Revitalize Your Church

I saw an interesting sign on a box a while back-- "Warning, contents may explode under stress!" Don't you wish volatile people had labels like that? "Warning -- This person is stressed out and ready to explode!" Then, we'd all know when to steer clear. Of course, from time to time, we all need a label like that, because stress is common to everyone. Life is stressful. The day you're free from stress is the day they carry you away in a coffin. We can't expect to be stress-free this side of heaven. Businessman, Malcolm Forbes recognized this when he said, "If you have a job without aggravations, you don't have a job." We can learn to deal with our situations, however, so the stress won't get the best of us! Here are a few thoughts on beating stress in your daily life: 1. Try to take life one day at a time. Poet Robert Frost said, "Just take things as they come, and handle them the best you can." 2. Remember tha...

We live in an anxious age where stress is epidemic.  It is impossible to live a stress free life, but there is a healthy way to navigate.  Allow me to suggest seven healthy ways to reduce stress and anxiety in your life. 1.  Embrace the demands. I have discovered that it takes much more emotional energy to dread and avoid difficult situations than it does to just dive in and accept them.  At least half of the emotional drain comes from worrying ahead of time. 2.  Ask, "Why am I doing this?" Busy activity tends to accumulate, especially for people who have trouble saying "no."  Review your commitments regularly, looking for unnecessary burdens.  Is this a part of your mission in life?  Does your schedule reflect your priorities and purpose?   What activities bring delight?  Which ones drain you?  It is ok to drop unmeaningful duties that drain you. 3.  Build breathing space into your schedule. Busy peop...

Whatever you're stewing over isn't worth the stomach knot. I t's not worth the knot! I've found, from personal experience, that worrying doesn't help matters one bit. It just makes the burden heavier. We all know we shouldn't worry -- but circumstances beyond our control set us off. Anxiety is toxic waste oozing through our mind and body. It's contagious too. You can get a whole room full of people to start fretting with just a few negative fearful words. The crazy thing is -- most of the stuff we worry about never happens. And that's a fact. The other day, I came across my worry file. Several years ago, as I was trying to quit the worry habit, I would write my worries down and place them in my file. Now -- over a decade later, I've unearthed my pile of worries. Guess what. Of the dozen or so worries I had placed in the file, NOT ONE OF THEM happened!! I had spent restless nights, and hours of inner churning for nothing!! One wise guy figured it o...

Two men were climbing a steep hill on a bicycle built for two. When they finally made it to the top, the first man said, "Whew! That was a stiff climb. I think it was the hardest hill I've ever been on.""It certainly was," his companion replied, "and if I hadn't kept the brake on, we would have slid down backwards!" When we worry, it's like pedaling uphill with the brakes on. Anxious thoughts make life ten times harder. Unfortunately, our natural human tendency is to worry about our situations. Is there anybody on this earth who is not familiar with the uncomfortable gnawing of worry in the belly? I seriously doubt it. Yet, although worry is familiar to us all, we don't have to treat it like a welcomed guest. In fact, we have every right in the world to kick it out! "No Vacancy" -- There's no place for anxious thinking here! How can we evict worry from our lives? Let me offer a few suggestions: 1. Talk to yourself! A great way...

Stop worrying and start living! Worry is not a new problem for the human race. It’s been around from the very beginning. In the early 1600’s, Francis de Sales made the following observations about the nature of worry. I found it to be a source of refreshing encouragement – just as good for today as 400 years ago. Stop worrying. Whatever it is that you must do to follow the path that God has shown you, Do the best of your ability. And when you have done it, move on to the next thing. Don’t keep re-running it in your mind, trying to decide whether your efforts were too little or too much. whether it was a great deed or a small one. whether you might have done better. If it wasn’t sinful and you were trying to do the will of God, It is enough. Don’t worry. Move on. Simply. Calmly. Peacefully. Follow the path the Lord shows you, free from anxiety. Otherwise, your anxiety will undermine your efforts to grow. If you do fail, don’t let anxiety overcome you. But admit your failure quietly, hu...

Never trouble trouble Until trouble troubles you; For you only make your trouble Double-trouble when you do; And the trouble — like a bubble — That you're troubling about, May be nothing but a zero With its rim rubbed out. -- David Keppel

It's criminal to live cautiously. . . -- Jesus (Mat. 25:26, The Message)

(Fretting) always ends in sin. We imagine that a little anxiety and worry are an indication of how really wise we are; it is much more an indication of how really wicked we are. Fretting springs from a determination to get our own way. -- Oswald Chambers, Lectures at Clapham

My friend, Kathy, posted a beautiful thought, Cold Sore Worry, on her blog today. Her husband, Rocky has a biopsy today which is really frightening. Yet, they are trusting in the Lord. . . regardless of what comes. She mentioned something about how yesterday's sermon helped them, and that really blessed my heart. Please pray for Rocky and Kathy as they walk through this vally of uncertainty.

Just in case you're in the "pressure cooker", here are a few stress busters. Take one or two as needed. 1) God is bigger than any problem you have. 2) You can accomplish big things only when you can say "no" to little things. 3) When you've done all you can -- let it go. 4) Not much is worth worrying about. Worry selectively. 5) With God all things are possible! 6) An ounce of action is worth a ton of worry. 7) Most of the things we worry about never come true. 8) Live on purpose! Set priorities and use them to chart your course. 9) It's not the big job, but the little worries that drain our energy. 10) Refuse to allow fear to direct your life. 11) Relax. Don't sweat the small stuff. 12) Problems will come. You can't avoid them. The real you will "show through" when the pressure is on. 13) Life goes on. 14) Look for the joyful surprises -- the postcards from heaven -- in every day. They are there, but you must search for them. 15) Few t...

The centipede was happy quite until a toad in fun Said, "Please tell me which leg goes after which?" That worked her mind in such a pitch, She lay distracted in the ditch, Considering how to run. -- Anonymous

I saw an interesting sign on a box a while back-- "Warning, contents may explode under stress!" Don't you wish volatile people had labels like that? "Warning -- This person is stressed out and ready to explode!" Then, we'd all know when to steer clear! Of course -- from time to time, we'd all have to wear a label like that -- because stress is common to everyone. Life is stressful. The day you're free from stress is the day they carry you away in a coffin. We can't expect to be stress-free this side of heaven. Businessman, Malcolm Forbes recognized this when he said, "If you have a job without aggravations, you don't have a job." We can learn to deal with our situations, however, so the stress won't get the best of us! Here are a few thoughts on beating stress in your daily life: 1. Try to take life one day at a time. Poet Robert Frost said, "Just take things as they come, and handle them the best you can." 2. Remember...

Go courageously to do whatever you are called to do. If you have any fears, say to your soul: "The Lord will provide for us.” If your weakness troubles you, cast yourselves on God, and trust in Him. The apostles were mostly unlearned fishermen, but God gave them learning enough for the work they had to do. Trust in him, depend on his providence; fear nothing. -- St. Francis De Sales (17th Century)