Set-backs Create Opportunities For Comebacks!

My husband Robert performed the wedding ceremony of Glenn and Mindy Stearns in 2003

If you are worried or experiencing any of life's set-backs be inspired by Mark Thallander www.markthallander.com, a world-famous organist who lost an arm in a terrible car accident, or how about"Soul Surfer" Bethany Hamilton  www.bethanyhamilton.com who had her arm ripped-off and was almost killed by a shark.  Read about our good friend Glenn Stearns, www.stearns.com or  www.glennandmindy.com who nearly lost everything at the onset of the real estate/mortgage crash.  As Glenn was personally disassembling the cubicles in his office, he had his wife videoing it as he said, "this challenge will be a part of my story."

 My husband Robert A. Schuller wrote a book by the title "The World's Greatest Comebacks".  The year was 1988.  Since he wrote this book almost twenty-five years ago I think it's more than time he write volume 2, sighting the amazing come-back stories of the three listed above as well as many others we've been blessed to know since then! 

 How do Mark, Bethany, Glenn and an endless list of others have the courage, the perseverance, the faith and the fortitude to keep on keeping-on? When almost everything they have worked for or everything they are seems to have been taken away how do they stay faithful to their God-given purpose?   How do they come-back after life-threatening injuries and despair or impending financial disasters and end-up making an even more profound mark on society than they ever could before their set-backs?!

 The Bible is full of come-back stories where real people overcame huge obstacles. www.biblegateway.com  Here's a few of my take-aways from those stories and the ones of the people I listed above:  don't dwell on the past-it can blur your focus of a beautiful future;  hold on to hope- even in your darkest times;  reach forward in faith-even when you don't feel like it; and blanket all of it by loving others through their tough times even when you're going through your own. *Believe with all of your heart that there is a greater purpose involved in your set-backs or your suffering.

All of us experience challenges from time to time.  Some people's are more severe than others and some will never recover.  Few will become more than they ever imagined possible as a result of their painful experiences.
 Many things in life are out of our control.  I believe that we should live as suggested by St. Augustine  and "work like it all depends on you and pray like it all depends on God."  This attitude has personally seen me through many obstacles and rough times.  It works.  

"The rain falls on the just and the unjust alike"   Matthew 5:45

Even if you live a Godly life, full of purpose, passion and goodness-no one is immune from some kind of suffering or set-back.  Here's the question: what will you do as a result of the storms in your life?  Like the examples which I used above in the personal stories of Mark, Bethany, and Glenn I hope that you will choose to become better instead of bitter.  Please go to their websites and be encouraged by their individual stories.

  Even in times of loss there is still so much to be thankful for.   Don't look back but instead look up!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! 
God is blessing you.   Donna

I Need Your Help Please!

                                  Mark Victor Hansen and wife Crystal to be our next guests!


Hello and almost Merry Christmas!
If you've been following my blog you must know that my husband Robert and I started Possibility Living telephone classes on November 15th.  Possibility Living is part of our church without walls and it is a health ministry that was born many years ago on Rancho Capistrano.
 Originally included in this life-changing and inspiring ministry were week-long seminars where people from all-over the world would come to learn more about body, mind, and spirit health.   The week included spiritual leaders, people who specialized in emotional health, and experts in natural health of the body.  Anyone who attended these seminars can tell you that they were truly life-transforming.  In fact, after attending these seminars many wanted to move onto Rancho Capistrano and serve in that ministry!
 At the same time Robert began a daily radio show where he would conduct an intensive, detailed interview with experts in the areas of body, mind, or spiritual health.  The radio show was a live daily show which included a time of questions and answers during the second half of the hour.   He did this for five years and as he can tell you it was like receiving a graduate degree in body, mind, spirit health.
 Last but not least, in the year 2000 Robert and his friend, Dr. Douglas DiSiena, published their book, "Possibility Living...Add Years To Your Life and Life To Your Years With God's Health Plan."   This is a fabulous book which was written well before it's time.  Today you will discover all kinds of Christian health plans and that's a good thing!   Although the book contains timeless information in the areas of physical and mental health Dr. DiSiena is presently writing an update for the recommendations in the areas of supplementation (vitamin and mineral intake) and overall health of the body.  There has been a lot of advances in this area since the book came out.  Stay tuned for the results of these updates.
Today we bring you Possibility Living Teleclasses which are just as fabulous as the week-long seminars were and the best thing is that they are accessible from anywhere as long as you have a telephone!  These classes are held on the 15th of each month at 6pm Pacific Time.  Here's where I need your help.    Either people are not understanding the concept of attending a class via the telephone or they are not wanting to make a tax deductible donation of $29.95 in order to attend.   What I need from you is your feedback on what might be hindering a huge attendance during these telephone classes.  Can you do this for me please?  Send me your comments and let me know what you think.  I am aware that I need to do some advertising and marketing so this is my first attempt at polling those of you who read my blog.  Very few of you are signed-up for our classes and this puzzles me.   I would really appreciate your suggestions and comments as both Robert and I know that this is one important way to do our church without walls.  All donations go into our ministry. 
Last but not least, our last interview guest on December 15th was Max Lucado.  He was fantastic!  Unless you attend his church where else could you ask Max any of your theological questions?  We had a very in-depth discussion about the tragic shooting events that had taken place in Connecticut just the day before.  Based on some comments I received after our class I know that people were given hope and some peace of mind after such a terrible tragedy.   This is what our church without walls is all about;   distributing inspiration, peace, hope, and love.
***Our guest for January 15th will be Mark Victor Hansen and his wife Crystal!  Mark is the best-selling author of the "Chicken Soup For The Soul" books and Crystal is the founder of "Pure Thoughts For Pure Results."  They will motivate all of us to set high goals for the new year!  You do not want to miss them as they are fantastic!  - On February 15th we will interview Dr. Douglas DiSiena.  Our topic will be stress and how to minimize it.  Doug is one of only a few doctors in the nation with such expertise when it comes to whole body wellness! - We have many other great guests in mind for future classes.  Where else can you attend an inspirational class in the comfort of your own home while wearing your pajamas?! 
Last but not least,  if you would like to sign-up for the classes today you can go to www.schullerministries.com   I am offering a Christmas gift of just $100 for the next six months of classes!  That's less than $17 a class!   Just go to the website and click on "donate".    Enter the amount for either one or more classes and you will get an email confirming your donation.  You will then be sent the telephone number and participant code you will need to attend the class.  Again, the classes are held via telephone in the comfort of your own home.  (or on your way somewhere as you can access from your mobile)  They begin at 6pm Pacific Time.   
Thank you for your time in letting us know how we may better serve you.
God is blessing you.   Donna

Join Us For Max Lucado Live!

Join my husband Robert and I for our next Possibility Living Class on December 15th at 6pm Pacific Time.   We are going to have a fantastic hour live with Max Lucado which will include asking him questions for the last thirty minutes of the class!  What a perfect time to interview such a great pastor and prolific writer.  Or, buy this telephone class as an early Christmas gift for a friend or a relative who needs encouragement, hope and love.  The great news is that you can attend these classes no matter where you live!  All you need is a telephone.
 These telephone classes are available at 6pm Pacific Time on the 15th of each month and we are bringing them to you for a tax-deductible donation of just $29.95 each!   And...each month you will be uplifted and inspired by a special guest who is an expert in body, mind, and spirit health.   If you commit to six-months of classes the normal donation is just $120.  As a special Christmas gift we are offering six months for just $100 if you sign-up now!!  To sign-up go to www.schullerministries.com and simply click on the button that says "donate" located on the right side of this web page.   Insert the donation of your choice.  Next, we will send you a verification and phone number to cal for you classl.
What better way to emotionally and spiritually prepare for Jesus' birthday!  You do not want to miss this world-famous writer, speaker, and author so join us today.

God is blessing you always.   Merry Christmas!! Donna

The Turkey Exchange

The following is a story that was published in my book, “Woman To Woman Wisdom”.   It was requested that I post it here so please enjoy!

The Turkey Exchange

   Most of us really cherish family gatherings during the holidays.   If your family is like mine, you have certain traditions that you respect and follow every year. At my house, holidays for the most part are fairly predictable:  special family recipes are shared, cherished stories are retold, relationships are rekindled,  and in some cases new traditions begin.

     But holidays can also be times loaded with stress,  especially our best-laid plans threaten to collapse.  As I’ve learned, in such times you simply need to adapt as best you can and then look for the blessings it brings.   This was the case for our family one Thanksgiving several years ago.  My husband kids and 1 decided to spend a nontraditional Thanksgiving aboard a small fishing boat anchored off the beach in Baja California.  As with every year, I wanted this to be a memorable and perfect holiday for my family—so I was a little bit anxious about our change in plans.  Everything had to be precisely choreographed so that we could make the best use of the small space—and even smaller oven!

     Weeks ahead of time, we made lists that included the measurement of the oven, the pots and pans available, etc.   Upon close scrutiny, we decided that the oven would accommodate only an eight-pound turkey, which would be quite a change from our usual twenty-two to twenty-five-pounder.  About two weeks prior to the trip, I found a great price on an eight-pound turkey, and I tossed it in the Deepfreeze.  About the same time, my mother called and wanted to know if we had room in our Deepfreeze to store a twenty-two pounder for her.  She was planning on having guests for Thanksgiving dinner and needed a turkey bigger than her freezer could hold.  “No problem,” I told her.  “I have plenty of room.”

     So we prepared for our trip.  My very helpful husband always packs the cooler for all of our family outings—it’s just one of the jobs he likes to do.  So while I was helping the kids get their bags closed up, Robert loaded the turkey into its “cold box” for our trip, and off we went.  Well, you can imagine my surprise when, at our destination, I opened the ice chest to find a huge turkey staring back at me!  Robert had inadvertently taken my mother’s turkey!  I screamed at him to come and explain why he’d done such a stupid thing.  Poor Robert didn’t know that my mother had stored her turkey in our freezer.  His defense was that when he looked in the Deepfreeze, he only saw one thing that looked like a real turkey to him…so that was the one he took!  This didn’t make any sense to me, because we’d discussed the size of the turkey weeks ago.  But to Robert, it just did not compute that a small eight-pound turkey would actually look more like a frozen chicken.  He had taken what looked to him like the only turkey.

Well, after getting quite upset—and after leaving a panic-stricken and apologetic voice message for my mom via cell phone—I finally calmed down.  And, of course, we had a really good laugh about it all and prayed that my mother would hear the voice message in time to shop of a new turkey.  I did feel really terrible about flying off the handle, but really, who doesn’t get stressed out by the holidays, especially when you want everything to be perfect?!

     Well,  you know what?  Our Thanksgivings weren’t ruined after-all.  My possibility-thinking husband creatively butchered the turkey so as to fill our small, eight-pound roasting pan beautifully.  We gave the rest of the bird to a local family nearby, and they were very happy about it—because, as it turned out, it was to be their only taste of turkey on Thanksgiving!  And it worked out OK for my mother, as well, because her dinner party plans changed and her company did not come.  We had a lot to thank God for on that Thanksgiving Day.  Truth be told, there were blessings enough to go around—blessings of sharing, blessings of new acquaintances—as we gave away our extra turkey to another family.  And it was all made possible by the unexpected “turkey exchange”!  No one could have planned it better than, of course, our Father, the Grantor of all blessings.

     There’s a Yiddish proverb that says, “Man plans, God laughs.”  (of course that’s true for women too!) I like to imagine God holding his breath, waiting for Donna to explode when she discovered that the enormous turkey instead of the one she’d been expecting!  As this situation taught me, God always has a way of making our mishaps work out somehow.   I should have remembered this when I blew-up at poor Robert!  When things don’t go as we think they should…when our holiday plans get messed up…when people don’t do the things we think they should do, we need to keep in mind that God is in charge, and if we trust in Him, He will help us through.  In this case, my family survived—even thrived—and had a wonderful Thanksgiving after all, even if it didn’t go exactly as I had planned.

     Remember this the next time you make a cake for the school bake sale—and your son drops it on the floor.  Remember this when you get to your vacation destination---and discover your luggage was shipped someplace else.  Remember this when you’re racing to make an appointment---and your car battery picks the same day to die.  Stay calm.  Ask God to show you the wisdom in your situation---and ask Him to let you be pleased with the surprise blessings it brings.  And learn to laugh when things go wrong---which I have to tell you, we’ve done so many times since that day.

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving! 

 God is blessing you.   Donna

Possibility Living Seminars Return!!

I have an exciting announcement! 

Beginning November 15th and continuing on the 15th day of every month,  Robert and I will be presenting one hour-long teleconferences called Possibility Living!   The format for the teleseminar will mirror Robert's radio show,  Balanced For Life, however, we will be doing this through a telephone conferencing system as we want to include everyone!.  Our first teleseminar will address the importance of healthy integration of all three parts of your person;  body, mind, and spirit.  We will have a surprise guest and host a lively discussion which promises to uplift, educate,  and enlighten.   Since our kick-off is in November which is the month for Thanksgiving in the USA,  we will also discuss the topic of giving thanks in all things.

If you remember the Balanced For Life radio show and the Possibility Living Seminars you may also recall that this fantastic ministry progressed into a great body, mind, spirit book titled Possibility Living: Add years to your Life and Life to Your Years.   This book was written by Dr. Robert A. Schuller and Dr. Douglas DiSiena and was published in the year 2000.   The nutrition and physical health chapters were the harbinger to the now 'famous' Daniel Diet which has become a great movement in many churches and spiritual circles.   While impacting then,  Possibility Living is especially timely now because of the stressful, challenging, and toxic world we are living in.  As a result, people are more ready than ever to hear the great news that you can improve your overall health and wellness!
Not only will you learn how to treat your body better but you will gain knowledge that will assist you in attaining great emotional health too.  Most importantly Possibility Living Teleseminars will help you to learn more about God for a rich and fulfilling spiritual life.

-Do you believe that God has great things in store for your future?

-Would you like to learn what's necessary to act on your dreams and make them a reality?  

-Have you been holding on to toxic emotions or thoughts which could be holding you back?

-Do you want to hear from and ask questions of experts in the fields of body, mind, or spiritual health which will help assist you in reaching tangible goals?

-Are you ready to be motivated and inspired with new ideas for your life?

-Can you imagine having all of the latest, up-to-date, cutting-edge health information available to you on a regular basis?

-Do you want to improve or transform all areas of your life for a better, more productive you? 

The focus of Possibility Living is on issues which deal with physical, emotional, and spiritual health, so the possibilities are endless!  And...at the end of each inspiring program Robert and I , along with our special guest, will spend time answering your questions.  This always provides for a stimulating exchange of ideas!

Please plan on joining us as we launch our latest way to inform, educate, and motivate you with the hope which is found in a loving and all-powerful God!

**The first five people to sign-up will also be sent one of Robert's autographed books as a bonus!  So, make sure that you sign up today!!

Possibility Living Teleseminars will be held on the 15th of every month and will begin promptly at 6pm PST.   The monthly price for each one hour-long teleseminar is just $29.95.   For a six month commitment you will have access to teleseminars for only $20.00 for each teleseminar!   In the future we plan on offering even greater incentives for unlimited access to our teleconferences.  So, please invite your friends and family to join us on this exciting journey!

In order to access the Possibility Living Teleseminar please go to www.robertschullerministries.com and look for the "Donate" button located on the right hand side of the home page.  Make a donation for $29.95.   Please make sure you include both your phone number and your mailing address as this is both your sign-up and receipt of payment.   In turn you will be sent a confirmation including the  seminar call-in number and participant code which will give you access to the November, 2012 Possibility Living Teleseminar.   If you need to sign-up via snail mail you may send a check to our office.  Please allow at least one week for your check to be received and processed.  If you are out of the USA you may need to mail it sooner.

Issue the check to Robert Schuller Ministries and send it to:  16 N. Stonington Rd.  Laguna Beach, CA.   92651  USA

Remember: Be one of the first five to sign-up for a free autographed complementary book! 

**All fees are paid in advance.  This is the only way to get the access code for the Possibility Living Teleseminar.

When signing-up please include your shipping address so that we  may send out your free book should you be one of the first five to register for the new Possibility Living teleseminar!

With God there are always new possibilities for learning and becoming healthier and stronger in body, mind, and soul.   Both Robert and I look forward to spending time with you and being a part of your emotional, physical, and spiritual enrichment as we grow together in Christian Love.

God is blessing you.  Donna

Questions?   You can contact me at donna@donnaschuller.com