Contentment

Verses that stir my heart to trust God, find satisfaction in him, and to take the focus off of me by focusing on Him:

- Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, (1 Timothy 6:6 ESV)

- Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me
shall never thirst. (John 6:35 ESV)

- Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5 ESV)

- So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:6 ESV)

- Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain! Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways. (Psalm 119:36, 37 ESV)

- "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:10, 19-21 ESV)

- "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:25, 31-34 ESV)

- Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." (1 Peter 1:13-16 ESV)

- Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (James 1:17 ESV)

- For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. (James 3:16, 17 ESV)

- Delight yourself in the Lord,and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4 ESV)

- Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail,but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:25, 26 ESV)

- Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8 ESV)

- Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. (1 Peter 3:3, 4 ESV)

- Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15-17 ESV)

- But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. (1 Corinthians 1:27-29 ESV)

- For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10 ESV)
I'm certain I will be adding more to this list!

Rantings of a Psychologist

I read a book today and it just reminded me of the need to inform any woman who is pregnant or planning to be pregnant one day that they need to protect their child from harmful substances.  I'm saying all of this is in love so please consider the risks of certain substances while you are pregnant.  The consequences are not worth it.  I work with children everyday who having learning issues, behavioral problems, attention deficits, and more problems than you could ever imagine.  I know this is a rant but I have to get it out there.  I've noticed that the only time I blog is when I have information I'm passionate about and I need to be heard and no one is around to rant to...so I'm blogging :) 

So, if you are planning on being pregnant one day or are now please research how to protect your child prior to, during, and after your pregnancy.  First thing, please do not drink while pregnant.  There is so much research that shows alcohol intake adversely affects the fetus; even alcohol intake 10 days before conception.  Alcohol can cause developmental issues, learning issues, behavior disorders, miscarriages, etc.

Anyway, there are so many other things that can affect your child including smoking, medications (even over the counter), stress, drugs of course, anemia, etc.  If you suffer from Anemia please take a multi-vitamin, eat your spinach and red meat occasionally and even take an iron supplement if needed.  Anemia has been linked to severe learning issues, executive functioning deficits, and attention deficits in children.  Smoking can has also been linked to learning disabilities, behavior disorders, attention deficits, breathing disorders such as Asthma, etc. 

There are many doctors out there who will say a glass of wine is okay while you are pregnant I have to say, has your doctor read the recent research?!  Visit this website: http://www.fetalalcoholsyndrome.org/ 

Anyway....my rantings are done for now. :)