Higher Ground Ministries

Moving On...

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Benston, Author, Speaker, Advocate) — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 11:49:00 +0000

Hello all!

I have been working for a while on moving all of my blogs to one place. Higher Ground Ministries' blog will now be maintained over on Wordpress. Although I love Blogger, I find it easier to work on all three of my blogs if they are together in one place. So, if you would be so kind as to hop on over to the new blog site and follow me, I'd so graciously appreciate it! I'm at http://highergroundministries.wordpress.com/!

Thanks!

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New Opportunities for Fellowship and Learning

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Benston, Author, Speaker, Advocate) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 02:43:00 +0000

I'll be hosting a new Bible Study beginning this week! Our local group will be doing Joyce Meyer's Love Revolution for the next ten weeks. We have had such great success in doing these Bible Studies that I plan to offer one at least every quarter.

As we go through these popular studies, however; I am going to be finishing up a couple of studies that I've been writing. One is on self-esteem and the other is on journal writing. I would love to bring these to your women's group! If you're interested in hosting a study, contact me here.

Hope this evening finds you well. Remember to do all that you can to take care of your body, mind and spirit. The more you learn about how to build your relationship with God, the more successful you can be in the rest of your life.

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What Life Brings You

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Benston, Author, Speaker, Advocate) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:38:00 +0000

It's only a season. Remember these words as you are going through the difficult times in your life. God wants you to understand that there are seasons we must go through during our journey in order to reach all that He has for us. Women are great at the "going through," it's the aftermath that sometimes stops us in our tracks. The broken hearts, the hurt feelings, the missed opportunities.

These are the things that we hang onto as we attempt to heal from the brokenness we experience in our lives. Instead of hanging onto these things, however; God intends for you to glean the knowledge from the situation and carry it forward to your next challenge. He doesn't mean for us to drag all of that hurt behind us, going miles out of our way just to revisit the same old relationships, the same scenarios, the same destructive patterns of thinking. Constantly visiting the gravesites of our dead endeavors will not resurrect what wasn't meant to live on in our lives.

If God has allowed us to go through some trial, there is a reason. Whether it is something we are refusing to learn on our own or something we are refusing to hand over to Him, the result will be the same until we realize and acknowledge that He is in control and we must trust Him in all things. If you feel like you are chasing your own tail, then you need to stop what you're doing and ask Him which direction you should be facing. We need to ask Him why we can't seem to capture the prize we are seeking. Maybe He has a different reward in mind for us and we're too busy trying to play "Let's Make a Deal" with Him to see that there's a donkey behind door number three.

I'm a big fan of Bible Studies and I recently finished Beth Moore's Breaking Free study for the second time. She is such a wonderful teacher and the points she makes about getting free from the bondage of being in this world are so thought-provoking that a person can't help but be changed as a result of completing this program. If you are stuck and you've been stuck for as long as you can remember, consider taking part in a study such as Breaking Free or pick up the book from your local library. Love yourself enough to take a few hours each week to study God's word and apply it to your life. Look at it as your "me time."

There is no greater gift a woman can give herself than the gift of a strong relationship with God. Ironically, it is the one thing that is within everyone's power to obtain, but so few take advantage of all of it's benefits. If you would like guidance on resources that may be helpful to you, please e-mail me here and I'll be happy to point you in the direction of something that may be useful to you on your journey.

Take care, ladies!

Higher Ground Ministries offers a variety of empowerment and self-esteem workshops tailored to the needs of your group. Please contact me today if you would be interested in hosting a Women's Empowerment Workshop in your town.

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Any Calendar Girls out there?

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Benston, Author, Speaker, Advocate) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 21:10:00 +0000

Attention: Clark County Ladies! Higher Ground Ministries is working on our holiday fundraiser and we want you to be a part of it!

Are you a Wonderful Woman?

Do you have a unique success story that you would like to share with your community?

Do you want to inspire other women to work toward their own success stories?

You can do so by being part of Higher Ground's 2012 Wonderful Women of Clar...k County Calendar! This is our first attempt at doing something like this, but we are sure that friends and family will want to support Higher Ground by purchasing one of our calendars.

First, we need twelve participants. So, if you are interested, please send your name, date of birth (you may exclude the year if you like) and a brief bio telling us what makes you a Wonderful Woman. Those selected will be included in the calendar! More details will follow, but for now if you are interested in becoming part of this calendar, please e-mail me here or on Facebook by Friday, November 18th!

Thanks for supporting Higher Ground Ministries!

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Please support our fundraiser

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Benston, Author, Speaker, Advocate) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 01:50:00 +0000

Higher Ground Ministries is attempting its first ever holiday sale to raise money so that we can apply for 501 (c)(3) status as a non-profit organization. Obtaining this status will open more doors to Higher Ground Ministries as we seek grant funding to help us meet our goal of offering assistance to every women in Clark County who is in need of empowerment! Please consider purchasing items from either the Heavenly Delights catalog which contains food and gift items such as chocolates, cookies, soups, dips, etc. or from our Nature in Bloom catalog which features fall bulbs for your garden. Any help is appreciated and all proceeds go to build this ministry and to provide services to women in need of mentoring, guidance, and support.

The sale is set to end on November 14th, but we may extend it out to November 21st if necessary. Thanks again for supporting Higher Ground Ministries!

Please support our fundraiser: Support Higher Ground Ministries by clicking the link and making a purchase.

Is it Good for You?

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Benston, Author, Speaker, Advocate) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 14:52:00 +0000

I'm going to be writing a column here at the Higher Ground blog dedicated to reversing the un's in our lives. Unhealthy living, unhealthy loving, and just plain unhealthy habits. If you are stuck in any of these un-healthy patterns, check out the blog for tips on healthy living, healthy loving, and healthy habits to develop. The column will be called, "Good for You" and I'll be updating it as often as I find tips to help you make healthier choices for your life. I might even have a guest writer or two to help me out. Stay tuned for some good stuff at Higher Ground!

God bless!

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Renew, Restore, Create!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Benston, Author, Speaker, Advocate) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 15:40:00 +0000

Most single mothers don't have the resources to offer their children a fun day out at local attractions such as museums, amusement parks, etc. Higher Ground Ministries is looking to provide single parent families with one day of fun that they can share and enjoy without worrying about how to pay for it! You can help by donating tickets to local attractions, food and gas cards, or well, money so that we can purchase these things. We will work with local social service agencies and churches to identify families to participate in this project.

Women who participate must be willing to work with a Higher Ground mentor to develop a "Life Improvement Plan" and will be given information to help them overcome whatever barriers they may be facing in their lives. We hope that by providing this day of family bonding that we are able to strengthen families that are often stressed by the demands of trying to make ends meet. Sometimes just spending some time with those we love doing something that we don't ordinarily get to do is the right prescription for breaking us out of a rut and inspiring us to makes changes in our lives.

We hope you will consider helping with this project! E-mail any questions to us here.

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Strengthen Your Body, Mind and Spirit!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Benston, Author, Speaker, Advocate) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 15:48:00 +0000

Higher Ground Ministries will be starting our weekly women's groups on July 5, 2011 at 6 p.m. But this won't be just another sit-down meeting! We will be assembling at the C.J. Brown Reservoir in Springfield, OH for our first ever Women's Walk and Talk! All ladies are welcome to join us and you can even bring your children. Kids can walk ahead of us and enjoy the outdoors while we fellowship and share this time together to talk about whatever concerns, challenges or ideas tht might be on our minds.

We will meet up by the Ranger's Station just so that we can all walk together in our group. We will walk the length of the paved area up above the dam and then return to the Ranger Station, this walk is about a mile long. Please wear good walking shoes and bring a bottle of water! We will walk rain or shine, unless the rain is accompanied by thunder and lightning.

For future meetings, we will begin our walks from different locations throughout the city, but this seemed like a good place to start for our first meeting. There are places to rest along the way and when we finish our walk, we can meet briefly to have discussion, share our experiences and also to talk about how Higher Ground Ministries wishes to provide support for the ladies in this community. We are hoping to do this at least twice each week, so if you can't make it to this one please plan to join us at the next walk! For more information you can e-mail me or call 937-317-0881.

Have a wonderful week!

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Stop Striking the Rock...

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Benston, Author, Speaker, Advocate) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 15:31:00 +0000

Are you running up against a brick wall as you try to live out your vision? Do you even have a vision? If not, what's stopping you from envisioning the very best for yourself? The focus of this ministry is to help you find out who you are and to help you pursue that purpose with the strength of God pushing you toward success. Even if you've been big on planning and prioritizing throughout your life, you can still hit spots that trip you up and knock you off balance. Don't let these things get in your way. Open up your Bible and jump into God's word and He will gently guide you back to your path.

When Moses was trying to get water for his people, he was first instructed to strike the rock and water came forth. The next time he encountered this problem, God told him to talk to the rock. But, instead of talking to it, he struck it again. Thus proving that we can't always attack the same problems with the same solutions. As we grow and change, the responses we have to our problems also needs to grow and change. Are you still striking the rock when you need to be having a conversation with it?

Higher Ground Ministries wants to help. If you are going through a tough time and would like for our team to pray for you, please send an e-mail. There is great power in prayer and by reaching out to ask for help, you can greatly improve your chances at success. We can't do it alone, but with God's help we can do it ALL!

God bless you! Keep reaching for Higher Ground!

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A Special Treat: Author Judith Orloff and Emotional Freedom

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Benston, Author, Speaker, Advocate) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 22:19:00 +0000

2 Higher Ground is proud to be a stop on Author Judith Orloff's Blog Tour for her book, Emotional Freedom. Please take a moment to read over some information about her wonderful book. We hope this will be a useful resource for our readers! Thanks to Judith for stopping by!

“Emotional Freedom is a must-read for anyone who's tired
of feeling frustrated, lonely, or stopped by fear."
-Deepak Chopra

I'd like to tell you about my friend and colleague Judith Orloff MD - a UCLA psychiatrist and a pioneer who bridges mainstream medicine with intuition, energy medicine, and spirituality. She invites you on a remarkable journey where you can embrace more happiness and mastery over negativity than you may have ever known. Our world is in the midst of a meltdown. She describes how to stay intuitively and spiritually centered in our times.

Dr. Orloff celebrates the exciting paperback launch of her New York Times bestseller Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself from Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life. She is treating you to an incredible one-time book-launch offer with special gifts from herself and friends such as Dr. Daniel Amen, Dr. Joan Borysenko, Dr. Michael Beckwith, and more!

To purchase the book and receive your "Celebrate Joy" special gift collection go to:
http://www.drjudithorloff.com/emotional-freedom-paperback/

In Emotional Freedom Dr. Orloff states:
“I’m presenting the unique process I use with patients and in my own life to view emotions as a path to spiritual and intuitive awakening (not EFT). I synthesize traditional medicine with energy medicine to offer you new tools to master emotions and become heroes in your own life. Inner peace leads to outer peace in the world.”

Publisher's Weekly’s review of Emotional Freedom says:“Superbly written..Dr. Orloff regards emotions as a training ground for the soul, and views ‘every victory over fear, anxiety, and resentment as a way to develop your spiritual muscles.’”

Check out these great videos:

Overcoming Negativity – Part 1 of 3 – Dr Orloff Interview - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSRUmR1tBNo

How to Stop Absorbing Other’s Energy - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oyap0KBouP0

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Wonderful Women...where are you?

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Benston, Author, Speaker, Advocate) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 17:44:00 +0000

Once again, I am putting together this year's calendar for our Wonderful Woman spotlights! If you write, sing, paint, or otherwise create, please consider becoming a Wonderful Woman spotlight! If you own a business, coach people, or are an advocate of any kind and want people to know more about your cause, please let me know. If you have something that you would like to give away such as a book or cd, that is also wonderful!

The spotlight is just a few paragraphs about you and all that you do along with a giveaway of some kind. Starting in March, we'll have some great things lined up here at 2 Higher Ground. Get on board with us! E-mail me for more information on becoming one of our Wonderful Women!

Thanks,
Rebecca

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Rise Up 2 Wise Up...

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Benston, Author, Speaker, Advocate) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 19:58:00 +0000

Well, ladies, it's finally time! I've set the date for the first meeting of 2 Higher Ground's Women's Self-Esteem and Empowerment Group, Rise Up 2 Wise Up! We will be meeting at 6 p.m. on March 15th at the Clark County Public Library in Springfield, OH. This is the plan: We will be meeting eight times between now and December 1st. During these meetings, we will be exploring the Six S's of Success by tackling such topics as Knowing Who We Are, Setting Goals, Learning How to Defend Ourselves, Becoming a Believer, and Understanding a Woman's Worth, and How Women Can Change the World! After we complete these eight sessions, "graduates" of this program will begin mentoring the next "class." I'll explain how it all works at the meeting.

The goal of this group is to help women overcome their obstacles and make the most out of what God has given them. By learning more about ourselves, we can begin to reach out to other women and help them to achieve the same thing in their lives. We will use our own strengths to help others find the strength that lies within them. I hope you will stop in for our first meeting. I'm sure this is going to be a wonderful experience for everyone involved! It's time to Rise Up 2 Wise Up and empower women to succeed!

There is no cost to meeting attendees. No fees for participation. This is just a great way to get out there and get involved not only in helping yourself succeed, but in helping other women in your community do the same. Please feel free to e-mail me if you have questions about the group. More details will be posted here as the meeting day approaches!

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Good Morning, Ladies and Gentlemen!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Benston, Author, Speaker, Advocate) — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 14:38:00 +0000

2 Higher Ground is ready to serve this morning! God has spoken to us and He has put it on our hearts here at 2HG to start asking the women around us what they need to get them to the next level. What is holding you back today? For this holiday season, we want your donations of the following items so that we can help women start the new year off right. From now through January 31st, we will be looking for your donations to help us empower women so that they can empower their children! We need:

$20 sponsors to help us build job search packages that will include: 1 book of stamps, stationary, writing utensils, and a thesaurus.

or

$50 sponsors to help us purchase printer cartridge refills and printer paper.

We are also asking for your old computers and/or laptops and printers! If they work, but they aren't necessarily useful to you anymore, please consider sending them our way! We are hoping to hook some of our women up with a way to write resumes, practice their typing skills, and get ready to make some positive changes in their lives. If you have the ability to help, please consider doing so this holiday season as we get 2 Higher Ground up and running so that we can start helping our ladies reach their maximum potential!

To make a donation, please contact us at 937-327-0881 or by e-mail. Or you can donate through Paypal right here on the site!

Thanks for your support!

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Hormones, Headaches & Heartache...A sampling for you...

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Benston, Author, Speaker, Advocate) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:48:00 +0000

Here is a very short excerpt from my book, Hormones, Headaches & Heartache. In this book, I will be sharing with you my epiphanies about life, love, and letting go. I'm aiming to have this one finished by New Year's!

After working at the shelter, I moved on to a life-changing career experience at a local alcohol and drug treatment facility. This was an especially tough assignment for me since my background had been heavily entrenched in the addictions of one person or another. I had lots of issues that came up during the first few years I was there. I’m guessing that came from all of the literature and discussion I was privy to regarding addiction and the reasons why it exists. It helped to be there, though. I pretty much got my own addiction to alcohol under control and somehow, probably through osmosis, learned a little about how to cope with some of my other addictive tendencies.
During the time I worked at this job, I developed many relationships that taught me lessons I needed to learn. I began to understand that people can be devious when it comes to protecting their own best interest and that my naïveté in this regard would not serve me well if I intended to be a player on this field. I went into this job thinking it would be just another 9 to 5, show up and put your time in type of a gig. I didn’t realize that it was my chance to prove how capable I was of doing just about any damn thing that needed done. When that finally sank in, I ran with it. Ran myself right into a brick wall.

I'll be sharing more from Hormones, Headaches & Heartache, so stay tuned in to Higher Ground!

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Empowerment=Respect for other women as well as for yourself

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Benston, Author, Speaker, Advocate) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 17:05:00 +0000

Over the years, I've talked alot about empowerment. I believe that we should take every opportunity to try and help one another to be our best selves. I believe that women especially need to do the work on their self-esteem to keep them motivated and working toward personal goals. I also believe, however; that an empowered woman and a confident woman can sometimes be a dangerous thing. I unfortunately have seen evidence that some empowered women are very effective and successful, but to an end that is disempowering to others.

Let me explain this a bit further. When we get to a point where we are confident in our abilities, acknowledging of our strengths and feeling good about ourselves we shouldn't confuse our ability to attract things into our lives with having a right to all that comes into our line of sight. Some of us believe if something appears in our lives that it is meant to be there. Sometimes, however; it is a test. Of our moral fiber, our character and of our love for our fellow human being. Earlier today, I blogged about women who cannot seem to keep boundaries when it comes to dating or having affairs with married men. This is a subject near and dear to my heart. Sadly, I wholeheartedly believe that even an empowered woman; one who has had to scratch and claw her way through obstacles her whole life, has the potential to make a bad decision where relationships are concerned.

Women tend to fly under the radar when it comes to infidelity. If a woman is sleeping with a married man, almost 100% of the time, the scrutiny for the offense is placed on the married man. Granted, he certainly has a cross to bear in that situation, but his cohort shouldn't walk away unscathed. It takes two to tango and while he has broken more than a piece of the moral code, she has also shown little regard for her fellow woman and for the family that this man may have created with his spouse. The man's responsibility in this situation is different, but he doesn't necessarily play a more significant role in the act than that of the woman who willingly participates.

I don't often turn on women like this, but I have to say that I just don't know how a woman can live with knowing that she is partaking of this type of "forbidden fruit." This is especially sad in situations where women who are trying to fix their marriages have husbands who still haven't quite committed to the idea of making it work. She may be trusting that he will change his ways, but the very fact that there are so many women out there who are willing to mess around lessens the seriousness of the offense in the eyes of the offender.

As women, we need to be very careful who we are willing to spend our time with. Is he really available or is he just playing around? The best policy is to look for a man who is not fresh out of a marriage or other long-term relationship. But if you absolutely insist, at least find out why the last relationship ended before you make yourself available to him. And for God's sake, make sure that the relationship really did end. Don't just take his word for it because he is paying attention to you and he seems like a nice guy. He probably seemed like a nice guy to his wife, too.

If you are lucky enough to be in a relationship with someone who isn't cheating or hasn't cheated on you, that's wonderful. Count your blessings. Lots of women aren't so fortunate. Ladies, let's keep reaching for Higher Ground.

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Shape Shifting

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Benston, Author, Speaker, Advocate) — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 13:49:00 +0000

It really is beautiful the way the wax rolls down the side of a burning candle and pools at its feet. As I meditated this morning, I was noticing just how much the simple behavior of this inanimate object mirrors my current feelings about myself. The candle starts out very rigid and inflexible until you light the wick. At that point, it takes on a different type of consistency. A willingness, if you will, to change a little. With this, the candle allows itself to melt down and eventually disappear. This might sound like a bad thing; I mean, after all, who wants to melt down and disappear. But upon closer examination, I think that the point is to allow our idea of ourselves to reshape itself and make way for the next one. The candle I was watching today, for instance, burned down very quickly and most of the wax spilled over to one side cascading into a very pretty shape. What used to be straight, boring and rigid had become quite fancy and interesting. When we allow ourselves to "burn," what potential do we have for becoming fancy and interesting?

I wrote a poem once that reflects this idea somewhat. It goes like this:

Without Regret

It is without regret that I have chosen to walk this particular path,
Without regret that I have chosen these lessons to learn,
Without regret that I have looked in the wrong direction at times,
Without regret that I chose to feel the fire burn.
For sometimes in my life I have needed proof that there was a reason to go the right way,
And that proof came in the form of pain felt as a result of making a mistake,
Or taking a wrong turn.
Without regret I have done these things
And I stand undefeated in the face of all that life has brought.

How can you shift your shape a little? If life isn't lighting your fire these days, what can help you create that spark? Go ahead, have your meltdown. You never know what you might come up with.

Think about these things today and remember to keep reaching for higher ground.

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Anger, Frustration and New Beginnings

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Benston, Author, Speaker, Advocate) — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 16:20:00 +0000

I'm always looking for ways to make sense of the things that happen in my life. Especially in times of transition. Lately, I've had lots of time to think about these things and truthfully, I've been everything from angry to scared to disgusted to elated and then back to angry. I hate being angry. It doesn't suit me. I've spent many years trying not to feel angry and it has taken a toll on me emotionally, physically, and psychologically. Stuffing your emotions or devaluing them, no matter which emotions they are, leaves you feeling numb and useless. If you aren't going to give yourself permission to feel your emotions, what good are they? Human beings were given the ability to feel for a reason. Without feeling the bad, we can have no appreciation for the good. And so, the big change for me this time around has been to allow myself to feel the anger and to take action and make my life better.

Years ago, I had a very different way of dealing with my anger. I was mean and I generally, literally hit the wall or kicked a door when I would get mad. Now, this was years and years before I got married, had a child, or had any life experience to speak of. Later, after I had settled down a little, I began to feel less angry and even decided that there must have been something wrong with me to have been so mad all of the time. After I had been married a couple of years, I began to have problems at work. In hopes of not scaring my husband away, I had trained myself to put a lid on my emotions. Things were very stressful at work and I was trying very hard to be "good." There came a time, shortly after I had my daughter and returned to work from maternity leave, when I became so angry and frustrated that I couldn't be at the job any longer. I didn't understand at the time that the underlying cause was that I wasn't allowing myself to feel the way I really felt. Now, coupled with my anger was a nagging feeling that I needed to be home with my daughter and that these people were really wasting my time with their petty office politics. Although I hated where I was and no longer wanted to do the work I had been doing, I was still trying to be the picture of diplomacy and tact and it really stunk.

I left the job and took another position that I was sure would be the answer to all of my problems. It turned out that the type of work I was doing unfortunately kept me right in the path of petty politics and office drama. Only now, I was driving an hour each way to get to it. My frustrations were still there, deep under the surface and it was all starting to boil over. I started to have panic attacks and all I could think of was that I must be a failure and that I couldn't handle all of the responsibility of this new job. I never imagined that something as simple as expressing my feelings about the work I was doing would be as liberating as it eventually was. I left the job and spent a much needed year and a half at home with my new baby. Of course, this created struggles in other areas of my life and I'm writing about these in a book called Hormones, Headaches & Heartache. I hope to have this finished within the next year and I can't wait to share the rest of the story with you.

I never would have thought that letting myself get really, truly mad would make such a difference. But sometimes, the emotions that you fight the hardest can be the most freeing. Where can you make changes in your life if you let yourself feel the way you really feel? How are you holding yourself back by trying to put on a happy face when you're really miserable? Take a risk, make a change, do yourself a favor! Until then, keep reaching for Higher Ground!

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Scratching and Clawing my way...

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Benston, Author, Speaker, Advocate) — Sat, 22 May 2010 22:49:00 +0000

back up to Higher Ground. I'm here! I'm back! I haven't forgotten about this blog. It's just been one of those months and as we all know, when we have one of those months, things like the blog can sometimes find themselves at the bottom of our 'to do' lists. To be honest, I've been in survival mode for the past three and a half weeks. I decided that it was time to leave my marriage after years of trying to figure out whether or not it was the right thing to do. Now, I'm out and I'm doing my best to work on the things that I feel I need to be working on. On that very long list was getting 2 Higher Ground up and running again and finding out what you ladies want to see here. Shoot me an e-mail and let me know what topics you are interested in. For now, I'll be working on some new book reviews and links to articles that will help you to feel more empowered and able to reach your personal goals.

Hang in there with me, I'm reaching for Higher Ground!

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In the spirit of things...

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Benston, Author, Speaker, Advocate) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 19:48:00 +0000

A friend asked me to post this information on how you can support the 2010 Olympics! Here is an example of a widget that you can use at your blog or on your website to show your support:

Other widgets can be found at http://teamusanews.org. Check it out today!

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It's Time!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Benston, Author, Speaker, Advocate) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 16:34:00 +0000

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.~Psalm 118:24

This phrase came to me this morning as I sat doing all of my daily e-mail reading, thinking and deciding how I was going to spend today. It's time! Time to get into my life and start doing the things that I usually plan to do, but never get around to doing. What are you waiting on today? Get started. Do it now! It's a three-day weekend for most of us, but even if it isn't you still have this day to start working toward your goals.

Some motivation for you:

Start reading Unstoppable Women by Cynthia Kersey. The book includes a 30-day challenge that can help you to get started on doing what you would love to do!

I started my challenge three days ago and I'm feeling pretty good about the whole thing. I encourage you to look for ways to empower yourself today and every day. Today is a day the Lord has made! Get out there and do your thing!

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This One's for the Guys...

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Benston, Author, Speaker, Advocate) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:17:00 +0000

With Valentine's Day coming up soon, I'm challenging the men out there to tell me what makes their wife or girlfriend a Wonderful Woman. The winner will receive a 2 Higher Ground gift basket filled with goodies to help her take care of her body, mind and spirit! The winning nomination will also be posted as 2 Higher Ground's Wonderful Woman spotlight for March!

Guys, just send me a couple of paragraphs about what makes your wife a Wonderful Woman as well as a brief bio on her and if you can, send a photo. I'll be posting the entries received during the month of February and selecting our winner by February 28th! Get your nomination in today and give your Wonderful Woman the recognition she deserves!

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Better to go hungry...

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Benston, Author, Speaker, Advocate) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 23:37:00 +0000

"She looks well to how things go in her household, and the bread of idleness (gossip, discontent, and self-pity) she will not eat."~Proverbs 31:27 (Amplified Bible)

This isn't a post about dieting. I'm meditating on this verse from Proverbs tonight. I heard it as I was watching Joyce Meyer and it really resonated. Sometimes I can get into a rut and feel as though things simply aren't worth my trouble. This often happens when I let myself fall into discontent or self-pity and I always know when I am allowing this to happen. Thankfully, on most occasions I have been able to turn it around and get back on track. Sometimes it takes a little longer than others, but usually I can get my head on straight when I take time to remember the blessings that I have experienced in my life.

My sister shared something with me recently that put it all in perspective. I am prone to anxiety and when I slip into these "ruts," it isn't unusual for me to start panicking. What if I slip all the way back into depression? What if I can't get back on track? What if I really am not able to be the person I want to be? These thoughts can attack when I'm feeling my lowest and if I don't put my foot down, I run the risk of losing a great deal of or maybe even all of the ground that I have covered to this point. My sister's advice to me was this; when you start feeling anxious about something that is happening in your life, you need to ask yourself these three questions:

1. Is this something you haven't been through before?
2. Is this something you didn't expect?
3. Is this worse than anything you've been through before?

As I thought about these questions, I realized that my answers to all of them were simply, "NO!" During the last few episodes of anxiety that I've experienced, none of it was anything I hadn't been through before. None of it was unexpected. I had really brought the situation on myself. And none of it was worse than anything I had been through before. And even if it had been, there was really no reason to let it overshadow all of the work I've done to build my self-confidence, my self-esteem and my desire to help others. And I will not let my emotional highs and lows dictate the distance that I will travel in this life to do what I am here to do.

And so, the quote above really speaks to me. I will not eat the bread of idleness, no matter how much it calls to me. Sometimes, it's just better to go hungry and go on.

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New Year's Resolutions: Just One This Year

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Benston, Author, Speaker, Advocate) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 00:15:00 +0000

For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:2 (NIV)

Every year at this time, I look back on my accomplishments or on the projects that I have started, completed, or in the best of circumstances managed to do both. In 2009, I was fortunate enough to have met many of my deadlines and to have achieved several of the goals that were on my list of things to do. I was blessed with so many opportunities to get my writing out and to meet some really great people. And so, I would like to thank all of the libraries and bookstores who invited me in for Tea & Mystery and all of the wonderful friends who have given me support and encouragement over the last year.

In addition to saying thanks for all of the wonderful things in my life each year, I usually make it a point to make at least three or four good New Year's resolutions in an effort to aim myself in the right direction. This year, however; I have decided that there is really only one thing I need to do. And so, there will be no goals set to lose fifty pounds or to exercise more. Also, I'm not going to resolve to clean out all of my closets by June 1st. I'm not going to pick three or four areas of my personality and work diligently to make myself less or more of what I am because I feel I somehow fall short just as I am today. My only resolution this year is that I need to continue moving closer to God. Perhaps the most important thing that I can do to achieve any other goal I have for myself is to be sure to keep my eyes on God and to follow His plan for me.

Best wishes to you all for a wonderful New Year!

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Greeting the New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Benston, Author, Speaker, Advocate) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 02:44:00 +0000

As we leave 2009 behind, I am doing a lot of soul searching. This has been a year of ups and downs and many, many changes for me and for my family. 2010 is probably going to hold many more surprises for us. I hope that they are all good ones. Of the things I have learned this year, perhaps the most important thing I have learned is that we all have a purpose and if you let Him, God will help you to discover yours.

2 Higher Ground started as a blog meant to empower women to help one another succeed. Over the next several months, I'm going to be making some changes to this blog to include more on empowering both women and children to overcome the obstacles in their lives. We all make mistakes and we all encounter hardships. The important thing is that we learn from these and move on.

We will still be doing our Wonderful Woman spotlight in 2010 and I encourage you to send me your information if you are interested in being one of them. All you have to do is send me your bio, a summary of what it is that you do that helps you to empower other women and/or children, and send something that we can give away as a prize in our monthly drawing. For more information, please e-mail me.

I'm collecting links and suggestions for blogs that might be helpful to women and children. If you can think of anything else that we might want to include here, please e-mail me.

Lastly, I'd love to hear more about what has empowered you most during 2009. Was there a book, song or movie that meant alot to you this year? Or did a special person make a difference in your life? If you have a story that you would like to share here on the blog, please send your submission to me here by December 30th so that I can get them posted by January 1st. I'll be picking five stories to share on the blog and sending a special gift to the women whose stories I post here.

I look forward to a great year here at 2 Higher Ground and hope that you will join me! Happy New Year!

Take care,
Rebecca

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Great Video at Dove.com!

noreply@blogger.com (Rebecca Benston, Author, Speaker, Advocate) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 20:43:00 +0000

Love this video about image perception. Check it out! Share it with your daughters.

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