WEDNESDAY'S WORD - REHABILITATION - Sadell Bradley - 09/27/2023

 

WEDNESDAY'S WORD REHABILITATION 9/27/2023 “In rehabilitation there is no elevator. You have to take every step—meaning one step at a time.”- Joerg Teichman

TONIGHT 7 PM BIBLE STUDY ACTING UP: SERVING TABLES @warehouseOTR  Facebook, Youtube

Several weeks ago, I injured my hip...or so I thought. I walk 4-5 miles most days, One week, I'd done 8 miles several times in a row and began to feel a pain that caused me to limp. Going up and down stairs was painful. I had to sleep on one side, and getting up after sitting or driving was difficult. People commented that my movements were not as fluid or energetic as usual. I googled 'hip injury' and saw that it might take 3-4 weeks to recover. So, I tried to wait it out hoping it would heal on its own. Every once in a while I'd go back out to walk and found that my 'hip' was not completely healed. I decided to get it checked by an orthopedic specialist. They took an X-Ray. My hips were in good shape, but a small thigh muscle called the tensor fasciae latae (TFL) that lies between the superficial and deep fibers of the iliotibial (IT) band had been strained. This group of muscles works synergistically to assist in the movement and stabilization of both the hip and the knee. You don't understand the value of the muscles needed to walk, take stairs, drive, or kick your leg out to hold open a door...until you can't do those things without pain. The body is both strong and fragile and must be cared for. "Because you're in good shape, it shouldn't take long for you to heal," the nurse practitioner said. "For 3 days you'll need to take some anti-inflammatories and I'll give you some video exercises to rehabilitate the muscle." That was good news...except for the fact that my healing depended on me voluntarily doing something I knew would be uncomfortable, painful, and a challenge to my athletic weakness (flexibility), and I had to do it consistently. This was along with taking pills, which I'm not fond of. So I procrastinated the rehab and because I felt a little better...kept walking on the injury for another 2 weeks. I wanted the recovery to miraculously take place without my full participation. I know, I'm not alone. To REHABILITATE means to restore to health or normal life by training and therapy after imprisonment, addiction, or illness. There are certain actions/spiritual exercises Christ followers must regularly engage to be fully restored. The apostle James writes, "Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with.." (James 5:16-17, MSG) The practices of confession, prayer, and repentance are meant to heal the painful, wounded tissue between the shallow and deeper parts of our life's experiences. This is challenging because we will pray to God, and we'll talk to ourselves...but it's scary to share our faults with each other. Complete rehabilitation requires therapy - consistent treatment intended to heal or relieve whatever the malady. All disorders don't require psychiatrists or psychologists—some just require humility.

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - INCREMENTAL - Sadell Bradley - 09/20/2023

 

WEDNESDAY'S WORD INCREMENTAL 9/20/2023 "Transformation in real life is extraordinarily incremental, and that's all I'm going to say." - Jillian Michaels - Athlete - Fitness Trainer THIS FRIDAY NIGHT! REGISTER BY CLICKING HERE  TONIGHT 7 PM BIBLE STUDY ACTING UP: This is the Price @warehouseOTR  Facebook, Youtube       As Americans, we are almost addicted to dramatic, sweeping change. In the popular 2000's reality show The Biggest Loser, overweight contestants competed for 30 weeks to win a cash prize by losing the highest percentage of weight. Fitness trainers, Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels put contestants through a fitness regimen that included severe caloric restriction combined with up to six hours a day of strenuous exercise. At the end of each week, they weighed-in to check their progress as the audience watched what seemed to be miraculous transformations in inches, body image, attitude, and life. The show was so popular it lasted for 17 seasons. Critics claimed this type of drastic and immediate change was not healthy for the heart, body, or psyche of the participants. In fact, a 2016 study found that most of that season's 16 contestants regained their weight, and in some case gained more than before they entered the contest. Change is incremental. Change is small. - Theodore Melfi - Director - Hidden Figures I don't know about you...but I prefer quick, miraculous fixes and interventions to INCREMENTAL transformations. In mathematics incremental means denoting a small positive or negative change in a variable quantity or function. Whether we're talking about math, diet and exercise, relational, financial, emotional, or spiritual growth...most of our changes are incremental. Some are almost imperceptible. We do not realize we have changed our beliefs or perceptions until they are tested. A similar situation comes along, and because we've learned—the hard way—we respond or react differently than we once did. Incremental change also comes from applied discipline and consistency. Maybe that's why it's hard to engage, see, and celebrate. Athletes, musicians, scientists, and other professionals grow to become great, not by sweeping turns: but with the small adjustments, adaptations, and modifications they make over time. The Children of Israel were given the promise that God would go before them and drive out the inhabitants of the land they were chosen to possess. The LORD said to Moses in Exodus 23:29-30, "I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land." God knew they weren't ready for what He had promised. Getting it all at once would have destroyed them. The wilderness wanderings refined their character and faith. Incremental changes took place over those 40 years that allowed those who believed to possess what had been promised. Prior to that time, they weren't equipped to fight for or handle God's inheritance. Don't despise the time, discipline, character, and self-mastery incremental change requires. God could be preparing you for your next season!

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - DETAILS - Sadell Bradley - 09/13/2023

 

WEDNESDAY'S WORD DETAILS 9/13/2023 "Geeks are people who love something so much that all the details matter." - Marissa Mayer, Former CEO Yahoo! TONIGHT 7 PM BIBLE STUDY ACTING UP: Ordinary Men @warehouseOTR  Facebook, Youtube     Details create the big picture. - Sanford Weil, Former CEO of Citigroup I looked at last week's blog and realized I forgot to change the title. It could have just been absentmindedness, or maybe it was an internet issue with saving the document like I'm experiencing today. You've heard, 'The devil is in the details." Dictionary.com says this idiom means even the grandest project depends on the success of the smallest components. Danielle McCloud writes that the original expression, “God is in the details” is attributed to German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969), who often used the phrase to provide acknowledgment of a job well done and to remind himself his success was attributed to a higher power. Satan tried to steal that one from the LORD...possibly to get us to ignore DETAILS—individual, sometimes minor features, facts, items, or information about someone or something. Are you good with details? Usually folks answer...it depends...or...in some areas. If you don't understand the details of your business, you are going to fail. —Jeff Bezos, Former Amazon CEO GOD is detail oriented. There are obvious examples of this in Scripture. The LORD gave very specific instructions to Noah about the building of the Ark (Gen 6), and to Moses on the particulars of the Tabernacle.  He said, "You must build this Tabernacle and its furnishings exactly according to the pattern I will show you." (Exodus 25:9) For both the Tabernacle and Temple, the craftsmen, the offerings, the Ark of the Covenant and its handling, the role and function of the priests and Levites...were all explained in great detail. Failure to comply with any of those details resulted in severe punishment or death. Details are still important. We marvel at the precision of athletes like Simone Biles, who was keenly aware that a small case of "the twisties" might injure her irreparably if she attempted to perform her gymnastic feats out of equilibrium. This detail was so crucial, she withdrew from the Olympics because of it. You want the doctor who treats you, the chef who prepares your food, your payroll clerk or tax preparer, and the mechanic who fixes your brakes to pay attention to the details. You hope your spouse, family, and those who love you will care about the little things that affect you. How has YOUR focus or lack thereof on the details impacted your life and that of those around you?

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - TURMOIL - Sadell Bradley - 09/06/2023

 

WEDNESDAY'S WORD KNOWLEDGE 8/30/2023 "The best thinking has been done in solitude. The worst has been done in turmoil." - Thomas A. Edison TONIGHT 7 PM BIBLE STUDY ACTING UP: The Beautiful Gate @warehouseOTR  Facebook, Youtube   TURMOIL is a state of great disturbance, confusion, or uncertainty. Other synonyms are confusion, upheaval, and turbulence. The opposite of turmoil is calm or peace. One image that gives us a picture of turmoil is waves crashing, which is symbolic of inner angst, unrest, chaos, or agitation. Have you recently found yourself in a time of external or internal turmoil? What was the cause of your unrest? During his deepest trial at the hands of Satan, things got so bad for Job that he cursed the day he was born (Job 3:3). He cried, What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.” (Vs. 25-26) The upheaval in our lives can at times be spiritual warfare. The distractions and trials presented by the enemy can take away our sense of peace and tranquility. That's not the only time Scripture says we can experience turmoil. David, in Psalm 38, laments the negative affects of his sin, which has caused the LORD to severely chasten him. His foolishness and wrongdoing has brought on serious consequences. He writes in verses 6-8, "I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. For my loins are full of inflammation, And there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and severely broken; I groan because of the turmoil of my heart." Solomon writes that success, wealth, and riches can also bring a kind of turmoil, "Better to have little, with fear for the LORD, than to have great treasure and inner turmoil." (Proverbs 15:16) Sometimes attempting to gain, hold, and protect our money, property, status, or position can bring a level of turmoil to our lives. We generally believe that not having enough is a disturbance...but it seems so is having too much. Perhaps the turmoil you're experiencing is the result of enemy activity. Maybe you've missed the mark of God's holiness in some way and you're experiencing repercussions. Or you might be focused on and striving for the wrong things. Whatever the case, it is good to remember: God is not the author of confusion...but of peace.