by Lucy | Nov 15, 2011 | biblical counseling, whole health wellness |
When you need a hand up, you want a little help. . .not a hand out. Â
Yesterday on my REFILLS radio show, the peeps in the REFILLS chat room shared their hearts and words of encouragement on dealing with difficult people during Thanksgiving. In case you missed it, you can listen to the archive here.
Clearly they weren’t looking for a perfect solution or a magical solution to the infamous and weird “Uncle Ed” with the wooden eye ball. (You need to listen to the archive to get the joke. 🙂 )
And I doubt you are looking for the easy way either. As a believer, you desire God’s will above all.
You also need a hand up sometimes. We all do.
On my show I offered a free (yes, free) discount card on many health-related products including prescriptions to my listeners. I’d like to make it available to you too. As one Facebook friend put it,”I figure how can you go wrong with something that costs nothing and saves money, right?! Thanks, Lucy.”
It’s called the WellCard. You can read more about the WellCard here.
The WellCard is not insurance. It is a discount card accessing many thousands of health care providers, services, and products including doctors, dentists, labs, and prescriptions. It is useful to you whether you have great insurance, are under-insured, are on Medicare, or have no health insurance. (Psst. . .I have the WellCard and save more than $100 on prescriptions so far this month.)
If you want the WellCard, please send me a message that you want it. When I get the access code from the WellCard folks to share with you — they’re setting it up now — I will email the access code to you, and you can start saving money.
Remember, it costs you nothing. Not even a cent. You can only save money.
If you are interested in receiving the WellCard, please send me a message through my website and say you want the WellCard. Whoever asks for the WellCard from me will receive it. When you send me a message, I can then give you a “Group #” that lets you sign up for it (again, free) and print out your WellCard. Once you print it out, you can use it immediately. It can be used for every member in your family.
You Are Blessed!
by Lucy | Nov 9, 2011 | biblical counseling |
Food prices are rising. Paychecks are shrinking. You may wonder, Where’s God in this economic mess as Christmas nears?
Where’s God when you can’t buy what you want. . .for every day and for Christmas?
Like new tires for the car.
Or a cup of coffee.
Or presents for the kids.
Doesn’t the beloved Psalm 23 say, “I shall not be in want”? Hmm. This doesn’t seem to jibe with the messy economy. And not just any messy economy but. . .
A messy economy that messing up Christmas gift-giving!
I could tell you the proper meaning of “I shall not be in want” in context.
I could say in the words of Phillip Keller in his classic A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23:
One of the fallacies that is common among Christians today is the assertion that if a man or woman is prospering materially it is a significant mark of the blessing of God upon his or her life. This simply is not so.”
Though I’m not crafty like The Nester and other such women, I could encourage you to make most of your Christmas gifts. But how do you “make” the Xbox game your son wants or the iPod your daughter desires?
I could suggest that you get a seasonal job at Kohl’s or Macy’s.
But I’m not going to go there.
Rather, I will pray for you. . .because God knows what you’re facing financially and He has the answers. Would you pray with me?
Heavenly Father,
You know your daughters inside and out. You know they want to give good gifts to their children and close family at Christmas. You know how full or thin are their bank accounts. We praise you that you are in control. We recognize that whatever money we have truly belongs to you.
I ask that you give your daughters peace and wisdom as kids and grandkids clamor for this toy or that gadget marketed on TV. Help each of us focus on what is most important: You. Let us show your love to the world as we give freely to the needy, including orphans and widows. Let us count our blessings daily and give thanks.
You Are Blessed,
by Lucy | Oct 31, 2011 | relationships, whole health wellness |
Congrats! We did it! 31 Days of Friendship ends today, and I have a thank you gift for YOU.
Wow! 31 Days of Friendship ends today, and I have a special announcement:
I have a thank-you gift for you.
Glittery like gold? No.
Fancy like a Porche? No again.
Useful and a money saver? YES!
While choosing your gift, I asked myself, What would a caring woman like you want most? My educated guess: a level of security, protection, and help that UN-burdens the pocketbook.
And so my gift to you — remember, gifts are free 🙂 — is the WellCard. You can read more about the WellCard here.
The WellCard is not insurance. It is a discount card accessing many thousands of health care providers, services, and products. It is useful to you whether you have great insurance, are under-insured, are on Medicare, or have no health insurance.(Psst. . .I have the WellCard and save oodles of money.)
These are some of the benefits of the WellCard.
1. PRESCRIPTION DRUG DISCOUNT BENEFIT: Save instantly up to 65% on drug prices. The WellCard has a nationwide network of over 59,000 pharmacies, including major chains and community pharmacies. Your actual savings may vary depending on the medication and the pharmacy you use.
2. FIRST ACCESS MEDICAL DISCOUNT BENEFIT: Cardholders can benefit significantly on medical services by utilizing the contracted provider networks through First Access. Over 410,000 physicians nationwide and over 45,000 ancilliaries (lab, MRI, imaging, durable medical equipment, home health care) belong to the network. There is no limit to the number of times you can save when visiting participating providers.
3. OUTLOOK VISION DISCOUNT BENEFIT: Simply present your card at a participating provider to receive your discount.
4. DENTEMAX DENTAL DISCOUNT BENEFIT: Again, present your card at a participating provider to receive your discount.
You can compare the WellCard to a coupon that you can use over and over and over. Read more about the WellCard here.
The best thing about this gift is it costs you nothing. Not even a cent. You can only save money. I am not kidding. A treat, not a trick.
If you are interested in receiving this gift, please send me a message through my website and say you want the WellCard. Whoever asks for the WellCard from me will receive it. When you send me a message, I can then give you a “Group #” that lets you sign up for it and print out your WellCard. Once you print it out, you can use it immediately. It can be used for every member in your family.
Thank you, friend, for joining me on the 31 Days of Friendship journey. I appreciate you.
by Lucy | Mar 17, 2011 | biblical counseling, emotions |
Fear. It’s THE four-letter word. It began long, long before 9/11. You know that. I know that.
We women shrink amongst “boogey men.” The worst? The fear of rejection. It hollows the core of how God made us:Â relational. You know, Girls Night Out. . .babies. . .chick flicks.
The seeds of the fear of rejection usually begin in childhood. For me, I felt rejected by a person dear to me. He didn’t do anything horrible to me. He just didn’t notice me, really. And he never smiled. I wanted to make him happy. I longed for his acceptance.
A hug. Anything.
What about you? When did your fear of rejection begin?
My well-meant but messed-up solution: to try to control him by being the perfect little girl who never got in trouble and brought home excellent report cards and who did everything right.
I didn’t.
I couldn’t.
I felt sad.
Only much later did I learn he suffered clinical depression. Still, my fear of rejection lingered.
My most difficult years: junior high. I was the new kid in sixth grade, seventh grade, and eighth grade. By eighth grade I stopped trying to make friends. In the school yearbook the “prediction” the kids gave me was “astronaut.” Sounds good, right? Like they thought I was going places, that I was smart.
Ha!
They knew and I knew it was code for “Lucy is spacey.” That’s what the mean girls had called me.
Now this crazy economy is messy up our sense of security. More reason to fear? God wants you to experience success, according to his definitition: becoming more like Christ.
He never rejects you. Not ever. Even when the economy stinks. So what do you have to fear?
Nothing and nobody. God is big. Bigger than your fear. Bigger than boogey man, godzilla and the monsters on TV. And he loves you lavishly.
Question: What would you like to change today? Please, if you have a moment, leave a comment. 🙂
You Are Amazing!
by Lucy | Mar 2, 2011 | emotions |
Gas prices are rising. Paychecks are shrinking. You may wonder, Where’s God in this economic mess? Where’s God when you can’t buy what you want?
Like new tires for the car.
Or a Starbucks’ caffe mocha.
Or cute shoes.
Doesn’t the beloved Psalm 23 say, “I shall not be in want”?  Hmm. It doesn’t seem to jibe with the messy economy.
When I attended seminary a few years ago to get my training in pastoral care to women, I took a class called Hermeneutics, or in plain English, properly interpreting the Bible. To understand what “I shall not be in want” means I need to understand the grammar and the meaning of the words — easy peasy — and also the context. Not so easy-peasy.
The context is a shepherd in his pasture caring for his sheep in the Middle East thousands of years ago. The shepherd isn’t any shepherd: The LORD is the shepherd.
The author-psalmist David says that not only he shall not be in want but also get to snooze and munch in green grass and drink delicious water better than bottled. Oh yes. The shepherd in Psalm 23 provides expert care.
Here are the words of  W. Phillip Keller in his classic A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23:
One of the fallacies that is common among Christians today is the assertion that if a man or woman is prospering materially it is a significant mark of the blessing of God upon his or her life. This simply is not so. . . .
David was not referring to material or physical poverty when he made the statement, “I shall not be in want”. . . .The Christian has to recognize that. . .he may be called to experience lack of wealth or material benefits.Â
Yet amid such hardship he can still boast, “I shall not lack the expert care and management of my Master.”Â
Do you see this, beautiful warriors of the Shepherd? God may call you to a time of physical poverty (or money troubles) — just as He called my new friend Faith Bogdan and her family — but as you depend of the wealth of the Almighty God, you’ll become spiritually rich like she did. Heaven is home.
Now is time for the Shepherd to conform us into the image of Jesus.
And sometimes
He takes from out grasp
cute shoes
to give us something better.
Someone better: Jesus, your Shepherd.
Question: Did you spend less money or more money in 2010?
P.S. In case you missed it, here’s a free podcast on how a family handled long-term unemployment. They didn’t go on welfare or food stamps. God provided all their needs.
You Are Blessed!
