Category: Faith and Spirituality

Finding a better way to a healthy heart

“The touch of God is awesome not just because it is God who touches, but also because it is a touch. It is a real connection. ” quote Dr. John Piper

When (King) Saul returned to his home at Gibeah, a group of men whose hearts God had touched went with him.
1 Samuel 10:26, NLT
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

“The touch of God is awesome not just because it is God who touches, but also because it is a touch. It is a real connection. That it involves the heart is awesome. That it involves God is awesome. And that it involves an actual touch is awesome.”

quote Dr. John Piper, Solid Joys devotional 

Solid Joys at Apple Podcasts.

Devotionals by Dr. John Piper, author of Desiring God 

Listen now to God, Touch Our Hearts  

(These are affiliate links, purchases made from them pay this blog a commission which funds our mission.)

IT IS THE SEEKING HEART THAT DETERMINES OUR ETERNAL DESTINY. quote PETER KREEFT
graphic courtesy of Lightstock.com, affiliate , stock photo site

Peter Kreeft, Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy at Boston College.  He loves his five grandchildren, four children, one wife, one cat, and one God.  He has written 75 books including (affiliate link) MAKING SENSE OUT OF SUFFERING

and MAKING CHOICES: PRACTICAL WISDOM FOR EVERYDAY MORAL DECISIONS

 

What you should know about heart health 

Finding a better way to a healthy heart-watercresswords.com; picture of an open Bible

“Our brain controls the actions of the body’s other organs, but the heart supplies the power that keeps everything working smoothly, including the brain. Using the intricate “highway” system of arteries and veins, the heart pumps blood carrying oxygen, water, and nutrients to every cell in the body.”   more at –

Exploring -the HEART

diagram of the human heart

“Anyone who has ever had a “broken heart” (and who hasn’t?) knows that sadness and grief cause not just emotional pain, but also physical pain. And since that pain is often felt in our chest, it makes sense that we call it “heart break”.” Continue at-

Exploring -when HEARTS break

EKG tracing
In sudden cardiac death, the heart stops beating abruptly

“Keeping our HEARTS healthy involves doing what we can to change the 7 risk factors what doctors often call the modifiable risk factors.” Find them at –

7 Keys to a Healthy Heart

Dr. Aletha
faith, hope and love in cursive letters
another inspirational graphic from the Lightstock.com collections of stock images, an affiliate link

Endure the fire for the future

But the promise God gave them was- no matter how bad things were about to get, God had a plan and He would not abandon them forever. 

 

You will enjoy an updated version of this post here

hope and a future after COVID-19

A highly contagious respiratory virus, that could spread silently, making people minimally ill or lead to severe illness, prolonged hospital stays, and death-struck fear into some people’s hearts while others minimized or even dismissed the risk.

Aletha Cress Oglesby, M.D.'s avatar by Aletha Cress Oglesby, M.D.

Planning for a hopeful future

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 
 
Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 
 
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 
 
Jeremiah 29:11-13, NIV
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This is one of the most often quoted , misapplied verses in the Bible, but the comfort this verse offers is far deeper than the out of context promise often claimed. 

This was the context of the promise – it was made to people while God was destroying their nation,  tearing down the Temple, and sending them  into 70 years of captivity in a foreign land. Families were torn apart, people were enslaved; those left behind in a desolate homeland struggled to survive starvation.

But the promise God gave them was- no matter how bad things were about to get, God had a plan and He would not abandon them forever. 

The same God who promised them their suffering would end, and they would come into a brighter future because of the hardship they would experience,  is the same God who brings us into the covenant  (binding) promises.

Jeremiah 29:11
graphic created by Christine Miller, A Little Perspective, used by permission

Endurance for the future

I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.

Jeremiah 29:14

No matter what fire we are in, if it is the Lord’s discipline we are enduring, God  will bring us into a better future if we allow the fire to purify  and strengthen us.

When you feel like giving up, endure.

Adapted from a commentary by Jeremy Scott Wilson, B.A., Biblical and Theological Studies; he blogs at Awakening to basics .

 

Jeremiah 39:18
graphic created by Christine Miller, A Little Perspective, used by permission

 

 

 

sharing the heart of   faith, hope, and love

(1Corinthians 13:13)

Dr Aletha

This post was shared at

Woman to Woman Ministries