Mcswain Session 1 Book Report

That did not go as planned. I am out on my own living with my cousin Audrey; who I am thankful for. My momma had started packing my stuff and breaking my bed down I planned on moving to Tulsa with my aunt Andrea, but she insisted on me finishing school here because she knew Tulsa was not the place I needed to be to complete my senior year. I am stressed to the max and just feel like nobody wants to be bothered with me. My cousin Chasity talks to me about my decisions and what she feels I should do. This is when my reality check hit me. She talked and explained to me about how she knew what I was going through and to let God handle it! I did just that! I gave it all and still giving to God as I type this. I appreciate my older cousin so much for this. Making me realize that there is more to life then just wanting the acceptance of people. I just needed to be me, focus on me and nobody else, which I have come to realize, that being by myself is hard, but, I am going to do it to prove to my cousin that I can change for the better not just for her but for me

I finally woke up feeling better than I had the day before and I instantly knew the plans God had for me. He gave me an unbelievable amount of strength that I had no idea one person could obtain. I finally accepted that adversity was inevitable and I was no longer going to let it break me. Overcoming adversity is one of the biggest challenged in life and when we finally have the courage and strength to face it; then we will see the purpose God has for us. God will never give up on you and he will never leave your side. I continued to pray until I was no longer in such a bad state of mind. I learned to accept what God had put me through at such an early age as the best blessing I have ever received. Suffering built perseverance and hope that I never thought I had, he took my dark time and turned it into a gift. My experience is not a misfortune, it is something God gave me to be able to serve others. In times of difficulty, no one knows what God is doing with their life but he made me realize what I was capable of overcoming if I trusted in him and never lost faith. He turned something so terrible into something amazing. This showed me that he is always there even when I feel alone and he is never going to leave me in a hard time. I am blessed to be able to be there for others in times like this and give them advice or just be someone to talk to. This experience has influenced me to take on a career in psychology so no one ever

In the book McJobs by Eric Schlosser, it talks about about a city in West Virginia, Martinsburg, and how fast food restaurants changed it completely. For many years, Martinsburg was a very peaceful and calm place to live. Stores were owned by the citizens of Martinsburg, there wasn't any fast food restaurants there such as McDonalds from other cities. As Interstate 81 opened up, it connected Martinsburg to two major cities: Washington D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland. The cities were pulled together by an irresistible force of the popularity of automobiles. Fast food restaurants opened up in Martinsburg, causing it to turn into another American fast food city.

“Washington… was a ‘promised land’ to many a freeman… it was the capital of the nation– that is, of the North that had set them free.”

In 2011 Mark McMinn updates his book on Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling, which discloses three important perspectives of Christian counseling. This recently evolving frontier for Christian counselors is what McMinn calls interdisciplinary integration. The relationship between psychology and theology is not the vital key component, but it’s how Christian faith is practiced in counseling. Bringing religion into the counseling office will bring challenges but with personal spiritual training and professional development it can be accomplished. McMinn shares a theoretical map on the prospective values and dangers of using religious interventions in counseling. In the first two chapters McMinn establishes a framework on the variety of religious interventions like prayer, the use of Scripture, forgiveness, and so on. Theses chapters would be part 1 of a 2 broad part that lays down a foundation for the rest of the book. The chapters that follow would be part 2 that explains the indispensable components in McMinn’s methodology to the integration of psychology, theology, and spiritualty in counseling. Psychology, theology, and spirituality is highlighted in the sessions of Christian counseling by guiding the person who reads an insightful understanding of integrating stages of: prayer, scripture, sin, confession,

What will you have for dinner? This question is harder than what it seems. Eating may seem to be a simple act, a thing not to be worried about. This may be true for animals such as koala: if it looks, smells, and tastes like eucalyptus, it is good. But it is not the case for humans. We have such a large array of options that the act of choosing the food we are going to eat is indeed difficult. On top of that, there is another problem. Unless you grow it yourself, you do not exactly know where food comes from. In his book, Michael Pollan, by embarking the reader into a discovery journey, explains both of this topics using his research and experience.

We drove home from Memphis and began to plan a trip to New York. Kevin and I had no money. The entire year had been a terrible financial drain with no end in sight. I simply prayed and gave it to God. I was in so much pain and unable to do anything about the situation except trust God. I consumed my time listening to praise music. The music eased my physical pain and increased my spiritual strength.

The mission trip to New Orleans. I had let Jesus into my heart but I started to get this desire and passion to want to start following him, but I didn't know what that looked like or what that meant or how to do it. And so I prayed and longed for him to show me that. As we headed down to New Orleans, the back of my van started to get into really good conversations about life and each other and Katie Thul asked the question that forever has changed my life. “What has been the hardest part of your life so far?”. This might not seem like to bad of a question, but the fact of the matter was that I had never told anybody about the dark and gritty parts of my life before. I had always bottled it up, to scared to tell anyone because I feared what people thought of me, to afraid they’d turn away. And as people went around sharing, it came my time to share and I knew I couldn't do it, so I said I didn't want to share, and as they went around deep inside me I was being told I needed to. I needed to let it out and just speak. And so they came back to me and I let them in, I told them about what I had gone through and as I was in tears I looked up and saw this kid looking back at me from the front of the van. He wasn't apart of the conversation we were having but you knew he was listening in and as our eyes met, he was in tears. I then realized that this was Anna’s brother. This was the kid. That week I embraced my past and used it to help and grow and evangelize this kid, Jackson. I knew what to say because I was in the exact spot he was in just a year earlier. The Lord showed me that I can make a difference in people's lives through him. God opened my eyes to the people I had around me. He put Sydney into my life, someone who on this trip poured a tremendous amount of wisdom, truth, and love into me and essentially pushed me to love and follow Jesus recklessly and at all costs. So many people, from Ally to Zach, to

I literally feel God lifted me up that next morning, and said I forgive you, don’t go back, I will help you! The last three years in the maintenance stage that is exactly a promise God has kept! Every day He helps

This past year has been the most crucial year for me. I did not know what path I wanted to take. I did know whatever path I choose would reflect on my family and me. So, I prayed about the situation and God gave me my answer. If it was not for God placing Coach Summers in my life, I would probably be unhappy and wasting my time doing unnecessary activities.

As the title above suggests, this is a newsletter updating you on my plans to go back to London with Youth With A Mission (YWAM).

The ride home was scary, but I knew I had a purpose and my faith wasn’t going to let me down. I had a 5-year-old little girl who needed me. The first week was a little exciting, we had a long list of things we needed to do. My niece came with no clothes or personal belonging. We spent the first week shopping for personal items

It has been interesting being back in my college courses and back to my "normal" life in a not so normal state. My mouth rejoices constantly for the Lord's goodness, and I am connected to the presence of the Lord in such a strong way.

On the 11th Tuesday Morrie says that if “you’re in bed, you’re dead” (153). Morrie said this literally, but I take it as if you just stay in bed or stay the same person you are now then you never change, you stay dead. People need to go out into the world and make human contact and learn and give to those surrounding them. Change will never happen for the good in this world if you stay in bed. Don’t get to catch up in the world though because ultimately none of it matters. I personally think that the people who say that people should put down their magazines and stop watching their soap operas are incorrect. I know those things aren’t important in the long run, but they are pretty good fun right now. I’m living life to the

Scripture testifies to how God has cared for his family throughout the ages, making a way for his children to live with him forever. As the Lenten season begins, God’s master plan is to form and fashion a human family to share in the infinite love of the Trinity (Hahn, 1997, p. 1). Starting with Ash Wednesday, Hahn compares how despite a father’s best intentions to keep his promises, he is only human, and will not always be around when his children need him the most, while our eternal Father, God, will never fail to fulfill his word.