ANTIDOTE TO STRESSBUSTERS 4

Part 4

Now here we go with the remaining points in overcoming stress (its antidote)

E- ENJOY WHAT I ALREADY HAVE

Eccl. 3:13 "All of us should... enjoy what we have worked for. It is God's gift." Can you be so preoccupied in getting more that you don't enjoy what you've got? Sure. Can you so busy trying, with the desire to acquire more and more that you don't enjoy what's already in your garage? We have these beautiful homes but nobody enjoys them because nobody is at home. We're all staying late at the office.
We get into a syndrome: The desire to acquire. They've got that so we've got to get that. They've moved up so we've got to move up. We're trying to keep up with the Jones's not realizing they just refinanced or filed for bankruptcy. We buy things we don't need, with money we don't have to impress people we don't even like. We try to get more and more and we get overextended financially. Then both Mom and Dad have to work because we have to hustle to make ends meet. We spend all of our time making payments on these things we've bought and inevitably relationships begin to deteriorate. That's not the way God wants us to live.
"It's better to have only a little, with peace of mind, than be busy all the time..." The greatest things in life aren't things. As a pastor I've been at a lot of death beds. I have never had one person say at their final breath "I wish I had spent more time at the office." Many have said "I wish I had spent more time with my kids (wife, husband, building relationships, with God)". We get all of these things but you're not going to take them with you. You don't ever see a hearse pulling a U-haul. You're not taking it with you.
In American culture it's considered a tragedy if you "die penniless". What a better time to go! When you write your last check and you're totally empty -- you die! That's timing!
Enjoy what you have while you've got it and don't be worrying about getting more all of the time.

So therefore, the keyword here is CONTENTMENT.

ANTIDOTE TO STRESSBUSTERS 3

Part 3

In my previous blog, I did mention about the acronym RELAX...
1. R -- Realize my worth
2. E -- Enjoy what I already have
3. L -- Limit my labor
4. A -- Adjust my values
5. X -- eXchange my pressure for God's peace

Let's elaborate them one by one

R- REALIZE MY WORTH

The reason most people overwork is because they confuse their work and their worth. We think that if we work a whole lot, achieve a lot, we're worth a lot. We confuse what we do with who we are
When we meet someone, after we find out their name, usually the second question is "What do you do?" We get our worth, we think, from our work.
The Bible doesn't teach that. It says our worth is regardless of what our work is. Many of you grew up with a little phrase in your mind that says "you're a nobody." Maybe a teacher told you that. Maybe a former friend. Maybe a brother or sister. Maybe a parent said, "You're never going to amount to much." The real reason you overwork is you say, "I'll show them. I will prove my worth by my accomplishments, my achievements." You never accomplish enough to feel satisfied. "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt." That's not true. Names do hurt. Names last far longer than broken bones. Many years later you're still hearing a little inner voice that says,
"You've got to keep paddling. You've got to keep working. Somebody may catch up.
Somebody may get ahead of you. You've got to prove your value, your significance, your worth, by overworking."
And you never can slow down.
The antidote is to realize what God says about you. James 1:18 "God decided to give us life through the word of truth so we might be the most important of all the things he made." God says you matter more than the rest of creation. You can relax; you don't have to prove your worth. If you were made by God, you're worth it. I am me and I'm OK because God don't make no junk. If you really understand and feel what you are worth to God – not just know it but really feel it -- it will change your life. If God likes me, and I like myself, if you don't like me, that's your problem. You don't spend your whole life trying to win the approval of other people. You don't need the approval of other people to be happy. But you do need to realize how valuable you are to God.
Jesus said in Matthew 6 "... your heavenly Father feeds the (sparrows). And you are far more valuable to him than they are." If God notices even when a bird falls to the ground and takes care of birds, don't you think He takes care of you?
1) You will never understand how much God loves you here on earth.
2) There is nothing you can ever do in life that will make God love you more than He already does.
3) There is nothing you can ever do that will make God love you any less. His love is not based on your performance. It's unconditional love. It's based on who He is.
You don't have to prove your worth by overworking. God says you are OK. God says "I have engraved you on the palms of my hands." Jesus died on the cross and they had put nails through His hands. He said, "I love you this much. I have engraved you on the palms of My hands." He can never forget how much He loves you. When you get to Heaven, He's going to show you those engraved hands.

Well... take time to ponder all these things...
We'll continue on my next blog!
God bless

ANTIDOTE TO STRESSBUSTERS 2

Part 2

Here's the continuation of the Antidote to Stressbusters...

A prescription for pressured people -- God's way to RELAX.
1. R -- Realize my worth
2. E -- Enjoy what I already have
3. L -- Limit my labor
4. A -- Adjust my values
5. X -- eXchange my pressure for God's peace

Wonderful isn't it? We should not forget that God created us for his glory...
We really don't need to drain ourselves to prove our worth as an individual...
Yes it is true that we need to utilize our God-given potential to its maximum but not to the point of putting our lives, relationship, etc. to risk. How come it becomes risky? If we burn out ourselves, our health, quality time with our love ones and our relationship with God will be at stake... If we are too preoccupied, our focus will be on finishing and winning our individual tasks... Remember, we cannot serve two masters AT THE SAME TIME...We can't claim that we love our families if we don't even spend quality time with them... I'm not saying that we should be too relax and neglect our obligation as worker, what I'm trying to imply is that we should learn how to balance things... Enjoy our work but never disregard our time with our family, friends and most specially our personal time with God.

ANTIDOTE TO STRESSBUSTERS 1

PART 1

Ever wonder what causes us to be so preoccupied that we forgot to have a break? Are we aware what took much of our time? What keeps us from relaxing and just do nothing other than just be ourselves...

Let me share with you a very helpful tools, which one way or another may help us in overcoming stress...

This was taken from Rick Warren at pastors.com...

Quiz to find out if you're a workaholic:

1. Are you always in a hurry?
2. Is your "To do" list always unrealistically long?
3. Do you use days off to catch up with unfinished work?
4. Has more than one person ever told you to slow down?
5. Do you feel guilty when you relax?
6. Do you have to get sick to take time off?
You know you're a workaholic when...
... all your Christmas cards come from business associates.
... you head out for "Back to School" night and you don't know which ones your kids attend.
... you wear a beeper to church.
... your family refers to you as "occupant".
... you can unwind after work by watching Tom Snyder.
... if you take business related reading material into the bathroom.


Many people think, if I give my life to God, if I really sell out to Jesus Christ, He's going to give me too much to do and I'll have more to do than I already have. Psalm 23:2 "He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters." If you were a sheep you would understand this because this is a perfect picture of paradise. He's referring to rest and refreshment. God is interested in your rest and recreation. He wants you to live a whole, balanced and complete life. He wants you to not be working all the time. If you really give your life to Jesus Christ, He's probably not going to add more on, as much as He's going to take some things out of it to slow you down.

Miracle, isn't it?

Yes you read it right... you need some miracles? Introducing... BLUE MIRACLE...It's a super liquid... super because it can be used to almost anything... can be used as

facial wash...

deodorant...

shampoo...

toothpaste...

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Hard to believe?

Then it's time that you should do!

Vacation Bible School

Season 4 of Vacation Bible School (VBS) is now going on at Blessed Hope Christian Community Church, Int'l... It's a week long activity with full of fun and learning....Children will be taught about some Bible Characters... How they made an impact to our Christian lives... This year's team is God's Big Backyard... it's all about Service: Serving our families, our friends, our community and our neighborhood!
Surely it will be a lot of fun! This is a great summer activity that every parents together with their children should not miss!

friends...

How does a friend and their friendship affect our lives?
Can we just live our life without them?
Could that be possible?
I've got a lot of friends...
Some of them I considered as bestfriends...
Some were just an ordinary friends...
But if we come to think of it...
Friends are somebody that can either made us or break us as a person...
There are some who never knew nor realize the essence of friendship...
But try to imagine life without them...
Can you do that?
Now, what are we waiting for?
Gather your thoughts and write a blog about your friend...
Mind you, it can make a difference...
They would surely appreciate it...
Enjoy friendship!

Living Life To The Fullest

Each one of us has its own life story to tell...
There are sad and fulfilling life story...
Whatever is our story, we should keep in our heart and mind
that our life is how we made it...
Life is a choice...
we may experienced downfalls but its not forever...
we just need to believe that life has a lot of options...
a lot of opportunities...
and most of all
Life has a lot of promises to claim...
Living life to the fullest is leaving our life in the hands of God...
Have a fruitful and fulfilling life everyone!