"Listening to Negative People Will Make You Dumb"

This post is stolen...I confess that right from the start. I read this post the other day and I just had to use the info and pass it along. It is from www.christianpost.com. I was so excited to know that researchers have confirmed what the Bible teachers about the impact that negativity has on our mind. 

We all know those "energy drainers." They are the people that seem to have a perpetual cloud hanging over their heads. They have the keen ability to turn good news into bad news. Yes, they are the kind of people you avoid asking "How are you?" for fear they will give you an answer. Some are critics. Some are simply just negative people.

Brain Studies and Negative People

Minda Zetlin reports in Inc. magazine that new research in neuroscience demonstrates how negative and critical people affect us. She notes that "being exposed to too much complaining can actually make you dumb. Research shows that exposure to 30 minutes or more of negativity – including viewing such material on TV – actually peels away neurons in the brain's hippocampus. That's the part of your brain you need for problem solving."

So what is the result of exposure to negative and critical people? "Basically it turns your brain to mush," the article notes. It has the same effect even if you are passively listening to them...(so, what do you do?)...

•Discern the difference between the negative critic and the constructive critic. You really want to hear the latter person. You want to avoid the former if at all possible.
•Avoid negative media. Many leaders are drawn to negative television, radio, print media, and blogs like an onlooker is drawn to a car wreck. We just want to look. Before you begin reading or listening to the negativity next time, just remember that you will walk away dumber.
•Have a spirit of rejoicing. The Apostle Paul writes this imperative in Scripture: "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4). The mandate is not only to rejoice, but to rejoice at all times. If we are allowing thoughts of rejoicing into our minds, we don't allow the words of negative persons and critics to enter.
•Choose your friends wisely. Avoid friends who are negative and embrace those who are not. You are likely to spend a lot of time with your friends. Make certain the time is well spent.
•Be a positive person. You will attract other positive people. And you may dissuade the negative person from being so negative.

Precious and Magnificent Promises

"Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4  For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature,"  2 Peter 1:3-4

We started a study of 2 Peter in Sunday School this week, and jumped right into the promises of God. I have long loved this passage. Peter's words are poetry. This humble fisherman who often spoke before he thought about what he was saying, in this passage wrote with such inspiration! The words he used ring in my mind..."precious and magnificent promises". In class, we simply read some of the promises of God and discussed what they mean to us. Here is a sampling of the magnificent promises of God. Read and consider what each one means to you today. 
Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Matthew 11:28-29

“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.

Isaiah 40:29-31

He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.

Philippians 4:19

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:37-39

No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Proverbs 1:33

But all who listen to me will live in peace,
untroubled by fear of harm.”

Isaiah 41:10

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.
1John 1:7

 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the Blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Psalm 91:1,2,10,11,12

He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the

Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God in Him will I trust.

There shall no evil befall you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling. For He shall

give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you up in their

hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone.

John 10:28,29

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them

out of My hand. My Father, which gave them to Me, is greater then all; and no man is able to

pluck them out of My Father’s hand.

2Timothy 1:7

 God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind (full of truth)

Philippians 2:13

 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Phiippians 1:6

 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

1Thessolonians 5:23,24

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calls you, whoalso will do it.

1John 1:7,9

 But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the

blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin: 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Isaiah 43:1,2,3

 Fear not: for 1 have redeemed you, I have called you by your name; you are mine. When you

pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you:

when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon you.

For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour

SPA DAY

Sunday we held our 8th annual Single Mom's Spa Day.
We had 17 moms come, fewer than we usually have, and twice as many volunteers! We had such a great time.
The Spa Day is a lot of work for a lot of people, but no one complains. The women serve so joyfully, with so much love. These women are the best. Whatever they can do to serve, they do. They love Jesus, they love each other, and they love the people in our community. Spa Day is the perfect example of this. Of the 17 women who came, only one attends Cottonwood. The rest were just women who saw a poster or were invited by a friend. They came, and they were pampered and loved on. They left looking beautiful, with big smiles, and gift bags containing a Cottonwood Cookbook, information about ministry events coming up, and a "Father's Love Letter" full of verses about God's love for them. We don't know what kind of impact the day had, or if we will ever see the women again, but we are already talking about how to do it better next year.

When Did My Mom Get Old

My mom got old this year. She is 96, but she wasn't old until May. She turned 96 in November, and she wasn't old. She could carry on a good conversation, she was very funny. She loved to laugh. She used a cane, but could still walk. She insisted on cooking a green bean casserole for Thanksgiving. She was "elderly", but not old.
In May, she had a small fall and broke her arm. She was in the hospital for 2 days, on Morphine for the pain, then went to a Nursing home for rehab. It was like she was mentally on the edge of a cliff and the hospital stay just pushed her over the edge. She became old. She knows her family, and she remembers a lot of things, but she also "remembers" a lot of things that are not at all true. At first it was ok. She was not herself, but she was still funny and mostly cheerful.
When I visited her a few weeks ago, she was not in her room, and no one knew where she was. The nurses said that she is always on the move, and they helped me look for her. She was in a wheel chair, but she kept her feet moving all the time, traveling around the nursing home, visiting in other rooms. When we found her, she was delighted to see me, and said that a woman came in on a bicycle and told her to get on the back, she was taking here to JC Penney to get a hair cut. When they got there, the lady was too busy, so mother spent the night in the apartment that they have at Penneys.
She has been confused about where she is. When we visit, we usually go into the large sitting area, which she thinks is her living room. One day, she said that every time she leaves the house, GrandDad rearranges the living room, that he moved the book shelves to that wall and she doesn't like it. She said that she is going to get JoAnne (one of my sisters) to help her put things back like they were. She thinks that the people in the home are visiting her. One day she told me that they have too many people coming over. She said they came home from the store one day and the whole church choir was there. She told my dad that they didn't have anything to feed them, but he had Dr.Pepper's for everyone. She has been funny and charming. The employees at the home love her and enjoy her. They began to give her laundry to fold so that she would stay in her room (it didn't work, she still was on the go a lot of the time). On one visit, I sat on the bed and helped her fold sheets and towels. She said that she had a LOT of laundry to fold, because Granddad and the neighbors were bringing the wash for her to fold.
One day, she told my daughter that she was tired of all of the old free loaders that she was having to take care of, that she was going to tell the nurse to get that freeloader out of the spare room because she was tired of taking care of her.
Visiting her has not been too hard. It has been somewhat sad, but I could see the humor and focus on that.
She has continued to decline. She is not getting around much now, and she doesn't talk much. She seems to spend her days just sitting in a wheel chair or lying in the bed. We visited her Saturday, and it was overwhelmingly sad. She still knows me. She was glad to see me and asked how I was able to get away by myself, without the kids. I just told her that the kids were all busy, not that they have all been married for years.
She had a stiff neck, and while I rubbed it, she seemed sad, and she said, "I lived long enough to see all of my grandchildren get married."
I know that being old is part of life, and I tell myself that. My hope and prayer for several years is that my parents would not just slowly fade away. It is very sad to see that happening to my mother.
She has always been a woman with tremendous energy, full of zest and enthusiasm. She was always laughing. She still smiles often, and she lights up when her family comes in, but her mind is confused and reality is slipping away.
One thing I am VERY grateful for is that I have sisters who live close and are able to visit daily, and take my Dad to visit often, as long as he is up to it.

Spend Time with Your Girlfriends...for your health!

I copied this from a facebook friend. I knew this was true, but now we have proof! 


They Teach It at Stanford In an evening class at Stanford University the last lecture was on the mind-body connection - the relationship between stress and disease. The speaker (head of psychiatry at Stanford) said, among other things, that one of the best things that a man could do for his health is to be married to a woman 
whereas for a woman, one of the best things she could do for her health was to nurture her relationships with her girlfriends. At first everyone laughed, but he was serious.

Women connect with each other differently and provide support systems that help each other to deal with stress and difficult life experiences. Physically this quality “girlfriend time" helps is to create more serotonin - a neurotransmitter that helps combat depression and can create a general feeling of well-being. Women share feelings whereas men often form relationships around activities. We share from our souls with our sisters/mothers, and evidently that is very GOOD for our health. He said that spending time with a friend is just as 
important to our general health as jogging or working out at a gym. There's a tendency to think that when we are "exercising" we are doing something good for our bodies, but when we are hanging out with friends, we are wasting our time and should be more productively engaged—not true. In fact, he said that failure to create and maintain quality personal relationships with other humans is as dangerous to our physical health as smoking!
So every time you hang out to schmooze with a gal pal, just pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself for doing something good for your health! We are indeed very, very lucky. Sooooo let's toast to our friendship with our girlfriends. Evidently it's very good for our health.


LOVE IT! Since I spend a lot of time with other women, and I HATE working out at a gym, this is really, really good news for me!