Joel & Victoria's Blog

Don't Look Back Post by Victoria Osteen on February 16, 2016     Joel and I love to play racquetball and we used to play all the time. The game is played in a square room, with a racquet and a small, super bouncy ball which you hit against the wall. When you hit that ball, the number one safety rule is to not look back. That ball comes so fast off the back wall that if you look back it can smash you in the face and cause a lot of damage. When you're first playing, it's so tempting to want to follow the ball with your eyes because that's what you do in just about every other sport. I had to train myself to not look back. I'll never forget one time someone told me a story of how a person actually lost their eye because they looked back! After I heard that story, I kept saying to myself, "Don't look back! Don't look back!" In life, when we look back at the past, when we relive hurts, or focus on past mistakes, those things can smack us in the face and cause serious injury. It can affect how we see. Those injuries show up as damaged relationships, problems on your job, self esteem issues, and ultimately it affects your faith. This is why we cannot look back. In fact, Paul said in scripture, one thing I focus on more than anything else—I don't look back! But you have to train yourself not to do it. It's natural to want to look back but you have to intentionally look forward.  When you look forward, you see that God wants to give you beauty for ashes. He wants to turn your sorrow into joy. He wants to turn things around for you good. That's why we have to let go of the pain of the past and focus forward on God's Word. Don't let the pain of the past steal the promises of tomorrow. Remember, the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn shining brighter to the full day. Take this truth to heart—embrace the blessing God has in store for your future, and don't look back! "I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead…" (Philippians 3:13, NLT).

Your Faith Can Move Mountains in 2016

by Rick Warren

Faith opens the door to miracles. If you study the Bible and history, you’ll find that every time God moves on earth and performs a miracle, it’s because somebody believed. 
Jesus said in Mark 11:22-24, “Have faith in God! If you have faith in God and don’t doubt, you can tell this mountain to get up and jump into the sea, and it will. Everything you ask for in prayer will be yours, if you only have faith” (CEV). Faith can move mountains!
Does God still perform miracles today? Of course He does. Every time you stretch your faith, God does miracles – every single time.
My question for you is this: What’s the mountain in your life that needs to be moved in 2016? What’s the thing you’ve already decided will never change? That’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. How do you know it won’t change?
Maybe God wants to increase your faith. He is moving mountains in the lives of people all around the world. God is in the mountain-moving business. Don’t doubt or underestimate what He wants to do in your life. 
Matthew 13:58 says, “[Jesus] did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith” (NIV).
You might say, “I don’t see many miracles in my life.” I wonder why! Are you seeing with eyes of fear, or are you seeing with eyes of faith? Daring faith opens the door to miracles.
When you give God whatever you have willingly, cheerfully, and immediately, He can use it to do a miracle. When you give what you have to God, expect Him to multiply it.
God likes to do miracles through ordinary people. While we wait for God to do something for us, God is waiting on us to give Him what we have so that He can do something through us.
God wants to turn you into a miracle machine. He doesn’t want to just do a miracle for you. He wants to do a miracle through you – like He did through the little boy who gave God all he had: five small loaves of bread and two fish. God took the bread, broke it, blessed it, and multiplied it. And He wants to do the same in your life too.

Update: Gathering on Mental Health and the Church
Are You Ready for a Miracle?
Hope Around the World — Thanks to You!
Pastor Rick's News & Views

Daily Hope with Rick Warren

Let me ask you a question today: What is the starting point for happiness? Is it wealth? A good job? An easy life? The truth is, it’s none of that, despite what our world tells us. The starting point for happiness is forgetting yourself and looking to the needs of others. If all you think about is yourself, you’re going to be a pretty miserable person. But if you truly want to be happy in life, you have to care about the needs of those around you. Paul uses Timothy as an example of this in Philippians 2:20-21... “There is no one like Timothy for having a real interest in you; everyone else seems to be worrying about his own plans and not those of Jesus Christ” (The Living Bible). If they’re honest, most people will tell you they’re guilty of the same thing… worrying about their own plans and not looking out for the interests of others. They get up in the morning but never give a single thought to how someone else is doing. Most people are concerned with only their own problems. That’s why they’re unhappy with their lives! So if you want to be one of those rare unselfish people, then you’ve got to change your focus. Click here to read the rest of my letter about making the daily choice to be happy...

Daily Hope

CURRENT TEACHING SERIES The Habits of Happiness

Stress Management: Don’t Worry!

By Rick Warren — Feb 7, 2016

“Don’t worry about anything.” (Philippians 4:6 NLT) The number one source of stress in your life is not work. It’s worry. Work doesn’t keep you up at night; worry does. God is very clear in the Bible what he thinks about worry. Philippians 4:6 says, “Don’t worry about anything” (NLT). Why do you need to let go of your worry? Worry is unreasonable for a couple of reasons. First, worry exaggerates the problem. Have you noticed if somebody says something bad about you, the more you think about it, the bigger it gets? Second, worry doesn’t work. To worry about something you can’t change is useless. And to worry about something you can change is stupid. Just go change it! Worry is unnatural. There are no born worriers. You might think you are, but you’re not. Worry is something you learned. Since worry is unnatural, it’s also unhealthy. Your body wasn’t designed to handle worry. When people say, “I’m worried sick,” they’re telling the truth. Doctors say a lot of people could leave the hospital today if they knew how to get rid of guilt, resentment, and worry. Proverbs 14:30 says, “A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body” (NLT). Worry is unhelpful. Worry cannot change the past, and worry cannot control the future. All it does is mess up today. The only thing that worry changes is you. It makes you miserable! It’s never solved a problem. It’s unhelpful. Worry is unnecessary. God made you, he created you, he saved you, and he put his Spirit in you. Don’t you think he’s going to take care of your needs? There’s no need to worry. The first step in stress management is to refuse to worry about anything. Why? Because it’s unreasonable, unnatural, unhelpful, and unnecessary. The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:7, “You can throw the whole weight of your anxieties upon him, for you are his personal concern” (AMP). God personally cares about you and for your needs. You know all those things you’re stressing, anxious, and worried about? Let it go. Give it to God. PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >> Talk It Over What does your worry say about how much you trust God? What is it you are worried about? What can you do to change it? How can you practically “throw your anxieties” on God?

Surviving the Impossible

Surviving the Impossible

From Our Community | February 16, 2016 | Inspiring, Living, Loving

Imagine that you’re twenty-three years old, physically fit and in perfect health, you’ve recently graduated college with a promising new career at a CPA firm and just won the bench press at a local gym. Life is good.
Now imagine waking up from a coma three weeks later in a hospital bed and realizing that you’re connected to three life support machines, unable to eat or speak and the entire left side of your body is paralyzed. Imagine seven months stuck in three hospitals and unable to go home. Five months without the ability to walk. Four months without the capacity to speak or shower. Three months without being able to eat real food.

This was the situation I found myself in after my car was broadsided by a stolen vehicle traveling at eighty mph. I suffered a traumatic brain injury and my heart stopped three times on the way to the hospital.

The prognosis for my recovery was not good. The doctor told my family, “His body and head has suffered massive trauma. I’m sorry to say this but, he’ll be lucky to survive the next forty-eight hours.”

As distressed as my family was at the news of the accident—and the sight of my mangled body—the one thing that had been holding them together was hope. The hope that with the proper medical attention, I could and would recover from this catastrophe. The doctor’s prognosis hit them like a sledgehammer, demolishing any hope. The reality of my condition and probable death touched each of them deeply. They conveyed to me how their lives from that point on was never the same.
My family was my rock and, unbeknownst to me at the time, the single most important reason for my survival.
They surrounded my bed. There I was, lying before them, completely motionless and in a coma. The bandages that covered my now shaved head had one small opening with a narrow tube coming out of it. The respirator had another long tube attached to my neck, where the doctors had performed a tracheotomy. The IV was in my arm to give me fluids and medicine. Finally, there was a tube that ran through my nose into my stomach and connected to a third machine that held liquid nutrients.
For the next two days, my parents and siblings kept vigil outside my room. They were in a daze and could barely eat or sleep. It was a torturous time for them. The doctor’s declaration of my impending demise weighed heavy on their hearts. Yet, with each passing hour they became slightly more hopeful that my chances of survival were a little bit better. After the dreaded forty-eight hours passed, and I was still clinging to life, they felt somewhat relieved. Maybe the doctor had made a mistake. After all, doctors aren’t infallible. Bit by bit, hope began to return to them. But they still had no idea what the future held for me.
The neurologist met with them to give his prognosis. “Joseph has suffered a traumatic brain injury and is in what I consider to be a light coma,” he explained. “His chances of coming out of the coma are pretty good, but I doubt he will ever make a full recovery. He will have many severe limitations.”
I was in a coma for three weeks and stuck in bed for over three months.
I remember waking up in the hospital and being so confused. I didn’t know where I was, why I was there, how long I had been there, or even what was wrong with me.
I kept trying to ask my brother Michael, “What happened? Where am I”, but no words came out because of the tracheotomy, so I mouthed the words. He would begin to explain, “You were in a car accident.” Then he would add, “It wasn’t your fault, you were hit by a man speeding in a stolen car.” I nodded. I understood for the moment. But the next day I would once again want to know what had happened. Michael would patiently begin the story again. “You were in a car accident…” Sometimes I would ask him an hour later, “What happened to me?” Michael repeated it until it sunk in. My head was in a fog and my memory was failing me due to the trauma of the head injury as well as the medications I was on.
During my entire hospital stay, I was faced with many challenges:
- Neglect in the first hospital which caused infected bed sores, advanced pneumonia, being over medicated and losing over fifty lbs. I only weighed about 150 lbs prior to the accident so this was very alarming.
- I was never properly diagnosed with an inability to swallow food which led to aspirating or inhaling my food directly into my lungs causing a severe infection.
- ENT doctors telling me I’ll never talk again. That was a devastating diagnosis for someone who was fond of communicating and very social.
- Neglectful, incompetent nurses and careless doctors.
- The biggest challenge-feeling sorry for myself.
At one point, I couldn’t help it and I started asking myself that dreaded question, “Why me?” Not so long before, I was vital, healthy, and independent. Now, I couldn’t even speak for myself. Being in such a helpless vulnerable position at a point where you’re so young and unprepared for these challenges was emotionally traumatic.
I didn’t ask my family and friends that were by my side because I knew they wouldn’t have an answer. Plus, I wasn’t even able to speak at that point. I was using a letter board and pointing to one letter at a time to get my point across. I knew if I painstakingly had to spell out the words “Why me” on the letter board, that would only underline the reason I was feeling such anguish.

Why me? Why me? Why me? It would run through my head like a chant. I wanted to know why. I wondered, why was I chosen for this tragedy? Did I do something wrong and somehow deserve this?

It seemed to me that for my whole life I strived to be kind and always do the right thing. On the night of the accident, I wasn’t speeding or driving recklessly. I wasn’t drunk! I was only returning a rented movie and filling my car with gas. So I began to question the entire universe, the nature of good and evil and crime and punishment. Why did this happen to me? Why was I singled out for this suffering? Was I being punished for something I had done in the past? I had plenty of time to think about it and I couldn’t come up with a single thing I had done that would warrant this kind of retribution.
As I lay there asking myself these questions and feeling absolutely miserable, it eventually dawned on me that I was not helping myself. I could cry and feel sorry for myself all day, but it wouldn’t get me my voice back. It wouldn’t get me out of bed. It wouldn’t help me regain my life. I realized I would never get an answer to the “why me” question, just as the millions of other good people who experience tragedy are given no reason. If I continued to ask myself that question, I was just wasting my time and making myself depressed and keeping myself from moving forward.
I realized I needed to immediately change my focus. After all, my desire was to get well and go home, not sit in bed feeling sorry for myself. I thought back to my life before the accident and remembered how I had always considered myself to be a mentally strong person. Everyone who knew me was aware of my strong will and even stronger drive. I went to college full time, worked a twenty-five hour week to support myself financially and still managed to work out in the gym four times a week. I felt I had a special inner strength. I realized that this accident and my recovery could be the big test I was waiting for to show the world my resilience. It was also an internal battle for me.
I wondered, am I really as strong as I think I am?
In that moment, I resolved to put all my effort into getting well so I could go home and restart my life. I needed to pull every ounce of my mental and physical fortitude together and spend valuable time thinking and planning how I could get better. I couldn’t waste any more time asking myself, “why me?” I now had a feeling that this was a test that I could pass. I knew I would have pitfalls, in addition to the ones I’d already experienced, but I would push forward with the desire to pass the most difficult test of my life. Maybe some of my male ego came into play. It was an extremely tough challenge, but my new attitude was, “I’ll show them I can beat this!” That was the turning point for me. I started asking myself what do I need to do to get better so I can go home.

This new attitude gave me new power.

I suddenly felt less like a victim and I felt more in control of my life. I started working harder in therapy, challenging my doctors with their limiting beliefs and suggesting additional ideas to the therapists. I did have a few down moments but I was on a quest to get better and go home.
I had to slowly re-build my entire body through physical and occupational therapy. Due to the head injury and the medications I was on, I couldn’t even sit upright without getting dizzy. The physical therapist would come to my room each day and raise the adjustable bed upright for a few minutes at a time. Once I conquered that task, we worked on standing, walking with a walker and eventually walking on my own. It was a long, tedious process.
Also, my vocal cords and epiglottis were paralyzed. Therefore, I was unable to speak or eat. Luckily for me, that hardship was only temporary. When they began working, albeit slowly, I was able to start eating again. I had to start with the basics, like a child. Soft foods such as pudding or yogurt and work my way up to solid food. Once my vocal cords started functioning again, I was also able to begin speech therapy, which was a monumental effort considering where I was starting from.

Throughout my journey, I endured hospital neglect, incompetence, frustrations and the feeling of wanting to give up. I kept pushing myself, all the while dreaming of the life I wanted.

Finally after seven long months I was discharged from the third hospital and although my therapy continues and is still ongoing, there is no better feeling than doing it from your own home.
It is now twenty-six years later and I’m happy to say I’m almost fully recovered. I was able to go back to my profession as a CPA, although the doctors had their doubts I would ever function at that capacity.
The one physical issue I still deal with is the pain and stiffness in my neck. I suffer from osteoarthritis which has actually improved since the accident. I attribute this to chiropractic treatments and Bikram yoga.

I don’t think I would have recovered physically and emotionally as well as I did if I never started asking myself the right questions.
I truly hope no one else will ever have to go through anything similar to what I went through.

When faced with any challenges in your life, it’s important to ask yourself the right questions. @Miracleon91st (Click to Tweet!)

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Joseph Parenti is the author of Miracle on 91st Street: Surviving the Impossible. His story of survival proves the power of determination and perseverance. Readers of his memoir will be encouraged to forge ahead and trust their own instincts when faced with any challenges in their life, especially physical. Joseph is committed to living a healthy lifestyle and passionate about motivating others to do the same. You can follow Joe on Twitter, Facebook, or his blog.

Meditate & Believe Right

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16 Feb

Meditate On ...pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored...The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. James 5:16, AMP The Power Of Prayer A precious lady wrote to us with a testimony that reveals how God releases His power when His people pray. She said: "Just one month after submitting my prayer request to Joseph Prince Ministries for my husband to find a job, we received amazing news. After four long, hard years of unemployment, my husband got a job with a great position, right in his field and training. He was also offered $5,000 more than the pay amount listed in the job posting! You have no idea what a miracle this is with thousands of people losing their jobs just this week!" Beloved, never underestimate the power of prayer or agreement when believers pray for each other and stand together in faith. God gives grace to those who are humble enough to ask of Him and look to Him for help. And because He loves you practically, He has placed pastors, teachers, counselors, prayer teams and other gifts in the body of Christ to stand in faith with you to see God bring His Word to pass in your situation. God’s greatest gifts to us are people, so don’t discount asking for help and encouragement through prayer when the going gets rough. When the righteous stand together in faith and pray, the tremendous dynamic power of God is released, resulting in healing, provision and restoration!

Joel & Victoria Today's Word

Today’s Scripture “That day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they stood in awe of him all the days of his life...” (Joshua 4:14, NIV) SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS This Day I love the promise that God gave to Joshua. He said, “Joshua, today I will begin to make you great in the eyes of all the Israelites.” He was saying, “Today, I’m going to start releasing more of My favor, My blessings, My increase.” But notice, there was a set time that God began to release favor in a new way. Friend, God wants to do the same thing for you. He wants to release His blessings and favor in such a way that it makes you a great parent, a great spouse, a great leader, a great employee, a great friend, a great business person. He is saying to us what He said to Joshua, “This day, I’m going to begin to make your name great. This day, I’m going to begin to release My favor in a new way. I’m going to open doors that no man can shut.” It is a set time of God’s favor. Get ready! Make room in your thinking. Stay open to Him and keep an attitude of faith and expectancy because this day, God has something amazing in store for you! A Prayer for Today “Father, I bless You today. You alone are worthy of all glory and honor. Thank You for pouring out Your favor and blessing on me. I open my heart and mind to receive everything You have in store for me this day in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Self Love in 1, 2, 3

Self Love in 1, 2, 3

Terri Cole | February 12, 2016 | Living, Loving

I know you’re a loving person. I have no doubt that you treat your family and friends with kindness and consideration (OK let’s say most of the time). Do you extend your vast capacity to be loving to YOU? Or are you much more judgmental and much less loving towards yourself then you are to others? This is a common experience for many of my over achieving, perfectionist driven clients and is important because a lack of self-love can block you from creating the healthy, happy life you deserve.
To dive deeper on this I rang up my pal Gala Darling. She is an author, coach and self love guru and has an eye-opening perspective on the topic. Darling says:
“You don’t need to have a “perfect life” to love the way you exist in the world. You don’t need a “perfect body” to appreciate how you look (and have fun with it). You don’t need to BE PERFECT to enjoy your life and live it to the hilt. This [self love] is not about trying to become an immaculate person. It is about looking at your messiness and realising that you have an inherent beauty regardless. Radical self love is about seeing yourself as you truly are — with no delusions — and choosing to believe that you are pretty goddamn great.”

Your flaws are what make you beautiful. #BeYou @GalaDarling via @TerriCole (Click to Tweet!)

What Gala and I both believe is that there are simple yet highly effective ways for you to amp up your self-love — no makeup, man or magical diet required.

1. Self Talk
Pay attention when you talk about yourself, both to others and internally. Are you positive or negative? Are you constantly putting yourself down or are you kind and gentle? The more lovingly you speak to (and about) yourself, the happier you will be. Be good to yourself, even if you don’t feel totally deserving, because believe me when I say, you are. When you increase your own self love, others will follow your lead.
2. Meditate
Meditation gives you the space to observe your daily thoughts without getting sucked into them. You are not your thoughts and your thoughts are transformable. You can identify unloving habitual thought patterns and choose to replace them with more empowering, loving thoughts.
**Want a free self-love meditation? Follow me on Instagram @TerriCole and be on the lookout for a post that will give you access later this week.
3. Take Action
Self-love is the foundation to a happy life and it begins with you! Starting today, I encourage you to make time for, as Gala would say, radical self love. Commit to doing something kind for yourself every day for the next week and see what shifts. Self-love requires action, so please start treating yourself the way you deserve and desire to be treated, starting now. You may be surprised by how special, treating yourself to a latte, a manicure or your favorite meal, can make you feel.
Self-love can be challenging especially if you did not have good role models in childhood. Fear not, real self love is still possible! To learn more about how to prioritize self-love, please join me and Gala Darling on my podcast, Hello Freedom. We’ll give you tips and tools to blow up limiting beliefs and retire tired old stories that may be keeping you stuck. Check out the interview on iTunes, subscribe and listen. Or click here.
Do you consciously practice self-love? In the comments section below please share one tip or tool you use to stay on the self-love boat. Gala and I can’t wait to read what you have to say.
Self-love is all about honoring yourself in this life. Treat yourself as you would treat the person you love most in the world. Be kind. Be patient. And as always, take care of you.
Love Love Love,
Terri

Today's Word with Joel & Victoria

Today’s Scripture “Love never fails...” (1 Corinthians 13:8, NIV) SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS Love Never Fails We all have people in our lives that are difficult at times. Maybe it’s someone you work with, a family member or even your spouse. Relationships can be complicated, but remember: love never fails. The Word of God clearly defines love in 1 Corinthians 13. It says that love is patient and kind. It doesn’t seek its own way. Love doesn’t keep a record of wrongs. And most importantly, love never fails. Notice that this chapter doesn’t talk at all about how you feel. God’s love isn’t about feelings. It’s a choice. You can choose to be patient, even when you don’t feel like being patient. You can choose to be kind, even when you don’t feel like being kind. No matter what situation you find yourself in, you can choose love. You are never more like God than when you are walking in love. And when you are walking in love, you will never fail because love never fails. Open your heart to God’s love today. Receive His love and ask Him to show you how to love others better because love never fails! A Prayer for Today “Father, thank You for Your love which never fails. Thank You for loving me so that I can be free to love others. Empower me, by Your Spirit, to walk in love no matter what I may face today in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Daily Hope

CURRENT TEACHING SERIES The Habits of Happiness

Happiness Habit: Give Your Life Away

By Rick Warren — Feb 14, 2016

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21 NIV) Happiness comes from service and giving your life away. Until you understand this, you’re not going to be happy for much of your life. Happiness does not come from self-gratification. It comes from self-sacrifice. Paul knew that to be happy, he had to stay focused on his purpose and not his problems. He summed up his purpose in Philippians 1:21: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (NIV). If you were asked to fill in the blank, what word would you use? “For me to live is ______.” Would it be entertainment? Sports? Clothes? Family? Friends? A career? There could be a lot of good things you could answer, but nothing deserves the place of the One who created you and gave you your life: Jesus Christ. How you fill in that blank will determine how happy you are in life. Because if you answer “money” or “success” or “pleasure” or “power,” you are going to be unhappy for most of your life. There’s nothing wrong with those things; they just don’t deserve first place. You weren’t created to make a bunch of money, then die, and give it away. God has a far greater purpose for your life. There is only one answer that leads to happiness: to live is Christ. Give your life away. It is your purpose! PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >> Pray this prayer today: “Dear Jesus, you know that I often let circumstances determine my happiness. You know that I often allow the killjoys of pain and problems and pressures and picky people to rob my happiness. Help me to look at every problem in my life from your viewpoint. I want to handle problems in a way that is a witness to nonbelievers and an encouragement to believers. Help me to remember that what others say and do does not control my happiness unless I allow it. And as for the things that happen that I don’t understand or can’t figure out, I want to trust you to work it all out for good. Help me to stay focused on your purpose for my life and not my problems. I want to use the rest of my life to serve you by serving others. Use me, Lord, so I have a purpose for living and for dying. From this day on, for me to live is Christ. In your name I pray. Amen.