This is the 4th month of a year-long Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) discussion group at the Ark. It is amazing to me! God keeps encouraging us. One example: the ActiveHeroes.org’s 22 Pushups Challenge going worldwide.
Statistics show that 22 veterans commit suicide each day. The challenge is for people to do 22 pushups a day for 22 days to honor struggling soldiers. Recovery from PTSD first requires awareness. Second, it requires love and trust to encourage the wounded to ask for help and support. This reminds me of how Jesus left the 90 and 9 to find just one lost sheep. One is worth it all! I always knew this, but the PTSD group is bringing new awareness. Our group is based purely on faith and availability, and our veterans voted to open the group to others suffering from PTSD. They are still serving. Do keep this mission in earnest prayer.
Our Deaf Signing classes have started again. At the Coffeehouse on September 30, beginning signers and people who are deaf came together and learned by sharing and fellowship.
Enrollment is huge for this Anger Management Resolution and Domestic Violence Prevention Class . My husband, Garry, reminded me to put Resolution back into Anger Management classes. We don’t just want to manage anger; we want the skills to resolve anger. We all know violence comes out of anger (which may be hidden or suppressed) until it erupts in rage and violence. Proverbs 29:20 states, “Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.”
Have you ever said, “I wish I hadn’t said that”? Over and over scripture warns and tells us to wait before the Lord. One way to resolve anger is to ASK the Holy Spirit to help, lead, and show each of us correct responses. If we don’t ask, we won’t receive. At 83, I am still learning to wait and ask for Holy Spirit help. Romans 8:26 says, “In the same way the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.”
The Recovery Devotional Bible reminds us: “Fortunately, God is aware of the problem and offers His own Spirit to pray with us and for us.” No matter our ages, we must continue to seek God’s will. He knows the way through the wilderness and walks with us “through the valley of the shadow of death.” (Psalms 23:4) “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of sound mind, peace, joy, and love and self-control”. (II Timothy 1:7)
Satan tempts children, even adult children with fear of rejection, abuse, anger, lack, and abandonment. Traumatic experiences triggered by Satan (often called “flashbacks”) may be activated by a harsh tone of voice, a certain scent or reminder of a past bad decision. Those hinder forward motion in today’s life journey. Unrealistic self-expectations can weaken today’s self-respect. The Holy Spirit’s gentleness and touch can show us that He protects us in our daily lives. I am circling the words “show and tell” in my Bible. As a teacher, Jesus used show and tell, as does Father God.
Toxic or incorrect thinking causes 87% of today’s illnesses according to scientific studies. As Jack Hawkins’ teaching on “Possessing the Mind of Christ” encourages: we must adapt and adjust our thinking and so manage responses to current events. Yes, we do “have the mind of Christ.” Please read: I Corinthians 2:14-16.