Day Ten Of Christmas--Pray For Those Suffering From Depression

Depression is a condition over which we may have little control. The brain, like any organ of the body, is subject to disease, and some of us may be more genetically prone to clinical depression than others.

But no matter what triggers this plague of emotional darkness and despair, depression not only affects our feelings, but our functioning, i.e., our sleep, appetite, energy, and motivation. Here are ten ways we can at least limit its impact, in descending order:

10. Anti-depressant drugs can be helpful for some, in spite of their occasional negative side effects, and the fact that many have been proven to be only only slightly more effective than placebos in clinical trials. Some people also report feeling better from taking over the counter medications like St. Johns Wort and certain herbal products or natural food supplements. But sometimes the line between reputable fish oil and questionable snake oil is not as clear as we would like.

9. For persons with severe and prolonged clinical depression, older therapies like electroconvulsive treatment (ECT) or newer variations like Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) are producing positive results for some.

8. In cases of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a move to a more sunny climate appears be helpful, or the use of light therapy.

7. A positive placebo effect can also be a part of any therapy for depression. Whatever increases a sense of hopefulness in any of us can result in increased dopamine, serotonin and endorphin production in our brains.

6. Some people find journaling helpful as a way of expressing their laments, naming and externalizing their distresses and writing down some of their own best wisdom for dealing with their condition. see https://harvyoder.blogspot.com/2011/08/wise-selfworried-self-journal.html

5. Avoiding being sedentary, getting plenty of good physical exercise is a proven way for the body to produce mood enhancing endorphins.

4. Avoiding being solitary by nurturing good relationships with others is extremely important to mental health. Depression often makes us want to withdraw from others, which inevitably makes the condition worse. Seeking help from friends and from members of our faith community as well as from professional counselors and medical professionals can make a major difference.

3. Changing our vocabulary, purging them from habitual words like 'terrible', 'horrible', 'awful', is also very important, along with avoiding too many generalizations like 'never', always', and forever'. And its always a good idea to replace the over-use of 'I can't' with something like 'It's really hard, and I haven't found a way yet'.

2. Observing regular mini-sabbaths from life stresses, but especially from the stress of worry, is vital. Or setting aside an hour a day for some serious worrying, then declaring the rest of the time as a sabbatical from worry and anxiety, is sure to help. see https://harvyoder.blogspot.com/2017/11/rx-for-anxious-dedicated-worry-hour.html

1. Taking time to meditate, pray, sing, reflect on the goodness of God and of all creation, and on all the blessings we can possibly record on the assets side of our memory ledger needs to become a priority. And then to reach out to share those blessings with others as we are able.

Day Nine Of Christmas--Pray That All God's People May Share At One Table

source

Over the years, I've experienced tons of grief over all of the church divisions I've witnessed. Why can't good people of faith just work things out and stay together?

But I'm even more concerned about how church splits among Christians are affecting their being able to share in the Lord's Supper.

When I've asked members of groups who are leaving MCUSA or Virginia Mennonite Conference whether I and other former fellow-members can still join them for their communion services, most quite willingly say, "Of course". After all, we are still fellow believers and in many cases long time friends.

But as a practical matter, we hardly ever get together for  communion after a church division. We are far more likely to remain "excommunicated" indefinitely.

If by chance we did show up at a departing church's worship service when the bread and cup of the Eucharist were being served, wouldn't it be more consistent for them to actually turn us away?

After all, if we can't be seen as worthy enough to do church business together, to engage in mission together, or to meet for regular sessions at a common table of discernment (such as at Conference Assemblies) how could we be considered worthy to partake at the Lord's holy table?

So here are my basic questions:

Whose church is it, anyway? 

Who would God welcome to intimate communion fellowship? 

Who will be invited to the forever banquet table? 

I know the Jesus says that the road to life is narrow, and only a relative few will find it. But the Bible also promises that in the end there will be "a great multitude that no one can count, from every tribe, people and language, standing before the throne... wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands."

Maybe the Lord's table is ultimately much larger and more welcoming than we have imagined.

Day Eight Of Christmas--Pray For An End To The Insanity Of War Making

"God will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore."

Isaiah 2:4 (NIV)

Swords to Plowshares

The author of the "War is hell" quote, General William Tecumseh Sherman, wrote the following in 1865, "I confess without shame that I am sick and tired of war. It's glory is all moonshine. Even success, the most brilliant, is over dead and mangled bodies... It is only those who have not heard a shot, nor heard the shrills and groans of the wounded and lacerated (friend or foe) that cry aloud for more blood and vengeance, more desolation..."

Today we witness this horror in far more devastating and barbaric ways than on the slaughterfields of the Civil War (for example, Gettysburg, one of the bloodiest battles of all time, resulted in only one (accidental) civilian casualty). Now as in Yemen and  in Syria,thousands of  innocent men, women and children are mercilessly and indiscriminately bombed and buried under rubble--or maimed and rendered homeless--by the use of ever more efficient means of destruction- and death-inflicting terror.

It's hard to imagine a world without weapons. But imagine it we must, if we are to survive on an earth with just enough resources for all, but not enough to waste on ever more efficient instruments of death.

Throughout history people and nations have tried to maintain peace through every means except to follow the example and teachings of the Prince of Peace. We have dismissed as naive Jesus's commands to "love our enemies, pray for them, and do good to them," especially when we realize that kind of response may result in suffering and even crucifixion. We have refused to believe that the only way to peace is through the costly practice of it.

People of faith envision a God-ruled world that will one day result in wolf and lamb lying down together, and have begun to eagerly demonstrate that new way now, just as Jesus and other prophets of peace have done. 

So join me in praying on this Eighth Day of Christmas, and on the first day of a new year, for a forever end to the insanity, horror and brutality of armed conflict. From God's perspective, war is over, a thing of the past. God's forever future is all about shalom, harmony and enduring peace.

On this eighth day of Christmas, we invite all people of faith and goodwill to become living demonstrations of that reality. It begins wherever, whenever and in whomever God is sovereign.

This New Year's is the time to begin. 

For more posts on this topic check this link.

Day Seven Of Christmas--Pray For The Healing Of The Nation

The nation is in deep trouble.

While many US citizens experience material prosperity and still enjoy the blessings and freedoms afforded by the Constitution and Bill of Rights, there are many moral and social ills in the nation that should be of great concern:

- Polarization, animosity and divisions are increasingly evident everywhere. Disagree with me and you are my enemy.

- There is a sharp decline in our respect for truth. Misinformation and outright lies are accepted as somehow OK.
http://www.dnronline.com/opinion/viewpoint/fake-news/article_a91c402c-ddb4-5260-831c-853a879de1f0.html#comments

- Our annual military budget more than exceeds that of the next ten highest nations combined.
https://harvyoder.blogspot.com/2017/03/does-new-proposed-budget-make-us-safer.html

- Our rate of incarceration is by far the highest of any nation in the world.
https://harvyoder.blogspot.com/2017/01/four-sound-ways-to-reduce-incarceration.html

- Our abortion rate, while in decline, is still unacceptably high, and nearly 40% of our births are to  unwed parents. https://harvyoder.blogspot.com/2015/04/all-life-is-precious-conversation-with.html

- Some 13,000 immigrant children are being held in detention.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/12/us/migrant-children-detention.html

-  Over 70,000 people in the US each year are dying as a result of opioid addictions.
https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/opioids/opioid-overdose-crisis

- The gap between the very rich and the very poor is widening.

Meanwhile, here are ten things you can do for your country: 
https://harvyoder.blogspot.com/2013/10/repost-ten-things-you-can-do-for-your.html

Day Six Of Christmas--Pray For The Health Of Our Warming Planet

Here's a graphic way of seeing the increase in the earth's
temperature over the past century and a half.

"The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him."

    Revelation 16:8-9  (NIV)

A recent headline in our local paper read, “Melting Arctic Ice Pouring 14K Tons of Water Per Second.” 

According to the article, reprinted from the Washington Post, the rate of melting in the world’s polar regions has tripled over the past decade, contributing to nearly 2 millimeters of sea level rise each year.

Most of this dramatic change appears to be the result of our insistence on a self-indulgent lifestyle in which we've become addicted to our comfort, convenience and overconsumption. And in the process of producing, marketing and transporting all of the goods necessary to make this lifestyle possible, we are burning vast quantities of fossil fuels that are polluting our atmosphere and contributing to global warming to a degree never dreamed of before.

I well remember the days before the completion of Interstate 81 when most of the trucks transporting consumer goods up and down this part of the Shenandoah Valley traveled on Highway 11, right through towns like Staunton, Harrisonburg and Winchester. This would be impossible today.

Our population has grown since, of course, but even with vehicles on our highways emitting fewer pollutants and being more fuel efficient, the sheer amount of carbon dioxide being emitted overall is far greater than ever. 

Besides praying, here’s a link to some specific ways we can better care for our precious planet: https://davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/top-10-ways-can-stop-climate-change/

Also, see https://harvyoder.blogspot.com/2013/04/where-theres-smoke-theres-denial.html

Day Five Of Christmas--Pray For Loved Ones Experiencing Grief and Loss

Norman Kreider 1933-2018

In the past two months we’ve attended memorial services for three valued friends, Geraldine Rush, Brenda Miller and Norman Kreider. Each was a member of the Zion Mennonite Church family near Broadway during many of the two decades I served as pastor there, and their lives have blessed ours in unforgettable ways. 

The service for Norman at Weavers Mennonite Church on Thursday was the most recent, where we shared with his family and his many friends some of their heartfelt loss. Norman’s lifetime of leadership in music, teaching and many other aspects of church life were invaluable, and he and his wonderful wife Dorothy were among the most hospitable and service-minded members a community and congregation could ever hope for.

Norman was a special mentor to our son Brent, who worked for him for many years, and from whom he learned so many of the practical skills he's been grateful for ever since, especially in woodworking and construction. But far beyond just learning work skills, Brent has often expressed gratitude for the positive impact Norman had on his personal life. And of course the three Kreider children, Emily, Jeanette, and David were especially blessed by having this kind of good father, and having Dorothy as their devoted mother. David later died in a tragic fire in 1999, the most traumatic experience of loss imaginable.

When we moved from the parsonage to the first house of our own thirty years ago, Norman enlisted the help of Brent and others in making many of the needed improvements we still benefit from every day. Just one of many reminders of his gifts as a servant.

For many years, Norman operated Miles Music Company, and in later years owned and maintained numerous rental properties in and around Harrisonburg. Perhaps more importantly, he and Dorothy were a key part in the founding and early years of Gift and Thrift, the Mennonite Central Committee enterprise that is still thriving today.

As an example of his generosity, he was willing to help a destitute single mother with three children we were working with years ago. He arranged for a loan for her to buy some land for their mobile home when they were being evicted from their mobile home park. This was a risky move on his part, to be sure, but  she was eventually able to make all of the payments and have a valuable property to sell, providing her with some of the assets she needed for her latter years.

But Norman's legacy goes far beyond his many good deeds. He demonstrated how to simply be a good person--unassuming, unpretentious and genuine. He modeled what it was like to just be ones self, but to consistently be ones better self. He showed us how to be a gracious servant, a kind encourager, a memorably good man.

The world is richer for his having lived in it, and left poorer by his passing. 

Here's a link to a recent post on grieving:

https://harvyoder.blogspot.com/2017/09/a-wheel-way-down-in-middle-of-despair.html

Day Four Of Christmas--Pray For Our Refugee Neighbors Around The World

“The towns and people of Moab

    are at a loss,

New-hatched birds knocked from the nest,

    fluttering helplessly

At the banks of the Arnon River,

    unable to cross:

‘Tell us what to do,

    help us out!

Protect us,

    hide us!

Give the refugees from Moab

    sanctuary with you.

Be a safe place for those on the run

    from the killing fields.”                        - from Isaiah 15 ((the Message)

Someday we will almost certainly look back at this time in history as the Decade of the Refugee.

A staggering one in 110 people today have have been driven from their homes by war, famine, dire poverty, gang violence and/or persecution. This results in hundreds of millions of individuals facing homelessness and untold hardship, often with little hope of being able to return to their places of origin.

Please pray for an end to war everywhere. Pray for much needed help for suffering men, women and children refugees in already overcrowded places like Gaza, Syria, Myanmar, Yemen, and Central America. Pray for those countries and agencies seeking to respond to their needs, and for those who deny refuge.

And please offer whatever financial help you possibly can:
https://harvyoder.blogspot.com/2018/05/four-major-obstacles-to-raising-million.html