Day 80 - Dealing with Anger: Ask God for Help

365 daily emails to help you through the grieving process Grief support groups: Click here to find a GriefShare group near you. If you would like to find a group for a friend or relative, try our Search Page. Want to read ahead or resend a previous daily email? Click Here Dealing with Anger: Ask God for Help Day 80 You may feel helpless in the face of your anger. You cannot deal with it on your own. The most important step you can take is to ask God for help. "God will give you the opportunity to be angry," says Rev. Noel Castellanos. "He's not going to take that freedom away from you, but when you're done, behind all of that stuff you don't understand, there's a loving God who can redeem any situation. You can allow that deep anger in an authentic, honest way to be converted into a plea for help." Give your burden of anger to God, and He will give you rest. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30). Lord Jesus, I give my anger and my struggles to You. I come to You to learn and to rest. Amen. Grieving with Hope This GriefShare-based book contains short, topical chapters addressing issues that grieving people face but are often hesitant to mention to others; it gently guides people to determine whether they're grieving in a way that leads to hope and ultimate healing. Look for Grieving with Hope by Samuel Hodges and Kathy Leonard at a local or online bookstore or at griefshare.org/hope. If you would like to recommend these daily emails to a friend, please click here and choose one of the options under Share. For more information about GriefShare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please click here. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003-2013 by The Church Initiative, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from Church Initiative. You subscribed to this daily email through www.griefshare.org. We value your privacy! We will never give, sell, rent, or otherwise share your email or personal information with any other organization — EVER. To remove this email address from further mailings Click Here while connected to the internet. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@griefshare.org. GriefShare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 395-5755

Day 79 - Dealing with Anger: Choose to Move Past It

365 daily emails to help you through the grieving process Grief support groups: Click here to find a GriefShare group near you. If you would like to find a group for a friend or relative, try our Search Page. Want to read ahead or resend a previous daily email? Click Here Dealing with Anger: Choose to Move Past It Day 79 Perhaps you are at the point at which you must now choose to move past your anger and bitterness. You have allowed yourself the time and opportunity to slowly vent your anger, and you have honestly expressed those feelings with others. When you are ready to move beyond your anger, be prepared to stick with that decision. The night Heidi's husband died in a plane crash, she prayed, "God, I know that You have a plan for my life. And I don't want bitterness and anger to well up in my heart, because I have two young children, and we have to go on with our lives." Heidi says, "I made a decision that night not to become bitter and angry about the situation and not to blame God. Sure, I asked why and I didn't understand, but I wasn't going to blame God, and I wasn't going to blame other people." You, too, can choose to move past anger with the Lord's help. "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful" (1 Timothy 1:12). Jesus, strengthen me to move beyond my anger and bitterness and to stay there. Amen. Through a Season of Grief The daily email messages you are receiving are also available in a book format. Purchase as a gift for a friend or buy a print copy for yourself. Through a Season of Grief by Bill Dunn and Kathy Leonard is available at online and local bookstores or at griefshare.org/devotional. If you would like to recommend these daily emails to a friend, please click here and choose one of the options under Share. For more information about GriefShare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please click here. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003-2013 by The Church Initiative, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from Church Initiative. You subscribed to this daily email through www.griefshare.org. We value your privacy! We will never give, sell, rent, or otherwise share your email or personal information with any other organization — EVER. To remove this email address from further mailings Click Here while connected to the internet. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@griefshare.org. GriefShare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 395-5755

Day 78 - Dealing with Anger: Bible Verses

365 daily emails to help you through the grieving process Grief support groups: Click here to find a GriefShare group near you. If you would like to find a group for a friend or relative, try our Search Page. Want to read ahead or resend a previous daily email? Click Here Dealing with Anger: Bible Verses Day 78 Another practical suggestion for dealing with anger is to draw help from Bible verses. Dr. John Trent recommends that you start by writing down an appropriate Bible verse on a three-by-five card. Every time you begin to feel angry, take out the card and read the verse. Then write the date on the back of the card and place a check mark next to it. This practice will first of all link God's Word with your active anger. It will also provide a written record of how angry you are and whether or not you are showing improvement. As you continue this practice, you will begin to realize that anger is a choice. "But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:15). Almighty God, grant me the perseverance to follow through on these anger management ideas and to follow through in a relationship with You. Amen. Grieving with Hope This GriefShare-based book contains short, topical chapters addressing issues that grieving people face but are often hesitant to mention to others; it gently guides people to determine whether they're grieving in a way that leads to hope and ultimate healing. Look for Grieving with Hope by Samuel Hodges and Kathy Leonard at a local or online bookstore or at griefshare.org/hope. If you would like to recommend these daily emails to a friend, please click here and choose one of the options under Share. For more information about GriefShare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please click here. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003-2013 by The Church Initiative, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from Church Initiative. You subscribed to this daily email through www.griefshare.org. We value your privacy! We will never give, sell, rent, or otherwise share your email or personal information with any other organization — EVER. To remove this email address from further mailings Click Here while connected to the internet. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@griefshare.org. GriefShare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 395-5755

Day 77 - Dealing with Anger: Write About Angry Feelings

365 daily emails to help you through the grieving process Grief support groups: Click here to find a GriefShare group near you. If you would like to find a group for a friend or relative, try our Search Page. Want to read ahead or resend a previous daily email? Click Here Dealing with Anger: Write About Angry Feelings Day 77 As you attempt to deal with your anger, you may find it helpful to write about your angry feelings. Writing about your feelings will help to unload some of that pressure because it gives you a way to express your emotions. Barbara Johnson says, "The anger comes and just seems to flood you. But there are a lot of ways to dilute the anger. If you have lost a loved one, write a letter. That will help you unload some of those feelings you have." Address your letter to the person causing you the most anger and distress. It could be your lost loved one, a family member, or someone involved in the circumstances surrounding the death. You might be angry mostly with yourself. If your anger is directed at God, write a letter to Him. He alone can deliver you from your anger. "May my cry come before you, O LORD; give me understanding according to your word. May my supplication come before you; deliver me according to your promise" (Psalm 119:169-170). Precious Savior, deliver me from this anger. Amen. Through a Season of Grief The daily email messages you are receiving are also available in a book format. Purchase as a gift for a friend or buy a print copy for yourself. Through a Season of Grief by Bill Dunn and Kathy Leonard is available at online and local bookstores or at griefshare.org/devotional. If you would like to recommend these daily emails to a friend, please click here and choose one of the options under Share. For more information about GriefShare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please click here. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003-2013 by The Church Initiative, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from Church Initiative. You subscribed to this daily email through www.griefshare.org. We value your privacy! We will never give, sell, rent, or otherwise share your email or personal information with any other organization — EVER. To remove this email address from further mailings Click Here while connected to the internet. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@griefshare.org. GriefShare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 395-5755

Always in His Care February 1, 2017

Read: Psalm 32:1–11 Bible in a Year: Exodus 27–28; Matthew 21:1–22 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.—Psalm 32:8 On the day our youngest daughter was flying from Munich to Barcelona, I visited my favorite flight tracking website to follow her progress. After I entered her flight number, my computer screen showed that her flight had crossed Austria and was skirting the northern part of Italy. From there the plane would fly over the Mediterranean, south of the French Riviera toward Spain, and was scheduled to arrive on time. It seemed that the only thing I didn’t know was what the flight attendants were serving for lunch! Why did I care about my daughter’s location and circumstances? Because I love her. I care about who she is, what she’s doing, and where she’s going in life. In Psalm 32, David celebrated the marvel of God’s forgiveness, guidance, and concern for us. Unlike a human father, God knows every detail of our lives and the deepest needs of our hearts. The Lord’s promise to us is, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you” (v. 8). Whatever our circumstances today, we can rely on God’s presence and care because “the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him” (v. 10). —David McCasland Dear Father in heaven, thank You for watching over me in love and guiding me along Your path today. We are never out of God’s sight and His loving care. INSIGHT: Psalm 32 is an interesting look into the covenant relationship the believer has with the living God. King David, the writer of this psalm, is aware of his own personal sins and the need for confession and forgiveness. This spiritual connection with the living God is not simply a positive experience but includes God’s chastisement that leads to confession and restoration (vv. 4-5). Yet even within the ups and downs of our walk of faith, we have the assurance of God’s watchful care and provision. For further study on the subject of forgiveness, check out the Discovery Series booklet The Forgiveness of God at discoveryseries.org/q0602. Dennis Fisher Share your thoughts on today’s devotional on Facebook or odb.org.

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Day 76 - Dealing with Anger: Redirect Toward Mourning

365 daily emails to help you through the grieving process Grief support groups: Click here to find a GriefShare group near you. If you would like to find a group for a friend or relative, try our Search Page. Want to read ahead or resend a previous daily email? Click Here Dealing with Anger: Redirect Toward Mourning Day 76 Dealing with your anger in a positive way may sound good, but how exactly is it done? One suggestion is to let your anger surface and then redirect it toward mourning. Consider your anger solely in the context of your loss. You may be putting all your energy into your anger to avoid a torrent of tears; this, in turn, has kept you from grieving. "I'd like to remind you that Jesus Christ wept," says Dr. Erwin Lutzer. "I'd like to remind you that it says in the New Testament that when Stephen died, they took him to his burial and great lamentation was made over him. "It's okay to grieve. There are those who do not grieve, and later on it begins to catch up with them. So you go through that process as long as you understand that it is a process of transition and healing." Expressing tears is part of the grieving process; it is part of the healing. Use your anger to help you move forward toward healing, and keep in mind that your anger and tears won't last forever. Let your mourning lead you toward hope. No matter where you are in grief, you can always have hope. "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope" (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Lord, let my anger turn to grieving and let my grieving lead to hope. Amen. Grieving with Hope This GriefShare-based book contains short, topical chapters addressing issues that grieving people face but are often hesitant to mention to others; it gently guides people to determine whether they're grieving in a way that leads to hope and ultimate healing. Look for Grieving with Hope by Samuel Hodges and Kathy Leonard at a local or online bookstore or at griefshare.org/hope. If you would like to recommend these daily emails to a friend, please click here and choose one of the options under Share. For more information about GriefShare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please click here. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003-2013 by The Church Initiative, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from Church Initiative. You subscribed to this daily email through www.griefshare.org. We value your privacy! We will never give, sell, rent, or otherwise share your email or personal information with any other organization — EVER. To remove this email address from further mailings Click Here while connected to the internet. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@griefshare.org. GriefShare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 395-5755

The Talking Tree January 31, 2017

Read: Colossians 1:15–20 Bible in a Year: Exodus 25–26; Matthew 20:17–34 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross.—1 Peter 2:24 One of the earliest Christian poems in English literature is “The Dream of the Rood.” The word rood comes from the Old English word rod or pole and refers to the cross on which Christ was crucified. In this ancient poem the crucifixion story is retold from the perspective of the cross. When the tree learns that it is to be used to kill the Son of God, it rejects the idea of being used in this way. But Christ enlists the help of the tree to provide redemption for all who will believe. In the garden of Eden, a tree was the source of the forbidden fruit that our spiritual parents tasted, causing sin to enter the human race. And when the Son of God shed His blood as the ultimate sacrifice for all of humanity’s sin, He was nailed to a tree on our behalf. Christ “bore our sins in his body on the cross” (1 Peter 2:24). The cross is the turning point for all who trust Christ for salvation. And ever since the crucifixion, it has become a remarkable symbol that represents the sacrificial death of the Son of God for our deliverance from sin and death. The cross is the inexpressibly wonderful evidence of God’s love for us. —Dennis Fisher Lord, may my heart give You praise whenever I see a cross, for You gave Yourself for me in love. Christ gave His life on the tree for our salvation. INSIGHT: Some experts in New Testament studies suspect that the poetic structure and inspiring thoughts of Colossians 1:15-20 reflect the lyrics of a first-century song of worship. Paul must have often sung about Jesus, the Peacemaker who changed his life by returning good for evil when He bore the sins of the world. Do you have anyone you would consider an enemy? If so, you probably know why Jesus’s example stands in such contrast to our normal human inclinations. The God who created and sustains the cosmos is the same God who chose to reconcile Himself to His enemies. Rather than turning on those who had done such evil to Him, our resurrected Creator reached out to say, I still love you. Come to me. Trust me, and I will forgive you and adopt you into my eternal family. Mart DeHaan Share your thoughts on today’s devotional on Facebook or odb.org.

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