TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED

TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED

I have been in bed most of the weekend with the "flu" so I just got up.
Sorry that your Freedom Fighter was delayed this morning.

I just read an on-line article yesterday by Jon Gordon, who is a life
coach in helping men be all that God wants them to be. Some of his stuff
is a little out there, but yesterday's article dealt with how to handle
stress.

The premise of his article was that when you and I maintain a spirit of
thankfulness at all times, stress is much easier to handle. So often
when the pressures of life are mounting and it seems like things are
caving in around us, we forget about how blessed we are.

Thursday night before going to be we noticed that we were smelling oil
fumes from our basement. As the night went on it got worse and worse. In
the morning when I called our maintenance staff, they discovered that we
had a leak in the oil tank. Not good. We have two large tanks in our
basement. They called the Oil company and they quickly decided that they
needed to drain the tank and remove them.

The problem was that in order to remove them, Jan had to go through
hoops to get stuff moved. She has made a commitment to do Zach's
homeschooling in the mornings, and this was a major interruption.
Everything in the kitchen and laundry room needed to be removed. The
good news is that by the end of the day, the new tank was in and we were
able to put the house back together. For Jan, it was a very stressful
day.

Saturday morning I stopped over to the main building to drop something
off and came home to Jan being hysterical. When they put back our washer
and dryer (located off the kitchen) the drain hose didn't get put back
into the drain line! There was water EVERYWHERE - kitchen, laundry room
and basement. Again, very stressful.

Those may seem like too minor stressor compared to what you are facing.
Jon suggests that when the stress is mounting, we should step back and
review how blessed we are and rehearse them in our minds. Rather than
focusing on the negative (stress), be reminded of the positive
(blessing). Reminded me of the old song we will sing during this month:

When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed.
When you are discouraged thinking all is lost.
Count your many blessings name them one by one
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.
Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.
When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings. Wealth can never buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.
So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be disheartened, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey's end.
Good words as we begin this new week.
Join us this Thursday night for our Men's Fellowship Night with Pastor
Tony Cuellar. Pastor Tony serves at Immanuel Bible Church in Vineland,
NJ. Dinner begins at 6:15 PM followed by the program and the use of the
Activity Center. Call today for reservations. 732-350-1187