I am starting a new format today. I will be posting on Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays from now on. I finally discovered that you can schedule your posts ahead of time. (I know… I am a dinosaur!) I can set-up all my post in one day, and still have time to write.
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I will be posting actual excerpts from my book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” This week I will start with the first chapter, and hand pick some future chapters, that readers have commented on.
You will see that this book reaches out to those who may suffer from anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.
There is a special sale going from right now through Christmas. In the retail stores, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World,” is $19.99, but if you order from this site the price is only $15.99 and the shipping has been cut in half as well. A total savings of over $6.00.
When your book comes you will see that it is autographed and has a personal note just for you. (Think Christmas!)
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Excerpt # 1…..
Chapter 1
Stop the World and Let Me Off. I’m Tired of Going ’Round and ’Round
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:18
I was out of control. The sobbing filled my eyes with tears. I couldn’t see the road ahead of me as I drove my Explorer.
Everything seemed to be going wrong in my life. I had quit two jobs because of guilt. I even failed at running my own business. I quit the two jobs because I had to sell something to customers and I had a hard time trying to force people to buy something they may not really need.
The business that failed was a cash flow venture that helped businesses have a better flow of money while they waited for their accounts receivables to come in. I left that venture because I again had to convince people to take part in something they may not have needed.
Depression, self doubt, fear, anxiety, and even hopelessness, overcame me until I was in the pit of despair. I was a happily married man with three children and several grandchildren. I had a wonderful 25-year teaching career. Why was I feeling so low? Why did I feel so unloved?
All I wanted to do was to stop the madness and check out of this wretched hotel called Earth! I pulled my SUV into a high school parking lot in a secluded area. I was ready to commit suicide. The date wasMarch 31, 2001. The next day was April Fools Day. A very fitting time to have your life end, don’t you think?
I did have the common sense to call my wife Charlotte. She came quickly to where I was. She calmed me down enough to where I thought I could drive myself home. After she left, I sat there behind the steering wheel still crying, and then I yelled, “God, I can’t take this anymore!”
In a flash, there was calmness in me. It even felt different in the vehicle. The air was fresher and cooler. It was as if God were saying, “It’s about time you came back to Me. I have been waiting for you. Let Me carry you the rest of the way.”
My life changed that day. I gave my life back to God.
I had been a Christian since I was about 16. But I was the poster child for a lukewarm Christian.
Yes, I went to church and made sure my children went also, but I wouldn’t say I was a perfect example for them. I rose up in my church to where I was the Sunday school superintendent and on the important Pastor-Parish Relations Committee, but in my heart I didn’t put God first.
On Sundays, I stayed home if there was a good football game on. You didn’t have to go to church every Sunday, did you? God let me know I did. He also let me know of a new direction for me to go.
Why had I allowed myself to fall to such a low spot? Why had I drifted so far away from God?
The answer my friend is I was in a battle with many afflictions like self-doubt, anxiety, etc. Those aren’t fancy medical terms like cardiovascular disease or leukemia, but they are just as deadly. These demons of the mind can control your life to the point where you are not functional. It can cause you to hide from the world and let your life go on unnoticed until you die. It can push you to ending your own life.
This book is for those who want to discuss all the enemies of man like self-doubt, fear of failure, divorce, death in the family, and many others. I want to share with you how God used me to write this book, and how He pulled me out of the muck and mire.
The walls we put up in life can be caused by a loss of a loved one or extreme trauma. We can put them up because of sexual abuse, inappropriate or unclear expectations, divorce, poverty, violence in the family, family addiction or environment.
Do you often feel like you don’t want to go to work? Are there times when you feel like you would rather stay in bed and not face the world? Have you fallen into the pit of despair without even knowing why you did? Have you ever felt lost—and alone?
You are not alone! Close to 19 million American adults, or about 9.5% of the U.S.population age 18 and older, suffer from some kind of handicapping mental disorder in a given year.1
Now that I have totally broken you down—there is hope! There are treatments that can help you. See your doctor to find what treatment is best for you. Then go to where there is eternal treatment, and that is through your loving heavenly Father.
The first part of this book talks about putting on God’s armor and fighting against the many mental afflictions. This information is from the horse’s mouth. That would be me. I have gone through many battles of my own. I have felt lost, and I thought that there was nowhere to go. I lived that way for many years. I existed from day to day, struggling with my emotions. I found out that I didn’t need to go through the torture. I had places I could go for help. I found out what they were, and I invite you to find out too.
Bear with me! There is a happy ending.
“I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him, creating praise on the lips of the mourners in Israel. Peace, peace, to those far and near,” says the Lord. “And I will heal them.”
Isaiah 57:18–19
Further Adventures
You know how easy it is to let your emotions take over in your life. You’ve been there. It is too easy to let the little things grow from molehills to mountains. When each trial comes up, try to put it into perspective. Is it something that is going to be life-changing? Is it something you can’t handle yourself?
You could tell in this chapter that I couldn’t handle what was happening to me, and what happened next? I felt God was changing me.
Stop in the middle of your grief and say, “Why am I so out of control? What can I do to stop this madness?” The answer was easy for me. I ran to God like a long lost prodigal son, and He opened His arms and took me back in like any father would do with his own son. You should do the same: Run to God and let Him carry you the rest of the way through your life like He is doing for me.
Something to Ponder
Isn’t it funny how we let the smallest winds grow into a full-blown storm?