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Common Sense Self-Defense By Elizabeth Scheibl

3/31/2017

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​On March 9th, I was not only present at Group Night; I was blessed with the opportunity to lead Group Night! As a black belt in karate and two-year taekwondo practitioner, I have a passion for martial arts and self-defense, so I was excited to work directly with the residents. The class I conducted had three basic components: Essential Techniques, Common Holds Used by Attackers, and Key Concepts. They are broken down below.
Essential Techniques
You’ve heard of most of these before, but that’s because they’re essential and effective.
  • Elbows: THEY HURT. Remember the annoying boys you elbowed when they came up behind you in middle and grade school? Do the same with an attacker, but don’t be afraid to elbow him/her under the chin or across the face as well.
  • Kicks: I could teach a whole class on this, but for the sake of brevity, I will say that the easiest and most effective kick is knee kick. Just bring your knee up into a sensitive spot, which works very well if your attacker is holding you close to him/her.
  • Palm heel: The hard area at the bottom of your palm is its heel. Like the elbow, this can be used to strike a variety of soft spots. Remember to pull your fingers back!
  • Feral Fighting: DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET AWAY. Yes, you can train your body to be a weapon through martial arts or self-defense classes, but you can also use common items like clipboards, books and magazines, scissors, and pens. If your life is being threatened, DO NOT HESITATE to inflict injury on your attacker’s eyes, ears, nose, throat, and groin (the groin, however, is not always the best area to go for, as an attacker can fight through the pain if he is extremely angry, drunk, or high).
​Common Techniques Used by Attackers
Another key component of self-defense is knowing how to defend against attacks that aggressors are likely to use.
  • Headlock: If you can, turn your head to the side while grabbing your attacker’s arm. By turning your head, you are giving yourself more room to breathe and escape. Try to step behind your attacker, and DO WHATEVER IT TAKES from this point on until you get away.
  • Wrist Grab: You can find several techniques to defend against on attacker grabbing one or both wrists on a variety of self-defense websites, but I will describe one simple but effective defense here. When your attacker grabs your wrist, struggle as though you are trying to get away, pulling in the opposite direction. Once you’ve pulled away as far as you possibly can, use your attacker’s momentum against him/her by lunging in the direction your attacker is pulling you. End the technique with a strike against your attacker (a palm heel to the nose would work especially well here).
  • Bear hug: If your attacker grabs you from the front, try striking upwards using your hands (a palm heel underneath the chin, for example). If you are unable to move your hands, use your knees or try to stomp on your attacker’s foot. If all else fails, pinch sensitive areas (you don’t need a wide range of motion to pinch someone). If someone behind you has you in a bear hug, drop your weight and swing at him/her with your elbows. 
​Key Concepts
Now that you know what to do in order to defend yourself against an attacker, here’s an explanation of why it works.
  • Momentum: If your attacker is pulling you in a certain direction, sometimes its better to use the force of your attacker pulling you to launch a counter attack, as described in a description of a wrist grab above.
  • Leverage: Wrist locks are complicated to discuss in writing, so I didn’t incorporate them. However, they are all based on one thing: bending your attacker’s joints in directions they aren’t meant to go. For example, if someone grabbed you, and you loosened his/her grip by grabbing his/her fingers and pulling them backwards, you would be using this concept. If you study martial arts for any length of time, you will learn about this concept very, very quickly.
  • Rotation: Use your range of motion to cause maximum damage to an attacker. See Elbows.
  • Explosiveness: Surprise and stun your attacker by an explosion of kicks and blows. 
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Group Night is held at New Beginnings.  Every Thursday, we meet as a group to discuss important life skills and educational topics.  Discussions are led by community volunteers and can cover a broad range of topics.

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Are We Needy In God?

3/31/2017

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Why would we feel improvised in God?  He has unlimited resources, and tells us throughout the Bible to ask and receive. 
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There are many verses on receiving from God, here are a few:
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Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you...”
Matthew 21:22 “If you believe, you will receive…”
Luke 11:9   “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given you…”
John 16:24 “Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive…”

What do you want today?  Is it to be more conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ?  Do we want our will brought into perfect conformity to the will of God?  Do we want our desires to be on heavenly things?  Our Heavenly Father will give freely – 2 Corinthians 9:9-11.  Let’s ask these things of God. Let’s ask as Solomon did, he asked for wisdom. 
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​God’s wisdom is pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. – James 3:7.  This wisdom will guide our hearts, and direct our ways.  If we embrace the LORD’s ways we will be blessed and receive favor from Him.    Jesus is standing before us today, saying, “Ask what I shall give thee:” in Him dwells all the resources of wisdom and knowledge, and everyone that asks receives.
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Karen O'Leary is the the Program Manager at New Beginnings. She has her BA in Bible Theology and her Masters of Divinity. She has 8-years of experience as a Social Director at a non-profit organization helping those in crisis with financial assistance, brief supportive counseling, and being a spiritual presence in their time of need. In her free time Karen enjoys reading, cooking and traveling.

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Are You Listening?

3/29/2017

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​“Hi. How are you doing today?”
“I’m good. How about you?”
“Fine, thanks.”
​This dialogue, or something like it, is such a common fixture in our society that we hardly even think when we say the words, let alone listen to the response. If we’re on the receiving end of these words, we say “fine” or “good”, no matter what’s going on in our lives. In the rushed, overscheduled world we live in, it’s easy to think about the next task, even as we are struggling to complete the current one. As a result, we don’t often make time to really listen to other people.
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Sometimes I wonder if our prayer life isn’t much the same way. We have prayers we recite, and we may have a list of people to pray for, or a list of things for which we are thankful. Good though these practices are, how often do we take the time to have an in-depth, heart-to-heart conversation with God? As Christians, we try to go to church every week, but are we mentally, emotionally, and spiritually present, even as we are physically present? What is the status of your relationship with God? Take some time and think about it. 
​When we’re listening closely to God, we do a better job of empathizing with other people and showing them the love of Christ. The world is full of suffering people, but God is still present. Let’s live with an awareness of both of these truths.


​Let’s listen. 
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​Elizabeth Scheibl is the Promotional Writing and Editing Intern at New Beginnings. A student at Wisconsin Lutheran College, she is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in History. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, and practicing martial arts.

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Life's Rollercoaster

3/20/2017

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“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: . . . a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-4).
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​Life can be a real rollercoaster. Sometimes you’re at the very top about to rush into exciting and invigorating adventures, other times feel like you’re about to crash straight into the ground, and then there are the periods where you’re going loop after loop with no clue what’s going on around you. Yes, it’s cliche, but I think it’s something everyone can relate to at different points in their life.
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​The past year has brought some of the greatest moments of my life so far:

Graduate from college? ✔
Spend time traveling in the US and abroad? ✔
Find a fulfilling job in my dream industry? ✔

But alas, with the highs come the lows:

Watch most of my friends move away? ✔
Struggle with “adulting”, bills, and multiple jobs? ✔
Not get to visit family and home as often? ✔
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If you’re anything like me, it’s often easier to spend time focusing on those low points instead of the highs. It’s hard to celebrate accomplishments or be grateful for all the good, when there’s change, stress, or struggles on the ride with you too! Sometimes it takes a little reminder that we can’t control the track--that’s in someone else’s hands--but we can learn to “maximize the best moments” while “minimizing the bad ones.” Check out these five tips for doing so from Lead Life Well!

  1. Expect Ups and Downs. Knowing that highs and lows are “normal” softens the lows and makes you more mindful that highs are temporary.
  2. Be Grateful. The ups and downs of life are a gift. The highs and lows of life provide opportunities to grow, stretch, and develop into the person you need to be in order to walk more boldly in the purpose God has in mind for you.
  3. Lean into Your Feelings. Notice and validate your feelings. They are how you feel. Then step back and take a cold hard look at what’s transpiring. Investigate: are your feelings telling you the truth or has your imagination gotten a bit out of control?
  4. Resist the Urge to Blame Others. In order for genuine growth to take place, you have to take responsibility. How have you contributed to your unfortunate moments? What can you do differently? What have you learned? Keep in mind that sometimes there really is no one to blame. Your fridge will break and things will get cancelled. It’s just part of life.
Resist the Desire to Take Credit. While no doubt your strengths and hard work have contributed, anything you are able to accomplish is because God has allowed you to. The more you take credit for your accomplishments the less you will depend on Him. If you are going to handle the wild ups and downs of life effectively, you will need God’s help!
(Source for tips: http://leadlifewell.com/blog/5-tips-help-survive-ups-downs-life/)
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From a Former Resident Supervisor.
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God’s Unfathomable Love

3/6/2017

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​My husband and I recently adopted a puppy from our local Humane Society and I couldn't have been more thrilled.  She is so sweet and loves playtime and snuggles.  Because she's a puppy, she also enjoys being naughty from time to time.  She'll get into things she's not supposed to and she loves using our shoes as chew toys!  We've been working on training her so that we can minimize these bad behaviors but training is an ongoing (and sometimes tiring) process.  It requires consistency, time, and sometimes more patience than I currently possess.  Sometimes it seems as though she's choosing to do things she knows she shouldn't.  For example, she will grab a sock out of the dirty laundry bin and run away after making eye contact with us - frustrating!
​Boy am I sure glad that our God has more patience than I do.  As frustrating as training a puppy can be, it cannot even compare to the amount of frustrations God puts up with from us.  Over and over again I struggle with my sin.  I continually choose to do things that I know are wrong.  As Paul put it in Romans 7:19, “For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing.”  And yet, my almighty God loves and forgives me anyway.  He has blessed me far more than I deserve and continues to bless me even when I choose sin over Him each day.  He even provided the ultimate sacrifice for me to save me from my sin: the innocent life, death, and resurrection of His Son.  The amount of patience, forgiveness, and love that must require is unfathomable to me.  “And we have come to know and believe the love that God has for us.  God is love; whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him,” (1 John 4:16).
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Lord, thank you for the grace and mercy you continue to pour out on me despite my sins.  Thank you for sending your Son, Jesus, to purify me of those sins and to suffer the punishment for them so that I do not have to.  Lord, I am truly sorry for my sins and pray that you continue to forgive me for the sake of your Son, Jesus.  Almighty God, guide me according to your path that my life might reflect your love and mercy.  In Jesus’ name, Amen
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Taleya Williamson is the Operations Manager at New Beginnings.  She was born and raised in Puyallup, Washington and attended Evergreen Lutheran High School.  Taleya recently graduated from Wisconsin Lutheran College with a Bachelors of Science in psychology with a minor in anthropology.  In her free time, Taleya enjoys spending time with her husband, David.

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When God Says "YES!!"

3/6/2017

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Have you ever had a morning when you woke up and everything was coming at you like a ball of fire….baby crying, phone ringing, stomach growling, people knocking at the door, or your neighbor's music is too loud. It’s always something. You don't want to get out of bed, take a shower, talk to ANYONE, or even clean. You’d rather live and lay where it’s just messy, thinking your mess is the comfort you need to get through the day. Do you have moments like this? You want to go crawl under a rock and never come out. You want to throw in the towel and say “NOPE” to any and every one that crosses your path. People this is what you call a depressive state of mind. 
Some people have these moments when they feel like just giving up. As a mother, I have moments like this but one day I woke up and said “No more; I have something and someone to live life for and that’s God, Kiarra (my daughter), and myself.” I came to realize that I needed help and that I shouldn’t be afraid to ask for it so I talked to the staff here at New Beginnings and told them I was ready to receive help. I also explained to them what's been going on with me and that I recognized that I needed to talk with someone. Sometimes when the devil see that you're doing well and you're trying to accomplish what you’ve set out to, he’ll try to come in and redirect your mind to go left. He’ll have you thinking people don’t care or they’re talking about you in a bad way. 
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But the God I serve did not allow the devil to take over me. He allowed me to get out of that bed and get myself together, take my shower, do my hair, put on lashes (lol), play with my baby, do her hair, and make sure she’s clean and looking cute. This year (2017) I want to be better, happier, and more loving. I feel this is my year to get all this junk out of me that's been in me since I was 12 years of age. With God on my side and my New Beginnings family, anything is POSSIBLE!
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Philippians 4:13 New International Version (NIV)
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I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.
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Shaneka has been a resident at New Beginnings since June of 2015. She is working towards pursuing a degree in nursing. She has always dreamed of working in the healthcare field and is excited that New Beginnings can help her fulfill her dream. She enjoys spending time with her beautiful baby girl, Kiarra. ​

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