LET'S DE-STRESS AND PERSEVERE

"You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God,

 you will receive what He has promised."

~ Hebrews 10:36

PERSEVERE? Does this mean keep on keeping on, even in stress? Absolutely! 

Often times we allow the ordeal of stress to steal our strength . . . to warp our reasoning . . . to cloud our God-given visions . . . and, ultimately, to diminish our confidence in God's Word. 

Let's de-stress and persevere while waiting and watching for God's promises. Let's renew our stamina with a de-stress favorite from HEBREWS 10:32-36 (NIV).

32) Remember those earlier days

after you had received the light,

when you stood your ground in a great contest

in the face of suffering.

33) Sometimes you were publicly exposed

 to insult and persecution;

at other times you stood side by side

with those who were so treated.

34) You sympathized with those in prison

and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property,

because you knew that you yourselves had better

and lasting possessions.

35) So do not throw away your confidence;

it will be richly rewarded.

36) You need to persevere so that when

you have done the will of God,

you will receive what he has promised.

 

 

"Devoted to relieving stress using principles based on God's Word."

BETRAYAL

"For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known." ~Luke 12:2~





Be it a little or a lot, we all have experienced the stressful sting of betrayal. OUCH!!!

Each set of betraying circumstances -- no matter how, when, or where -- carries a certain degree of stressfulness. So any way we look at it, betrayal presents us countless stresses.

Try as we may, it's a huge challenge to move beyond betrayals when lied on, talked about, cheated or mistreated. Back-stabbing can upset even the best of us.

Recently, overnight singing sensation Susan Boyle said when initially faced with heartless sneers and giggles from an audience on TV show "Britain's Got Talent," she had to be courageous and continue on. That's the key to moving past betrayal . . . WE MUST KEEP-ON-KEEPING-ON.

Any time we're faced with thoughtless, cantankerous, and uncalled-for actions, we need to be armed with tried-and-true methods to keep moving forward.

Yes, betrayal can cause severe stress mentally, physically, and spiritually. But if we remain steadfast in our self-confidence and our self-love, we will survive.

Always keep in mind that we have a say-so in the matter too. Betrayal cannot stress us unless we allow it to. We do not have to roll over and wallow in dire stress, if we don't want to.

Learning to move past hurt and humiliation is never easy. But armed with de-stressing options can surely help us stress less.


Peace I leave with you . . .

HOPSCOTCH

"The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore." ~ Psalm 121:8 ~


Remember back in the day when we played that old game called Hopscotch? Oh what fun we had! We must've played that game a thousand times.

First, we used a pointed stick to draw the hopscotch diagram in the dirt: One square box, then two side-by-side; Another square box, another two side-by-side; We repeated that a third time, then added one last box to complete it.

Next, we found a marker—usually a piece of broken glass or a bottle top—and tossed it from box to box, (in sequence, of course) while hopping back and forth with one foot in the single boxes and two feet in the double boxes. If we tossed our marker outside the line or accidentally hopped a foot outside it, we’d loose a turn and have to wait for our time to start over.

While hopscotch was mostly played by energetic young folk, it required a great deal of strategy and skill. And for every ounce of fun we enjoyed, there were times when we became equally frustrated.

Come to think of it, we’re still caught up in that hopscotch shuffle today. Whether we realize it or not, each of our lives demands some sort of strategy and skill to stay afloat. And indeed, fun and frustration continue to swarm around us.

One unforgettable fact of the hopscotch from yesteryear is that no matter how frustrating the game became—or we became—we kept on playing.

Isn’t that so much like our lives today? In order to "play the game" of life, we hop back and forth with our various strategies and skills. We’re sometimes successful . . . and sometimes not. We fall down . . . but we get up.

True, we don’t always hit the mark. And, yes, our feet still get tangled up now and then. We suffer losses. Starting over is often necessary. But regardless of how stressed or how upset we become, we must keep on keeping on. For we've discovered, back in those youthful years, that there are times in life when we don’t always win.

Whether engaged in a fun game of hopscotch or a frustrating game of having-to-cope-with-life, keep hopping.


Peace I leave with you . . .