The Magazine to Empower and Enrich Today’s Urban WomanSummer 2012

FaithWhen the Blues Isn’t Just Music

LifestyleHey, I Can Use That

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ContentsEditor-in-Chief .......................... Writing Editor ........................ Contributing Authors .............

Graphic Artist .............................. Photos ........................................

Table ofFaithThinking Out of the Box ...................................When the Blues Isn’t Just Music..............................

Family/LifestyleEnter a New World – Open a Book ...............Hey, I Can Use That ......................................

Page 1Page 2

Page 3Page 5

Crystal WackerChristina WilliamsDorothy ValcàrcelElizabeth Coldren

Crystal Wacker

Robert Gibson iStockPhotos

A coworker recently told me that she appreciated how I think, that I don’t think like everybody else. At first I didn’t know if this was a compliment or a backhanded insult. Later she explained that she’s noticed that I see situations and problems different from most people. Hmmm. That made me check out how I think.

I guess it’s true regarding how I use things. Most of the ideas on page 5 about creative uses for common items come right out of my own apartment. Frankly, I enjoy my creations even when I could buy something better in its place.

Reach UP isn’t like other magazines. We don’t ignore difficulties and hardship, but we also don’t emphasize just the problems. We try hard to give our readers thoughts and ideas to help them reach up out of those problems. Everyone has problems. And as you will read in “When the Blues Isn’t Just Music,” everyone, even men of great faith, get down in the dumps or depressed sometimes. The question is, if it happens to you, how do you pull out of it?

First you have to find out if the cause of your depression is physical. It is possible for hormones to be out of balance. When I researched this for myself (at a bookstore), I found answers that made a big difference for me. Depression can also be the result of a bad diet and lack of exercise. Studies show that people who take a 30-minute brisk walk are generally happier than those who sit and watch TV and eat mostly junk food loaded with sodium and sugar.

Then there’s depression that results from tough problems. I want you to hear some good news. God cares about how you feel. He knows where you are and understands you.

You are not alone. Even though I don’t know you by name, I pray for you. I pray for women in cities all over the world. The person who gave you this magazine prays for you. We want to be there for you.

If you want to tell me your name, you can email me at reachupmag@aol.com, in Spanish at reachupmages@aol.com or “friend” us at www.facebook.com/reachUP. Our Reach UP team will pray for you by name.

Reaching out,

Crystal Wacker Editor-in-Chief Reach UP Magazine

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Like David in the Psalms, have I ever been depressed and emotionally felt far away from God? How did I try to solve the problem of the way I felt?

I know nearly all of us have had times in our lives when despair has blanketed our lives like a thick, unending fog. Times when death may have seemed better than living. Obviously, even great heroes of the Bible like the Apostle Paul, had moments when life didn’t seem worth living as 2 Corinthians 1:8 tells us: We don’t want you to be in the dark, friends, about how hard it was when all this came down on us in Asia province. It was so bad we didn’t think we were going to make it. We felt like we’d been sent to death row, that it was all over for us.

As this brave soldier of God wrote to his friends who lived in Corinth, he could not sugar-coat the suffering he encountered, to the point that he felt his life was unbearable.

I remember a time many years ago, after having major surgery followed by complications, when I was so depressed by the situation I found myself wondering if it wouldn’t be better if I didn’t survive. Pain, grief, sorrow, stress, fear, worry, despair - all these emotions and

physical symptoms can bring the strongest of us to our knees in desperation.

But as we learn from Paul’s example, when he faced great troubles in his life, he did four things:

1) He honestly and openly admitted to those around him. He didn’t try and hide his weakness or the way he felt.

2) He shared his feelings with those who care about him. He didn’t try and hide his weakness or the way he felt.

3) He reached out to God and to others. He didn’t try to walk the path of pain and despair by himself.

4) He continued to trust God no matter what his feeling said at the time.

In these four examples we find great insight into the way we can better understand ourselves emotionally especially during tines of great depression and heartache, when our “feelings” tell us God has forgotten we exist yet we know in our mind and heart that He is always by our side.

by Dorothy Valcàrcel

“Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you crying the blues? Fix my eyes on God -- soon I’ll be praising again.He puts a smile on my faceHe’s my God.

“When my soul is in the dumps, I rehearse everything I know of You, Then God promises to love me all day, sing songs all through the night;My life is God’s prayer.” Psalm 42:5, 6 MSG

Helen Keller, Blind & Deaf June 27, 1880 - June 1, 1968

Helen Keller holding a magnolia.

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.

-- Helen Keller

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So go ahead, have a lazy afternoon and head for the library. It’s a restful place to go and, best of all, it’s free!

Model reading in front of your children, too. One book that inspires moms and children to read is the true story of Dr. Ben Carson in Gifted Hands.

Young ChildrenAll God’s Critters, Bill StainesBear Feels Sick, Karma WilsonDavid and Goliath, Smart Kids PublishingFor God so Loved the World, Dandi Daley MackallJonah and the Whale, Smart Kids PublishingNoah and the Ark, Smart Kids PublishingSloppy Joe, David KeaneSome Dog, Mary Casanova

– Open a Book

Elizabeth Coldren shared her recommended reading list with Reach UP. She works with the families of inmates through the ministry of Prison Fellowship. These books have good, moral characters with relevant life lessons.

Reading is so important for children because it inspires their imagination, improves their reading scores and helps develop a lifetime enjoyment of reading.

We encourage parents to read to their children because studies show that it benefits them by all of the reasons above and builds the bond between parent and child. Through the world of books children learn to face reality in a safe, positive environment.

by Elizabeth Coldren

Bible

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Middle SchoolBest of All, Max LucadoCrazy Hair Day, Barney SaltzbergHall of Champions, Jay CartyYou Are Special, Max LucadoYou Can Do It, Tony Dungy

Don’t Forget Your reaDingCross out the chapters as you finish each one.

Sunday: A little Poetry ... read 1 chapter in Psalms

Monday: A little Poetry ... read 1 chapter in Psalms

Hello book!by N.M. Bodecker

What are you up to?Keeping yourself to yourself,shut in between your covers,a prisoner high on a shelf.Come in book!What is your story?Haven’t you ever been read?Did you thinkI would just pass by youAnd pick me a comic instead?No way book!I’m your readerI open you up.Set you free.Listen, I know a secret!Will you share your secrets with me?

TEENSChicken Soup for the Soul:Teens Talkin’ Faith, Jack CanfieldChicken Soup for the Soul:The Real Deal, Jack CanfieldGood and Evil, Michael PearlSerenity: Bad Girl in Town -Buzz Dixon3:16 – The Numbers of HopeMax Lucado

ALL AGESBlue Day Book - Bradley Trevor GreiveIncredible Animals - Playbac PublishingManana Iguana, Ann Whitford PaulNathaniel’s Journey, Tom KelbyWeird but True, National GeographicDog Heroes, Karl Meyer

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 +

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 +

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 +

Tuesday: A little Wisdom . . . read 1 chapter in Proverbs

Wednesday: Learn about Jesus ... read 1 chapter In John

Thursday: Learn about Jesus ... read 1 chapter In John Friday: Learn about Jesus... read 1 chapter In John

Saturday: Learn about Jesus... read 1 chapter In John

for different uses of common items.

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When is a band-aid not a band-aid?What makes the magic from a box of candy last?Lots of things can be used for more than one thing. Think creatively and stretch your dollar!

Plastic JELL-O® cups can find new life as a holder for clips.

Shower caps can cover a bowl of watermelon at a picnic keeping out those pesky flies.

by Crystal Wacker

Giving a second life to things we toss out

BAND-AIDs® have more than one use. Yes, I use them to cover whatever is poking and scratching me that I can’t see. They are great to (temporarily)

keep pleats from coming apart or a hem from coming completely undone.

Use band-aids to shield sensitive feet from developing a blister due to shoes that rub while

walking.

Write us with your ideas

A basket is a great way to store towels. After laundering and drying towels, fold in half and roll the towels. The look is decorative and it doesn’t take up cabinet space.

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Do you have no space for towels in your kitchen? Use a see-through shoe storage bag for towels and other kitchen and household items. It can be hung anywhere you have a little bit of vertical space.

Some grocery stores sell wine bottle tote bags for 99¢. Cut the

straps off and you have shoe bags that can fit anywhere – in plastic bins,

under the bed, stacked on the floor in a closet. Depending on the thickness of the

shoe, one bag will keep two to four pairs neatly.

Candy boxes, especially clear ones, are perfect to store your jewelry in. You can see what you want easily and it looks so colorful. Divide off sections with the tops and bottoms of thin gift boxes. Line the boxes with scraps of material for a more creative and luxurious look. Candy boxes of the same size stack nicely too.

Hint: Group earrings together with the matching necklace and bracelet to speed up your morning routine.

A wet cotton ball or Q-tip works great to pick up small bits of broken glass that you cannot see.

A small safety pin solves the problem of static cling. Pin a small safety pin in the hem of your dress or slacks and no more static cling!

Use aluminum foil to store open chunks of cheese so it stays fresh longer and will not mold.

When the Blues Isn’t Just MusicCont’d. from page 2

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Given to you by:

I’m a Reach UP woman! www.myreachup.com coming soon I’m a Reach UP woman! www.myreachup.com coming soon

Recently, my sister emailed me this story with a note of encouragement. “I know you will love this story and remember, God is always with you,” was what she told me.

“This is a Cherokee Indian legend regarding the youth’s rite of passage.

The father takes his son into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone.

The boy is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning light shine through it. He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night, he is declared to be a MAN. He cannot tell the other boys of this experience, because each lad must come into manhood on his own.

The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises in the night. His imagination tells him wild beasts surely are all around him. Maybe even some human might do him harm. The wind blows the grass and earth, shaking his stump, but the boy must sit stoically, never removing the blindfold.

Finally, after a horrific night, when the sun comes up, the young man removes his blindfold. And at this moment, he discovers his father sitting on a stump nearby. His father was on watch the entire night protecting his child from harm.”

Our Heavenly Father promises that He doesn’t take naps or sleep and that when we go through problems as hot as fire and deep as a flood, He is with us; and that anytime and anywhere if we call, He tells us, “I will answer and show you wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.” (Jeremiah 33:3).

The Christian author and theologian, C. S. Lewis, who

himself found times in his life when he struggled with great emotional pain,

wrote: “The great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, God’s love

for us does not.”