On more than one occaison this past week, I have attempted to encourage those who are down in the dumps. There were different responses - anger/frustration, disbelief/ignoring, and acceptance. The depression resulted from different situations, but doubt and wonder of God's faithfulness came to all.

I cannot tell you a magic secret to always be happy, to never let life get you down, or to keep bad things from coming into your life - these things are a struggle for us all but what I can encourage you and I to do is: stay faithful.

Get in a habit of studying the Bible each day (always doing it at the same time, works better for me), talk to God throughout the day (prayer does not have to be down on you knees, eyes closed, all alone, but continuous conversation with our Savior), and keep a thankful heart (thanking God for what He has blessed us with, keeps a good perspective).

Even though these practices will not always keep depression from creeping into our lives, I have found that they help me to stay more focused on God and less on my circumstance. When those dumppy feelings come, and I continue the habits, He has these avenues to console my heart.

As I read about Jesus' resurrection in Mark, this morning, I was reminded that Jesus kept His promise to rise from the dead, so we can believe that He will also keep His other promises. God is faithful - are you?

Have a great day and a great weekend
Living fearlessly in Christ
Christie