TAKE YOUR TIME

AT THE VERY TIP of the Aegean Sea, lies an interesting Greek island known as IKARIA (ICARIA).

In addition to Ikaria's legendary beauty and clean mountain air and therapeutic hot springs, there's an authentic old world charm that surrounds the island and its people.

Studies reveal that Ikaria's people live much longer and more peaceful lives than we Americans. One of the most noted rarities of the Ikarians is their take on time.

It has been reported that the Ikarian people attribute no regard to time. They don't even use clocks. That's right, NO CLOCKS.

Quite often, one of the most complicated things involving our daily stresses is clock watching. Our efforts to "track time" and "be on time" and "utilize more time" steady increase our stresses.

The time-conscious thing contributes to many of our stresses by keeping us in a constant rush. And if there's one thing stress-survivors should never do, it's rushing. "Thou shall not rush" is definitely a top De-stress commandment.

We are not suggesting that we all load up our trucks and move to Ikaria, nor are we hinting to forfeit our time-related responsibilities. The intended purpose is to simply slow our pace--TAKE OUR TIME.

Take time to enjoy some of the joys of life. . .

Take time to savor the beauty of each new dawn.

Take time to admire the glory of the moon and the stars.

Take time to appreciate the sacrifices of friends and loved ones.

Take time to tell God thank-you for blessings large and small.

As we dedicate more time to the so-called little things in life, we'll begin to experience not only beauty and joy, but also the benefits of less stress.


Peace I leave with you . . .

PROMISES

For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen,
to the glory of God through us.

2 Corinthians 1:20 (NKJV)

People make promises all the time and then fail to follow through.

It's sad but it's true. We sink easily into the nitty-gritty of stressfulness depending on the promises of unfaithful family and friends.

Let's not try and kid ourselves. Every promise is not created equal; Every person does not honor his/her word.

Bouncing from one stress to another, many of us learned the hard way whose promises we could depend on.

The words recorded in 2 Corinthians 1:20 assure us that God's promises are "YES" and "AMEN." They are absolutely real.

Those steadfast, immovable, always abounding promises of God are the stress-survivors ultimate life line.

We can depend on God. If He has promised "it" -- whatever it is -- we need not worry; we need not stress. We hold on just a little while longer to that "YES" and "AMEN."



Peace I leave with you . . .

HE WHO HELPS

I will lift up my eyes to the hills-

From whence comes my help.

My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.

He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.

Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD is your keeper;
The LORD is your shade at your right hand.

The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.

The LORD shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.

The LORD shall preserve your going out
and your coming in
From this time forth,
and even forevermore.


Psalm 121, NKJV

Peace I leave with you . . .

DON'T COMPLAIN

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,

plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future." ~ Jeremiah 29:11

We've had some good days, and we've had some hills to climb.

We've had some weary days and some sleepless nights.

Yet, when we look around and we think things over,

all of our good days outweighs our bad days, so we won't complain.

How many of us honestly don't complain?

Come on, shame the devil and tell the truth.
Whether for justifiable causes or petty-anny reasons,

fretting and complaining only makes stress worse.

When we choose to complain,

the thoughts and energies invested on our pity-parties

could just as powerfully be applied to our confidences.

Whether it's sickness, loneliness, debt, lack of money,

or caught-up in some other hard place of despair,

God knows every one of our stresses.

Though sometimes the clouds hang low,

and we can hardly see the road,

Just keep trusting and believing

until God comes and dries all our tears away

and turns our midnights into days.

Peace I leave with you . . .