Small Beginnings

Lest you think that you are here on Earth by accident, consider what the scriptures say.

The prophet Jeremiah writes, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.”

In Psalm 139, King David writes, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; you works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.  Your eyes saw my unformed body’ all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

The apostle Paul writes, “For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence.”

The first person to whom Christ revealed himself was another child in the womb.

“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.”  

God has been thinking about you even before you were made.  And that should be an encouraging thought.

 By a contributing blogger, David Mueller 

CLICK HERE For Living With Hope Counseling Facebook Page AND "LIKE" IT!

 


   Diane Davidson 
                               Gammon M.S.
         Clinical Mental Health Counselor

 Open Full-Time Days - Monday through Saturday
With Evening Appointments

615-556-8406

Email- Diane@LivingWithHopeCounseling.com

Sliding Scale Fee for Individual Counseling Sessions 

Free Support Groups for: Depression, Anxiety, Panic, Hopelessness, Trauma, PTSD, Abuse, and Grief and Loss (Including Miscarriage/ Stillbirth/ Infant loss)

Disclaimer- I am not a doctor and I am not giving out medical advice. My blogs are for information and inspirational purposes. Please consult your doctor before starting a new health regimen.

Diane Davidson Gammon MS is clinically supervised by Michael Loftis LCSW as she pursues  LPC-MHSP licensure

Surprised by Obedience

Sin should never surprise us.  We are after all sinners.  In a sordid way, sin is expected of us.

What should surprise us, however, is when God empowers us to obey him in some matter.

In John 15:5, Christ says, “For apart from me you can do nothing.”

Any obedience on our part comes from Christ.  None of it comes of ourselves, our strength, or power.

God gets all the credit.

Author Barbara Duguid writes, “God is glorified in our weakness in so many ways.  How would we ever know his patience if we did not sin time and time again?  How could we ever plumb the depths of his love if we did not sin against it over and over again, only to find that his forgiveness is endless and his love unshakable?”


By a contributing blogger, David Mueller
  Diane Davidson Gammon MS is clinically supervised by Michael Loftis LCSW as she pursues  LPC-MHSP licensure.

CLICK HERE For Living With Hope Counseling Facebook Page AND "LIKE" IT!
 


 By Diane Davidson 
                               Gammon M.S.
         Clinical Mental Health Counselor
Diane Davidson Gammon MS is clinically supervised by Michael Loftis LCSW as she pursues  LPC-MHSP licensure.

 Open Full-Time Days - Monday through Saturday
With Evening Appointments
615-556-8406
Email- Diane@LivingWithHopeCounseling.com

Sliding Scale Fee for Individual Counseling Sessions 

Free Support Groups for: Depression, Anxiety, Panic, Hopelessness, Trauma, PTSD, Abuse, and Grief and Loss (Including Miscarriage/ Stillbirth/ Infant loss)

 Have Hope! Renew Health! and...........

More Reasons to Move During The Day

Researchers are finding out more evidence that physical inactivity results in increased weight gain.

It’s already known not enough physical movement contributes to obesity, type-2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.

Researchers found that a sedentary lifestyle contributes to fat accumulation around the organs of the body, which can result in the fat pressing on the organs and damaging them.

There are several things you can do to keep moving.

• You can take a walk.  
• Ride a bicycle.
• Take the stairs.
• Give yourself breaks at work so you can walk around and stretch.  
• Find opportunities to stand instead of sit.

Source:  Too Much Time Sitting Causes Body Fat to Accumulate Around Organs

CLICK HERE For Living With Hope Counseling Facebook Page AND "LIKE" IT!
 


 By Diane Davidson 
                               Gammon M.S.
         Clinical Mental Health Counselor

 Open Full-Time Days - Monday through Saturday
With Evening Appointments
615-556-8406
Email- Diane@LivingWithHopeCounseling.com

Sliding Scale Fee for Individual Counseling Sessions 

Free Support Groups for: Depression, Anxiety, Panic, Hopelessness, Trauma, PTSD, Abuse, and Grief and Loss (Including Miscarriage/ Stillbirth/ Infant loss)

 Have Hope! Renew Health! and...........

Emotional and Physical Pain... Pin Prick or Crushing?

Emotional and Physical Pain.............
Pin Prick or Crushing ?

Part of the treatment and healing process for the physical or emotional pain one feels, whether pain on the skin’s surface or a broken heart, might be to convey one’s level of pain to others (1). 

Brainstorming with those who have had similar experiences can provide new insights into how to move forward.  Even talking to one’s self in third person (like an outsider looking in) may provide benefits (2).  

All the while, it is good to reflect on whether or not the ways of communicating are achieving positive rather than negative results.  

It is possible that therapy through communication may aid in a determination of whether some physical pain that is present is a result of untreated emotional pain. There can be strong connections between physical and emotional pain (3). 

In addition, emotional pain, such as the kind stemming from betrayal of a loved one long ago, can be relived more intensely in the mind than compared to reflecting deeply on a painful physical injury (4). 

So, care should be taken when communicating emotional pain to others in a manner and frequency that results in the traumatic event being relived over and over (5). 

If forgiveness of others, or rather lack thereof, is involved, many unsettled negative feelings can surface that are as powerful as those that occurred on the day of the event.  This is not to imply that one should be in isolation from others for long periods of time, because this can be harmful.

Living with hope- we are all in this world together trying to figure out ways to heal from traumatic events that sometimes seem indescribable. 

What a blessing it is when we can find someone out there who we could say to at some point, “you get me,” someone who provides help in comforting and nonjudgmental ways.  
   

Giving of ourselves to others, especially those we can empathize with, can bring the joy back and help us achieve a fuller life ahead (6).

“Those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.”  Proverbs 11:25

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”  Matthew 5:7

References:

1.  Goldsmith, Barton, Ph.D, “Talk About Your Problems, Please,” Psychologytoday.com, 3 March 2011.

2.  Moser, Jason and others, “Third Person Self-Talk Facilitates Emotion Regulation without Engaging Cognitive Control; Converging Evidence from ERP and fMRI,” Scientific Reports 7, Article No. 4519 (2017)

3.  Babbel, Suzanne, Ph.D, “The Connections between Emotional Stress, Trauma and Physical Pain,” Psychologytoday.com, 8 April 2010

4.  Chen, Z, and others, “When Hurt Will Not Heal:  Exploring the Capacity to Relive Social and Physical Pain,” Psychological Science, Volume 19, pp. 789-795, August 2008

5.  Perry, Philippa, psychotherapist, “When Talking about Your Problems Actually Makes Them Worse,” The Guardian, 25 September 2014

6.  Appelo, Lisa, “When Helping Others is Healing to Ourselves,” lisaappelo.com, 30 October 2015.

  Written by a guest blogger

CLICK HERE For Living With Hope Counseling Facebook Page AND "LIKE" IT!

 


   Diane Davidson Gammon M.S.
         Clinical Mental Health Counselor

 Open Full-Time Days - Monday through Saturday
With Evening Appointments

615-556-8406

Email- Diane@LivingWithHopeCounseling.com

Sliding Scale Fee for Individual Counseling Sessions 

Free Support Groups for: Depression, Anxiety, Panic, Hopelessness, Trauma, PTSD, Abuse, and Grief and Loss (Including Miscarriage/ Stillbirth/ Infant loss)

Disclaimer- I am not a doctor and I am not giving out medical advice. My blogs are for information and inspirational purposes. Please consult your doctor before starting a new health regimen.

Diane Davidson Gammon MS is clinically supervised by Michael Loftis LCSW as she pursues  LPC-MHSP licensure