Who didn’t want to share this one? Me. I didn’t want to talk about it.
This one may come as a surprise to some of you, but I thought it was important to share about my struggle with depression.
TMI Group
“We’ll always be best friends because you know too much”
Rome and I allow each other to be completely transparent about our daily lives with a few Christian, married couples. We tell them everything, especially the big scary things about our marriage. Some wives/husbands are having palpitations while reading this, but follow with me here.
This originally began during our premarital class. We had a “double date” class, if you will, with some of our friends. As a result of doing premarital class with peers, we were really close to this couple afterwards. We knew a lot of their secrets, and they knew ours. We felt a kind of freedom when talking to them after this class. They already knew all of our baggage, how we each struggled, and our sinful tendencies toward each other. Moreover, we realized that they had some of the SAME experiences that we did. For more about premarital counseling and why I am a big proponent of it, click here.
What is a Resident?
Residency- a period of advanced training in a medical specialty that normally follows graduation from medical school and licensing to practice medicine
via Merriam Webster
Rome does a funny thing anytime I introduce myself to a new person and we get into the small talk of where I work and what I do.
“Oh I work at the hospital, I’m a resident.”
Rome gives me a death glare and subtly motions for me to go on.
“I’m a resident physician.”
Rome face-palms.
“She’s a doctor!” He basically yells.
Exercising Regularly When You’re Busy
Remember when I told you guys that I am a runner? Yeah… about that.
People who know what 4th year of medical school is like are laughing right now. It’s notorious for being the year where the world opens up to you and you think you have ample time to do everything you’ve ever dreamed of- brunching, traveling, marathoning, acting, spelunking, etc. Then, RIGHT AFTER 4th year, you are thrown into internship, where you are working ALL THE TIME and you marvel at people who have time to eat.
Lise, the intern, found it difficult to find time to exercise in these circumstances, in fact it fell to the bottom of my list when it came to thinking about my busy schedule.
I had to do something, though, because I could tell that my mental health was suffering and I was becoming tired just walking up stairs with my attendings.
These are some of the things that have been working for me.
Hypocrisy
Hey guys, this has been on my heart and I wanted to tell you what has been going on with me.
One of the reasons that I feel like I haven’t been writing as much is that when I find something that I want to talk about- it sometimes ends up feeling hypocritical. I can’t write a post about how I like working out in the morning if I stopped working out in the morning because it just didn’t fit with my schedule anymore. Or, I feel like I can’t write a post about supporting your husband in his endeavors when I am currently not being a supportive wife.
I have bitten the apple of perfection and when I don’t measure up, it’s not worth sharing.
In other words, I felt like I failed you by writing as an imperfect person.
God is showing me that perfection has never been my story. It has never been my advantage in life.
It’s not even fair for me to expect perfection from myself. That is like saying that I am self-sufficient, when truly I am prone to and even eclipsed by flaws and vulnerabilities. I am not always going to be the best at everything and I surely am not going to get everything right on the first try. In fact, I am pretty bad at a lot of things and I am still trying to figure out most things.
I have learned that this is ok. It’s ok to have missed the boat on how to pose for pictures or do your makeup right every day or dress like an adult person. I have to have grace with myself and I don’t have to appear to be perfect for anyone. The Bible actually talks about God’s grace being sufficient for us when we are weak and imperfect.
2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
I hope that by being completely honest and grace-filled with myself, you can also take encouragement and be grace-filled with yourself. Admit your flaws, He knows them already. Remember why you have a need for a savior in the first place- imperfection.
I hope this serves as a kind of disclaimer for my future posts- ahem, I don’t do anything perfectly and we are all learning together.
Love you guys,
Lise
Why Make Time for Bible Study?
When I was invited to be a part of a bible study here, my first thoughts were- “Wait, I am already so busy, how could I possibly fit this into my schedule?” I’m sure the “No” was already written on my keyboard with several words around it explaining that I was just, regrettably, too busy. Around this same time, my dear husband reminded me of one of the verses that I have stood on before and now I am trying to live by again (2019 goals, y’all).
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33 NIV
What this meant to me in college was that no matter what, the things of God came first.
This meant that I went to bible study, even when I didn’t feel like it. I went to church, even when I wasn’t particularly inspired to. I met with my sisters in Christ when I wanted to take a nap.
God really blessed that season in my life because of diligence and commitment.
So, back to the not so recent past, Rome was reminding me of this verse and our previous commitment to it.
I deleted the speech in my messages saying “No” and responded instead with a “Yes”. I haven’t looked back since.
I showed up not knowing anything about the type of bible study we were doing- an inductive bible study. I didn’t really know any of these women at my new church, and I questioned whether I really had time for a bible study which required me to do homework.
After the initial meeting, I realized that this kind of bible study is perfect for me.
It fit into my schedule because I usually am not working in the evening and when I am, it’s short lived and I can still keep up with the lessons. This Bible study allowed me to stay connected, though sometimes I am not able to attend regular Sunday morning worship service (I’ll tell more about this in another post). Finally, it kept me accountable with getting in the word every day. No one wants to be that girl/guy that didn’t do the lesson and is unprepared, so I did as much of it as I could and tried to show up and participate.
Why is bible study even important, Lise? Glad you asked.
1. Learning about the Word
This is the main reason for going to any Bible Study. There is so much more to learn about the word and there are infinite things about God that we need to know. The cool thing about it is that I get to spend my daily time in the word by doing the bible study. Then, I get to spend more time with the ladies in my Bible study and we get to talk about what we read during our week. I get different perspectives from them and I am always scribbling the insightful things that people say into my notebook.
2. Fellowship, fellowship, fellowship
Through this Bible study, I have gotten to know some of the ladies from my church really well. I definitely wouldn’t have these connections if I had chosen to stay at home and squander my precious time watching hallmark movies and HGTV.
Also, honestly, fellowship is a big deal- the Bible talks a lot about being surrounded by brothers and sisters in Christ and loving them (its much easier to love someone you interact with), and it also talks about how we should not neglect fellowship.
It’s a big deal.
…not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Hebrews 10:25
3. Mentorship
I am in a relatively young church (young as in age of the church and the age of the majority of people in the church), but whats really fortunate about the people in my church is that they always open up their homes to the younger women to spend time with them and get to know them. They provide advice, encouragement, and correction when needed. I found mentorship through some of the various fellowships I am a part of and because I am garrulous.
I have been doing Bible study for around one and a half years now. Don’t plan on stopping any time soon! 🙂
Have you guys joined a Bible study lately? What are some of the things that you love about your bible study?
Love you guys,
Lise
Why I’m a HUGE Fan of Men’s Group
Despite what the title of this post suggests, I don’t actually attend Men’s group. Rome, however, has been a part of a bible study, Saturday morning meet-up, or bro-squad of some form since about a year before we were engaged. It is one of my favorite things that Rome goes out and does. He seeks it out with intentionality and is committed to attending.
What qualifies as a men’s group? For me, it’s a gathering of Christian men who come together to share, to learn, and to teach other men how to live according to God’s word with practicality. I made up this definition through observation because some of the men’s groups that Rome attends are not always bible studies in the conventional sense. Sometimes they are a bunch of guys sitting around a campfire, discussing what it means to be a black Christian man in America and about Lecrae’s latest album. Other times it is a group meeting at the church for the specific reason of learning to be a better husband, father, and leader of the home.
Some of the reasons I am pushing Rome out of the door when I know he is going to men’s group:
1. He needs to be surrounded by like-minded men. My husband needs godly men who are going to sit around with him and talk about how they love their wives, how they do their jobs to God’s glory, and how they are growing and learning. Through these groups, he has built fellowship and gained mentors. He never has to feel alone when he is struggling because he is surrounded by such a great cloud of man-witnesses that encourage and help him.
Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
2. It provides a place where he can be completely honest with guys he trusts.
More about letting a few trustworthy people within your couple business in another post, but there is a rule within most of the men’s groups that Rome is a part of: don’t talk to anyone outside about what goes on in men’s group. Because of this rule, many of the men feel more comfortable sharing some of their shameful, difficult sins and struggles without fear of their business being in the streets.
The accountability that Rome gets from these relationships is unmatched because every time they meet, they check in with their struggles, fears, and problems. These brothers are holding each other up during the torrential rains of the various seasons of life.
Psalm 27:17- As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another
1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
3. Prayer. Have you watched men of God pray for something in faith? I have, it’s a phenomenal thing to behold. I think that God holds a special ear for the prayer of men for their wives, family, country, city, world, etc. I think beautiful things would happen if more men were absolutely committed to prayer within the body of Christ.
James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
These are just a few reasons why I am a big proponent of men’s group. I have seen a difference in the way that my husband leads our family, the way he works at his job, the way he treats me, and the way that we deal with problems as a direct result of men’s group.
For those of you who are saying: “Lise this is great and all, but my hubby/fiancé/boyfriend does not have this group of guys surrounding him that are serious about the Lord. I want him to have this. How can I help him?”
Glad you asked- as with everything, I am always going to encourage you to pray about this. Pray very specifically about what you want God to do in your husband’s life and in his relationships. Pray that he will have men around him that will help him to be sharpened and prepared to fight against temptation and every evil. Truly, this helps. Also, tell your husband that you are praying very specifically for this so that he can also have an eye out for guys that can be a part of his cohort of godly man-friends.
Some of you are saying, “Well my beau is so busy already, I don’t know if he will have time to add this in.” Don’t fret, there’s ample time within a day! He should try and find one hour a week (or every other week) where he can meet up with maybe ONE guy. It can be during lunch, right after work, before work, before working out, etc. There’s no standard for this, and he definitely can make it fit his life.
Love you guys!
Lise
Starting on Night Float
I know that it has been quite literally 6 months since I “put some ink” on my blog, as one of my friends puts it. I have been so busy doing some major ADJUSTING to my new schedule and my life as not a med student but a newly minted doctor, New Jerseyan, and apparently adult. It has been so hard but so good and so rewarding and I will have to write about that in another post.
Anyway, I thought that I would write this post to discuss one of the rotations that I have completed already this year. I’ve actually done it twice by the time that I am writing and editing this post because I was one of the fortunate people to have a whole month of it in my intern year. I wanted to talk about this one both to provide some encouragement and so people can see what I did wrong and maybe make better decisions. Enjoy!
My intern year (first year of being a resident) began at night. I came into orientation that glorious morning and got my pager (an indestructible device resembling a small brick that rings when people want to contact you, for you generation Z people). Then I went home, took a nap, and showed up bright and early for my 7 pm shift.
Teams came in and began giving me the signouts for their patients. In other words, they gave me the pertinent information that would help me (or not) when I got paged for their patients. I took them all, attentively listening to the stories for all the patients because they were all so unfamiliar and interesting. At the end, I was drowning in lists of patients from all the medicine teams.
After all the teams left and it was just me and my two senior residents who were busy admitting new patients, reality and panic set in.
Me: Wait a minute, how do I log into the computer? Which team was I supposed to order a CT scan for again? *PAGE* Where is the bathroom? Where can I find this patient? *PAGE* How do I even order things? What blood pressure do I need to treat overnight?? *PAGE* Do I need to call the fellow on this patient? *PAGE* Am I hungry or just anxious? Are those fireworks outside? *PAGE* *PAGE* *PAGE*
My nights were crazy but I can honestly say that there were some things that I did to try and make logical decisions at 3 am.
Get organized early
At the beginning of each shift, before any of the teams came in, I would have a blank sheet that I would label “To Do” on one side and “Pages” on the next.
The to-do side would have labs that I needed to follow up on, the patient’s name, medical record number (MRN), and the patient’s team. This really helped me because I would just go through the whole list of things for follow up anytime I was at a computer and because all of the MRNs were there, I could run through them quickly.
The pages side of my sheet held the number that paged me, which patient it was for, and the problem that they were having along with what team they were on. This was so helpful because I could just call back the number without having to guess which one was for which patient. Also, it just helped me stay on top of my pages.
The learning point here is that you need a system. The first night I didn’t have a system in place yet. It was a mess. I’ll just leave it at that.
Go see the patient.
I first heard this when I was in medical school and it is something I have taken with me into residency. Frequently a patient will have abnormal vital signs or an abnormal symptom that requires evaluation. These patients, after I got a page I would put a red “I” with a circle around it to remind me to go see that patient. I had to go “lay eyes on them”, if you will. This gave me time to think about what I needed to possibly do for this patient and time to text my seniors if it was someone who was potentially decompensating. This leads me to…
Your seniors are here to help you!
No, they are here to admit patients. However, if you need help, don’t hesitate to ask them. There were some times that I really just didn’t know what to do from lack of experience (I was a medical student like yesterday!!), and other times, a patient’s symptoms were really concerning and I needed them to help me with the next steps to evaluate a patient overnight. Each time I needed their help, they were extremely gracious toward me because it was my first time being a real doctor and trying to make decisions.
Now, for the practical, non clinical stuff
Eat now, ask questions later
So night float was a funny beast, in that I wanted to eat at normal times at first, but couldn’t because my stomach was confused. I would get really hungry in the middle of the night when nothing was open, and when I would bring a large meal, my stomach was still confused because it isn’t used to eating oxtail, rice and peas, cabbage and a large drink at 3 am (I realize I am probably the only one with this problem). Anyway, I had to eat at some point. What I ended up doing that helped was eating small meals during my shift and a small meal when I woke up around 3 pm. I was able to eat in small portions much better than larger ones. I still ended up losing some weight on night float, but I wasn’t a hangry person during my shifts.
Stay connected
One of the hardest things about night float is the isolation. I think this was the one that I had the hardest time getting around. Honestly, I didn’t see Rome for almost a week when I was working for my last week. Plus, when you are awake and want to talk to all your family and friends, they don’t answer, because it is literally 3 am and apparently calling working people during that time isn’t polite. *rolls eyes*
Some things I did to combat this was facetimeing when I had my awake and not at work times. So when I first got into the house in the morning and Rome was at work, I would facetime him briefly and talk to him about my night and whatnot. I would call my mom when I woke up from my nap, and call my friends when I got to work, etc. I would work around my schedule, per usual. Telling everyone that I had a crazy schedule at the time helped so much too because people understood that I wasn’t ignoring them, I was just hibernating.
Don’t be unpleasant
It is easy to complain about how you’re tired, how you’re hungry, how the vending machine doesn’t have the special doritos that you like. If you do this, however, you’re forgetting that you have 2 other people who also are going through the same things that you are. Bringing up how uncomfortable you are won’t make you feel better, if anything it will make you even more upset. This is not the way to happiness and success, my friends.
Instead, try to be a light. Don’t be another grumbling, complaining person. It won’t help anyone.
Take a Walk
There is a blissful time between 3 and 5 am that the patients who were in pain in the beginning of the night have finally fallen asleep and no one is checking vitals in order to call you about hypertension. This is the time that I found myself in the basement of the hospital, walking laps. At first, the staff down there thought I was crazy, and eventually those same people were looking for the doctor in all purple to go down to the basement and walk a couple of laps.
It was a fabulous thing to do for my stress level and for my step counts. I did this every night that I had a free moment and I would always make a deal with myself and say that I would only stay down there until I got the next page (the blessed pager works in the basement). I would sometimes have 5 minutes before *BEEP BEEP BEEP* would sound and I think one time I had a full 30 mins. Either way, whether it’s 5 or 30, the effect was still the same.
I know I’ve been MIA, and thank you for showing me grace while I figure out my ever changing schedule. I’ll try to be posting once every two weeks or so as my schedule and my sanity allow.
Love you guys,
Lise
7 Things to Bring to New Resident Orientation
This post is mostly for the current student doctors who will be residents next year (Or if you haven’t done orientation yet for this year). Congratulations in advance! This time is extremely busy with moving and all the random onboarding things that are required to start your first job as a doctor. Here are some things that helped me get through orientation without any snags.
- Planner/notebook/pens– Last week was full of important dates that were thrown at me along with emails that I needed to send to people for parking, IDs for other medical centers, etc. Using a planner helped me to remember that I was supposed to email John and what I was supposed to be telling him. I had a little to-do list within my planner so I would be able to knock out all my tasks and prioritize them by importance. The notebook is a hit or a miss- I used the papers that were in the folders already to jot down any notes I had. There were so many maps in my folders that I just flipped some over and scribbled on the back to organize my thoughts. However, having a notebook was beneficial for electronic medical record training to try and remember some of the cool shortcuts.
- Multiple forms of identification– To prove that you are cleared to work in the United States, schools/programs must fill out an I-9 verification form for each employee. They usually recommend bringing 2 forms of ID (social security card, passport, etc) so they can complete this form for you. I am type A and unfortunate events occur in my life, so last week I brought 3, just in case. Your school will send an email with the acceptable forms of identification, but don’t forget these because it will just be a headache to go back and grab them.
- Health information– At some point during the week, people are going to ask you if you have been vaccinated and if you have proven immunity to various illnesses. Bring your health information for quick reference for when they ask you. Even if you upload them or email them ahead of time, it is always a good idea to be safe when it comes to this stuff. Bring it with you so no one can say you didn’t send it in. It is so easy to lose someone’s information when it is swimming in a pool of information from ~500 other residents.
- Tote Bag/Backpack– So this one seems like a no-brainer, however, I tried to be cute and bring my smaller purse and was drowning in folders by the end of orientation. The folders couldn’t fit in my purse, so my arms were full for multiple hours of waiting in long lines. I had a feeling this was going to happen, but I ignored my intuition and went for the smaller purse. Don’t be me! Bring a larger bag or even a backpack to hold the folders and binders that your program will give you.
Extras:
- Breakfast– Rome and I have a motto that we stick to: never go to events hungry. This motto has saved us more than once from being miserable hungry people at long events. Orientation was no different. Your program may serve you breakfast, they may not. After doing the breakfast gamble one time and losing royally, I don’t suggest gambling. Be prepared for anything. Bonus points for bringing snacks. I know I sound like your West Indian grandmother, but I care about your well-being and your stomachs. It’s hard to focus on resident benefits when your stomach is growling, just saying.
- People’s names– This is my extroversion speaking, but seriously, it was fun to meet new people. While I was meeting my co-interns in clumps, I made a genuine effort to remember their names. The next time I started a conversation, it was much easier to jump right in because I already had their name down.
- Your photo ready face– We took SO MANY pictures during orientation. Every ID that we obtained needed its own picture. Don’t make the mistake I made in forgetting about the composite. This picture will be posted everywhere… EVERYWHERE! This composite is for other services to know who they are calling for consults/who is being exceptionally rude on the phone. This was the day, of course, that I didn’t wear makeup because I thought we were done with pictures. Nope. Surprise!!
Hope this non-exhaustive list helps you! The general idea is just that it’s better to be safe rather than sorry and that you shouldn’t make some of the mistakes I did.
Love you guys,
Lise
Incorporating the Word into Everyday Life
I’m on a dark, muddy battlefield and I’m surrounded by soldiers in full, shining armor. They are fighting with swords and shields that gleam brightly despite the darkness. The enemy army we are facing is the strongest it has ever been. Pure evil drips from their shrouded shapes, its dark stain tainting the ground beneath us.
When I turn around, I am completely fenced in by the strange forms. They want to destroy me. The battle around me seems to disappear as I focus on the creatures, preparing to strike. I can see them identifying my weaknesses, as if they knew them already. Reaching behind me for my sword, I find air. Nothing is there. I look down at my clothing and it’s just that, clothing. I am not wearing any armor like the rest of the soldiers on my side. I am not prepared for this fight.
I watch as a smile slowly creeps across one of my opponent’s faces as he lunges for an attack…
This is how I imagine myself, as a warrior princess, fighting against spirits and principalities that come against me (Ephesians 6:12 KJV). When I am prepared, I have my armor on and the Sword of the Spirit is readily available for me to wield. When I am not, it’s like grasping at air when I most need a weapon.
I mentioned in another blog post that I have a routine that I like to do every morning to get my mind focused on God. One of the most important parts of this routine is reading his word! I can’t stress its importance enough!
Below are some extra things that I do to drive that word home and bring it with me on the wards, in my car, to my meetings, basically everywhere I go.
Notecards/Post It Notes I have been in love with notecards since high school. I don’t know what it is about them, possibly their portability? The fact that they come in different sizes? I don’t know, but I love writing bible verses on these to keep my mind focused on scripture. A very real example of a challenge that I face is my anxiety. I can worry about 365 things before 9 am if I let it run rampant.
However, God knew that anxious Analise would walk this earth and made sure that there were scriptures in his word for that, namely Proverbs 3:5 and Philippians 4:6. I simply write the entire verse and what I want to remind myself about the verse on the notecard and put it somewhere as a reminder. I am constantly finding these notecards everywhere in my life because there are no limits on where I can put these bad boys. When I had my white coats, I had at least 2 notecards in there about anxiety and about doing my best in everything for God’s glory (1 Corinthians 10:31). I would pull them out when I had downtime and read over them to encourage and uplift myself. I currently have them in my planner, in my purses, in my car, in Rome’s car, in his coats, etc. I’m exaggerating, but not by much.
Post It Notes- I like putting these on my mirror to remind myself that God sees me as beautiful and that I am wonderfully and fearfully made in his image (Psalm 139:14, Genesis 1:27). This prevents me from saying mean things to myself in the mirror. I know I’m not the only one who does that, so yeah. I might put one in my laundry room to remind myself that Jesus took serving others in love very seriously (Matthew 23:11, Philippians 2:5-7). When I want to grumble about laundry, I can instead think about Jesus and embrace his attitude.
Meditation– We have been hearing a lot about meditation and mindfulness in the media lately. The way I have adopted this probably a little bit different than what is being promoted.
I don’t sit and clear my mind of everything and focus on my breathing. I try to have extreme focus on something else, scripture.
If I have a verse that really spoke to me in my reading (or googling) that day, I write it on a notecard (shout out to #1) and then I sit, clear my mind, and think about the verse. I think about what it means, what wording is used in the verse, and what God intended to communicate. I also sit and think about how I can apply that verse to my life.
For verses about love or sin, I try and internalize and memorize the verse and think about what God is saying about his love for me or how I should flee from sin. I have found that from practicing this, the verses come to my mind more readily when I need them because Holy Spirit brings them to my remembrance (John 14:26). I love this and I try and do this as often as possible (Psalm 1:2).
Both this and #1 work together to reinforce scripture when memorizing it too.
Accountability– This is a tough one because it means allowing someone to be in my business. It means authorizing someone to be intimate with my struggles, my fears, and my joys. My husband is my primary accountability partner, but I have friends who play this role as well. I have a friend who checks on me to make sure that I am in my word daily and I have a lot of friends who are in my business. They speak the word to me and genuinely make me want to grow in my relationship with Him. I prefer friends who are tough with me and aren’t going to feed me nice things because they are afraid of hurting my feelings. This is so beneficial because it allows me to be surrounded by a cloud of witnesses that can push me toward the goal (Hebrews 12:1-2).
This mutual accountability I have with my friends and my husband also allows me to have people that I can pray with and struggle with throughout the day. Since I do my prayer time in the morning, when most people aren’t even awake, my friends will text me or call me later on in the day and ask me what I read that morning. We then get a chance to talk about what we learned in our quiet times.
I’ll admit that it’s uncomfortable to let multiple people into my life, but it is so good for me to have this reminder of what I read/ learned about later on in the day. Every time I am about to let my discomfort get in the way of gaining accountability, I remember that God did not intend for us to walk this walk alone. Instead, He wanted us to be part of fellowship with other believers. It is in this community that maturation and progress occur.
These simple things have assisted me in making sure that I am not just leaving that time spent in the morning and forgetting about God for the rest of the day.
Let me know if any of these things help you guys out as you endeavor to incorporate his word in your life!
Love you guys!
Lise
Scriptural References (and notecard ammunition, if you will)
Ephesians 6:10-17 NIV Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
Psalm 139:14
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
Genesis 1:27
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Matthew 23:11
The greatest among you will be your servant.
Philippians 2:5-7
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
Psalm 1:1-2
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take, or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.
John 14:26
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,