How You can Walk in the Spirit

Written by Dr. Bill Bright

Experiencing the adventure

A medical doctor approached me with great excitement at the conclusion of our  training conference. He was overflowing with joy and excitement.

“Since I have learned how to be filled with the Holy Spirit and walk in His power, the Christian life has become a great adventure for me!” he exclaimed. “Now, I want to experience this same adventure with Christ.”

Would you like to know how to enjoy what this man an millions of other Christians have experienced? You too can know the adventure of a full, abundant, purposeful and fruitful life in Christ!

A Fresh Start For A New Year

The Lord's loving kindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; Great is Thy faithfulness.  "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I have hope in Him."  Lamentations 3:22-24

Have I ever told you how bad of a golfer I am? Well, it is true. I am inconsistent off the tee box, can’t chip to save my life, and putt like Herman Munster. That mixture of problems typically results in bad scores. Sometimes I just give myself an “F” for “fun” on the scorecard.

I remember one day I was playing golf with a friend. It was a typical day for me on the course, a few good shots and a lot of bad shots. After we made the turn for the final nine holes, however, something happened. I started to play better! It was like a scene from Invasion of the Body Snatchers. I am sure my friend was wondering, “Who are you and what have you done with my friend Jeff Schreve!” I was on fire!

We got to the last hole. If I shot par on that hole, I would have finished the back nine with a 40, my best score ever for nine holes. Unfortunately, as I stepped to the tee box, the body snatcher left me. The old Jeff was back, and it wasn’t pretty. I hit tree after tree on my way to a quadruple boogie. UGH!

Fried food not a direct cause of heart risk, new research finds

By Eric Pfeiffer | The Sideshow

Let them eat chicken fried steak

A new study has found that there is no direct correlation between the amount of fried food people eat and their risk of heart disease. Instead, the research found that long-term heart risk depended more on what kind of oil was used in the cooking process — olive oil and sunflower oil are considered the healthiest.

The study, published in the British Medical Journal, studied the eating and cooking habits of 40,000 people in Spain for nearly 15 years. The Mediterranean diet favored by most individuals in the study leans heavily on fried foods, particularly fried fish, but also the healthier olive and sunflower oils for the frying.

Myth: “If I’m a good Christian, then nothing bad will happen to me.”

Genesis 50:20

This isn’t what I asked for, thank you. I want my old life back.

The one where my parents were the perfect couple. Where I was the only one among my friends whose parents were still together. And seemingly still in love.

The one where I was voted most likely to succeed and everyone, right or wrong, envied my life because it seemed so perfect. And I believed it was.

I want to go back to the times when I knew You were involved in my life. The ones where I prayed and You answered. I talked to You, and You listened. The times when I knew You were alive. Loving. And on my side.

I want the life where all I had to do was show up for class, and I got good grades. Name a job opening, and I landed it squarely. Speak my needs, and my husband moved heaven and earth to meet them.

IT’S NOT LOVE, IT’S OXYTOCIN

Visualize being on a fourth date with an attractive man who you’re totally into. He is showering you with compliments. You can’t stop smiling as the two of you hold hands, kiss softly, and flirt playfully. A little bit of skin-to-skin contact already has your brain releasing feel good hormones called endorphins, and a powerful hormone called oxytocin. 

As the date continues, you feel even closer to him and by the end of the night, he’s managed to get you into bed. Now your oxytocin levels are through the roof, especially if he has brought you to orgasm, which releases even more of this bonding hormone. With this amount of oxytocin circulating in your system, you’re now what I like to call ‘under the influence’.  That’s right. 

The Most Common Sex Dreams Decoded

An unexpected partner appearing in your nocturnal fantasies probably doesn’t mean what you think 
Cynthia Ramnarace

what does it mean?

Have you ever had a sex dream starring someone other than the guy you're sharing a bed with? If so, don't worry--it doesn't mean you want to cheat. Instead, the person you're dreaming about usually signifies what's going on deep in your psyche. "If we pay attention, there may be something we can learn from our dreams," says marriage therapist Sharon Gilchrest O'Neill, author of A Short Guide to a Happy Marriage. "Maybe there's something missing in our lives, or maybe there's a problem in our relationship we haven't wanted to think about." Here are some of the most common sex dreams and what they really mean.

Make Advent More than "The Christmas Season"

Many of us make the four
weeks leading up to Christmas
into something it's not.

For the longest time, I thought "Advent" was just a fancy word for "the Christmas season," a holier, maybe more spiritual-sounding word for an otherwise hectic and overly-commercialized holiday stretch between Thanksgiving and Dec. 25. What I've discovered in the past few years of observing Advent is it's not just a different word; it's an entirely different approach.

Let me explain. Advent as a season is meant to make the journey toward Christmas full of meaning; it's meant to put us in touch with our deepest longings and greatest hopes; it's meant to teach us to bring all our desires together on one object: Christ. While "Christmas" as a season (properly) begins on Dec. 25 and goes 12 days (yes, there's a song about that!) until Jan. 6, Advent is all about the build-up to it. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and takes us right up to the glorious celebration of the incarnation.

When you journey through Advent to Christmas, you begin to see Jesus more fully. You recognize His incarnation was the beginning of the redemption of the world and His return is the completion of it. Advent pulls those two moments together. It overlays the joy of His arrival as a helpless babe with the hope of His appearing as conquering King. Both arrivals are anticipated in celebrating Advent.