Dr Carol Ministries
Wisdom to Know the Difference

Wisdom to Know the Difference

“God is in control.”

What statement could be more spiritual, more mature than that?

Certainly God is in control. As the song says, “He’s got the whole world in His hands.” For many, that’s a matter of faith. I share that faith, and I’m glad that’s settled.

But is there anything God is NOT in control of?

That may sound sacreligious, and we’re not going to get overly theological here. But think about it: is God in control of YOU?

I’m not talking here about your eternal destiny: that’s another discussion. But think about it. Is God in control of what you had for dinner last night? How about what you said to your children yesterday? Or what time you came home from work? Or the balance on your credit card? Or how long it’s been since you had a date night with your spouse?

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Contraception, Health Insurance, and You

Contraception, Health Insurance, and You

One of the most controversial political battles recently has involved issues of health insurance coverage, gender issues, realities of economic disparity, and strong religious convictions. Also involved are questions of the role of government in lifestyle behaviors, and one’s hierarchy of moral values.

How’s that for a thorny problem? But is it really all that difficult?

At issue are the regulations put forth by the Obama administration in the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, and the mandate that every employer (with the exception of churches, synagogues, and such overtly religious bodies) provide health insurance that covers contraception for every enrollee without co-pay or other cost to them.

I’m an OB-Gyn physician. I’m a woman. I’m an ordained Christian minister. From which of these perspectives should I respond?

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It’s Not Just About Me

It’s Not Just About Me

“I’m not hurting anyone but myself.” “It’s a victim-less crime.” “It doesn’t matter what I do: nobody cares.”

On the surface those statements may seem true, but they never are. Things we do, good and bad, affect others around us. We can’t help it.

We may have a hard enough time remembering that the things we do today affect US tomorrow:

  • The 15 minutes of exercise may not seem like much, but it adds up if I keep at it.
  • Charging that new outfit on my credit card may cost me three times as much by the time I pay it off.
  • Allowing myself to remain bitter over a past wrong will continue to poison my soul.

All those things are true. And the effect on my own future should be enough to push me to make good decisions today – to live healthy, care for my family, and nurture my relationship with God.

It may be a little harder to see the impact of my daily decisions on other people. But whoever said “No man is an island” was right.

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Do Less to Do More

Do Less to Do More

It’s not working. And as hard as I try, it’s not getting any better. In fact, the harder I try, the worse things seem to become.

Ever been there? I have. You probably have too.

Yes, there are times when working harder is exactly what we need to do. If it were easy, anybody could do it, and probably already would have! Almost nothing important or valuable comes without more-than-average effort.

But for people with Type-A personalities like me, the more common problem is working too hard at something, rather than not working at all. And that can end up making all our effort nearly useless.

This principle may be especially important in the areas of our life that matter most:

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Does It Matter How the Dishwasher is Loaded?

Does It Matter How the Dishwasher is Loaded?

Ask a group of married women for a list of complaints about their husbands, and high on that list would be, “He doesn’t help around the house enough.”

For those of you who don’t have that complaint, you’re blessed.  Certainly it has a lot to do with his personality, and yours. And for the record, that’s NOT a complaint I have about my husband. (Thank you, Honey!)

But part of the reason I don’t is because I learned something about him early on. If I gave my husband affirmation when he did something, he wanted to do it again. He wants to please me, and if I let him know how to do that, it almost always works!

Men are in many ways more simple than women are.

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