Breaking Anxiety’s Grip - No question, we have a lot to worry about. Children, jobs, homes, homes, health, finances, and more. The solution isn’t to rid ourselves of the sources of anxiety—as if we could. Instead, we need to recognize that anxiety originates from a spiritual influence and that we can fight back using the God-given weapons of power, love, and a sound mind. Sharing her own story of emerging from the battle with anxiety as well as the stories of others, Dr. Michelle Bengtson reminds you of your identity as a follower of Christ and of the peace he promises you in spite of everything. She provides tools to cope with the crushing emotional burden of anxiety now and, more importantly, shows you how to reclaim God’s peace as a way of life so that you can break anxiety’s grip.
Life’s Healing Choices - Are you hurting? Is someone you love hurting? There’s no doubt, we are living in uncertain times. Some people are losing their jobs or homes. Others are suffering emotionally from their hurts. Many are losing their hope for the future. It seems everybody needs to recover from something. But the good news is that Jesus gave us a way to recover, that will work for every problem we face. And personal recovery can lead to church-wide revival and ultimately national renewal. You don’t have to hurt alone. Make healing choices by taking this important spiritual growth journey.
7 Steps to Courage - Are you feeling overwhelmed by your life—barely keeping your head above water? Does it feel as if you’re going down for the third time? Don’t despair! 7 Steps to Courage is a life preserver. And you’re just one choice away from correcting the trajectory of your life. Your journey toward freedom begins the moment you choose to stand up and face your life with courage. In 7 Steps to Courage author Ann White shares with authenticity and raw emotion the story of how she walked away from a life steeped in dysfunction to a life restored in God’s grace. With vulnerability she provides the tools you need in order to act rather than react, become empowered by making brave choices, and find joy as you celebrate freedom from your fears. 7 Steps to Courage offers seven intentional, doable steps that can ultimately alter your life, no matter what fearful situation you’re experiencing. Ann provides step-by-step direction and proven guidance on how to proceed and succeed in changing your life from frozen to freedom.
Our library is filled with all kinds of books that are filled with content that is targeted toward helping you with your walk with God. We have stuff for: men, women, teenagers, married and dating couples, and for those who are single and for families in general. But the books that I want to tell you guys about this week are our Self Help material. Now, one of the best things about the books in our Self Help section, is the fact that the authors are experts in the field they are writing about. They aren’t just sharing their opinion on courage and anxiety, but use scientific facts and definitions to back that opinion. But, more importantly, these authors use facts from the Bible and what they know about God, in order to lead their readers on their journey toward peace and courage. One of the first examples of that is in Breaking Anxiety’s Grip, when author Dr. Michelle Bengtson says, “Being at peace means we can rest, be still, and trust God to keep us safe through it all.” Along with also saying, “If you are depressed, you’re living in the past. If you are anxious, you’re living in the future. But if you are at peace, you’re living in the present.” These statements came after another interesting thought from Dr. Bengtson, “When we entertain worry, anxiety, and fear, we sacrifice our peace.” We don’t just want peace to be a word we hear in a Christmas carol, but to see it out live the anxious moments in our lives.
Along with overcoming anxiety and fear with peace, author Ann White gives her readers the 7 Steps to Courage. And those 7 steps are simply these:
Commit to Change
Overcome Obstacles
Uncover our True Self
Replace Worldly Lies with Scriptural Truth
Accept the Things We Cannot Change
Grasp God’s Love for Us
Embrace a Life of Grace
As you continue to read through this book, Ann explains what each of these means and how you can apply them to your life!
The final book that I read for this week was Life’s Healing Choices by John Baker. I liked this one a little more than the other two books, because John throws a lot of content that could become relatable for whoever is reading. Two examples that he gives are, “the apostle Paul felt a similar frustration, ‘It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong…there is something else deep within me that is at war with my mind and wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin.” And John even includes stories of people who struggled but overcame those mental and physical trials. In these stories, each person thanks our Lord Jesus for the victory and has devoted their lives to helping others reach that peace, along with introducing them to God. So if you are struggling with depression and anxiety, and would like to learn more about what these authors have to say, come into the Cross Reference Library to check some of our Self Help material.
— “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”