Almost no one will disagree that we have a major economic crisis in the United States. Almost everyone has felt the effects in one way or another over the past two years. There are number of views as to what will happen next.

Some predict a total collapse of our country. They believe that we will end up worse than many European countries are today. For them, the sky is falling and we are headed to oblivion.

On the other hand, some believe that everything will turn out just fine. Some think and believe that because God has had His hand of blessing on our country for so long that He will somehow intervene and fix things. So for them, the sky is not falling and things will turn out okay.

I do believe that God has had His hand of blessing on this country for many, many years. It is so obvious that His grace and mercy have been abundant in this country. However, I do not believe that is a guarantee that He will continue to do so.

I don't claim to be an expert in economics, but when I was laid off in December of 2008, we had to make some serious changes. Those changes were a result of what I normally spent each month compared to what was now coming in. In other words, with a lot less coming in, we simply had to cut our spending.

We could have called our credit card company and asked for an increase in our credit limit and raised our debt limit. I doubt that they would have agreed, but if they did, then we could have just gone on spending what we were used to spending. However, eventually we would have needed to pay not only our obligations, but the interest on the extra credit, as well as the extra credit itself.

The point I am making is that most people understand that you cannot spend more than you make. I am aware of business loans that help businesses to continue moving forward. But, as a bookkeeper I know that if the company does not increase its revenues it will eventually go bankrupt.

The economic problem in our country has been brewing for many, many years. Politicians are quite divided on how to solve it. The truth is, there is no simple solution; there will be no quick fix.

Regardless of what new laws and programs are enacted, there will be effects and consequences. Only time will tell if the right decisions will be made over the next couple of months. How much of an impact and how long before a real recovery will take place no one knows.

So what can you do? What can I do? How do we, who are trying to live within our means, deal with consequences that are totally outside of our control?

First, we cannot get caught up in the panic rhetoric of, "the sky is falling," nor can we adopt the thinking that God will just take care of everything. We need to understand that there is a big problem. But, we also need to take charge of that which is in our control.

The scriptures exhort us to pray for our leaders; that is something that is in my control and is something that I do. The scriptures also teach that our God is a personal God and that we can turn to Him and trust Him. That is also in my control and is something that I do.

Our trust, our confidence, and our reliance must be in our God and not in our government. Those who continue to put their trust in the government to solve all their problems are looking to the wrong source.

In addition to praying for our leaders to make sound decisions, we should also being praying for our own personal situations, looking to God for His help and guidance. A number of records in the scriptures show God helping and protecting individuals in very serious situations, like famines and war.

I believe that our God is a personal God. I believe that He can help each one of us personally and individually. I believe that our loving God can reveal specific things to us that are just for us.

The decisions that politicians make are outside of our control. The consequences those decisions will bring are outside of our control. But, putting our trust and confidence in our loving God and Father, is definitely within our control.

We don't have to wait to see all of the consequences in full bloom. We can start today by doing what we need to do for the sake of our own family. We can certainly ask God to guide us and direct us.

I don't know what is going to happen in this country in the days ahead and neither does anyone else. But I do know that our God will never fail in fulfilling His promises when we trust and believe Him. Our God will not default!

About the Author

Michael A. Verdicchio offers a FREE eBook, "9 Keys to Answered Prayer!" for signing up for his FREE weekly news letter, "The Pep Letter," at:nhttp://www.ConfidenceAndJoy.com nMichael is a husband, father, minister, author, broadcaster and the voice on numerous projects and productions, Get a FREE Lifetime Membership to EnrichingYourLifeNow.com when you subscribe for FREE to his inspiring blog.

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by Andrea Sartorati

Why Are So Many People Turning To New Age Meditation Nowadays?

There are lots of different types of meditation but one that has cropped up in recent years and is becoming increasingly common is . It works by taking the best bits of the older forms of meditation, such as Zen, breathing, etc. and combining them with new discoveries that help the brain to reach a deep meditative state without years and years of boring practice.

Which, in a nutshell, is why so Many people are turning to this form of meditation nowadays.

After all, there are so many things to do in life and, as the saying goes, so little time. Especially as time seems to speed up as we get older - gone are the long boring days at the weekend that seemed to go on forever as a child. Now we turn around and suddenly months have passed in what seems like a blink of the eye.

New age meditation helps with this problem. Most examples of this type of meditating involve nothing more complicated than listening to an MP3 file. Everything else is taken care of "behind the scenes". A series of tones - called binaural beats - are played in the background of the track and these help your brain to go into the same kind of deep meditative state that it would otherwise take you years of practice to achieve.

In these days of "I want it now", this is superb.

And - unlike lots of modern instant solutions - this really is as good as going through the years of practice that people like Zen monks have done. Brain scans have shown the results to be near enough identical whether the meditation was achieved traditionally or with these new age methods.

Video Rating: 4 / 5

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Have you ever had someone hurt you so badly that you thought you would never forgive them for what they did to you? In your mind, that person did not deserve to be forgiven. Have you ever felt that if you did forgive them, it would be like letting them off the hook for what they did?

We have all experienced hurt to one degree or another. And, it seems that the deeper the hurt, the harder it is to forgive. Some people feel that by not forgiving they are actually hurting the perpetrator. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

The person who chooses to hold on to the anger, hurt and bitterness is the one paying the price. In fact, holding on to all of the hurt and not forgiving, actually gives the one who did the hurting power over the one they hurt. In other words, by not forgiving, you are choosing to continue to give that person power over you.

Carrying the hurt is not only harmful to you mentally, but it is also detrimental to your physical body. A number of medical studies show a connection between unresolved anger and physical illness. The holistic approach to patient care acknowledges and addresses the mind-body connection.

The Bible tells us that "a merry heart does good like a medicine, but a broken sprit dries the bones." It talks about not going to sleep angry. It also discusses heaviness of the heart and sorrow of the heart in contrast to being glad and merry.

Many times people are unwilling to forgive because they feel that in doing so it excuses the hurtful deed. But forgiving someone does not in any way mean that what they did wasn't wrong. Forgiving simply means that you are choosing not to exact punishment for what was done.

Biblically, to forgive means to refrain from exacting, as a payment or service; it means that no payment or service is needed. When someone's monetary debt is canceled, it doesn't mean that the person who owed the money was right in not paying their debt. Absolving a debt means that no more payment is due.

A great key in learning to forgive others is to remember that God has forgiven you. Forgiveness from God means that there is no payment needed for your infraction. Your wrong doing has been remitted.

However, many times people know that God has forgiven them, but they fail to forgive themselves. In not forgiving themselves, they really aren't accepting God's forgiveness. And, as a result, they end up carrying guilt and condemnation.

Now everyone knows that no one's perfect. We all make mistakes. Therefore, we all need forgiveness. And God has lovingly provided this forgiveness through His Son, Jesus Christ who paid the price for our sins.

Not accepting God's forgiveness communicates that the price that has already been paid was not enough. It would be like you owing a thousand dollars and someone paid that debt for you, but you still feeling like you owed the money. When it comes to God forgiving you, the price has been paid in full.

The Bible talks about being imitators of God as "His dear children." Therefore, I can forgive others not because I am supposed to, but because of who I am. I am His child, and He said to imitate His love. I forgive others because of who I am. I am His child. I am loved. I am forgiven.

So, first, forgive others because of who you are. Secondly, forgiving others gives you freedom. Living with anger, bitterness and hurt holds you captive. So many times, those who have hurt you have moved on; they no longer even think about it. Yet you are being held captive by your own thoughts and emotions.

Secondly, release your anger, bitterness and hurt. Choose to hold thoughts of "no payment due." Remember, you are not saying that what they did was right; you are simply excusing them from retribution.

And thirdly, remember that the Bible says that we are to forgive others even as we ourselves have been forgiven. God has never said to you that what you did was so bad that He was not going to forgive you. The Scriptures tell us that we have been forgiven by the completed work of Christ.

And there is one other point to consider. Jesus Christ was illegally arrested, falsely accused, subjected to a mock trial, savagely beaten and tortured, and, nailed to the cross.

We can only imagine the physical pain he endured. But what about all the pain of being rejected? He was the long awaited Messiah. The religious leaders did not welcome him with open arms. Instead they challenged him at every turn, and eventually engineered his arrest and execution.

If anyone ever had the right to not forgive it was Jesus. And yet, at that moment of pain and suffering, hanging there in shame and humiliation, being mocked and reviled by almost everyone, he uttered those words, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Forgiving others is a choice. It starts with accepting God's forgiveness for what you have done, and then you in turn forgiving yourself. Then you can choose to forgive others, which is a very wise and sound choice.

About the Author

Michael A. Verdicchio offers a FREE eBook, "9 Keys to Answered Prayer!" for signing up for his FREE weekly news letter, "The Pep Letter," at:nhttp://www.ConfidenceAndJoy.com nMichael is a husband, father, minister, author, broadcaster and the voice on numerous projects and productions, Get a FREE Lifetime Membership to EnrichingYourLifeNow.com when you subscribe for FREE to his inspiring blog.

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