Tweet of the Day

My social media of choice is Twitter. I love following sports, interesting people, and just strange information I would find nowhere else. Last night, I came upon what I’ll call the tweet of the day.

Tweet of the Day: Describe what you do for a living, but make it sound scary.

The responses were hilarious to read! Here were a few:

“I’m a stay-at-home mom.”

“I like going into hospitals so I can introduce strangers to babies, and I don’t even try to intervene when the strangers leave with the babies. I let them walk right past security and I never say a word.”

“I meet in a closed-door council to pass judgment on others. Then we publish our opinions on the internet.”

“I count to three or four whilst flailing my arms threateningly at large groups of people who in turn breathe and then shout loudly in response.”

“I spell out letters to a Village People song over and over, while caring for others who do the same thing.”

“I know where you live. I could show up at any time. You might get an alert; you may even see me on camera. But I am so quick you might wonder if I even came by. No matter what… I am sure I’ll come back by.”

Hopefully, you guessed these professions most of these. I had to wonder about God’s work? What do you think He does every day? Do you really know? Have you considered who He is and why He’s important?

Exodus 34:6-7a says “And He (The Lord), passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin.”

God used these words to describe himself in the Old Testament. God’s declaration of describing himself is beautiful! It means that I can run to God 24/7 and never have to run away from God. God is basically saying “This is who I Am. “I’m compassionate. I’m loving. I’m gracious. I’m slow to anger. I’m faithful. I’m forgiving.”

Do you believe that God is that personal, that loving and that forgiving?  Have you misunderstood who God is? 

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.

Follow Me

So, this past week I tried a new type of exercise, Pilates Reformer. It was a strange contraption, that uses all sorts of pulleys, weights, springs for resistance to achieve proper muscle length and strength. I would grade my first week as a C, for clutz.

My teacher, Tricia, had lots of patience with me. I couldn’t quite understand all the terminology of everything, and she would kindly show me what’s what. Tricia would be telling us to do to pull this way and I would be pulling that way. She would then walk over and help point me back in the right direction.

I’ve been thinking this week about how hard it was to follow my leader when everything was so new to me. It helped to watch the person next to me, but I still needed to be told, directed, guided and helped in this new type of exercise. But, following Tricia was very important so I could get the most out of this exercise class!

This week, I was studying in my bible the story of Jesus as He walked along the Sea of Galilee. He saw Peter and Andrew two fishermen who were busy fishing and casting their nets. In Matthew 4:19 Jesus said, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” And do you know what? Peter and Andrew left their nets and followed Jesus! It’s amazing how they left at once and followed Jesus. They made no excuses about why they needed to stay and fish. They left their jobs and went immediately.

When you follow someone, you go where they go. You follow their lead. You surrender control of your own agenda and follow. It made me think of my journey with Christ.

Following Jesus might seem like getting on that Pilates Reformer and not understanding what it all means or what it looks like. I remember those days well as a new Christian. Yet, as time goes on, I get that it’s a lot like that exercise class. Where the teacher leads, I will follow. Jesus is worth following!

Following Jesus is not just about going to church on Sunday or acting a certain way. Following Jesus means you will go where He leads and let Him take care of leading you. You choose to live your life for Him. You trust Him and see that Proverbs 3:5-6 is truly a way of living. You pray because you need constant communication with the One who loves you most. You trust Him to lead you because you can’t imagine what it would be like to live without Him. You entrust your life, your family, your job, your relationships to Jesus because you know He’ll carry You. Following is everything!

Jesus’ call to “follow me” to Peter and Andrew is still true today. He still calls people to come and follow Him. How will you respond?

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.

Mental Health Check-Up

There’s not one of us who hasn’t been affected somehow, someway by the pandemic. Fear, loneliness, frustration, grief, or anxiety are just a few of the wide range of emotions that we’ve experienced throughout the pandemic. We’re weary of bad news upon bad news and ready for life to return as “normal.” How do we tackle our own mental health?

October 10 was World Mental Health Day, an international day for global mental health education, awareness, and advocacy again social stigma. You could have easily bypassed this day without one thought about it!  Or you could take a serious look at your own life, realizing that ALL of us periodically need a mental health checkup. Here are a few great reality check questions that you could consider today and every day for you: (Questions from the article: How to Check-in On Your Mental Health:5 Questions to Ask Yourself Every Day)

1. How am I feeling today? One way I check-in is through a prayer journal, where I write down personal prayer needs I have about those things that stress me out or bring anxiety. Ask yourself questions like: What brings me anxiety? Am I stressed out? If so, why? Am I sad today? If so, why? I invite God into those questions. Why? Because He cares more about my mental health than I do! He created me and knows me intimately, so it’s good to get his advice too!

2. What’s been worrying me lately? It seems there are always enough things to be worried about, but can you pinpoint what seems to occupy your mind most? COVID has brought a lot of fears of “What if? and “What about?” We worry about family members or ourselves getting COVID. Sometimes, we need to consider what brings on the worry. Is it too much social media? Listening to the news? Lack of good sleep? Fear of getting sick? Identify those things that bring on stress. God loves when we bring these things, one by one, to Him in prayer. In fact, He knew that we would be people that get anxious. In Philippians 4:6-7 it says “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

3. Am I providing my body with its basic needs? Why is it so easy to take care of others’ needs before ourselves? We tend to do that, don’t we? But gotta remember the basics: eating right, exercising regularly, and getting enough rest. Sometimes not doing these things is a sign of a mental health concern like depression.

4. What am I doing to bring myself joy? Why do we struggle giving ourselves the gifts that we need to bring joy? Years ago, Tim Hansel wrote a book entitled “When I Relax I Feel Guilty.” That title! So many people feel this way! They can't relax or enjoy themselves and when they do, they feel guilty! Yet, it’s so important to incorporate joy into your life and do those things you love. Maybe a Sunday nap? A day off to fish? Watching a funny movie? Spending time with your animals? Making a new recipe? Organizing a family outing? Your joy matters. Do what you love!

5. Who do I have in my corner? Do you have people in your life that you can be free to share yourself? Confidentiality is key! Whether it’s a friend, family member, faith leader, or someone else, make sure you have someone who really listens to you, asks questions, cares, and prays with and for you. Support groups are also a great way to connect with other people who are going through similar struggles. Sometimes, in our mental health struggles, we can feel alone, but we are never alone. God provides us with good people and God provides Himself. God cares about the details of your life, every day, every moment. He can and will help you through! 

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.

God's Presence

Spiritual Vitamin: "Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward, you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalm 73:23-25

Reflect: God's presence is constantly with you. Knowing that, how will it change the day before you? Will you trust Him for everything that concerns you today?

The LORD Will Watch Over You

Spiritual Vitamin: "I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip-he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you, the LORD is your shade at your right hand." Psalm 121:1-5

Reflect: Reflect on this verse. What are your concerns today? Give them to the One who doesn't slumber or sleep.

Trust

I’ve had my horse, Daisy, now for almost three years. I’m grateful that I’ve never been tossed off of her. Never. Not even close. She takes good care of me.

Can I trust Daisy 100% to fully take care of me all the time? No, I can’t. She could slide, trip, spook, scare or even fall on me. I’ve had my share of horse injuries from my younger days. I know it’s possible. I can’t fully trust her, even though she's a very good mare.

I’ve been thinking about a verse in the Bible that is popular, yet hard to live by. It’s found in Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.” This verse really gives us a model for living!

There are three commands in this verse are:  Trust in the LORD. Lean not on your own understanding. In all my ways acknowledge him.

Trust in the LORD: It is our nature as humans to put our trust in something or someone. We may even put trust in our self. You see, we WANT to trust in other people. We want to believe the best in other people. Yet, the reality is that people will fall short. They can’t always come through for us. The word ‘trust’ in this verse actually means ‘to lie helpless, facedown.” It’s leaning on God and realizing our great need. 

If we trust in God, it needs to be full trust. What often happens is that we trust God halfway and then put the other half of our trust in someone else or ourselves. What part of your heart is trusting something or someone other than God? Maybe you have an important decision coming up. Wouldn’t it be cool if you trusted God 100%? You prayed, waited, and really expected Him to guide you! He will do it!

Lean not on your own understanding: When you trust God with ALL your heart, it means you’ve really decided to put away your tendency to trust in your own understanding. Aren’t we all tempted to trust in our own self?

It reminds me of when I broke my ankle and had to use crutches for a period of time. Leaning has the sense of putting my whole weight on those crutches, which I did a lot! It’s so easy to lean on anything or anybody but God! We try our darndest to make things work the way we want with our amazing skills. But, we still blow it at times. It is on God, not ourselves, that we are to depend upon! Self-sufficiency only goes so far in this world.

In all my ways acknowledge Him: If I trust God with all my heart, I’m going to acknowledge Him in all that I do. I’m going to invite Him into my everyday life. My work. My relationships. My decisions. My hopes and dreams. And the beautiful thing? He will direct my paths. He will give me peace, leading me by His Holy Spirit, throughout my day.

May God help Proverbs 3:5-6 be your heart’s desire, not just today, but every day.

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.