Ever feel like you're in a prayer slump?

Maybe you are feeling uninspired, or feeling like your prayers aren't working.
It's okay to feel like that sometimes. But don't ever let it make you doubt yourself, your prayers, or God's ever-present healing power. He is listening, and He is working in you, and He is working out something wonderful!! 

​Be patient, be humble, be listening, be especially kind to others during this season of "slump."

Here's some helpful advice from a baseball coach about feeling like you're in a slump.

​Relating the mental advice this coach is giving to baseball players can encourage you to move forward confidently! 

Repost: Click the link below for article source and author
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Baseball Hitting Slumps - Mentally They Can Be Very Tough on a Baseball Hitter
Baseball hitting slumps sometimes start because of a mechanical flaw in your swing and then mentally, they can be an extremely difficult thing for a player to have to go through. Let's look at the mental aspect.

Keep baseball hitting slumps in perspective. Don't ever lose sight of the fact that everybody goes into a slump now and then! You have to try your best to accept baseball hitting slumps as a part of the game, just as home runs, shutouts, stolen bases, triples, etc.

A slump does not mean that all of a sudden you have forgotten how to hit. If you're in a slump but hitting the ball well and it's just not dropping in for you, try not to let it bother you. Baseball hitting quite often runs in streaks and possibly tomorrow you may hit three "bloops" that drop in for you as hits.

Some Helpful Tips and Notes About Dealing With Hitting Slumps: (I very well realize this is much easier said than done)

Don't tense up and try your best to avoid the common problem of pressing. If you press, it will only get worse and not better.

Promise yourself you will not let the hitting slump have too much of a negative impact on you and you will not "carry" the hitting slump out to the field with you when the other team is up. 

Remember that even if the hitting aspect of your game is not going well, you can still contribute in many other ways and help your team with your glove and your throwing arm. Isn't a great play in the field that saves your team two runs as valuable as a hit by a team member that knocks in two runs? To me they are the same.

Slumps are even tougher on younger players because they don't have past hitting successes to fall back on for reassurance. In other words, if a hitter has been extremely successful for five years, a 1 for 12 will not bother him that much. 

On the other hand, if a player has only played for a year or two, he may think that the 1 for 12 is possibly a true indication of his hitting. And I hope it's not. 

If you are into baseball coaching, remind the player how you are not the least bit concerned because you already know how well they can hit. Just a little comment like that can help your player tremendously. Showing your player that you aren't overly concerned may rub off on him and help him to relax. Your player desperately needs you to be very supportive during this very difficult time period.

As a player, remind yourself that anybody who has ever played the game for an extended period of time has been in a slump and now it's your turn. Once you get through this difficult period, it will then be somebody else's turn. Nobody escapes hitting slumps, not even the outstanding hitters.

I know it's mentally tough but hang in there. You will get back on track. Relax and don't be too rough on yourself!

Larry is the successful author of several very user friendly eBooks and CD's covering 320 topics on playing or coaching excellent baseball. ANY player, coach or parent who wants to help their child will be fully equipped! 

Try applying these baseball tips to your thoughts about prayer!!

Never forget: You are spiritual.

You are already spiritual. 

You don’t need to evolve from imperfect to perfect. 

Your perfection as God’s child is inviolate changeless Truth.

Your nativity is divine. 

"As defined by Jesus, Life had no beginning; nor was it the result of organization, or of an infusion of power into matter. To him, Life was Spirit. 

Truth, defiant of error or matter, is Science, dispelling a false sense and leading man into the true sense of selfhood and Godhood; wherein the mortal does not develop the immortal, nor the material the spiritual, but wherein true manhood and womanhood go forth in the radiance of eternal being and its perfections, unchanged and unchangeable."
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(Unity of Good, Mary Baker Eddy, pp. 42:13–18, 21–2)

When someone came to Jesus in the middle of the night and asked him about being born again,
this is what Jesus said:

(The man's name is Nicodemus, and he was a ruler of the Jews, and was inspired to visit Jesus in the middle of the night so he wouldn't get in trouble from his peers, see the book of John, Chapter 3)

“I can guarantee this truth: No one can see God’s kingdom without being born from above.”

Nicodemus asked him, “How can anyone be born when he’s an old man?
He can’t go back inside his mother a second time to be born, can he?”

Jesus answered, “Flesh and blood give birth to flesh and blood, but the Spirit gives birth to things that are spiritual. Don’t be surprised when I tell you that all of you must (already) be born from above.”

A wonderful way to receive fresh inspiration about how this is relevant to your life, is to ask God more about this concept, and to study it for yourself in John 3:1-8.

Dear Friend,

A few reminders as the holiday season is approaching.

Do not be self-assertive or attach personal sense to anything.
It's hard, but catch yourself often.
Are you thinking about God or about yourself?

Remember your origin is divine and you live in divine Spirit, not in matter.  

Vonte Mack no matter what. 
God is All no matter what.
​
Work it out yourself. Be a light.
​Jesus said, you ARE the light of the world. 

Our crown of rejoicing is our spiritual perfection.

“Love never takes possession of its object.”
Clarence Steves

Love has no consequences. 

love,
lindsey

​www.csmonitor.com/Daily/2020/20200319/Go-deeper-for-refuge?cmpid=shared-email

Go deeper for refuge ​
(Click to listen to audio or to read on csmonitor.com)

by Lindsey Roder
Repost from A Christian Science Perspective Column from The Christian Science Monitor

When I was first married, my husband was an officer on a boomer, one of the largest submarines in the world. One time, the submarine got caught in a storm, tossed to and fro by relentless waves. Many of the men became sick, and it was apparent the sub needed to get out of the storm. It did this by diving deeper – for refuge. Once a submarine is submerged, it uses its sonar or “active” listening.
I like to think of this as a good scenario for prayer, too. When we feel as though we are being tossed around in feelings of sickness or sorrow, we have an opportunity to go deeper for refuge. Right when life seems uncertain, we can go to God, who is Spirit, to learn more about our real identity as a spiritual idea of God.
The first step in recognizing what we really are is to go deeper than mere physicality or superficial personality traits, and to actively listen to what God is saying. “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” by Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science, gives this comforting counsel: “We must look deep into realism instead of accepting only the outward sense of things” (p. 129). In this way we discern the spiritual reality of God’s goodness, expressed throughout creation.
A few years ago, I was struggling with feelings of grief over the loss of a loved one. I felt overwhelmed and had a hard time coping with what felt like the “new normal.”
Realizing that I couldn’t continue on this path, I decided to deepen my understanding of God and my relation to Him as a beloved child. I reached out in heartfelt prayer, and soon felt enveloped by God’s tender love and care for my family and me. This love didn’t feel shallow or changeable. God’s love felt like a great deep welling up from within, bringing needed peace.
In several places, the Bible talks about finding refuge in God, and we can all do that. Quoting one of those Bible promises, the opening verse of Psalm 46, Mrs. Eddy says, “Step by step will those who trust Him find that ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble’” (Science and Health, p. 444). Whatever storms we encounter, we can always go deeper in our understanding of God, divine Love, for refuge.

Adapted from the Feb. 7, 2020, Christian Science Daily Lift podcast.
​
This article appeared in the March 19, 2020 edition of the Monitor Daily.

Dear Friend,

If you ever find yourself at a low spot feeling doubt or fear trying to creep in, it is well to ask yourself these questions:

Regarding a limited world view of ourselves and material life:


1. Can a drug "break through the clouds of darkness"? No!
2. Can a drug "light up each somber shadow with a radiance soft and clear"? No!
3. Can a drug "fill every heart with gladness"? No!
4. Can a drug feel divinely inspired, holy power? No! 
5. Can a drug heal grief and feel the safety of true humility? No!
6. Can a drug "conquer every subtle error" with meekness? No! 
7.  Can a drug promote world peace? unite all our sisters and our brothers in one band? No! 

Regarding our true, authentic selfhood - who we really are:


1. Can omnipotent Spirit break through the clouds of darkness? Yes!!
2. Can the Christ, Truth "light up each somber shadow with a radiance soft and clear"? Yes!!
3. Can divine Love fill every heart with gladness? Yes!!
4. Can man as the reflection of Soul feel holy power?  Yes!! 
5. Can the understanding of eternal Life heal grief and sin? Yes!!
6. Can God conquer every subtle error with meekness? Yes!
7.  Can divine Principle promote world peace? Yes!  Unite all our sisters and our brothers in one band? Yes!!
​

Clearly, God is omnipotent and can heal anything!

such love,
lindsey

Daily affirm: God is the bound and center of all Life. I lead a God-centered life, not a self-centered one. It is the Life of God that I AM expressing. 

Dear Friend,

This is an opportunity to hold your ground, 
to keep yourself upright and not fall down.  

Abiding in Christ is your holy place, 
never can you be expelled from His grace.  

On this foundation, Love’s church is built, 
it frees from oppression and the burden of guilt. 

Though fear seems to threaten and body looks bruised, 
I know Christ is with me, His Love, I can't lose.  

I will rise up stronger than before the fall, 
the identity of Christ triumphs over all.  

love,
​lindsey