Hello friends. I’ve been in Southern California for a while. And out here the weather is beautiful, locals are very friendly and the beaches are nearby. I can understand why the locals are in good mood since the weather is so nice and stable. Staying out here made me realize how unfriendly and guarded we are in NJ/NY. 😂 I also noted that people here are very into organic foods, preventive lifestyle and health products to live longer and well. I get the sense that longevity and vitality are highly prized out here; probably more than our northeast region.
I wonder if the Southern Californians know the research statistics about the health and mental benefits of being rooted in a local church community. If anyone struggles with seasonal depression especially as the winter is approaching in the northeast, please read this good article and check out their list of references on the bottom of the page. It is a fact that being rooted in a church community cuts one’s depression by a third! With such a successful and natural preventive program, it is mind boggling that our therapists and psychiatrists do not push this remedy more with their patients who suffer from depression. Instead synthetic meds, the never ending counseling sessions and less successful treatments are pushed.
This reminds me of the woman with the issue of blood who bled for 12 years and spent all her money on doctors to get better but no one was able to help her, until Jesus showed up in her town. Here’s her story in the Bible.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%208%3A40-48&version=NKJV
If anyone wants to hear more about her backstory, please Google a sermon about her. There are many good ones out there. I recall hearing an excellent one by Bishop TD Jakes of the Potter’s House ministry.
God designed his people to be in a church community and have accountability with one another in there too. He also rewards those who follow his design for living life. I’ve been at my local church for about 15 years now. Whenever I can I try to serve my church, support their efforts, help the leaders and congregants in there too. I also give my local church the most charitable donation annually. I don’t work for pay but if I did, I would give ten percent before taxes.
Before I used to get sick every winter with colds and I was affected by seasonal winter depression too. It’s been a very long time since a cold virus has affected me deeply. Now I recover quickly from cold viruses because my immune system is good. Winter weather doesn’t dampen my moods anymore. For years, my mom would tell me that menopause would bring me hot flashes, mood swings, depression, etc. – because these things happened to her, her sisters and girlfriends. Whenever she would say these things, I would not receive them. I wasn’t disrespectful to my mom. I just pretended that I was listening but I really was not. I am 53 years old today and I haven’t experienced any problems of menopause. It’s a powerful testimony to my mom that living life God’s ways work and that brings glory to Jesus Christ.
Here is a more spiritual reason and warning on why we must be rooted in a local church and have fellowship with other believers. Our closest friends and confidants should be believers, not your family members if they are not committed Christians growing in biblical knowledge.
If you are interested in taking alternative remedies for health, I noticed that the Pour Over daily news that I subscribe to has partner ads who focus on good health. I was just reading about how they choose their products to promote. Subscribing to the daily Pour Over news is free. I recommend subscribing because they give you news with Christian perspectives and with Bible verses to keep your eyes on God.
Very soon, year 2026 will be here. If you don’t have a plan yet on reading the whole Bible, please check out the Commuter Bible podcast. It’s free. It’s only my second time doing an audio Bible plan in the past 15 years. They have improved greatly since the first time I tried it. I like this Bible plan because it’s read Monday to Friday, plus work holidays are off. I also like their brief introduction before the Bible reading. God’s word is good food and medicine for your soul and body. You need it more than you realize. I always read/listen to the Bible first, before I read/listen to anything else.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/commuter-bible/id1447035790
I subscribe to this daily devotional and when I have extra time I read it. I like how she brings in information from the Old Testament books into daily living. In this devotional, she answered a question that her young daughter had about prayer. I’ve asked the same question myself many years ago and it was neat to read that we both have the exact same answer. 🙂
https://www.ifcj.org/learn/holy-land-moments/daily-devotionals/asking-god-for-success
Prayer Request for Persecuted Christians:
There is great persecution of Christians happening in many parts of the world. Nigeria 🇳🇬 is up there. I found this good prayer. Please pray 🙏 for our siblings-in-Christ in Nigeria.
Sometimes when I doubt if our prayers are doing anything much for the persecuted Christians, I would read testimonies by those who have been persecuted. Here’s an incredible miracle story by a pastor in India 🇮🇳. He asked that we pray for him and all the persecuted churches.
As my trip to Southern California is coming to an end soon, I’ve been able to visit three churches in different towns. Each visit has been such a blessing. It made me realize what an amazing, global, supernatural family that I joined when I became born-again. Wherever we go on earth, there will always be a family of believers to get connected with right away. What a blessing that is! It reminded me of the guest speaker at my church, Benny Prasad who holds the world record for being the fastest man ever to visit the nations as a performer. His book is thrilling to read. He even visited North Korea and performed Christian songs there to the heads of the country!! It’s incredible that he didn’t get killed.
If anyone wants to connect virtually with believers from different nations, I participated in a Novo prayer meetings this fall semester. A good friend at my church told me about this ministry. The cost is free but if you could pay, they ask you to pay only $100. It’s a weekly meeting. Our group had many young adults from Finland! 🇫🇮 (Finland is right next to Russia.) We have one more meeting left and it’s been a tremendous blessing to me this fall semester.
God bless you always and abundantly as you seek Him with all your strength, heart and mind.
Journal of Faith 