CHRISTIAN WAYS TO REDUCE STRESS Author Unknown

An Angel says, "Never borrow from the future. If you worry about what may happen tomorrow and it doesn't happen, you have worried in vain. Even if it does happen, you have to worry twice."

1. Pray
2. Go to bed on time.
3. Get up on time so you can start the day unrushed.
4. Say No to projects that won't fit into your time schedule, or that will compromise your mental health.
5. Delegate tasks to capable others.
6. Simplify and unclutter your life.
7. Less is more. (Although one is often not enough, two are often too many.)
8. Allow extra time to do things and to get to places.
9. Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time; don't lump the hard things all together.
10. Take one day at a time.
11. Separate worries from concerns . If a situation is a concern, find out what God would have you do and let go of the anxiety. If you can't do anything about a situation, forget it.
12. Live within your budget; don't use credit cards for ordinary purchases.
13. Have backups; an extra car key in your wallet, an extra house key buried in the garden, extra stamps, etc.
14. K.M.S. (Keep Mouth Shut). This single piece of advice can prevent an enormous amount of trouble.
15. Do something for the Kid in You everyday.
16. Carry a Bible with you to read while waiting in line.
17. Get enough rest.
18. Eat right.
19. Get organized so everything has its place.
20. Listen to a tape while driving that can help improve your quality of life.
21. Write down thoughts and inspirations.
22. Every day, find time to be alone.
23. Having problems? Talk to God on the spot. Try to nip small problems in the bud. Don't wait until it's time to go to bed to try and pray.
24. Make friends with Godly people.
25. Keep a folder of favorite scriptures on hand.
26. Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is often a good "Thank you Jesus ."
27. Laugh.
28. Laugh some more!
29. Take your work seriously, but not yourself at all.
30. Develop a forgiving attitude (most people are doing the best they can).
31. Be kind to unkind people (they probably need it the most).
32. Sit on your ego.
33 Talk less; listen more.
34. Slow down.
35. Remind yourself that you are not the general manager of the universe.
36 . Every night before bed, think of one thing you're grateful for that you've never been grateful for before. GOD HAS A WAY OF TURNING THINGS AROUND FOR YOU.

"If God is for us, who can be against us?"

(Romans 8:31)

THE COLOR OF FRIENDSHIP Author Unknown

Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel. All
claimed that they were the best. The most important. The most useful.
The favorite.

Green said:
"Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and of hope. I
was chosen for grass, trees and leaves. Without me, all animals would
die. Look over the countryside and you will see that I am in the
majority."

Blue interrupted:
"You only think about the earth, but consider the sky and the sea. It
is the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from
the deep sea. The sky gives space and peace and serenity. Without my
peace, you would
all be nothing."

Yellow chuckled:
"You are all so serious. I bring laughter, gaiety, and warmth into the
world. The sun is yellow, the moon is yellow, the stars are yellow.
Every time you look at a sunflower, the whole world starts to smile.
Without me there would be no fun."

Orange started next to blow her trumpet:
"I am the color of health and strength. I may be scarce, but I am
precious for I serve the needs of human life. I carry the most
important vitamins. Think of carrots, pumpkins, oranges, mangoes, and
papayas. I don't hang
around all the time, but when I fill the sky at sunrise or sunset, my
beauty is so striking that no one gives another thought to any of
you."

Red could stand it no longer he shouted out:
"I am the ruler of all of you. I am blood - life's blood! I am the
color of danger and of bravery. I am willing to fight for a cause. I
bring fire into the blood. Without me, the earth would be as empty as
the moon. I am the color of passion and of love, the red rose, the
poinsettia and the poppy."

Purple rose up to his full height:
He was very tall and spoke with great pomp: "I am the color of royalty
and power. Kings, chiefs, and bishops have always chosen me for I am
the sign of authority and wisdom. People do not question me! They
listen and obey."

Finally Indigo spoke, much more quietly than all the others, but with
just as much determination:
"Think of me. I am the color of silence. You hardly notice me, but
without me you all become superficial. I represent thought and
reflection, twilight and deep water. You need me for balance and
contrast, for prayer and inner peace."

And so the colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own
superiority. Their quarreling became louder and louder. Suddenly there
was a startling flash of bright lightening thunder rolled and boomed.
Rain started to pour down relentlessly. The colors crouched down in fear, drawing
close to one another for comfort.

In the midst of the clamor, God began to speak:
"You foolish colors, fighting amongst yourselves, each trying to
dominate the rest. Don't you know that you were each made for a
special purpose,unique and different? Join hands with one another and
come to me."

Doing as they were told, the colors united and joined hands.

God continued:
"From now on, when it rains, each of you will stretch across the sky
in a great bow of color as a reminder that you can all live in peace.
The Rainbow is a sign of hope for tomorrow." And so, whenever a good
rain washes the world, and a Rainbow appears in the sky, let us remember to appreciate
one another.

THESE ARE PRECIOUS By Ron Avery

These are precious!!!

Alas, where has all our innocence gone?

              While I sat in the reception area
                of my doctor's office, a woman rolled  an elderly man
                in a wheelchair into the room.  As she went
                to the receptionist's desk, the man sat there, alone
                and silent.  Just as I was thinking I should make
                small talk with him, a little boy slipped off
                his mother's lap and  walked over to
                the wheelchair.  Placing his hand on the
                man's, he said, 'I know how you feel.  My
                mom makes me ride in the stroller too.'

                *****

                As I was nursing
                my baby, my cousin's six-year-old
                daughter, Krissy, came into the room.
                Never having seen anyone breast feed
                before, she was intrigued and full of all
                kinds of questions about what I was doing.
                After mulling over my answers, she remarked, 'My mom
                has some of those, but I don't think she knows
                how to use them.'

                *****

                Out bicycling
                one day with my eight-year-old
                granddaughter, Carolyn, I got a  little
                wistful.  'In ten years,' I said, 'you'll want
                to  be with your friends and you won't go
                walking, biking, and  swimming with me like you do
                now.  Carolyn shrugged.  'In ten years you'll be
                too old to do all those things  anyway.'

                ******

                Working as a pediatric
                nurse, I had the difficult assignment
                of giving immunization shots to  children.
                One day, I entered the examining room to give
                four-year-old Lizzie her needle. 'No, no, no!' she
                screamed.  'Lizzie,' scolded her mother, 'that's
                not polite behavior.'  With that, the girl
                yelled even  louder, 'No, thank you!  No, thank
                you!

                ******

                On the way back from a Cub
                Scout meeting, my grandson innocently said to my son,
                'Dad, I know babies come from mommies' tummies, but
                how do they get there in the first place?'  After my
                son hemmed and hawed awhile,  my grandson finally
                spoke up in disgust, 'You don't have to make
                up something, Dad.  It's okay if you don't
                know the answer.'

                *****
                Just before I
                was deployed to Iraq , I  sat my eight-year-old
                son down and broke the news to  him.  'I'm
                going to be away for a long time,' I told
                him.  'I'm going to Iraq.'  'Why?' he
                asked.  'Don't you know there's a war going
                on  over there?'

                *****
                Paul Newman
                founded the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for
                children stricken with cancer, AIDS, and blood
                diseases.  One afternoon, he and is wife,
                Joanne Woodward, stopped by to have lunch with
                the kids.  A counselor at a nearby
                table, suspecting the young patients
                wouldn't know Newman was a famous movie star,
                explained, 'That's the man who made this camp
                possible  Maybe you've seen his picture on
                his salad dressing bottle?'  Blank
                stares.  'Well, you've probably seen his face on
                his lemonade carton.'  An eight-year-old girl
                perked  up.  'How long was he missing?'

                *****

                God's  Problem Now.

                His wife's graveside
                service was just barely finished, when  there was
                a massive clap of thunder, followed by a tremendous
                bolt of lightning, accompanied by even more thunder
                rumbling in the distance.  The little, old man
                looked at the  pastor and calmly said,
                'Well, she's there.

                *****


                May happiness smile on your world and in your heart.

27 INDICATIONS THAT WE NEED REVIVAL Author Unknown

1.. When we do not love Him as we once did.

2.. When earthly interests and occupations are more important to us than eternal ones.

3.. When we would rather watch TV and read secular books and magazines than read the Bible and pray.

4.. When we have little or no desire for prayer.

5.. When we would rather make money than give money.

6.. When our Christianity is joyless and passionless.

7.. When we know truth in our heads that we are not practicing in our lives.

8.. When we make little effort to witness to the lost.

9.. When we have time for sports, recreation, and entertainment, but not for Bible study and prayer.

10.. When we do not tremble at the Word of God.

11.. When we seldom think thoughts of eternity.

12.. When we are more concerned about our jobs and careers than about the Kingdom of Christ and the salvation of the lost.

13.. When Christian husbands and wives are not praying together.

14.. When our children are growing up to adopt worldly values, secular philosophies and ungodly lifestyles.

15.. When we watch things on TV and movies that we would not show in church.

16.. When our prayers lack fervency.

17.. When our hearts are cold and our eyes are dry.

18.. When our singing is half-hearted and our worship lifeless.

19.. When we aren't seeing regular evidence of the supernatural power of God.

20.. When we are bored with worship.

21.. When we are more concerned about what others think about us than what God thinks about us.

22.. When we are making little or no difference in the secular world around us.

23.. When we are unmoved by the thought of our neighbors, business associates and acquaintances going to hell.

24.. When we have ceased to weep and mourn and grieve over our sin.

25.. When we aren't exercising faith and believing God for the impossible.

26.. When the fire has gone out in our hearts, our marriages and our church.

27.. When we are blind to the extent of our need and don't think we need revival.

WHY DO WE CRUCIFY HIM AGAIN? From E-mail Ministry

I say something rude
to someone who's lost,
And I've ruinded my witness,
But they will pay the cost.
--So I nail in the nails.

Can anyone see the Lord through me,
Or do they simply see my sins?
Am I living the life Christ wants me to,
Am I living the life of man?
--So I plunge in the spear.

And when I fail to pray,
and my conversations with Him fade,
Does He patiently wait for my call,
Though it causes Him pain?
--And I place the thorns upon His brow.

I lead a life of double standards,
One day good, the next one bad.
Can He quietly stand by
When He sees all I could have had?
--And I ridicule my Lord once again.

For you see,
Each time we turn our backs,
and return to the world of sin,
It is then that you and I,
We crucify Him again.

-- Brandy Cambell (12th grade)