January 15, 2014: Volume 3, Number 6
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|  Cold? Tired of winter yet?
Just as the calendar can signal a period of "winter blues," medically speaking, you may also have a period of spiritual barrenness from time to time, too.
Today's feature explains how you can take preemptive action to avoid a spiritual winter ... or if you're in one, you can follow a simple Prescription for the Winter Blues.
 Thank you for your love and prayers which we have felt before, during, and after Dalton's surgery on January 9. Please continue to pray with us as we await biopsy results. God is working through you. He's still good! Keep growing.
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UKRAINE BACK 40 TRAINING FULLY FUNDED! OTHER OPPORTUNITIES ARE OPENING UP
|  Thanks to your generous prayers and support, 30 60 100 MINISTRIES is now fully funded to travel to the Ukraine in spring 2014 and present the Spiritually Healthy Leader� series to leaders there. We are excited about this opportunity to equip Christ-followers in eastern Europe!
Already we are receiving requests for training in other remote areas across the globe, which we plan to pursue throughout 2014 as God moves and provides. We invite you to consider partnering with us to reach and equip believers in remote areas. Please note that your gift is tax deductible. Thank you for your generosity and your prayers!
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 Feature: THE PRESCRIPTION FOR WINTER BLUES | The days grow shorter and darker. Fatigue, irritability, loss of interest in activities, lack of concentration, depression, and unhealthy eating .... an estimated one in four Americans feel the biological impact of winter. Up to 11 million are diagnosed with even more severe form of the "winter blues" in a medical condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder (appropriately acronymized as SAD.)
Just as the calendar's seasons impact our physical function, seasonal shifts are inevitable in our spiritual lives, too.
Diagnosing a Spiritual Winter
 A season of spiritual barrenness and cold may or may not correspond to the winter months on the calendar. Yet the symptoms between the medical condition and the spiritual one are markedly similar.
Just as the winter blahs reveal themselves in lethargic listlessness, a spiritual winter reveals itself in indifference. Where previously you may have raged at God, begged Him for revelation, pursued Him energetically, or voiced deep passion, now you experience no such urgency.
The descent is gradual, similar to how daylight shortens by only a few minutes each day as autumn moves into winter. Quite simply, over time you lose interest in pursuing God.
In a spiritual winter, you're not motivated to move beyond that state. It is much easier to hibernate comfortably in your faith, rather than face your apathy. You become dulled to God's voice. Indifference is a gradual takeover of the idea that you're OK because you are a believer and change doesn't matter so much. Apathy has begun to work its subtle, dark damage.
The Prescription for Winter Blues
Medically speaking, winter blues' main culprit is light - or lack of it, to be more exact. Reduced sunlight disrupts your body's internal clock, causes a drop in serotonin (a brain chemical which affects mood), and melatonin (which regulates sleep and mood patterns.) The human body drains itself, trying to compensate for what it misses.
That's why the most common prescription for Seasonal Affective Disorder is exposure to light, whether in spending more time outdoors, with prescriptive light boxes, or even taking a winter vacation to a sunny location.
In scripture, light is a symbol of God's presence and movement. A spiritual winter creeps upon us when God's presence seeps out of our lives. The prescription for a spiritual winter mimics the medical prescription: exposure to the light ... in this case, through His Word and His presence. Time with God begets a passion for Him.
Those affected by medical winter blues take steps to prepare themselves for the inevitable barren season. Likewise, the cure for spiritual winter is best when preemptive. Jesus said, "Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you."
Spiritually speaking, so can we.
Growth Point
A spiritual winter is best treated preemptively.
Scripture
Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. (John 12:35, NIV)
Prayer Points - Recall a time when you experienced a spiritual winter. What led to that season and what helped you come out of it?
- Why is indifference towards God so damaging?
- Ask God to show you one way to prevent a spiritual winter.
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| What People Are Saying ... |
 "I want to thank you for the encouraging material you provide in The Cultivator. As always, it is good stuff -- relevant and timely. Thanks for all you do for the Kingdom and for the example you have been for my wife and me." Ray C.
Hear more testimonies from Christians in remote areas served by 30 60 100 MINISTRIES staff here.
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