Being alive

Welcome back friend! Today in A Good Bible Study: StressLess we are continuing to embrace our gifts and talents and how using them makes us enjoy being alive! Let's pray first:

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for each way You have made us each unique, individual, and gifted. We ask You to not only reveal our gifts to us in an unmistakable way, but to also place in our hearts a sure knowing of how we can be a blessing while enjoying those gifts. In the name of Jesus, amen.

You know, sometimes it's tempting to de-value something that does not bring in money. "I'd like to take up pottery again, but it's just a hobby."

Other times we de-value what brings us joy and energizes our spirits because someone else doesn't think it's important or necessary. I say if it makes you a better you it's valuable. Your gift, talent, or skill may not be anything spectacular to someone else because it wasn't made for them, it was made for you. The only person who has to be enthusiastic about it is you.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." He wasn't talking about the enthusiasm of everyone else, because most people don't get on board with your dream until you experience success. Then they are all about cheering you on, right?

If you don't have anyone else tooting your horn, it's even more important for you to blast that thing yourself. I don't mean go around bragging about your gifts. I mean looking yourself in the mirror and telling yourself things like, "God loves me. God is always working in my situations. I am an awesome creation of God! I am talented and excited about sharing my gifts to brighten someone's day. God is bringing me people who appreciate my gifts and they are on the way!"

I'd like to especially encourage those of you working in the helping industries. You might be in the health field, or working with the elderly, or may be in social services. There are a lot of jobs in which we see situations that break our hearts and we can't do much about it. Some of us work with people that don't know how to appreciate our help, and they might even resent it on some levels. When you are used to being hurt, you don't go around trusting everyone with their hand out to you.

Helping  people who can't - or won't - help themselves can drain your enthusiasm over time. It's even more important in your situation to intentionally build in moments of joy, of passion, or being alive. So, what do you do alive?

Commit to it now. This week for at least 5 minutes I am going to
_______________________,
___________________ or
_______________________ just because I enjoy it and it makes me remember I am alive!

(Just in case, I will say it - if it is illegal, or hurts someone else in the process, it's not building your spirit no matter how exciting it feels and how you justify it.)

This is a good time to bring up one of the most powerful things you can do to energize your spirit, and it's something you can do no matter where you are, no matter who you are with, and no matter what circumstances you are in. If you want to re-fill your enthusiasm, to gain strength when you are empty, and to rejuvenate your spirit when you aren't able to do much of anything else, seek a Holy Spirit encounter with prayer.

God says in His Word that He gives us everything we need. Ask Him. Believe Him. We know we can ask and ask and ask, but if we don't expect an answer anyway, we won't even notice when it arrives. We can choose to remain unhappy even though we pray for joy. We can choose to remain in our circumstance no matter how many doors He opens.

It's like the man standing on his roof during a flood. Three times people row or motor by in boats and implore him to get on, but the man refused. "God will save me," he said. After the man died and stood before God, he asked the Almighty, "Where were you?" God said, "I sent you three boats. Why didn't you get on?"

Read Philippians 4:13

Read Isaiah 40:28-31 and 41:10

Let's pray:

Father, You give us joy when we think there is no light left in our lamps. When I call out to You, You answer. Help me to remember to pray, "Lord You are Joy, You are Strength, You lift me up on the wings of eagles, You strengthen me, Your Holy Spirit fills up my spirit, I love you so much Lord, You have saved me, I praise You. Thank you Jesus for loving me. Thank you Jesus for giving me Life instead of death." Amen

Love, Karen

Photo by Shock, courtesy of http://www.photoxpress.com/

Let your light shine

Hello again and welcome back to A Good Bible Study: StressLess. We are continuing with the 2nd key to living stress-less by recuperating our spirits.

Let's begin with prayer:

Father, today when it seems there are so many things pulling on our hearts, time, and attention, we ask you to give us a few peaceful moments to spend with You in Your Word, together. Jesus gave us Your Peace, not as the world gives it, but a deep and lasting peace in our spirits. Thank You for that. Please help us to rest in Your peace, Lord, when we start to think everything will fall apart if we don't do it right now. In the name of Jesus, amen.

Isn't this a wonderful part of the study? I love that you have spent the last few days becoming aware of how fabulous you really are in God's plan! Hot diggity!

You've got talent, kid, and God wants you to use it. Sing it with me: "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine (come on, no one is around, sing!) this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine . . . this little light of miiiinnnee, I'm gonna let it shine (now belt it!) let it shine, let it shine, let it shiiinnnnneee!"

What? Don't believe that God wants you to strut your stuff? Read these verses:

Matthew 5:13-16

Dust off those paint brushes, polish your speaking skills, get out your gardening trowel, sit down with pen and paper, shine up your tap shoes, search out scholarships for that training course, get out your gifts and let your light shine.

Your creative gifts are those things that when you do them, you feel most like yourself, the most joyful and alive version of yourself.

So what do you do enthusiastically? What are you doing when you lose all track of time? May be you come away physically exhausted but intellectually charged and emotionally at peace afterwards? What did you do for fun in the 5th grade?

Get out that gift from the things-I-used-to-enjoy box!

"When Howard Thurman spoke, he filled the entire room with compassion, truth, keen intellect, and joy." He mentored Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and helped found the first intercultural and interdenominational church in the US (Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples.) Thurman said "Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it! Because what the world needs is people who have come alive!"

Now, there are those who are thinking, "Aren't we supposed to use our gifts to serve God?" We will get to that. But, be assured, God loves to see you enjoy the gifts He has given you! It brings Him joy to see you joyful and celebrating His goodness. All good things come from God and when we enjoy what He has given us, it is pleasing to Him that we acknowledge Him and celebrating His generosity.

Read Deuteronomy 14:22-26 (New International Version)
"Tithes

22 Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. 23 Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always.
 
24 But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the LORD your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the LORD will choose to put his Name is so far away), 25 then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the LORD your God will choose. 26 Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish.
 
Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice. 'Now at first, enjoy being filled up in your spirit. Let yourself have fun again doing what reminds you of what it is like to be alive and creative. Let others be blessed by the new found brightness in your eyes and spring in your step.
 
27 And do not neglect the Levites (meaning priests or pastors) living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.  28 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, 29 so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands."

Are we as New Testament believers called to support the ministry and give to widows, orphans, and the truly poor, as we are able and with happiness that we can help someone else? Yes. I invite you to read 2 Corinthians 8 and other verses on your own in which Paul describes collecting offerings to help the people in various churches, and also to support the leaders in the churches (with basic necessities not rich homes and cars) so they can focus on ministry. But, that's another bible study.

In the meantime, God says enjoy your gifts, and bless others with them as well. So, go and enjoy being the un-duplicatable, remarkable, one of a kind, genuine YOU!

It was Howard Thurman who said, "We were all born originals. The tragedy is that most of us die copies."

Let's pray:

Father, You are so good to us! Open our eyes to see You as You are, not what our religious minds have made of You. You are the source of fun, enjoyment, peace, and true joy! Give us a godly sense of fun so that our celebrations honor You. Help us to get over feeling like we are only worthy when we are working, sacrificing, giving, giving up, and giving in. Thank You for helping us to see ourselves as You do: valuable, creative, and life-filled! In the name of Jesus, amen.

Love, Karen

Photo by Salvatore Vuono, courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

Let's get excited

Hello again! Thanks for meeting me in A Good Bible Study: StressLess.

Have you discovered your gift? May be more than one? Share your thoughts with me, I'd love to hear all about it. Let's get excited about ourselves!


For now, let's pray and invite the Holy Spirit to fill us with His Wisdom as we open the Word:

Hello Lord, thank you for this day. Sometimes we are thankful the day is over. Whatever is going on in our lives, please open our hearts to You and calm our spirits. We invite Your Holy Spirit to reveal the kind of wisdom and knowledge only You can give, today. In the name of Jesus, amen.

Yesterday we talked about our spiritual or Spirit-given gifts. Today we are going to talk about what God puts into our DNA, and shapes through our experiences into talents, passions, and callings. Sound exciting? It is - you are an incredible creation. It's time to recuperate our spirits by discovering our creative gifts!

We get dry in our spirits. We get worn down and out. But God created us with passion and joy and some of us only know that we are longing for something, longing to be something or to do something, but we don't know what it is.

Sometimes we think we need a new relationship. Sometimes we think we need a new town. We just get restless because we know we are more than this. We are made for more than this.

You know what? You are right!

We are going to rekindle something placed in you, that was for you. It might be something you used to enjoy but let go when others didn't "get it." It might be something you are not "supposed" to be good at because no one else in your family approves. It might be something you have always admired in others but didn't think your ability was worth improving. Are you starting to get a tingle in your spine that what I am saying is true?

Like me, you are an individual. No matter if you have become a parent, a care-giver, a spouse, a volunteer, an employee, a business-owner, a missionary, a doctor, a servant, unemployed, homeless, friendless, or just empty.

You came into this world with certain dreams and desires instilled in your spirit and it's time to wake them up!

Before we go any further, I want you to spend some time thinking about what you loved to do, or spent time doing when you were about 10 years old. About the 5th grade. How did you play? What made you feel good, or talented, or right?

What did you do because it was fun, or natural, or people complimented you on, or just seemed like the thing to do?

I realized a few years ago that I was lost in my roles of wife and mother. I didn't feel lost, I mean the essence of me was lost somewhere in the layers of who I was to everyone I loved and served.

Everything else seemed secondary and frivolous. But I was shrinking in my spirit. I was giving to everyone but me. I was encouraging my children to dream and discover themselves and celebrate their talents and yet, I denied them a daily example.

You know what I figured out? That no matter what role I have (because things change in life) I am still a woman, a unique individual, with my own interests and talents and dreams. I didn't have to exchange the essence of who I am in order to be a good wife, mother, teacher, volunteer, etc. In fact, I was giving less than I could have because I wasn't accessing my real strength, my passionate spirit!

I started thinking about what I would do as a kid, just because. Can you guess what I came up with? I wrote. I drew and painted. I directed skits for my friends to put on. I rode my horse and played with my dogs and cats. When everyone was asleep on Saturday night, I snuck into the living room and watched Saturday Night Live on low because it was about the only thing I had in my life to make me laugh.

I didn't do any of that stuff anymore. Till now.

I started doing the things that make me feel like me again and it has opened up a new world and a new career for me. I am passionate about my life, all of it, not just the parts that serve other people and so are "worthy."

By recuperating my spirit through using my creative gifts, I am giving my children a more balanced and happy mother, I am setting a great example for them to model, I am a more relaxed and spontaneous wife, and I have more energy to give to the projects I choose to be involved with.

Sure some things had to go so I could become creative, but that's life. We make choices. People get over them.

You know what else? People who have something they are excited about - passionate people - achieve their goals, attract like minded people, experience more joy and feelings of satisfaction . .  and feel less stressed.

Luke 8:16 ESV “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light."


Psalm 150:1-6 ESV - "Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!"

Proverbs 15:13 NIV - "A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit."

James 1:17 NKJV - "Every good and perfect gift is from above, and comes down the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning."

Lord, thank you for all the gifts You have given us. Rekindle in us the spark of Your Creative Spirit! Let us get excited about the person You made in each of us. Open the doors for us to praise You with our talents. Let us sing, dance, and get loud about it! In Jesus' name, amen.
Love, Karen

Photo by Mat Hayward, courtesy of http://www.photoxpress.com/

You are gifted

Welcome! I'm so glad to see you back in A Good Bible Study: StressLess.

We are discovering how to recuperate our spirits and today, recognize our gifts. We can't enjoy our lives, or help anyone else enjoy theirs, unless we are running on a full tank of Holy Spirit joy ourselves.

Read Romans 5:5 and write below what God pours into our hearts:
___________________

Did you know you are gifted? It's true. May be you weren't in the "gifted program" in school, and may be no one ever patted you on the head and told you so, but I'm telling you now - and here is how I know. Read 1 Corinthians 12: 4-11

Spiritual gifts are given to each of us by God, in order to strengthen us and encourage us in our faith, as well as enable us to help one another.

What are all the spiritual gifts God gives believers through His Holy Spirit (by the way, we've all been given at least one)? Write them below. I've taken the notes from my Nelson NKJV Study Bible to explain further what these gifts are.

Now, the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each of us for the profit (benefit) of all. We are given the Holy Spirit as believers and can manifest or show evidence of the Holy Spirit working in our lives, or be used by Him to help others.

And, prepare to be shocked (some of us): we are all given a spiritual prayer language by the Holy Spirit as well. We are instructed to pray often using this tongue as it is direct communication between our spirit and God, and the neat thing about it is, it keeps our minds out of our spirit's business.

I don't know about you, but I can start getting off on tangents when I pray, and I love that I can't understand or interfere with what my spirit prays in tongues. Sure it sounds strange at first, but I obey God and do it, because I know He knows my heart, and He makes it right, even if I do it wrong at first - so have courage, get off by yourself, and let yourself praise Him in the tongue only He understands!

If this is new to you, stop right now and read 1 Corinthians 14:1-25!

1. The Word of ______________ through the Spirit - practical application of knowledge. 
2. The Word of ______________ through the same Spirit - ability to teach knowledge or doctrine (beliefs) 
3.  ______________ by the same Spirit - the capacity to believe in God for extraordinary deeds.
4. Gifts of ___________ by the same Spirit - ability to heal in Jesus' name
5. The Working of ___________ - ability to perform miracles and wonders as did Moses and the prophets
6. ____________________ - ability to tell a new revelation from God or give a divine explanation of a previous revelation. Paul says that although we all speak in tongues to pray to God for our own needs, he wishes that we would all desire to have and use the gift of prophesy even more, because praying in tongues only helps ourselves, but prophecy (and also the public interpration of tongues) helps everyone else. This is going to be exciting or challenging for some of us but pray, and read the scripture and ask God to help you understand His Word.
7. Discerning of ____________ - being able to recognize the work of God versus demonic spirits in the church
8. Different kinds of __________ - probably to preach or speak in different human languages miraculously
9. Interpretation of ___________ -  ability to understand and translate spiritual tongues spoken in gathering of believers so all can benefit
10. This gift is not listed in the same verse, but in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 he finishes with saying the greatest gift of all is the ability to love. If we have Christ, we have the ability to love because He is love.

Notice the gifts are not given by "spirits" such as through "channeling" in which a person allows a spirit (always a demon whether the person wants to know that or not) to possess their body in order to give knowledge. Read verse 11 again.

"But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills." NKJV

We are also gifted with talents, interests and desires which we will cover in more detail tomorrow. For now, I invite you to pray about these gifts, and ask God to reveal which gifts you have been given to use for His glory.

Don't worry, we've all got at least one. Think about instances in which you seemed to suddenly know something that you didn't know before. May be you can quickly grasp a Scripture and explain it to others. Perhaps you are able to be faithful in any difficulty when others struggle over the slightest disappointment.

Have you ever prayed with someone, or touched them in prayer, and they were healed? Do you have a sense when someone is preaching whether it rings true to His Word, or seems more of a manipulation of Scripture to serve the speaker? Think about what comes easily to you, but not to others.

If you still can't see your gift (s), ask someone who not only knows you, but also is intimate with the Word of God and loves Him. Ask God to reveal your gift(s) and choose to believe that He will.

Let's pray for discernment of our gifts, now:

Lord, what a joy to know that You created each of us with not only a purpose, to be Your child and to be loved by You, but also a divine  purpose. We are gifted and special and useful! Open each eye Lord over the course of this day and the coming week to our gifts and how we can be of good use to Your kingdom, Your children. In the name of Jesus, amen.

Love, Karen

Photo by Salvatore Vuono, courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

You're greeeaaaaaat!

Hello again! I hope you had a wonderful weekend, and if  you didn't, today is only going to get better from here on. Let's pray and begin A Good Bible Study: StressLess, where you learn how to be the best thing to happen to everyone you meet today! Hey, didn't you know? You're greeeeaaaat!

Lord, here we are again, meeting up to get immersed in Your Word and in Your love! Thank you for giving us the Holy Spirit, so we can always receive Wisdom and discern the Truth. Help each of us to be changed by today's message. Let us come to you quicker when we need love, truth, understanding, insight, or comfort. In the name of Your Son, Jesus, amen.

Yesterday we focused on thinking of ourselves less. I don't know about you, but I tend to ruminate on my past. I don't worry all that much about the future, I know God's got that, but my past - well, there's my challenge.

My best defense is to immediately tell myself, "Stop it." Or "So what?" Meaning so what if that's what I did, that was then and if I had it to do over again I would - so move on. The fact is we can't change what anyone did to us, and we can't change what we've done to anyone else. If you are repentant (which means to go in a new direction), forgive yourself and move on.

Satan loves to trip us up with our pasts, doesn't he?

And he loves to use other people to beat us over the head with it. The truth is no one knows our history, or why we've made the choices we made at the time. All we can do at this point is make amends and move forward. If we are sincere, and someone isn't ready to receive our apology or accept the changes we've made, then we've got to move and let God change their hearts.

Read 1 John 1:9

Staying stuck is like continuing to live in the past instead of accepting "life happens, then you grow." I'm not talking about making excuses, I'm talking about accepting who we are and what we've come out of, and allowing ourselves the freedom to be forgiven and enjoy what we've got today.

Read Isaiah 43:25-26 then flip back to 1:18.

God says He forgives and then forgets in a way that is not re-memorable in heaven. So, forgive, make amends if needed, and live new choices. It's easy to say you've changed and people may not believe it until they see it. That's fine because if you are sincere, they will see it and it won't matter so much to you if they do or not.

Sometimes we are the ones who won't let someone else have a new beginning. Sometimes we only see the effects of someone else's past in the way they treat us today. People are in pain all over the world. We see how they are, but we don't see what made them that way.

It's like that t.v show where the people come out after the audience has been given a run-down of what terrible thing they supposedly did, and the audience just boos them as they walk on-stage. So, what's the first thing out of that guest's mouth everytime?

"You don't know me. You don't know me!"

And you know what? We don't. We don't know why someone makes the choices they do, or what pain is underneath that hard exterior. It's difficult to be kind to someone like that . . . but it doesn't have to be.

I'm going to share something with you that made a big difference to me when I managed a shoe store in Sacramento California, and I had to deal with all sorts of people. Some of them had lifestyles that honestly made me feel uncomfortable.

However, some of these same individuals came back to my store over and over to buy shoes. One particular man told me why. He said I didn't make him feel weird or uncomfortable in my store. He felt accepted and important.

From my standpoint, I wasn't there to judge. I was there to sell shoes. But, looking back I can see that one reason I was able to put aside my own judgements and have compassion on some people that would normally lead me to feel awkward myself, was because of something I learned reading about the life of Mary Kay Ash (of Mary Kay Cosmetics.)

In her biography Ms. Ash said something I have tried to remember ever since. "Treat every person you meet like they have a sign around their neck that says, 'Make me feel important."

Can we do that? Can we set aside what we think about someone's clothing, piercings, tattoos, parenting, way of talking, where they grew up or where they live, religion, politics, etc., and just spend a minute making them feel important?

Because they may not be important to you, but they are important to the Maker of Heaven and Earth. God put you in their path just to make them feel His love on earth.

Do you want to feel important? Just go make someone else feel like a million bucks. Your whole day will get better, trust me. Some of you know me personally, and you know I love to compliment people and I love to tell them why I think they are great.

And Mary Kay Ash is a big reason why, and my Father's opinion is the other reason why.

Do I get something out of it? You bet. I feel great knowing I lifted up a friend, or a stranger for that matter. I feel wonderful, blessed, loved by my Father, and important to that person's life.

Read Matthew 5:14-16. You are a light to someone else, and to God.

Read Matthew 23:11-12. Every time you humble yourself to help someone, lift someone, you become greater in the eyes of God.

Read Mark 9: 35 and 10:44-45

and finally

Read John 13:12-17.

Jesus always goes first. He never asks us for more than He already gave.

Father, we thank you so much for giving us Your Son. Thank You for knowing what we need before we know it ourselves. Thank You for going first in everything. Give us servant's hearts, Lord. Help us be great in Your eyes, instead of in our own. In Jesus' name, amen.

Love, Karen

Photo by Andrey Kiselev, courtesy of http://www.photoxpress.com/

Me, me, me, forget you, me

Welcome back to A Good Bible Study: StressLess! Let's pray and continue on de-stressing our lives:

Oh Heavenly Father, I want to start every day showing my gratitude for Your blessings. I know from Your Word that You love to bless us, and love to hear our thankful prayers. Open the storehouses of heaven for each person seeking You today Father, and give us ever more grateful hearts!

As we open Your Word today, let us be glad at what we find. In the name of Jesus, amen.

Today we will continue filling up our spirits and reducing stress. I love knowing much of what I see as stressful is actually under my own control. If that is the case, and it is, then I can do something about it!

Think about it - if everything is outside of our influence, what helpless, hopeless lives we would lead. And that's just not the case.

If you want to change your perspective on the situation you are in, try thinking about its effect on you - less. Get your mind off yourself for a while. We spend far too much time thinking about me, me, me and not enough about what someone else is going through.

Read Matthew 22:36-40

Love others as yourself. Spend some time giving others what you give yourself - time, energy, thoughts and prayers.

You've heard the saying that there is always someone worse off than you? How about the fact that you feel bad about your own problems until you listen to someone else's? Give it a try. Call two or three people today and ask them how they are doing. Just listen and before long you will discover that everyone is going through something.

Sometimes our problems really are catastrophic, but most of the time there is nothing going on that is going to prevent the sun from coming up tomorrow, if you know what I mean.

I say every day I don't bury a child is a good day, because that's the worst thing I've been through. I could just as easily say every day that we don't lose our house and business due to a major shift in the economy is a good day, too. Guess what, no matter what I've experienced in life, the sun keeps coming up and a new day of possibilities arrives, even when I've felt it a major insult for having done so.

Even during that time of wondering and waiting to see if our child would live or die, I couldn't sit around and weep all day. I didn't want to stay wrapped in that pain and sorrow every moment. I couldn't do anything more than pray, or anything more powerful than pray, so I chose to keep living each day during the uncertainty.

I found focusing on my other children's needs to be a real blessing. I appreciated even more their health and presence because of the loss of their brother. And I realized that as terrible as my situation was, there were mothers out there that lost all of their children at once, in a tragic car accident, in a fire, or in a war.

Read Matthew 20:26-27

In a way, this verse is saying "get over yourself." The best way to be great (and I add to feel great) is to focus off of your own situation for a while and go bless someone else. Especially if you can't do one thing about your situation - then stop thinking about it for a while! Find someone that you can help and you will discover by helping them, you helped yourself.

You know, our lives really do feel less awful when we consider our problems in comparison to those of others. Just turn on the international news sometime and get a real eye-opener to the way much of the world lives. You know what I've found? No matter how bad it is, once I'm past the worst of it, things can only get better from then on.

Look, I'm not suggesting you think less of yourself, just think of yourself - less.

Some of the most sinful and destructive behaviors in our human condition stem from thinking too much about how we are not getting what we want, when we want it. It's a sign of our times: the "Me Generation."

Listen to our music, look at what's celebrated on t.v. The most popular shows are on reality t.v. which often just highlights people being as sinful and attention-seeking as possible, so the rest of us will watch.

Read 2 Timothy 3:1-7

What will people be like in the last days? List all the things we will love instead of God:

____________
____________
____________

Sound like anyone you know? Sound like  . . . you?

Lovers of themselves, money and pleasure. Focusing on what we want and how to get it. Having just a form of Godliness, but denying the real power of God in our lives. Always learning and never able to to come to the knowledge of Truth.

The Word tells us to turn away from people like this. Turn away then from ourselves because I don't know anyone, including myself, who doesn't think far too much about themselves, money, and their own pleasure.

Let's pray:

Lord, I am sorry for thinking so much about myself and not enough about the needs of hurting people. I've got pain, and I know you care about what I'm going through. I'm going to start trusting Your good plan for my life and spend more time being a part of Your solution for someone else's problem. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, including getting my mind off of myself. In the name of Jesus, amen.

Love, Karen

Photo by John Keith, courtesy of http://www.photoxpress.com/

True Friendship

Hello! It's great to weclome another day and to see you again in A Good Bible Study: StressLess! Let's talk about true friendship and what that means to our stress level.

As always, we will begin with prayer:

Father, I want to focus on being grateful for what is good right now, and for the good plans You have for each of us. Thank you for the fact that I can study Your Word online with friends I may never meet in person but can share a love for You and a desire to grow in You. Thank you for each friend reading these words with me! Bless them today, Lord. And thank you for everything good You are planning for each of us today. Help us to see every good thing in our lives, today and always. Let our prayer today be "Give me joy - Lord, I want it and I want You!" In the name of Jesus, amen.

Gratitude - it's the quickest way out of anger and pain and into peace.

Read Psalm 136

You know, I really hope you will take the time to look up each bible verse yourself. It's a privilege to have access to bibles in this country and there may come a day when it's not possible to openly read God's Word. Knowing for yourself what God says is powerful. Reading scripture activates that power in yourself. So, give that to yourself and never just take someone's word for what the bible says: look it up yourself and ask the Holy Spirit to give you discernment to recognize Truth from falsehood.

O.K., well done. Let's move on.

We've talked about the power of gratitude. Another way to quickly change your mood is to quit dwelling on what makes you so frustrated and instead talk it out. "If you share your pain, you cut it in half. If you don't, you double it." By the way, if you know the source of that quote, please let me know.

Now, I'm not saying go tell everyone you know what so and so did to you. I mean get ahold of a trusted friend and share what's making you so upset - with the goal of feeling better afterwards, not justified to keep on being angry.

We women are usually better at this because we like to share what's going on in our lives. That's one reason we tend to live longer than men.

I have to work at this because usually I won't talk to anyone else about what's going on until it's so bad I am ready to explode or throw in the towel. I do talk to God about it, but sometimes it helps to share your situation face to face with a trusted friend. That is key, because if you are thoughtful about who you share with, you are going to be more likely to seek counsel when it's a small dilemma and not a huge issue.

Now, I caution you not to just dump all over someone and leave them feeling blind-sided. Talk to someone with intention, not just to vent for the sake of releasing energy.

Read Proverbs 29:11

Think about who has your best interests at heart and ask if you can confide in them about your situation. Don't share your pain with someone who only listens for their own enjoyment, or who can't wait to tell you what they would do and what you should do.

And please keep it out of work, because either the person is going right into the next cubicle to spread a version of your truth around, or they are going to take your personal life into account the next time a professional decision needs to be made.

Talk to someone who is vested in your success, in helping your marriage, in supporting you as a parent and in your growth as a human being, not someone who is going to encourage you to make some rash, selfish decision. We can have a lot of friends, but they are not always going to give us wise counsel.

Read Proverbs 27:6.

It means a true friend can lovingly tell you the truth, even if it means telling you what you are doing is a mistake.

It's tempting for friends to just put a stamp of approval on whatever emotional decision we want to make. We want to confide in people who will listen, and then when we have been truly heard, help us get back to forgiveness and move forward.

Finally, talk to someone who gets you.

Read Amos 3:3.

Sometimes people just don't understand where you are coming from, or how your experience has shaped you. It's hard for everyone to relate to everyone else, at all times. So, confide in someone who won't get tripped up by their own response to what you have to say, but will still guide you to forgiveness and gratitude.

For example, my husband is one of the best people to talk to when I have a problem, unless he's the problem! It's funny, but true. We're like any other married couple, always learning to communicate.

I've learned though, to not expect him to remember anything I have to say if I am just sharing my day, going through my process of listing what I did, and what I wore, and what I think I'll make for dinner, you know the drill ladies.

I used to get frustrated with him saying back to me, "You never told me that," when I can tell you what time of day it was and what his facial expression was at the time, and how many times the dog barked while I said it. I recently had a little experience in his shoes that changed everything for me.

You see, I was driving with my husband when he mentioned the car seemed to be pulling to the right. It reminded me that our neighbor said the same thing when he towed the car out of the snow for me a few days before, then drove it to the garage. When I told my husband about it, he asked "Why did he think it was pulling?"

I said, "I don't know. All I heard was pulls to the right, blah, blah, blah, guy stuff about cars." My husband smiled and I had an epiphany right then and there. I said, "Hey, is that why after I tell you about my day and later you swear I didn't say a thing about something, it's because all you heard was "cooking, kids, dinner, blah, blah, blah my ears are bleeding, blah?" He looked at the road ahead and said, "Yup." Ahh, the moments of deep understanding between a man and a woman . . .

Now I let him know when I am just "getting out my words" and when I really need him to pay attention. The point is, not everyone is the best person to talk to about all things. So choose wisely.

Let's pray:

Lord, thank you for giving us friends. Please help us to be good judges of who, and when, to talk to about our problems. Help us come to You at all times, and in all circumstances, and to believe that You are working on it. In the name of Jesus, amen

Love, Karen

Photo by Aliaksandr Zabudzkohoto

Come on, get happy!

Hello, don't you love that old Partridge Family song? You can't help sing along, "Come on, get happpppyyyyy!" Good stuff makes you smile and makes you happy, you can't help it.

Yesterday in A Good Bible Study: StressLess we talked about the real need to keep choosing good input, especially if we have more than two negative people in our daily lives.

God says to cast all our cares on Him, and I would say that also means casting those hurtful, mean, and critical influences at His feet as well. We can't change anyone, but God can change everyone.

Let Him start with you and me:

Lord, I'm choosing to give you everyone that doesn't understand how to love me. I want to make room in my heart right now, for Your Love. I can't change them, so I want You to change me instead. Make my heart glad, make me see their pain and pray for them, remembering their issues are about them and not about me. Give me joy and gladness in the midst of the storm, because I know if I can learn to be happy when everything seems to be going wrong, there is no limit to my ability to enjoy the good stuff. In the name of Jesus, amen.

Today we are moving into recuperating our spirits. We've got to fill all three tanks: body, mind and spirit. If you leave out one, you will still feel out of balance.

The easiest and quickest way to fill your spirit is to develop a sense of gratitude. Gratitude is the most powerful form of positive thinking. There was an article in Real Simple Magazine that suggested four benefits of expressing gratitude for what you have, instead of focusing on what you don't like in your life. They were

• giving you a sense of control - take credit for what's going well and you will feel more competent and able to create a better life
• improving your health - people who keep track of what they are happy about, such as in a journal, exercise more and sleep more than people who don't write down blessings
• coping better with trauma - reminding yourself of what you are grateful for makes painful memories less intense when they surface, and actually surface less often
• increasing feelings of self-worth and self-esteem - choosing to concentrate on grateful thoughts leads to feeling better about who you are and what you deserve in life

The most difficult time to feel thankful is when we are angry. Sometimes our minds get so stuck in our emotions, like a gear jammed in the transmission. No matter how hard we try to shove it in gear, it's not moving until you clear the obstruction.

We think other people and situations are the obstruction and until they change, we can't get over our anger. I'm telling you that is wrong and the when you understand this, you will be free from ever feeling angry for one second longer than you choose to.

Try it now. What have you got to lose except your grumpy attitude. Get out some paper and write down everything about your life that you can be grateful about. Start with the the basics: are you alive? Are you breathing and capable of making today better in some way than yesterday? Are your children, or siblings, or friends healthy?

Keep going, you've got it. Don't discount how powerfully this will de-stress your life just because it's simple. That's the beauty of it. Here's something to help you get your head around it: It is impossible to feel two emotions at once.

Choose thoughts that result in anger, or choose thoughts that result in gratitude. Say it out loud and your chemical response cannot help but follow. Thought creates emotion every time. It's not easy at first, but it is simple, and it does work.

Read Colossians 3:12-17 and Read Psalm 118:24
Lord, so much of what You instruct us is so simple it seems too easy to work. Help us to just take one step today to appreciate the good in our lives. Help us appreciate You. Bring to mind our list of gratitude when we are angry or hurt and help us choose to say out loud to You, "Thank you for this Lord." Amaze us with how quickly we can go from mad to glad, if we choose to do one small thing to experience gratitude. In the name of Jesus, amen.

Love, Karen

Photo by Graur Raz Vanionut, courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/
                                                                                                                                                    

How to not let your past overgrow your future

Hello again! Let's continue on from where we left off yesterday in A Good Bible Study: StressLess.

Heavenly Father, thank you for leading us to spend this time together sharing Your Word and seeking Your Wisdom. Help us to be wise in making friends and in being a friend. We know You want the best for us and from us, so we ask You to give us everything we need today to feel relaxed and willing to live life in the way You planned for each of us: stress-less when at all possible. In the name of Jesus, amen.

We talked yesterday about letting go of people and activities that drag us down. We've all got some "friends" that just drain our energy and enthusiasm for life. Often it's our own family members that are so mired in their own past, they can't allow us a future. It's alright to let go.

Read Titus 3:9-10
We don't have to be mean about it. We don't have to shun all family affairs and stick our noses in the air.

I always tell my kids if you think what you are doing is the right thing, the honorable thing, then you don't have to do it in the dark, or hide it, or avoid talking about it. It's alright to just say it with love.

Read Matthew 7:1-5 We are not going to focus on what others are doing wrong, so much as what you want to do right and good in your own life. We can let others know what we need and they can either contribute, or they can't or won't, and that is alright because that's all they have to give and we've got to press on. It's not about an ultimatum. It's about choosing good input and letting go of negative influences.

Read 1 Corinthians 2:14

That's what you are doing when you open a dialog and let people know you are ready for a change in your relationship. You are giving them the opportunity to grow with you, or find someone they feel more comfortable hanging around. Now, give them a shot, it might take a while for them to stop squirming and accept this is for real. Some will do just that. Some won't. Move on.

There are just some folks who aren't ready to rise up. They would just rather wallow in misery and if you free them up they can find like minded people and leave you alone. You might not have to say anything at all because negative people don't stay around people who smile and change the subject when gossiping and complaining are all that's served. You're just not much fun to them anymore and they might even let you know it.

You've got to decide if you are living to please your critics, or to please your Lord.

Read John 10:10, Romans 12:2 and Colossians 3:23-25

Do you know what a critic is? I don't know who said this (and if you do let me know) but I love this quote: "A critic is a person who goes into the battlefield after the fight is over and shoots the survivors."

These people want to pull you back every time you try to raise yourself up out of your mess. They can't wait to remind you of who you've been and what you've done and all the mistakes you've made.

These are the people who want to tell you you're not ready for something good, that your gifts are of no value, that your purpose is not valid, and your choices in life: career, marriage, or even the color of your hair are wrong.

Now, I can't do one thing about those people except pray for them. I can't get them out of the family. I can't make them quit the job I have to work at with them. I can't get them to stop teaching at my school, or dating my friends, or driving the bus I take every day.

I can only limit my exposure to them and take every chance I have to fill my self up with good stuff so they just don't have a hold on my emotions so much anymore.

As part of The Compassionate Friends, a support group for families who have lost a child, I met a lady who shared with me something her son wrote before he died. I want to share it with you because I thought it was incredibly insightful, especially coming from a young man who passed away about a year after he wrote it. His name was Jeffrey Sanderson and he said, "Don't let your past overgrow you future."

Mark Twain said it like this, "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always try to do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great!"

So keep your mind off your obstacles and away from people who can't see your vision, and focus on your reward.

Henry Ford said, "Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal."

We've talked about recuperating our bodies, and now, our minds. Tomorrow we will talk about recuperating your spirit. I'll meet you here, in A Good Bible Study.

Dear Father, once again you show us in Your Word that the plans You have for us are good, to help us, and to lead us into a peaceful life. Help us be wise in choosing new friends, as we gently release those who aren't ready for the blessing You have for us now. In Jesus' name, amen.

Love, Karen

Photo by Dan, courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

Energize me, Scotty

Welcome, it's great to see you in A Good Bible Study: StressLess! We are going to start getting energized this week so let's pray and get started.

Lord, Heavenly Father, the Maker of Heaven and Earth - how meager and small our lives were before we found you! Thank you for offering us peace instead of anger, joy instead of sorrow, and comfort in the midst of grief. Help us to remain open to You even when we are angry and don't understand other people's reactions to us. Help us to be full of You, instead of our own emotions, Lord. Thank you for opportunities to get into Your Word, so we aren't blown about by every mood and every attitude. In the name of Jesus, amen.

Does our prayer give you an idea what we will be discovering in the Word today?

Yesterday we talked about our need to rest, and recuperate, our bodies through sleep and relaxation. I don't know about you, but I know I am not at my best when I am not rested. I don't cope as well with frustration. I don't respond as quickly or easily to situations, or even complete tasks with all the skill and ease that I normally would.

In short, I'm not myself, and can't give my best when I'm overtired. So, obviously rest on a regular basis is one of those "musts" in order to live a less stressful life.

Rest is one way we fill our resources. We've also got to deal with people and situations that empty our resources.

Number one for most of us: energy-draining people. You know who they are - stay away from them. Weed them out of your life, if at all possible.

There are some people that you have to walk on eggshells around. Others just complain your ear off! Some don't have a good thing to say about anyone (and if you think you are the only one they don't talk about, think again.) And others just take pleasure in being mean at your expense (I'm just kidding, can't you take a joke?) - know what I mean?

Mark Victor Hansen (co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series) says, "Your income, the results you create, are dictated by the five people you spend the most time with."

Who are your five?

We can handle about two negative people in our life. If you've got more than that and you just can't limit your time with them, it's more important for you than ever to fill yourself up every day (even all day) with positive people, reading positive material, listening to positive speakers and up-lifting music, and watching funny or inspiring television programming.

Zig Ziglar, one of the most influential speakers of all time, says, "People say motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing, that's why we recommend it daily."

I say that people who don't want to go anywhere, and don't want to do anything, don't want you to go anywhere or do anything with your life, either! It makes them look bad and misery really does love company.

What does God say?

Read Proverbs 12:26
Read Proverbs 13:20
Read Proverbs 14:6-8
Read Proverbs 17:20
Read Proverbs 22:24-25
and finally,
Read 1 Corinthians 15:33

I've found that the best thing I can do for my kids, is to put them in the company of other kids who are being raised with good values, and who are expected to live them out. A group of negative kids are not going to rise up to the one kid trying to do things right. The majority of their influence is going to drag my kids down, not the other way around. As a parent I know this from experience.

I know I can't be the one positive force in a whole bunch of negative, gossiping, lazy, don't want to help themselves or anyone else-friends. It's just going to drag me down to their comfort level.

In the same way, I can't be watching Cheaters, then CSI, followed by the news every night and expect to feel positive and hopeful about my day. Now I am not saying you shouldn't watch your favorite show. But, let's be real.

Let's get intentional about what we are filling up our minds with. What we think about affects the way we feel, it's simply biochemical science. Our thoughts influence our chemical and hormonal response which then affects our moods.

Just try this: Ask yourself who you spend the most time with? Which shows you watch the most? Which music you listen to most of the time? Which activities do you do and are they improving your mood and health, or making it worse?

Now, how's your mood most of the time? How likely are you to try a new activity or be excited about a new project? Are you taking action on the things that you say are important to you? Are you feeling stress-free and positive most of the time?

This is just for you - I don't know your answers and neither does anyone else. This is all about you taking stock of your own life, and your own choices, and seeing if there is any room for change. We either want things to change or we want them to stay the same.

But, we can't keep doing the same things, hanging around the same people, listening to the same negative music and depressing shows, and thinking things are going to be any different.

Make one change this week. Just one. Tell me if you don't feel just a little bit better, now - go on, you can do it!

Lord, we need some help because even thinking about change is scary for a lot of us. Thinking about change is far worse than actually changing. Help us to just be honest. Help us to see any areas we can feel more stress-less, simply by getting out some negative, and putting in more positive. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us! In the name of Jesus, amen.

Love, Karen