Monday, January 4, 2010

Taking Care of You? Get a Counselor!




2010 ushers in a new decade. A time to evaluate personal goals. A time to separate wants from needs.

In sync with the season, The Well kicks off “Taking Care of You” week. To prepare this post, I Googled my cares away and found…

Ten Affordable Techniques to Pamper Yourself: It Starts With Shopping
Take Time For YOU With a Drink a Day!
Prioritize YOU with Just Ten Minutes of Leisure!
How a Tub Soak Can Change Your Life
Exercise Your Way to a New Year


…over a million ways to reduce stress, relax…take care of myself.

Yeah.

The more I shop, the more stuff I have to manage. The less $ I have for…food. Mortgage. Utilities. Gulp.



Lattes satisfy my sense of smell, sight, taste, and sound. Hissing steam warbles like an exotic African songbird. But will a drink really change my life?



Leisure? America’s love affair with this concept needs to be reevaluated. Now.

Bubble baths soften my skin and create a perfect book-reading environment (yes, water-soaked novels expand accordion-style on my shelves). But how long can I sit in tepid water?




Laura the dog loves to jog, and every hundredth outing, I feel like a lioness, thundering through across African plains, the wind streamlining my mane, blood pulsing to my limbs. But Midwest temperatures and wind chills have shut us inside, where we dream of sandy beaches and salty warm air.



A few years back, God whispered the PERFECT way to take care of myself. And whispered. And whispered.

“…I will ask the Father and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth” (John 14:16).

“…the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26).




Dear ones, God provided an omniscient, omnipresent, omniperfect Soulmate who can comfort, counsel, and advocate. The Holy Spirit can whisper soothing words, rub the ache from a broken heart, nurture that work in progress, advise on that stressful situation.

Wanna take care of YOU? Die to self, and let the Holy Spirit do His job. He can nurture you physically, spiritually, emotionally, and mentally…in a million and one ways!

Happy New Year, friends!

15 comments:

  1. Good Morning Patti, Inkies and Readers,
    I showed up early this morning with the hot coffee and cinnamon scones. Mmmm. Can you smell it?

    True to my goals I got up and dashed off my fast 250. I think I may go back to be for a half hour and see if my hubby will wake me up. This getting back into the swing of things is not easy.

    I am a counselor and I need a counselor. :) As Patti said,
    "The Holy Spirit can whisper soothing words, rub the ache from a broken heart, nurture that work in progress, advise on that stressful situation."

    The Holy Spirit is the best Counselor ever and any counselor that doesn't realize that hasn't got a prayer.

    I was reading about God's promises this morning in Genesis 18:1-18, The Son of Promise. Genesis 18:14 states, "Is anything to hard for the Lord?"

    Of course not. So this day and every day I will put my trust in the Lord and count on HIS promises.

    Have a great day!

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  2. Excellent, excellent, Patti! This is so important and such a great way to start the New Year.

    Our plans and resolutions don't matter. What matters is letting God guide us. Another quote, (lazy version since I'm having my morning coffee and don't want to get up to find the book ;) from Counseled by God: "You enter into God's rest by listening to the Holy Spirit and just doing what He tells you to do day by day."

    It takes all the stress and pressure off of "me." Dying to self, as you said, becomes a huge blessing.

    The inkies know that my in-laws have been visiting for a month from Lebanon. Saturday I reached the lying on the bed in a fetal position, "b-b-b-b-b-b-b" stage. I stayed home yesterday and spent a special quiet time with God while everyone else was gone at church, and He truly ministered to me.

    When we are weak then He is strong. Thank God, because I'm a mess on my own.

    Dina

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  3. Awesome reminder, Patti! If we'll just shut up long enough to listen, the Holy Spirit can give us guidance for every situation in life. My problem is shutting up and staying still long enough to tune in. : )

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  4. Great reminder, Patti. So often we pass up the opportunity to seek an answer from the perfect source! I don't want to turn to God as a last resort, but as my first recourse.

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  5. I like to give the Holy Spirit His due. The most mysterious, unknown and busy-during-the-church-age part of the Triune God. Comforter, Counselor. Such good company and yet so little credit.

    This is my very casual-sounding view and I hope no one is offended. He's quite used to it and still sticks by me. Sometimes I ignore Him but it's not such a good idea.

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  6. Happy New Year to you, too, Patti, and everyone else at the Inkwell today! Wow, this is just what I needed today. I'm posting on this theme too, later in the week, and I was just thinking how ironic that is, because I'm one tired, out-of-balance wreck at the moment. As much as I love my bubble baths, it won't change much in the grand scheme of things. But the Lord alone can smooth, change and heal my rough and broken pieces! Amen to that! Thanks for the reminder to focus!

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  7. Dina, may Jill's exhilaration buzz across the computer lines and rubb onto you!


    Niki, we share more than the Inkie name!!!! Do they call you an eager beaver as well?

    Lisa, great advice!

    Debra, you certainly aren't offending me! He is a quiet gentleman, isn't He?

    Anita and Missy, love y'all's support!

    Susanne, you make me chuckle. Tonight, after my exercise and chocolate and latte, I just MIGHT TAKE that bath! LOL

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  8. I must admit, when I saw your title today, I thought, "What? Go for counselling? What for?" But as I read to your conclusion -- yes, I do need that Counsellor! Thanks for this post!
    Elaine King

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  9. Patti,
    I love your advice, to die to self, but it is hard to at times to put into action. Thanks for the reminder that to get more from life, I have to give up more. It is another of those amazing bible paradoxes. To take care of yourself, you need to die to self.

    Wise, wise woman, you.

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  10. Wow, Patti. This is just what I needed to read before I head to bed after a bizarre and stressful day. Can you hear me giving a huge sigh of satisfaction? I love the image of the Holy Spirit whispering soothing words in my ear, easing the ache in my broken heart. It's so powerful and so true. You can trust that I'll be reading your post over and over again.

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  11. Elaine, sounds like my title made you take the double-look!
    Thanks ever so much for writing!

    Wenda, not an ounce of wisdom exists in me outside of the Counselor. In fact, I am the flightiest knot of nerves you have ever "seen." Praise God for Him.

    Suzie, I'm so sorry for your bad day. You know my e-mail...

    Blessings,
    Patti

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  12. Holy Spirit is like music. When I listen, I am filled in places I never even knew needed comfort.

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  13. Mary,
    THANKS for visiting the Well! What a beautiful expression for the Holy Spirit's care!!!

    Patti
    www.pattilacy.com/blog

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