~ Broken Toes, Broken World !! ~

"TWICE in my life I've broken one of my little toes by colliding with furniture. Ouch! FOR days I limped painfully, my body protecting its tiny injured member. My body was doing exactly what it was designed to do. IT supported and sympathized with the part of me that was hurting. GRADUALLY my toe healed.

ALTHOUGH I'll never again take my toes for granted, I sometimes take for granted certain members of the church. Paul taught that the church is the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12-27), not merely like the body of Christ. Each member has God-given abilities to support and sympathize with other members.

IF Christ's church is to function the way God designed it, there are three things we dare NOT do: (1) Refuse to fellowship. (2) Let fear and lack of Love cause us to withhold our gifts. (3) DISREGARD or OPPOSE the gifts of others through pride and envy.

INSTEAD, we need to be actively using our spiritual gifts to the benefit of fellow members of Christ's body. Only when we experience both the giving and receiving of Christ's healing-Love for broken members will we be ready to reach out to a broken world." - JEY.

"You are the body of Christ, and members individually ( 1 Corinthians 12:27)."

FOR We Are Connected By The Love That Comes From God Our Father.

~ Surrender Your Suffering ! ~

"WHILE it is natural to associate Christ's suffering solely with His cruel crucifixion and His death on the cross, there were other ways in which He suffered. His own family members often misunderstood Him and and withheld credibility until after His death.

LATER in His ministry, even after He had gained a following and some measure of popularity, most of the religious leaders treated Him with disdain and suspicion. THEY even plotted ways to ruin His ministry and to destroy Him. AT one point, many of His followers turned away and left Him.

AT the most difficult hour of Jesus' life, when hostility and hatred had reached their peak and the cross was before Him, His dearest friends failed Him. He had poured Himself into them for years, but when He most needed their prayer and loving support, they left Him.

FINALLY, He found Himself numbered among criminals as He came to trial and then was crucified.

As Christians, God has called us to suffer, and it is a high and holy CALLING. SUCH suffering binds us to Him.

ARE you suffering TODAY? IS it from loneliness, from misunderstanding or rejection? DID someone very dear to you fail you? DO not rail out against the offender? INSTEAD, embrace the suffering as God's will for you this moment. PRESS close to Him and allow the work of holiness to be perfected in your life." Yvonne Swope

"Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin (1 Peter 4:1)."

~ ** Which BOTTLED Water .. and why ?? ! ** ~

Your liver needs plenty of clean water to do its job. Alcohol acts as a diuretic, which means it dehydrates you and forces the liver to divert water from elsewhere. The NHMRC recommends 2.9 litres per day for men and 2.2 litres per day for women - and that includes tea, fruit and vegetables with a high water content.

Dietitian - Karen Inge.

(Clean/pure water NOT still water. * Water needs to be mobilised - oxygenised to function properly/healthily in the body!)

P.S: When buying bottled water think of:
'PURE natural SPRING' Water or
'PURE natural Artesian' Water. ARTESIAN describes
deep well in which water rises by internal pressure (e.g. label/'Fiji').

~ Five (5) Ways to DIFFUSE Anger ! ~

HOW do you tell if you have an anger problem? IF more than one person close to you has said they think you have an issue, listen to them because uncontrolled anger can affect your health!

NOT all peeved people scream and throw things. Yes, some show their rage aggressively. Others are more defensive. Some are passive aggressive and won't tell you they're "ticked off". Instead, they roll their eyes, make snide remarks and are hostile.

Then there are the sulkers. Those people who withdraw when they're angry, refusing to address things but making it very clear there is a problem.

We can't rid our lives of issues and people who make our blood boil. And we shouldn't aim to blank this emotion entirely - but just learn to manage it better.

1. IDENTIFY YOUR TRIGGERS

Who or what pushes your buttons? Get to know when you're more likely to erupt; if you can tell when you're at your most vulnerable, you, can use coping strategies.

2. RIDE THE WAVE OF EMOTION

Instead of marching straight in to confront whoever has annoyed you, take some time out to allow the red-hot emotion to cool.

3. BREATHE DEEPLY

When we're angry, our heart rate and blood pressure increase and adrenalin rushes through our bodies. We can calm down by taking deep breaths with our diaphragm - not our chest.

4. CHALLENGE ANY UNHELPFUL THOUGHT

Anger can make us irrational. Recognise the times when you're catastrophising or taking things personally. Instead of thinking the world is out to get you, try having some empathy - we all make mistakes and do things differently.

5. LEARN POSITIVE WAYS TO COMMUNICATE

Pick your battles by letting some things go through to the keeper. But if it's important for you to say something, try to communicate assertively. Express your view or problem without using personal attacks and try to suggest how to improve things next time! HUMOUR can lighten the mood. - J. Lamble

* "PRECIOUS .. yes !!"

Consuming the right (genuine) food is AN added support for our existence. FOOD is more than fuel as it provides nutrition to the 'building blocks' of every cell in the Body ! Precious ? .. yes !!

*** WHAT'S Normal ?? (new horizons) !!! ***

Tired more than normal, oh, helpless body of mine! THINKING of COLOURS stir me through this sub-atlantic freezure. WHEN will I surface to time meet again? Surveying the prospects should be bleek. But. New horizons make silent signal to visit! (k.w.)