless thing?  How can we not be foolish little men and women groveling in the dark shadows of overeager egos. 

          Well, first we must do more than just pray.  We must believe in our own prayers.

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Anxiety out of proportion makes us become like a centipede trying to put his best foot forward.

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        It's an old joke, I went to the doctor and I said, “Doc, when I do this, it hurts.” And the doctor said, “Then don't do that.”

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        How many things have you been anxious about that were things which you knew before you got into them were probably going to create some problems for you?  And if you asked your doctor, or your minister, or common sense and your God, all of them would have said, “Don’t do that.”

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        To buy into the community of accountability we have to realize that like bikers we are divided into two categories.  Those who have fallen and those who will fall for anything. None of us are perfect.

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          Think on it this way, some philosopher of old wrote it and it endures because there is so much truth in it… every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty

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      Some of the sermon titles posted recently


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Before you decide to purchase or not purchase his book THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN.... view his Award Winning One Man Dramatization of Lincoln (since he wrote the script for this drama it will give you an insight into what you will find in the book itself)

Available on Amazon.com in printed form and on Amazon Kindle Books. and at many other sites

TO VIEW THE LINCOLN One Man DRAMA and 3 other dramas; Ben Franklin, Martin Luther & Charles Wesley

click on the following URL

http://www.speakerneil.com/

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BELOW ARE MORE QUOTES FROM NEIL'S RECENTLY POSTED SERMONS

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A QUOTE FROM THOUGHTS POSTED ON MY OTHER BLOG WYRICK'S WRITINGS ENTITLED

       Two stores faced each other across a very busy street.  Their owners were in constant competition with each other.  One day, the owner of one store put out a sign that read – If you want it, we have it!

Almost immediately the other owner put out a sign –If we don’t have it, you don’t need it!

A QUOTE FROM THOUGHTS POSTED ON MY OTHER BLOG WYRICK'S WRITINGS ENTITLED

WHO ARE YOU?

NO…WHOSE ARE YOU?

       Who are you?  Whose are you?

You influence and are influenced according to the answer you give.     

Are you are the flavor of the month because you are determined to be like everyone else no matter what?  If so, consider being more independent in our thinking and actions...because God wants you to grow up.

It may be easier being someone's shadow but wouldn't you really rather be a sun. 

 
       QUOTE FROM THOUGHTS  POSTED ON WYRICK'S WRITINGS ENTITLED "Who Are You?  Whose Are You?"

       This is an old quote, and a romantic one as well but, nevertheless, can anyone say of you, “I love you not because of who you are, but because of who I am when I am with you.

            QUOTE FROM THOUGHT PIECE POSTED ON WYRICK'S WRITINGS ENTITLED

" WHEN A NATION STRAYS TOO FAR FROM BEING MORAL IT IS WELL ON IT'S WAY TO BECOMING A MESS

        James 4:17

To him therefore who knows to do good, and doesn’t do it, to him it is sin.

        Someone once said: “A belief is what you hold, a conviction is what holds you!”

        So what holds you, constructs you, leads you with a push when needed?

       Quotes POSTED ON WYRICK'S WRITING ENTITLED WHO ARE YOU?

NO…WHOSE ARE YOU?

        In a Peanuts cartoon strip Peppermint Patty is shown talking to Charlie Brown.

“Guess what, Chuck? It’s the first day of school and I got sent to the principal’s office.

And it’s your fault!”

Charlie Brown responds, “My fault? How could it be my fault? Why do you say everything is my fault?”

To which she declares, “You’re my friend, aren’t you, Chuck? You should have been a better influence on me.”

In the comics, it’s funny… but in real life it’s much more complicated.

       Would you like to read the entire thought piece?  Then... TO TAKE YOU TO THE WYRICK'S WRITING'S SITE

                       click on the following


          Yes, God loves you the way you are but he loves you too much to let you stay that way.

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      Click on the URL below to WATCH NEIL IN HIS WORLD FAMOUS ONE MAN DRAMATIZATIONS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, BEN FRANKLIN, CHARLES WESLEY AND MARTIN LUTHER


       To Order and Read Neil's 9th book THE SPIRITUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN

       GO TO amazon.com

       QUOTES ABOUT THIS WONDERFUL INSPIRING INFORMATIVE book

       STILL RECEIVING RAVE REVIEWS 8 YEARS AFTER IT'S PUBLICATION.
     

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