Have you been stressed?

    A few days ago I noticed a strange rash on my chest and paid it little mind, as I considered it insignificant.  The next day the same looking rash  now appeared on my armpit as well as my back. Maybe there is something to it after all I thought, so I took the day off of work to go have it checked out.  Well, to be honest I  needed a break from the stresses of work and just used it as an excuse to myself in justifying this day of relaxation.  As it turns out the rash is actually "Shingles",  great this should be fun,  which my doctor believes was triggered by stress.  He asked me if there was anything that would have put me under stress in the last week or so. HA! Just the thought of him asking me that makes me laugh!  Oh the absurdity,  what hasn't happened to make me stress would have been a much easier question to answer. 

   Its been an eventful few week to say the least. My wife's birthday was last weekend and our dog ate the UPS package off the front porch that contained her present (along with a hundred other thing he's been hungry for).  My in-laws came in town,  we get along great, but none the less it is always stressful having guests from out of town. My son started soccer.  His first game was last Saturday, which I missed because of work. (...did I mention that the dog ate both of his new soccer balls)  My little girl started gymnastics, she's awesome at it and really enjoys it.  I missed her first class, but made it to her second one on Monday.  My nerves were on end because of all the kids running rampant in the hallway, but it was worth it to she her having so much fun.  Work has been busy and stressful as always with constant problems to resolve and prevent, and the ever looming schedule (too much to do and not enough time). Also my wife being pregnant and having four year old twins  presents its own ever present stresses on me.

   Although I know that God puts nothing on us that we can't handle, it is far too easy to fall into worrying and stressing  about things.  When I say that he puts nothing on us that we can't handle I do not mean alone,  there are many times that just one thing is too much for me to handle.  Its just a fact of life that the burdens of this world are too much for us that is why we must not carry them on our own,  but rather give them to God for his burden is light.  I forget often that my greatest strength is not my own and  that no matter the situation  I don't have to face anything alone.  So, like so many of us I too must remember that when I am feeling weak and overwhelmed I just need to ask God.  Not to ask him to spare me from those situations, but rather pray that he gives me strength to endure and through that feel his presence and be reminded that I am not alone.  

 

 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.   (Philippians 4:13)

 
Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word  (Psalm 119:114)
 
And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.  (Luke 18:27)
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.  (Matthew 11:28-30)


       

Make Time

Wow! I knew it had been a while since the last time I had made a post, didn't realize it was quite this long though.  I guess life just has a way of becoming burdensome from time to time,  but in those times you tend to learn something about yourself.  For there are things that you will make time for and there are things that get pushed to the side, whether or not you are willing to admit it, the things that you make time for are the things that are important to you.  Apparently this blog didn't quite make the cut here recently, though I have missed it, it has been a great tool for me in sorting out my thoughts (hard to write something down without understanding it more).  I would like to sit here and say that I only made time for things that most would consider truly noble and worthy,  but then I would only be doing myself an injustice by looking back through rose colored glasses.  The truth is that all of us tend to have this list of things that we say our important to us (our wives, our kids,  our mothers, our fathers, our friends, our church, & so on),  and then we have  "the reality" of what we make time for in our lives.  When we look at this list ("the reality" list) our priorities tend to look a little different,  and by most accounts not nearly and noble and worthy.  I am no different,  just looking back on this past week I cringe a little.  I missed my little girls first gymnastics class and my sons first soccer game because I had to work, but then again I somehow managed to take off 3 hours early to play golf on Friday.  This is  not where I thought my priorities were when I started writing nor what I thought I was writing about when I started,  but I believe the Spirit has a way of showing us what we need to see when we need to see it. (though sometimes it feels like ripping a Band-Aid off and all the hair with it)  Its not always a pretty picture looking into a mirror at who we really are, when we compare it with the photo shopped image in our mind of who we thought we were we can better understand what we really want to be important and what we need to do to make time for what truly is important.  

Ephesians 5:15-16
Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.