Universal Life Church Monastery of Massachusetts

Thursday, April 7, 2016

LIFE: Realize tough times and pain can help us to grow.

I like the quote, “The pain passes, but the beauty remains” by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. He tells us that the pain that we encounter in life does not have to be a lost cause. No one likes to go through tough, painful times but it is inevitable along our journeys. As painful as certain seasons or situations in life can be, we tend to gain some invaluable insights, lessons, strength, and humility during those times.
Think back to a tough time in your life and remember the lessons you learned while persevering through it. Take note of the positive traits, lessons, or relationships that came as a result.

Thursday, March 31, 2016

HEALTH: Don't Worry

Have you ever heard the phrase, “Worried sick”? Worry is a type of stress that has negative affects on our minds and bodies, and can in fact, make us sick. Worry robs people of peace and joy. It is a bondage that holds them in darkness and not only affects them, but those around them.

Jesus told his disciples not to worry. He asks them, “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. (Matthew 6:27-29 NLT)

A lot of time can be wasted worrying and nothing much gets accomplished. If you continue to worry, you are not trusting God. Take your problems to God in prayer and ask him to help you be at peace and give you possible solutions.

Thursday, March 24, 2016

LIFE: Get inspired.

As creatures of habit, we can get trapped in a “think/belief rut” as I like to call it. What this means is that we can get in the habit of allowing negative thinking to dominate us and as a result, we sink lower and lower into disappointment and frustration.

One way to replace the negative with positive is to read and/or listen to encouraging literature. Our nation has multitudes of self-help, inspirational, and motivational books, videos, and audios so finding resources is easy. I assure you that listening to positive information over and over can help you change your thinking from negative to positive and give you hope. I like to find a variety of inspiring quotes, print them out, post them around my house, and memorize them. This helps me to redefine my mind and not allow negativity to camp out.

Thursday, March 17, 2016

HEALTH: Depression

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 9% of Americans are currently diagnosed as clinically depressed. That is over 20 million people who are having a hard time functioning daily because they are so depressed.

Though there are many effective treatments available for those suffering from depression, there is one treatment that I believe is overlooked: God’s word.

God tells us that we are to base our life on the truth of his word, not our feelings. (Philippians 4:1) He also tells us to consider it all joy when we find ourselves in trials. (James 1:2) Trust what God says and not your feelings. Ask God to help you get to the underlying cause of your depression and ask for solutions. Perhaps you are not seeing your life from God’s perspective or are consumed by self and not God’s will for your life. Fight the good fight of faith and don’t allow depression to control you.

Thursday, March 10, 2016

LIFE: Make a gratitude list

I’ve heard that what we focus on, we empower and enlarge so if we find ourselves being negative, we actually invite more things in our lives that will attract negative thoughts and feelings. Negativity tends to distort our reality and oftentimes we find ourselves thinking irrationally. I mean, really, how many times have we told ourselves, “This is so terrible and I can’t handle it!” but in reality, we could and did handle it and it wasn’t “so bad” after all”.

Reality tells us that life isn’t normally quite as terrible as we think. To become more positive, I encourage you to sit down and make a gratitude list. List the things you are grateful for in your life whether it be attributes, people, relationships, material things, etc. Everyone has at least one thing to be grateful for. Making a gratitude list and looking at it frequently will help you to focus on the positive things in your life.

Thursday, March 3, 2016

HEALTH: Success

God wants us to be successful spiritually, physically, and emotionally. Our bodies are God’s temple and it is important for us to take care of our bodies. We find in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 that our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God dwells in us, and we are therefore to honor God with our bodies.
How do we do that? By first, finding out what God requires of us regarding physical health. God’s word is a roadmap to health and if we want optimal health, it is important to read and follow God’s instructions. God is willing to help us honor him with our physical body. All we need to do is ask and put forth effort at following his guidelines for optimal health and happiness.

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

LIFE: Be humble

Humility is an important virtue that oftentimes gets overlooked. Humility means putting others ahead of you. It means having a lower opinion of yourself and willingly submitting to God and others.
In a world where selfishness seems to prevail, humility is necessary for peace to prevail in our society. Jesus thought humility very important as he states in the book of Matthew, “But the greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.” (Matthew 23:11-12)

Are you putting others before you or are you looking out for number one? Ask God to show you how humble you really are and make a decision to walk humbly before God and others.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

HEALTH: We think, We are

Proverbs 23:7 states that as we think, we are. The thoughts that we think about ourselves are exactly who we are. Who we are today is a product of the thoughts we’ve thought of all the years before today.
How do you see yourself physically? Strong, healthy, vibrant? Sick, tired, and apathetic? Your thoughts and perspective can help you or hurt you. If you struggle with negative thinking patterns, it’s time to change that. It’s time to begin thinking positive thoughts about you and everything about you. I encourage you to envision yourself healthy, strong, happy, and vibrant. No matter what your situation is or how you are feeling, visualize you at optimum level. Also, use positive affirmations such as, “I am strong. I am healthy. I eat healthy. I am confident, successful, and happy. I can do anything through Christ, who strengthens me.”
Before long, you will notice that you will change the way you feel and see yourself. You are not your thoughts, but your thoughts greatly influence your perception of yourself.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

LIFE: Take control of your thoughts

Refuse to let negative thoughts rule your life. Our thought life controls us more than we’d like to admit, and if you are allowing negative thoughts to rule, then you will struggle with low self-esteem and living a life of disappointment and frustration.

God wants our minds to be at peace and full of good, positive, confident thoughts. God wants our thoughts to be full of faith and love and he tells us to take control of our thoughts. He tells us in the bible to renew our minds with the word of God and take every negative thought captive and make it obedient to what God has to say. 2 Corinthians 10:5

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

HEALTH: Diets

Our physical health can affect other areas of our lives such as career and family. If we are not feeling well or are battling sickness and disease, it affects not only us, but those around us.

God has given us the best diet plan in the Bible. If you will read Leviticus and Deuteronomy, you will find a diet blueprint that will help you walk in optimal health. Walking in good health requires discipline and commitment. You might not feel like eating fruits and vegetables over cookies and hotdogs, but the rewards of feeling energized and fully alive are well worth the effort. Educate yourself on how you can live a healthier lifestyle and share your good news with others.