STEP OUT ON FAITH

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart;

and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him,

and he shall direct thy paths.

Do not be wise in your own eyes;

Fear the Lord

and depart from evil.

~ Proverbs 3:5-7 ~

Peace I leave with you . . .

DEAD HORSES

IT SOUNDS SO FUNNY to hear people say we're "Beating a dead horse to death."

Though none are guilty of actually beating horses, we stand accused of taking things to the extreme.

For instance . . . Our personal problems.

Notice how some survivors insist on explaining unfortunate incidents a thousand times. Over and over again.

Harping on negative people-places-and things elevates stress and stress-related issues.

Many times we dwell on the negative, even though it increases our stress. We fail to realize that the more we speak of ill situations, the more we think of them; and the more we think of them, the more we subject ourselves to stress.

Remaining in a negative rut keeps our stresses out of control.

If we are to reduce the ravages of stressful living, it's important to stop rehashing and rehearsing unfavorable stuff.

We may have to condition our mind to do this. That's okay. Go ahead and do whatever needs to be done. Read, write, pray, sing, dance, walk, run, ride . . . just find a way to stop needlessly repeating stresses.

Let's learn to eliminate the negative and accentuate the positive.


Peace I leave with you . . .

AROUND AND AROUND AND AROUND

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

~ Proverbs 3:5-6

Who was it that first said, "Life is like a merry-go-round?"

We, who've witnessed different stages of life and watched situations go up-and-down, and around-and-around, are inclined to agree.

Let's recall a particular time when we were going in circles. Remember how it stressed us to be stuck in those cycles of going around and around and never gaining or retaining a thing?

Life's ups and downs can tremendously aggravate our stresses. Not only are we thrown for unexpected loops, but we're sometimes faced with issues spinning completely out of control.

Rest assured, in any phase of life, the more around-and-around-and-around we go, the more up-up-and-away our stress will be?

What choices do we have?

What do we do when life's merry-go-round causes us stress?

Proverbs 3 offers the ultimate solution to "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. . ." As we experience mega-stresses over going around and around in circles, let's remember to trust God.



Peace I leave with you . . .

IMAGINATION

CAN WE safely say that we all, in one situation or another, have leaned to our imagination?

That, "Yes," we mistook something for real that really wasn't?

Many of us have perceived or believed things that have caused lots of stress solely because of imagination.


From seeing illusions, to feeling anxiety, to thinking terrible thoughts--our imagination revealed one thing, but we discovered another.

We might as well admit it, because we know it's true. We've been in situations similar to what The Temptations once sang, "It was just my 'magination, running away with me."

Imagination, itself, is not a bad thing. The power of positive imagination goes far beyond amazing. It's when we indulge ourselves to the point of creating stresses that causes us issues.

No doubt, we'll always be imagining. But we can minimize stresses from fogged imaginations by remembering these simple steps.

1) See things as they really are
2) Handle emotions with care
3) Consider the whole picture
4) Be receptive to the truth
5) Proceed with caution

Throughout life, even the best-of- the-best will experience some sort of jacked-up imagination. Before the stresses begin, let's be prepared to distinguish fact from fiction.




Peace I leave with you . . .

BLESS YOU!

The LORD bless you
and keep you;


The LORD make
His face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;


The LORD turn
His face toward you
and give you peace.

~ Numbers 6:22-26 (NIV)

Peace I leave with you . . .

LIGHT OF THE WORLD

MATTHEW 5:14-16







YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.

A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
Neither do people light a lamp and
put it under a bowl.

Instead they put it on its stand,
and it gives light to everyone in the house.

In the same way,
let your light shine before men,
that they may see your good deeds
and praise your Father in heaven.



Peace I leave with you . . .

WHY ME?

"CAST YOUR BURDEN ON THE LORD . . . AND HE SHALL SUSTAIN YOU . . ." ~Psalm 55:22~

IS IT IMAGINED or is it indeed real that almost everywhere we go and everyone we see, all are dealing with some sort of stress?

If it's not one thing, it's another!

What did we do--or not do--to become so surrounded by adversity? Why is this senseless stress and all this mess making our lives miserable?

Why are we forever troubled and stressed over issues with the wrong people around us? AND why are we even moreso affected by the "supposedly" right people in our lives? How can we expect to overcome so much stress?

Weary and disgusted, we stagger from day to day, singing the same ole' song, "Why me?"

The "Why Me" syndrome has befriended the best of us. And we cannot seem to understand the "ifs," "ands," or "buts," about any of it. All we know for certain is that life has dumped it's dirt on us and we're constantly trying to dig ourselves from deep-down under.

The suggestion from Psalm 55 sheds some light amid our dark situations and stresses. Sure, casting our burden on the Lord is easier said than done. But, if we sincerely believe in God's grace and mercy, we're compelled to trust His Word and do as It says.

Times may be hard, but as those seasoned-survivors often say, "God is still on the throne. He sits high and looks low, and He never misses a thing." If we intend to be successful stress-survivors . . . God is our answer.


Peace I leave with you . . .