Christmas Message from Lee Webster
Enjoy an encouraging Christmas message from Lee Webster!
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TeleHealth (Video Counseling) Available!
In response to COVID-19, the Center for Human Development is offering TeleHealth counseling sessions in addition to in-person counseling. Clients can easily use a smart phone, tablet, or computer for HIPPA compliant sessions with their therapist.
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MoreHope and Faith!
Recently, A friend was explaining to me a brief anecdote about a sledding debacle at her family farm. Her two granddaughters were out back sledding down the hill, across a frozen pond, and up the opposite slope as a deceleration slope. She could tell they were having fun, and she was about to head out and join them when all of a sudden, the following scenario played out.
The first granddaughter, Hope, was heading up the deceleration slope after a nice fast run, and her sister Faith, was coming right behind her. Due to a timing miscalculation (or maybe a little mischief!), Faith did not wait long enough before heading down the slope – and just so happened to end up in the exact same spot coming up the opposite slope that her sister was coming down.
You guessed it. As Hope came drifting down. Grace was ramping up! Thump (or whatever sound two inner-tubes make crashing on a snowy slope!).
After making sure everyone was alright, it was a good laugh. Anecdotally, here’s the punch line I used for a sermon illustration:
If hope is coming down, it just needs a little faith to bump it back up!
In case that doesn’t sound right, remember, faith isn’t blind-belief; it’s trusting God to do what He has said He will do, and what He has demonstrated he is faithful to do many times before. Next time you’re bumped off your inner-tube, remember that – and get right back on it!
Be blessed out there!
MoreAsk For It!
It’s such a simple thing, but often the hardest to get. Not because it’s rare, but because we just don’t ask.
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Christmas Wishes!
A very Merry Christmas greeting from CHD Director, Lee Webster.
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Hope!
It’s interesting to note that the first Christmas recipients (those at the birth of Christ) were not aware that a plan had been set in motion which would lead to Easter. In fact, if they had been told about Easter then, they probably would have agreed with the song by 4 Him titled “What a Strange Way to Save the World” (see the video here).
All through the narrative of Jesus’ life, we see the evidence that no one had close to the right idea of how Jesus would fulfill the promise of “making all things new and right”. When they did finally catch a glimpse of what his idea of “fixing everything” looked like, most of them didn’t understand how this was God’s best solution. Yet, everyone was excited about his birth and the idea that God was enacting this long awaited promise of salvation! If you want to hear the message first hand, read Luke 2:1-20!
I am reminded that we are often like those first recipients in our daily lives. We are looking for, waiting for, possibly expecting, God to heal our hurts and make things right. But sometimes, His ways of using people and taking time and allowing process and pain don’t always make sense to us. This is when we learn the true meaning of Hope. If we believe that God is only Good, loves us and wants what is best for us, is powerful enough to do what He wants, and creative enough to make it happen no matter what else is complicating that, then we are experiencing Hope the way those first hurting souls did too.
This Hope isn’t something unsure as in, “I really hope this happens!”. This Hope is a truly believed-in-expectation that we simply haven’t experienced all the way yet.
Be encouraged this Christmas if you have need to remember that no matter what you are going through, if Christ is your Savior, the solution, healing, and restoration will come! Keep doing whatever it is you have been given to do and trust Him to be who has always been – Your Perfect Chain-Breaking, Way-Making, Compassionate, Understanding Father.
Merry Christmas! This is Hope!
MoreWhy Do Counselors Go Back?
“Why do counselors always want to go back and talk about the past?” With a plethora of solid research behind it now, the answer may surprise you!
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Change
Change is about to hit again! School will start and summer will officially end. Work schedules will change for many, and family life will adjust to another cycle of academia and extra curricular pursuit! This brings excitement for many, but for others, it may usher in a little apprehension.
Sometimes, the change we want isn’t the change we get, and the change we need, we feel powerless to effect. Here’s some real practical and encouraging advice on how to make the best out of the power you do have – to be the change you want to see! Remember, if you need help to get there, we at CHD are here to help!
Windows and Hail Stones
As tornado sirens filled the late evening air, hail stones barraged the residents of the small rural town I called home late one Sunday evening. At the break of new day, the remarkable thing was the relatively small amount of damage to the area and the homes in the wake of the storm. Dented vehicles, battered siding, and a few roofs beaten up.
But I noticed that the most vulnerable of places in every house and vehicle – the windows – were amazingly intact. Not a single broken pane anywhere – at least by initial report and personal observation.
Now come on! Hail stones the size of golf balls, and in some cases, small apples, and not a broken window anywhere? There’s a lot of windows, even in a small town. That’s darn near miraculous!
You know, we too, have all kinds of vulnerabilities in our lives. Areas where we feel chained to fear, defeat, or denial. Some we aren’t even aware of, but their presence is verified in how they effect our daily existence. The enemy thrives on finding our vulnerabilities and throwing his fiery darts at them to cause as much damage as he can. Usually, our vulnerabilities are revealed through temptation (a tool of the Enemy) or trial (a discipline of Grace).
But if you have been redeemed by the awesome power of the Gospel truth, you have a very precious promise available to you. In 1 Corinthians 10:13, speaking to a church with a LOT of vulnerabilities, Paul reminds them and us that if we trust God in the midst of the onslaught against our vulnerabilities, God will provide the means to endure and be victorious. I don’t know what you’re going through, but look out your vulnerable, yet intact window – and be reminded that you are under Divine protection and provision!
What’s revealing your vulnerability? A temptation that you need to flee from? Or a trial that you need to submit to and receive training from? Our vulnerabilities are there to help us see. But the point of being able to see, is so that we can respond to what it is we are seeing. If you need help fighting and fleeing the temptation; or if you need someone to walk with you through the trial – first look for that friend that God always seems to provide – and then give us a call if needed. We’re here to help. No matter the vulnerability, you can be victorious Image Bearer!
MoreThought Captivator
In 2 Corinthians 10:5, the Apostle Paul instructs us to, “… take every thought captive to obey Christ.” Have you thought about how practical and useful that is for you today? One of Lucifer’s many names in Scripture is “The Father of Lies.” Jesus told His critics (those who rejected Christ) that the native language of their father (the Devil) is lies.
We live in a world where advertisements tell us we are incomplete, insufficient, unhappy, and unremarkable – without their product! People at work and school hint that we need to be more, better, stronger, and _____________ (fill in the blank). Sometimes in our own homes and throughout our world, we are surrounded by criticism, shame, comparison, and guilt. Sometimes, criticism can be good because it challenges. At times, comparison can be illustrative and illuminating. Once in a while guilt and shame lead to Godly repentance. This is all good.
But often times, the world speaks the native language of its father, and the result is not constructive, good, or redeeming. It’s destructive, crushing, and demeaning. But we are told that we can take every thought captive in obedience to Christ.
So if you’re having a tough week, a rough couple of months, a lousy year already, where everything seems to be against you, remember this: YOUR Father’s native language is love. If you have Christ as your personal Savior, then you can take every negative and critical thought captive.
So when you hear the Liar’s voice, you just tell him:
“I am a child of the King! He created me on purpose and for a purpose! He knows every flaw in me better than me and you and STILL He loves me! He is in control of it all and He chooses to use me today! Right Now! And I will listen to Him!” Take the negative thought captive and release the thoughts that are real and True from Heavens perspective. By the way, when you take that thought captive, it dies. It doesn’t linger and fester and grow. You don’t need it; lies are useless once the truth is revealed. If you don’t kill it, it will do everything it can to kill you! Remember, one of you will be the captive!
Be a thought captivator! Who knows, maybe someone else needs to hear for the first time in their life, that they can do the same. Let His voice be louder than the Liar’s. Be a blessing this week Image Bearer!
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