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Our Daily Bread
Have you ever had a friend or been a friend that is "there" for you?  Someone who will stand by and support you through the ups and downs of life?  I think we can all say yes!  I think of those special friends and how much they mean to me.

Now think of God as being the Almighty God who is there to support you through the ups and downs of your life?  Think of God as someone who is "there" for you!  He will ultimately win out over the evil and sin in this world.  I don't know exactly what is going to happen, but I know I trust God to fulfill his promises to his people.  We may not know, but we know God is ultimately in control!

Lord, thank you for your assurances of the world to come.  We look forward to seeing you face to face!

Wellness Wednesday
I don't know about you, but my family has a history of high blood pressure.  Here is an article that I hope helps us all with that serious problem!  Click on the title of the article to read the whole thing, including the 11 natural ways to lower blood pressure.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Could Help Lower Blood Pressure
Stress reduction strategies based on mindfulness -- the practice of focusing on the present moment -- could help lower blood pressure among people who are on the brink of hypertension, according to a small new study.

Researchers from Kent State University found that people with prehypertension -- meaning they have borderline high blood pressure that does not yet necessitate medication -- have decreases in their blood pressure measurements if they undergo weekly sessions to learn mindfulness-based stress reduction practices.

The findings, which are published in Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, are based on data from 56 men and women with prehypertension who had an average age of 50. Researchers had these participants either undergo eight weeks of sessions of mindfulness training, or just receive lifestyle advice and learn a muscle-relaxation activity.

By the end of the eight weeks, people who learned the mindfulness strategies had a greater drop in blood pressure levels than those in the lifestyle advice group. Specifically, the mindfulness group experienced a decrease in systolic blood pressure (the higher number on a blood pressure reading) of 5 millimeters of mercury, versus 1 millimeter of mercury in the lifestyle advice group. And the mindfulness group experienced a decrease in diastolic blood pressure (the lower number on a blood pressure reading) of nearly 2 millimeters of mercury, versus an increase of 1 millimeter of mercury for the lifestyle advice group.

Mindfulness might benefit other areas of health, too. Research has shown that the strategies could decrease levels of the stress hormone cortisol, lessen pain for people with certain chronic conditions, lower risk of depression and even improve sleep.

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We too can know this God and be assured of His presence. He has revealed Himself in His creation and in His Word. As we ask Him to make Himself known to us, we’ll learn that He is even more than the owner and creator of everything! - Our Daily Bread web site