Cope by Faith
Partnering With God to Get Through and Triumph From the Cancer Experience
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I have discovered that the times that I try to muddle through a major problem (or even minor ones) without God, I worry a lot more and things just do not turn out all that well. It is kind of like I am swimming in a stormy sea all by myself. Having faith during difficult times is like a life ring – the support that is needed to get us safely out of troubled seas. No matter what we are going through – even the most intense pain and suffering – through faith, we can have great strength, inner peace, joy and hope. So, there are times when we need God to be our life ring, but to really reap the benefits of beyond-understanding peace, joy, and strength, we need to cultivate our personal relationship with Him daily. The thing is that God never intended for His children to get through life’s hardships on their own. He created an urge in us to need Him and have Him as part of our lives. We have a hole in our sole that can only be filled by Him! At times I have tried to fill that hole with success, purchases, relationships and even chocolate. But it is only by connecting with God during a quiet time through things such as prayer and reading His Word that the hole gets filled. When Jesus said “Give us this day our daily bread,” He was not just talking about food. He knew that we needed a daily dose of God. Being with God daily recharges the mind, body and spirit. It is kind of like we are rechargeable batteries and when we seek God daily, He is able to charge us up so that we have what we need to get through what ever life brings. There are many ways to deepen our relationship with God. In its formal definition, this is called spiritual formation. There are lots of books on this topic, but I will give you a brief introduction to the basics. The first is prayer. I like to spend time throughout my day talking to God about things: telling Him how awesome He is, showing Him appreciation for His creation and His provision, asking Him for help for myself and others. Some days I am better at this than others, but if you practice it enough, it becomes a habit. There are also times when I just sit quietly and listen to what He wants to tell me. If you are like me, I can be hard to just sit without “doing” something. When I find my mind wandering, I focus on a specific phrase (e.g., “God is love”) or Scripture (e.g., The LORD (my) God is with (me)…He will quiet (me) with His love. Zephaniah 3:17). I also walk a labyrinth when ever I get the chance. This is typically a convoluted path that is enclosed in a circle, but there are some other types. The person in the labyrinth walks along the path, shedding the stress of the day and clearing the mind. The path eventually leads to the center of the circle. Here the individual is to meet with God to gain insight, or just enjoy basking in His peace. When ready, the person is to walk along the same path...
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About the Book
Ready to step by faith to get through cancer? Join Life Coach Dr. Natalie Hamrick in the journey that can change your life: partnering with God to not only get through but triumph from cancer. It does not matter whether your cancer diagnosis was today or years ago, working through this book as a self-study or with a group will inspire you. Cope by Faith is designed to help you: ¨ Trust God to handle things beyond your control ¨ Work through any self-blame and anger at others or God ¨ Determine how God is growing you ¨ Find the peace that is waiting for you ¨ Live your life according to your priorities ¨ Discover the strength that only comes from true faith in God’s healing love Cope by Faith filled a void by providing something secular support groups do not provide. A life-threatening event such as cancer is really a spiritual event and Cope by Faith inspires people to step back and trust in God to find hope, strength and peace. - Maria Staiano, 5-Year Cancer Survivor Cope by Faith is the first of its kind to enlist religious and spiritual truths as a catalyst for survivorship and healing from the ravages of cancer. Dr. Natalie Hamrick uses her skills as a Psychologist and her Christian faith to tap spiritual and religious resources as a means for cancer survivors to defend against the impositions of fear and worry so common with this disease. With this step by step, facilitated, group-based program, she has armed cancer survivors with the religiously accurate and psychologically sound means to maintain a healthy approach to living – with faith, a sense of God-given dominion and spiritual acceptance as a pathway to peace. – Jane Mather, MS, BCC, Director of Spiritual Care Services at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Holy Family Hospital
About the Author
Dr. Natalie Hamrick is a Life Coach, inspirational speaker, and founder of Healing Journey Ministries (www.HealingJourneyMinistries.com), which exists to help people partner with God to not only get through but triumph from life’s hurts. God had been preparing Natalie for healing ministry even before He began to reveal this plan to her. Her fascination with the mind-body connection drew her to Carnegie Mellon’s Health Psychology doctoral program where she received state-of-the-science training in stress, coping and health. There she fine-tuned her understanding of not only the “how” and “why” of anxiety and depression, but also secular strategies to combat them, including techniques to “regain” control of a chaotic life. Natalie had an “ah-ha” moment where it dawned on her that she needed to be teaching the most powerful stress management strategy there is – giving up control to the Great I Am, as it is only through complete surrender that worries subside, to be replaced with peace, strength and hope. Just about that time, God fully developed this particular strategy in her as her husband was deployed to warring Iraq for nearly a year, leaving her to solo parent two young boys who really missed their father, begin a new faculty position, and manage the household. This experiece gave her excellent material for Cope by Faith. Natalie was nominated for an IU Simon Cancer Center Torchbearer Award for this book’s impact in the lives of cancer survivors, and continues to lead support groups and retreats to share this powerful message. Natalie lives in Wichita, Kansas with her husband Brett and two children, Noah and Joshua. She serves as the Director of the Women’s Ministry at their church, Eastside Community Church. She enjoys hiking, being out in God’s creation, and admits to being addicted to the rush that comes from following God’s will.