Friday, January 26, 2018

Word of Encouragemnt Devotional: Rising Above Discouragement





Discouragement never comes at an opportune time. Usually discouragement hits you the hardest when you are in need of encouragement the most.



Discouragement happens when:


·         You are not making progress as you would like or you have made progress and are moving forward

·         Prolonged sickness or reoccurring sickness

·         A sin or habit seems relentless to break

·         Others seem to be progressing while you are not getting as far

·         You have invaded the enemy’s camp

·         Your prayers seem to go unheard





How to rise above discouragement:

Don’t entertain the lies of the enemy. When you feel discouraged, recognize the enemy would love to keep you that way. Tell yourself that you will not always feel discouraged and ask God to send you encouragement your way. Reflect on what is currently going right in your life, focusing on the good. Remember in times past where you were successful and overcame a problem or situation.



Reflect: The enemy often sends discouragement so that you will not move forward and will remain stuck in your current situation. Rebuke the spirit of discouragement in the name of Jesus. Begin praising God and speak out the opposite of what you are feeling.



Meditate:

Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved. Psalm 55:22










Thursday, January 25, 2018

Counselor's Corner: Overcoming the Fear of Failure




Fear of failure occurs when you have tried to accomplish a goal or a task and either had setbacks, delays or no progress at all. Usually the fear of failure does not happen the first attempt at a desired outcome but after repeated attempts to achieve your dream or destiny.



Failure is mostly based on your perception, in other words, if you keep trying after not succeeding do you give up or keep trying? If you perceive that you are a failure and whatever you do will fail, you will not keep trying. If you believe that failure only occurs if you stop trying than you likely will continue to pursue your dreams.




I had great ambitions to become a published author. I set out on my mission to publish my first book, and I did several years ago. The problem is that even though I did have my book published, the sales of that book only covered the expenses of what I paid the publisher. I did not make a large profit and became terrified to write another book. I knew I was supposed to write another book, even though my first book did not have the outcome that I would have liked. Now my second book has currently been released with a different publisher. I truly don’t know what will happen with this book, but I will continue to write. If you know God has given you something to do, our part is to be faithful and do it and not to worry about the outcomes.



Perhaps you did not write a book and it flopped but you had a business fail or a job that you did not flourish at. As a result, you may be stagnant or comfortable not pursuing any further goals that would lead you towards your dream. You have stopped dreaming, believing and hoping that your destiny would be fulfilled.



Failure is a part of life. Each time you miss the mark use it as an opportunity to learn and grow. Sometimes you don’t make it the first, second or even third time around. Sometimes it can take multiple times to finally see your dreams come to pass. DON’T GIVE UP! When you are not getting the desired outcomes or one door closes after another, regroup and try again!



PERSISTANCE AND PERSERVERANCE are keys to overcoming fear of failure.



Some naysayers may say to you, “If you did not make it work the first or second time around you probably should give up.” You may even tell yourself that.



But what if these people stopped after their first attempt…



Abraham Lincoln did give up after he failed numerous times with different offices in the government he was trying to run for, he never would have become our 16th president. He is known as the most famous failure ever to hold office in the United States.



Albert Einstein known for having one of the most brilliant minds ever lived was once considered a major failure! Einstein did not speak until he was four years old. He eventually went to a university but he struggled and nearly dropped out. Einstein’s father considered his son to be a major failure. After his graduation, he was unsure about what to do with his life and become an insurance salesman. Einstein eventually brought us the theory of relativity and developed several fundamental core laws for physics.



Bill Gates first business, Traf-O-Data failed. Gates enrolled in Harvard University but the following year he dropped out of Harvard to start Microsoft.



Colonel Harland Sanders better known for his Kentucky Fried Chicken. He is also known for his numerous failures in life and in business. At 5 years old, his father died leaving his mother to take care of three children. Harland’s mother would leave for days at a time and he would have to take care of his siblings. During this time, he learned to be a proficient cook. At the age of 12, his mother remarried but this marriage was not good and it caused him to leave home the following year. At 14 years old, he began working as a farmhand. Sanders worked many jobs for years, but nothing really stuck. He owned a ferry boat, sold tires, and eventually opened a restaurant in a gas station selling fried chicken. He was already 40 years when he started serving the fried chicken dishes, but was 50 years old before securing the secret chicken recipe known as the colonel’s secret recipe of 11 herbs and spices. However, just 2 years later he sold his business and got divorced. In 1955, another one of his restaurants failed.

 The age of 65 years he set out to franchise his chicken across the nation. He was rejected by 1,009 restaurants before ONE agreed to his idea.



Dr. Seuss was famously known for the children’s book,” Green eggs and ham.” His initial manuscript that he wrote was rejected 28 times before finally being accepted. Dr. Seuss went on to write many more children’s books and has sold over 600 million copies of his books.



Emily Dickinson one of the most famous authors of modern times. She considered herself a failure much of her life. She was an extreme introvert and was reluctant to meet people face-to-face. She was called a reclusive and eccentric by the locals in her community. She never married nor had children. While Dickinson is considered to be one of the most renowned poets in history, less than a dozen of her poems were published during her lifetime. When her poems were published they were altered significantly because her style did not fit the norm of the day.



Henry Ford known for the Ford Motor Company, one of the most profitable automotive companies in the world. Although success came to Ford years later he failed often in his early years. In 1901, his first business failed and in 1903 at the age of 40 he tried again.



Jack Canfield known for the national best seller, “Chicken soup for the soul,” was turned down by 144 publishers before one small town publishing company in Florida took a chance with his book. Fast forward years later and 500 million books have been sold and it has been translated into over 20 languages.



Lastly let’s not forget Thomas Edison who failed over 10,000 times trying to invent a commercially-viable electric bulb. He was asked at one point by a reporter if he felt like a failure after so many failed attempts. His reply to the reporter was, “I have not failed 10,000 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 10,000 ways will not work. I will find the way that will work.”



Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts, and success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”

-Winston Churchill





Fear of failure starts in your mind first. To learn how to discipline your mind and overcome your fear of failure check out my new book, Disciplining your mind 30 days to a better you!”





Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Need help! Book Reviewers Needed!

I had a book release in December of this year "Disciplining your mind 30 days to a better you!", and I need some help to write a book review on Amazon. My book is about overcoming negative mindsets through disciplining your mind. You can read a FREE SAMPLE chapter through Amazon Kindle.

If you are an author, blogger, publisher or a reader I will exchange a service of mine if you review my book, such as if you are a blogger I will write a blog for your blog, if you are an author I will get a copy of your book and write a review for your book, or if you are a reader I will give you (1) FREE consultation Email with Stephanie Reck, author and counselor.

I thank you in advance for your consideration.

Counselor's Corner: How to Become Resileint



There are a few of us in life who have been knocked down repeatedly. Some of us have had to learn very early on in life how to fight, and some never have learned to get back up from the punches in life. For someone who has been under tremendous stress, trauma, and different crisis’ in their lives, developing resilience is key for maintaining and keeping good mental, physical and spiritual health.

→Without resilience, one breaks under pressure instead of just gently bending.

→What is resilience? The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. You bounce back swiftly after stress or difficulty in your life.


Research shows that the amount of resilience a person possesses is a greater factor for determining success in life rather than your IQ. Some people have a natural tendency towards resilience, while others are bent more towards emotional reactions including being overwhelmed by difficulties in life. I believe some resilience is part of our DNA, but I also believe some resilience is learned by your environment or by the people who raised you. Take for instance, if you were raised with an overly emotional mother whose first reaction to problems was to show negative emotions and you never saw how she overcame her difficulties; chances are a part of what you perceived became ingrained in you. The good news is you can learn how to become resilient. Learning to become resilient starts with your thoughts, and renewing your mind to believe what God says in His word about you. If your thoughts are negative, it is probable you are not a resilient person.

Would you consider yourself a resilient person? Why or why not? What traits did your caretakers show you that helped or hindered your resiliency?

Resilient people…

Resilient people are able to cope with problems and setbacks. Those that lack resilience become overwhelmed when distressing situations occur, tend to focus on the problem, use unhealthy coping mechanisms to deal with life’s challenges, and are slower to recover from setbacks
→Resilient people don’t live life in denial, but they understand that setbacks occur and that life can be painful sometimes.

→Resilient people do not remain focused on the negative, and disengage rapidly from problems that appear unsolvable. A key to resilience is to know when to “cut your losses,” and move on to problems that are solvable.

→Resilient people still mourn losses and experience grief, but they can find redeeming potential in most situations. When non-resilient people face difficulties all of their emotions turn negative. If things are good, the non-resilient person is good, but if things are bad, they feel bad.

→Resilient people can find the silver lining in almost any adverse circumstance. Resilient people will find, seek, and search for the good in their challenges.

→Resilient people are grateful people and are always counting their blessings. They might say, “I am sad that this happened but I am blessed about this.”

Resilient people are not victims and don’t wallow in self-pity.

→Resilient people are overcomers, whether it is their childhood wounds or current painful situations.

→Resilient people are hopeful. They are hopeful brighter days are ahead and they trust God will use their pain for His purposes.

→Resilient people take good care of themselves such as with exercise, eating healthy, and maintaining a healthy support system.

→Resilient people do not focus on their problems, but focus on what is right in their lives.

Resilient people are not whiners and complainers. They don’t tell their problems repeatedly to others to gain pity.
→Resilient people are fighters, they don’t back down and they never give up! When they get temporarily knocked down, they come back up stronger.

→Resilient people move forward, they don’t keep looking back in the past in regret and they don’t project what may happen in the future.



For additional reading on become more resilient through disciplining your mind, check out my latest book, “Disciplining your mind 30 days to a better you!”



Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Word of Encouragement Devotional by Stephanie R. Reck, LMSW, LBT, BCCC



Don’t Worry About the Outcome!

Reflect: Whatever has you concerned or worried about, leave those cares with God and trust that He will take care of what bothers you. Don’t try and figure out the outcome of how things that you’re concerned about will work out. Too much figuring out the outcomes to situations can leave you frustrated and anxious. As God shows you the next step, move forward. Getting ahead of God because of impatience can cause you to go through unnecessary troubles. As you move in accordance with the Holy Spirit’s leading you will find that you have not only God’s grace, but His strength and peace as well. When you don’t operate out of the Holy Spirit’s leading and do whatever you feel your flesh wants you to do, you will end up tired, irritable and unfulfilled.


Don’t worry about the outcomes of your prayers, just move forward when you are prompted by the Holy Spirit and don’t get confused by God’s silence. God’s silence does not mean He is not working or He has not heard your prayers, it means give Him an opportunity to work! Remain steadfast as you wait upon God to intercede with your concerns.


Meditate: Cast ALL your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

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