Y'all!! ARE AMAZING. 

This weekend Zoey and Preston received notification that they are at 100% of their fundraising goals to go to Germany as missionaries at Black Forest Academy! I literally cried when I heard the news. There is something so powerful and beautiful about being so specifically reminded at how God is at work. It came at the perfect time to (personally) to hear this story of God's faithfulness. Being a witness in the way God has worked out these details of the fundraising has been a beautiful blessing to my little heart. As Zoey has so constantly reminded me, "God is providing in ways that we can't even see." 

I am so excited for the people of Kandern, Germany to get to live and do life with these two incredible human beings. Their love for God and others is a courageous inspiration, especially with all that is going on in our world.

If you didn't get to read my original post (click HERE) about how I know Zoey and Preston then you may not understand how grateful I am for these two people. I can personally attest to the beauty and love that they will be bringing to the BFA community and Kandern, as a whole.

I have tears writing this... I met both Zoey and Preston when I taught them in Georgia. Throughout the last decade Zoey has quietly and behind-the-scenes been a faithful prayer warrior, friend, and confident as I have walked through being seriously ill. There have been more times that I have wept on the phone with her in this journey more than laughter. There has been more times of expressing sadness, grief, and tears then there has been in the "good things". She has faithfully been encouraging and never once made me feel anything but my brokenness was welcome in her life.

NO donation amount is to small (seriously y'all- EVERY SINGLE DOLLAR is a help!) and it is tax deductible! Please consider donating right now to help us meet our original goal of raising $4000 (click HERE!)

PS- PLEASE share this with everyone you know so that we can spread the word! 

THANK YOU AGAIN for helping Zoey and Preston get to 100% of their goal!! 
We are SO excited and praising God for this miracle! Please continue to pray for them as they prepare to leave and that every penny will be provided in the coming days and weeks.

As COVID-19 continues to infect hundreds of thousands of Americans and the death toll related to the novel virus continues to rise, doctors and other health professionals work tirelessly to keep people healthy and safe during the pandemic.

Because doctors are at the epicenter of the coronavirus, they are one of the highest-risk groups of contracting the virus. Despite all the safety precautions put in place, health professionals are not completely immune from COVID-19. 

Let’s take a closer look at how American doctors are faring during the pandemic and how you can ensure that you’re getting optimal care.

According to statistics from early April, the U.S. has only seen one doctor who has died due to COVID-19. While the statistics involving doctors and other medical front line workers in the United States are lower than other countries like Italy, it’s important to remember that the numbers may be outdated or under counted.

Overall, American doctors are staying healthy thanks to safety procedures and personal protective equipment (PPE), but if medical facilities continue to face shortages on essentials, like PPE, more doctors may contract the virus.

While doctors and other health care professionals are staying physically healthy during the pandemic, it’s important to consider that doctors are at a greater risk of fatigue, stress, and mental health challenges, all of which can lead to costly and even fatal mistakes.

Depending on where you live, medical care may be limited to emergencies or scheduled procedures like surgeries. Many general practice and specialty doctors are protecting themselves, and their patients, by replacing face-to-face appointments with telehealth appointments.

While telehealth appointments are the safest alternative, you may need to meet with your doctor in person. Here are some important tips for staying healthy and safe:

Even though many doctors are facing higher-than-usual levels of stress, you should still feel like you’re receiving quality care. If your doctor is acting strangely or doesn’t have the patience or compassion that they usually do, you can opt to end your care or seek out another doctor.

Depending on your personal preferences, there are many factors that make a doctor “good.” While some patients think that a good doctor should have a great bedside manner, others are more concerned with competency. 

Regardless of what you expect the care you receive from your doctor, you should never feel like your well-being is at risk. Remember that as a patient, you have the right to receive care that you deserve, especially during the pandemic.

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That self-control is a muscle often only becomes obvious once you have started to practice with it more and more. If you are worrying that your own self-control might be somewhat limited or that you need to tune it a little, then you might find it helps to think of that muscle. It might just be that you need to train with it, so to speak, before you are able to start using it in bigger and stronger ways. In this article, we are going to look at some of the ways in which you might be able to develop the muscle of self-control, and so use that muscle in order to live a fuller and more complete life.

Image Credit - CCO Licence

The Initial Proof

First of all, you will need to try and prove to yourself that you have at least some self-control. If you have always had a problem with it, then this first step might be challenging. Nonetheless, it is an important one, and one which you are going to have to look into. Once you have proven to yourself that you can adopt even a little self-control in an area where you previously struggled, you will see that you at least have the tools to do it. It will then simply be a case of using those tools in the future in whatever way you can in order to keep the muscle growing and growing. So find something small that you can work towards to show yourself that you can do it - some small habit you have been meaning to kick, or a new one you’ve been hoping to pick up.

Letting Go Of Bad Habits

If you succeed in that, you might then decide to try something a bit more substantial and bigger. That could be something like letting go of a bad habit that you have had for a long time. These are obviously trickier to let go of, but you should find that you can do it as long as you work at it, even if it takes you a few times or you need the help of a drug rehab or doctor. Once you can learn how to let go even of those bigger bad habits, you will start to see just how powerful you can be - and that is a great feeling to have. Really try it and see what happens.

Image Credit - CCO Licence

Prepare For Ups & Downs

Throughout the process of trying to gain more self-control, you are going to find that there are a good deal of ups and downs which you expect to happen. This is just a part of how it all goes, but you will find that you need to try and prepare for them as best as you can. You are going to have times when you feel as though you can’t achieve anything, and times when you feel on top of the world. Prepare for each of these in turn if you are going to develop your self-control muscle successfully.

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Perhaps for a young mama this means that she has sacrificed her own dreams and plans to put her child in the front. Perhaps this means sacrificing our energy or time to take our lunch hour to listen once again to a co-worker's story. Perhaps this means coming along side an elderly neighbor to help them with mowing their lawn or grocery shopping. Perhaps this is encouraging a friend through a hand written note.

Whatever sacrificial love looks like in our lives, it is giving extravagantly each and everyday when no one is watching. It is the little things that we do that have power to change our world through sacrificial love.

It is the words of hope spoken to those going through a dark season in life. It is the countless prayers, believing that there is still hope to be found. It is the concept of living beyond what comes easy to ourselves and sacrificing so that someone else can be loved extravagantly and unconditionally. 

Irena Sendler, the woman that I mentioned at the beginning jumped in to give sacrificial love to thousands of people in their most crisis moments. But despite being a hero to thousands of people (including myself) Irena continued to say until her death that despite the thousands that she saved, the way that she lost family and friends, and the cost to herself as she was tortured... she wasn't the hero. 

She went on to say that it was the mothers who had given up in sacrificial love the thing that they loved most... their children. It was the mothers who never saw their children again (due to death in a concentration camp). It was the mothers who sacrificed to trust a stranger to smuggle their children out of the ghetto to be hid with other strangers for the remainder of the war. It was the mothers who sacrificed, realizing that instead of their love, it would be another's who would guide their children.

And then it was these adoptive/foster mamas who sacrificed their own rations of food, clothing, basic needs, and necessities for a child that they didn't know. It was these mamas who cared for, held, fed, wiped the tears of, rocked to sleep, fell in love with, and fully adopted these precious ones that they were given at great risk to their own families. And then almost 4-6 years later, after the war had ended, it was these foster mamas who sacrificially gave up these children that they had come to love so that they could return to their extended family members. As Irena Sendler said... it was sacrificial love that changed the course of history for everyone involved.

Dear friends, let us resolve to go bravely forward and walk boldly living out sacrificial love. Let us rest on who God is and His character to give us the strength and let us jump into the deep end of true sacrificial love. Our attempts to love people in this way may not be rewarded that we can see right here on this earth, but one thing is for sure... sacrificial love is never a waste. Love never dies. Love has the power to change anything. Don't stop. Keep going. Keep loving the people around you no matter the response and know that the sacrificial love you invest (even if you don't know what you are doing or feel like you don't know how to start at the beginning) will have the power to change the world. 

"Love never gives up. 
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut, Doesn't have a swelled head, Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always 'me first'...
It takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything, 
Trusts God always, 
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back, But keeps going to the end.
Love never dies."
-I Corinthians 13, The Message-

Photo by Norbert Kundrak from Pexels

Due to the outbreak, the world has completely changed. And with the majority of people having to stay inside under government rules, many people’s mental health is starting to suffer. Even those who perceived themselves to have a good standard of mental health are starting to feel as though they are experiencing cabin fever. 

If you’re one of these people, it’s vital to know the ways in which you can start to combat the stress that you’ve been feeling. Alongside seeking professional help online, you might also want to consider the following:

Exercise Regularly
Although the social distancing rules that have been introduced mean that you can’t go to the local gym or leisure center, you can still go out on a walk/jog/run every day. As well as exercising in your neighborhood, you could also do yoga or another sport at home. By exercising regularly, it will help to clear your mind and rejuvenate your body so that you feel more positive. 

Practice Self-Care
Another key step you could take to help with your mental health is to practice self-care. Whether this is in the form of treating yourself to a relaxing soak in the tub, taking CBD gummies to unwind (you can browse ezcbdwholesale.com for these), having a pamper evening in or another activity, it will help both your physical and your mental health during this stressful time.

Connect With Loved Ones
Thankfully, nowadays mostly everyone has access to technology that allows them to get into contact with your loved ones. And this ability to contact friends and family is even more prevalent throughout the lockdown. 

Whether you organize a virtual quiz or simply fancy calling a loved one, it will make you feel happier and as though you’re not alone in this experience. It will also increase your sense of community and the connection that you have with them. 

As the situation with COVID-19 continues to develop, there are regular news reports. Naturally, people want to stay on top of the advice and developments. 

However, looking at these articles each day with their frightening statistics and horrific images is not beneficial for your mental health. Increasing your anxiety towards the pandemic, it leads to an incredibly negative environment and one that you feel trapped within. It is, therefore, better during this time to limit your exposure – only checking the news once every couple of days. 

Maintain a Routine
Another way to keep your mental health in check is to create and maintain a routine. A good opportunity to tune into your body’s natural rhythms, it will keep you productive and feeling the best you possibly can in this situation. 

Sleeping too much or limiting your sleep will only disrupt your mental well being. So try doing what you can to have a routine – just make sure that you vary what you do every day (unless you’re working from home) so that you don’t have long periods of free time in which you are constantly thinking of the situation. 

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https://www.pexels.com/photo/computer-desk-laptop-stethoscope-48604/

There is no denying that international health insurance policies have become more and more popular in recent times. For those who are unaware, these are simply health insurance plans that will cover you in a number of different countries. While they are called ‘international’ or ‘worldwide’ you should not assume that you are going to be covered all over the world. The coverage does differ depending on the policy, so do keep this in mind when you look for a plan. Nevertheless, in this post, we are going to delve a bit deeper into the benefits of international health insurance, looking at why these plans have become more popular. 

Global business has led to a greater need for worldwide health cover 

The reason why international health insurance policies have become more popular is probably because of the fact that we live in a more global world nowadays! Business, for example, is increasingly being conducted on a global scale. A lot of people travel regularly for business reasons, and so having a policy that is going to cover them all of the time is critical. A lot of business owners have consequently decided to offer global health coverage as one of their employee perks. If you do a bit of digging online, you will actually see that health insurance comes out as the number one perk in employee surveys many times. 

Frequent travellers prefer international health cover to travel insurance

Of course, we also see frequent travellers that are embracing this form of health insurance over a standard travel plan. The reason for this is usually because international health insurance is more comprehensive than worldwide travel insurance. If you are someone with any sort of health concerns, worldwide health cover is the better option to go for. Let’s say you go abroad and you forget your hearing device. You’re going to be much better off with a health plan that enables you to see an audiologist and purchase one of their recommended affordable hearing aids than you are trying to manage the situation yourself. From maternity care to dental care, all sorts of health services are covered, and so you really can personalize your plan to suit you. This level of health cover really is not available with most of the travel plans that are on offer today. 

It’s also worth touching on the level of healthcare you’re going to get. With worldwide travel plans, you’re probably not going to have a network of experienced and specialist medical professionals to choose from. You will be more restricted than this. However, with a worldwide health plan, you are going to have a pool of qualified professionals and health centers to select from. This can give you great peace of mind because you know that you are going to be able to receive a certain standard of healthcare. 

Financial security is delivered 

Aside from this, it is worth talking about the financial security that is offered by having worldwide health insurance in place. You never know when disaster could strict. The current coronavirus situation is a prime example of this. Even fit and healthy people can fall ill, and you could find yourself with a monumental medical bill on your hands if you do not have any form of coverage. With international health insurance, you know that you are going to get to see a doctor and get the right treatment and you don’t need to worry about how you are going to foot the bill. Things like air ambulances will be covered, which is also reassuring considering how expensive they are!  

You can also use international healthcare insurance to cover your day-to-day medical needs. It is not all about medical emergencies. In fact, there is an argument that having worldwide health cover actually makes you healthier. This is because you are going to be more likely to keep up your routine appointments when you know that you don’t have to pay extra money. It is already covered in your plan, so you may as well take advantage of it, right?

As you can see, there are a lot of benefits that are associated with international health insurance and so it is not difficult to see why these policies have become so popular in recent times. They are now being used by a bigger group of people. In the past, they were the preferred option for expats. Now, everyone from business owners to frequent flyers is considering moving to this sort of policy. 

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