overcome

Jimmy Tuman — National Youth Speaker and Mentor💕

Today I had the pleasure of meeting some special friends for breakfast🍳. Jim Tuman, his wife, Jan, and my longtime friend, Ginger, and I met for breakfast at a local resteraunt.

Jim Tuman is a sociologist, educator, and has been a radio and TV personality who has spoken to millions of people in more than 1,500 schools nationwide.

He has asked kids to examine their motives, goals, feelings, and wants them to make meaningful decisions about their futures. He has helped prevent teen suicide across the country.

Jim wants to create school environments where students and teachers feel ‘safe, valued, and loved,’ he says. Here is a PBS documentary that was done on Jim it is very moving! People are in tears over Jim’s unique compassion!

https://youtu.be/JN7gCRPJBHc

You will overcome ♥️

You can overcome anything with God.❤️ It’s true. God will never fail you. Even when there is loss. There is gain. It’s the natural process of life. God will recompense. Don’t ever think it’s too late or that evil has won. God has a way of working things out in your favor. Just persist. Do good. Never give up. Keep in mind that all things work together unto good for those that love the Lord.🙏

About Zina

Zina Hermez has authored the best-selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. She’s been featured in numerous articles, guest posts, podcasts, websites, newsletters, and magazines. She’s just been featured on the popular, Intuitive Edge podcast! She’s also been on ESPN’s “Solutions from the Huddle” broadcast and on Grace and Truth Radio World! Zina’s written several hundred articles and has taught thousands of students from all over the world from many different backgrounds and cultures. She’s appeared in Christianity Today, the Suite T blog, and the Southern Writers magazine among other places. She writes on faith, science, and overcoming adversity. She also writes on health and diet and loves to help others. Her latest book, Not Without God: Hope In the Storm is live and for sale! You can order your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Not-Without-God-Hope-Storm-ebook/dp/B09P9T2DLT

#ThisIs44💕

Life does not always turn out the way we pictured, but I’m thankful for the many blessings God has bestowed. He continues to show his love and favour. Despite any hardship, God is kind. You see, there can’t not be hardship in life—Jesus suffered first and foremost. So any pain, loss, or hurt we experience we should take up and give to him. God is wonderful. In every loss, there is gain, in every (heart) break, there is restoration, and in every battle, there is peace. God never leaves. It is usually us who turn away, and even then, he is standing in our corner cheering us on. He’s rooting for us. He wants to be there. The Lord tells us that in this world we will have troubles, but [to take heart] he has overcome the world!💖

About Zina

Zina Hermez has authored the best selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. She’s been featured in numerous articles, guest posts, podcasts, websites, newsletters, and magazines. She’s been featured on ESPN’s ‘Solutions from the Huddle’ broadcast and on Grace and Truth Radio World. Zina’s written almost 500 articles and has taught thousands of students from all over the world spanning many different backgrounds and cultures. She’s appeared in Christianity Today, the Suite T blog, and the Southern Writers magazine among other places. She writes on faith, science, and overcoming adversity. She also writes on health and diet and loves to help others. Her latest book, Not Without God: Hope In the Storm has just been released, on Jan 24! Order your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Not-Without-God-Hope-Storm-ebook/dp/B09P9T2DLT

My strength comes from the Lord!♥️

God is my strength. That’s all there is to it. There is no one else. He’s the one who brings me through. There’s another in the fire.🔥 It’s Jesus! I can’t explain it any better. Any success, achievement, overcoming, or triumph I’ve had is all because of him!

About Zina

Zina Hermez has authored the best selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. She’s been featured in numerous articles, guest posts, podcasts, websites, newsletters, and magazines. She’s been featured on ESPN’s ‘Solutions from the Huddle’ broadcast and on Grace and Truth Radio World. Zina’s written hundreds of articles and has taught thousands of students from all over the world spanning many different backgrounds and cultures. She’s appeared in Christianity Today, the Suite T blog, and the Southern Writers magazine among other places. She writes on faith, science, and overcoming adversity. She also writes on health and diet and loves to help others. Her latest book, Not Without God: Hope In the Storm will soon be released on Jan 24! Order your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Not-Without-God-Hope-Storm-ebook/dp/B09P9T2DLT

Have your dreams been met?🙏✨🌟

Have you found what you’ve been searching for? Do you know what it is? Have you accomplished what you’ve been dreaming about? If not, how can you get to it? There is no limit to what God can do. But we are the miracle workers, too. Without Him we can do nothing, but we have to do something to start! We can be co-workers with God!

When you are praying for your wishes to come true, you are RECEIVING, too. Whether you realize it or not, God is giving. You open the gateway. The Holy Spirit gives you guidance. You may not hear directly from the Lord. However, once you ask or make prayer requests, there is an unfolding of events that take place and you eventually get your answers.

The essence of faith is the ability to see something good in your life with no evidence.

Although everything does not turn out the way we want it to. There is God’s will, and there is our will—they don’t always coincide. The sooner you accept that the happier you will be. Take heart, though, God knows what is best for you, when something doesn’t work out the way you want it to—remember, God could’ve been shielding you, or teaching you a life-lesson.

There will be new experiences, you will plan, hope, and believe!

When I got out of the hospital after my accident at sixteen, I got settled at home, I pondered upon how I would go back to school. I was active before it. It took me a long time to adjust and even think of myself as beautiful. I knew that life would be difficult. I wondered what it would be like. I wondered if I would make new friends, or have a career like I always wanted.

I wondered about my future, a lot.

I hoped that I would one day walk again, and indeed, I am, but not the way I expected to. I use crutches (the kind with the rings around the arms) because of weakness, pain and tightness. Considering the fact that there were a few physicians who predicted I would not walk at all, I have made huge progress.

I held onto what I knew–God would get me through, because that is his promise!

I didn’t know what the next day would bring; I could not predict anything. But I knew that with God by my side, overcoming would become second nature!

I’m someone who wants to maintain a relationship with the Lord. Even when friendships failed, I knew Jesus would be there. Every time someone rejected me, I became closer to him. I want you to remember that in your trials; His love is sufficient.

Making God your best friend can prepare you for any life event. Throughout my life, I’ve asked God what to do. Jesus says “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever” (John 14:16).

The advocate is the Holy Spirit, and He will lead and guide you. Get to know God as soon as you can. Talk to God like you would your best friend. Was there a time when you knew that only he could help? Were you ever in a desperate place? A minute to minute, moment to moment, dependence-on-God-kind-of-place?

Maybe you weren’t too spiritual when you encountered it, or maybe you were but then needed Him more than ever before!!!💫

About Zina

5A1B90A4-7231-46E9-A9FD-907EC16171A5 Zina Hermez authored the best-selling book, Not Without God: A Story of Survival. Her stories have been featured in Christianity Today, the Southern Writers Magazine, various guest blogs, medical journals, newsletters, and she’s written over 200 of her very own articles. She’s had the privilege of working with thousands of students from different backgrounds and parts of the world. She’s taught at automotive corporations like General Motors, Ford, Nissan, Bosch, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, and worked with students of all ages. She began her own teaching services incorporating math and other subjects. Her writing endeavors have earned her an invitation to speak at the Harvard Faculty Club’s “Business Expert Forum.” Zina’s goal is to help others overcome adversity. Socializing with friends, taking trips, listening to music, and networking are among her hobbies. You can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter.

Some Things I’ve Learned

These last few months have been particularly stressful, and I feel like my life has been flipped upside down. But I won’t get into all of that right now. What has happened will come up later. So stay tuned for more.

Nonetheless, I have not given up. In my book, there is no such thing as giving up! It is never too late to heal. But we cannot heal the things we don’t acknowledge. That’s right. We are able to heal ourselves.

We have a marvelous God who never gives up on us! I’ve always held onto what I know–God will get me through. After my accident at the age of sixteen years old, I didn’t know what the next day would bring.

I could not predict anything. But I knew that with God by my side, overcoming would become second nature. It did! Writing helps me process my thoughts. There are some things I’ve learned that I want to share.

There has been a lot of pain coming up in my mind. Solid truths that are undeniable and issues I avoid. But when you keep an open heart, you keep an open life! When you extend yourself it means a lot. People see your works and are inspired. They, too, may rise up and face challenges of their own.

Finally, let go of everything you think you are holding onto. Ultimately, you are not the one in control. So whenever fear tries to hold you back, remember to take risks. Fear tells us we have to hold tightly to our lives. But fear is a liar. Because God will see you through!

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About Zina

Zina Hermez authored the best-selling book, “Not Without God: A Story of Survival.” Her stories have been featured in various guest articles, medical journals, magazines, newsletters, and over 200 of her very own blog posts. She works as an English teacher in the Detroit area. She’s had the privilege of working with thousands of students from different backgrounds and parts of the world. She’s taught at automotive corporations like General Motors, Nissan, Toyota, Ford, and Mercedes-Benz. Zina began her own teaching services incorporating math and other subjects. She currently homeschools at churches and teaches creative and structured writing as well as other Language arts courses. Zina’s goal is to help others overcome adversity. She strives to do what she longs to. You can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

What will YOU overcome?

I had to read a lot in college. I majored in english and minored in history. The books I read sometimes overlapped. Something I was learning about in a Literature class would show up on a History syllabus. One of my favorite passages is by the great abolitionist, Frederick Douglass. I was required to read his book, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.” This popular quote out of his book still resonates with me, and many others:

“From my earliest recollection, I date the entertainment of a deep conviction that slavery would not always be able to hold me within its foul embrace; and in the darkest hours of my career in slavery, this living word of faith and spirit of hope departed not from me, but remained like ministering angels to cheer me through the gloom. This good spirit was from God, and to him I offer thanksgiving and praise.”

How does this relate to me? Well, it doesn’t – directly. But as a survivor, I can choose to take the “victim” mentality and not try to accomplish all I know I can! But like Douglas, who stood up for his rights, he even taught himself how to read and write, I have rights too. No one can put limits on my abilities because no one knows what God will do.

What Frederick Douglass wrote speaks to my soul, and it can speak to yours no matter what you’re going through. His confidence that he’d be freed from slavery, and his knowledge of God is parallel to my knowledge that God will set me free of any bondage in my body, thoughts, or predicament! Your challenge may be different from mine. How can you apply this passage by Frederick Douglass to your life? What are you confident about, and know you will overcome?

About Zina

Zina Hermez authored the book Not Without God: A Story of Survival and created the Spinal Injury Solutions! website. Zina works as an English as a Second Language Instructor and has been an educator for more than fifteen years. Her thousands of students have been from many parts of the world, and she writes articles on faith and overcoming challenges. Her stories have been featured in Christianity Today, guest posts, newsletters, medical journals and other publications. To learn more about Zina visit http://zinahermez.com

Make Progress

The survivor, the victim, the recovering addict, the overcomer, and the high achiever all have a fear in common–going back! If you fit into any of these categories, I’m here to tell you that is not God’s purpose in your life. I know first hand.

When we survive or recover, we don’t have to fall into depression, or regress back into what was hindering us before. The suffix ‘Gress’ means to take a step. God does not want you to take a step back–He wants you to make PROGRESS! I don’t know who I’m writing this for, but I felt that someone needed to read it.

When Jesus raised a man from the dead (John 11), the man didn’t die soon after that. He lived a long time! When Paul the Apostle made the lame man to walk in Acts 3, he didn’t go back to lie in his bed when Paul left town!

You overcame because you fought. You accomplished because you worked hard. You withstood because you prayed. You got better because you worked on yourself. God will not take that away. You lose your blessings when you believe the lies that say you won’t amount to anything!

About Zina

How to Defeat Pain

When you are in a painful situation, you can’t always see past it to a better future. It can be difficult to feel that things will ever change. You don’t always see the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. But the pain will pass! Everything changes. You have to be gracious. You have to stay thankful. You have to wait.

I encourage you to do that. I am trying to stay thankful in the midst of some stressful situations. When I fall apart it does not help much. So stay strong. Resilience is key. It’s about bouncing back. Don’t get stuck in “woe is me.”

When you rise above those negative feelings you soon realize that you have conquered them. You’ve overcome. You come back to grace… You come back to peace…

A changed mind is a very powerful thing! ~Zina Hermez

About Zina

Zina Hermez authored the book Not Without God: A Story of Survival and created the Spinal Cord Injury Solutions! online website. Zina works as an English Language Instructor, and has been an educator for nearly fifteen years. Her thousands of students have been from many parts of the world, and she’s worked with all ages.

Zina writes articles on faith and overcoming disability, and her stories have been featured in Christianity Today, Spinal Cord Injury Zone, SCI Access, newsletters, and medical journals among many other various publications. To learn more about Zina visit http://zinahermez.com.

A Few Ways I Overcome Adversity

Tonight I’d like to give you a few tips on how you can deal with adversity, or any challenge you may be going through. These are simple methods that you can apply. I bet you’ve already practiced them before. You may be practicing them now. If not, tonight should hopefully reinforce them a little bit.

What are some difficulties we may face? Loss of employment, loss of a loved one, an accident, divorce, and children moving away from home only name a few, the list continues. Some may practice yoga, some may go away on a weekend retreat, and some may take a vacation.

But these are simple, daily things I do that I believe can also help you. My hope is that you receive something, and gain something positive. If only one of these tips help you, that would make me happy!

Daily Prayer – I talk to God daily. I sometimes read Bible verses and short prayers in the morning. If I can commit to just fifteen minutes a day of doing this, it really helps. I especially talk to God when it is quiet. That is when I can hear Him best, in feelings and in thoughts.

We can read the psalms. We can say the Lord’s prayer. We can light a candle. We can simply say “Amen.” We can thank Him throughout the day via a powerful form of prayer, praise.

Exercise – Exercise or physical therapy is something you should be doing at least a few times a week. If you do not need physical therapy, exercise is still priceless. Find a physical therapist or trainer that can design a safe but challenging program for you. Keeping an exercise log is a great way to track your progress!

In his book The Omni Diet: Lose up to 12 LBS in 2 weeks Dr. Daniel Amen says, “When you are ill or in the hospital, your energy demands go up four times and it is protein your body uses as fuel to repair itself. And muscle is your protein reserve. Studies show that the less muscle you have the less chance you have of a full recovery.”

There are more suggestions and tips I would like to give. And you will be hearing more about them in the upcoming weeks. Let me know if you have any ideas of other ways we can deal with obstacles in our lives. You can leave a note for me in the comments.

About Zina

Zina Hermez authored the book Not Without God: A Story of Survival and created the Spinal Cord Injury Solutions! on line website. Zina works as an English Language Instructor, and has been an educator for nearly fifteen years her thousands of students have been from many parts of the world and she’s worked with all ages.

Zina writes articles on faith and overcoming disability and her stories have been featured in Christianity Today, Spinal Cord Injury Zone, SCI Access, newsletters, and medical journals among many other various publications. To learn more about Zina visit http://zinahermez.com.