Help, I’m stressed out! (Part 7)

May 18, 2010

I just don’t have peace!

Little Elsie Grace Whitney came into this world on May 5^th, 2010 my wife and I became grandparents of our 4^th granddaughter.  While we were celebrating the birth of our 4^th granddaughter, bringing her home from the hospital and enjoying all the newness of life, our other son-in-law called us from Indiana.  One of our 1 year old twins was rushed  to the emergency room with a severe allergic reaction to something she ate.   She was “blood” red, covered with blisters and vomiting.  They gave her Benadryl, she got sicker and the vomiting continued.  They shot her with a dose of Epinephrine!   Symptoms began to subside.  At the hospitals recommendation, they then took her by ambulance to one of the large hospitals in Indianapolis that was better equipped to deal with her symptoms.  They put her on steroids for a few days.   She is now recovering!  They now are in the process of running allergy tests to see what she and her twin sister might be allergic too.  She is fine! Thank you for your prayers and concerns.

This is the same daughter that has had one major incident after another in the last two years.  The very day she found out she was pregnant with twins,  she hit a patch of ice and wrecked her vehicle!  Their house was destroyed in a storm. We are so thankful they weren’t home at the time.  They very likely could have been killed as it totally demolished the children’s bedrooms.   They had to live in a “cracker-box” house for the next 6 months with 3 little babies while their house was being re-built. The twins came down with Pneumonia.  Her husband experienced chest pains and was put in the hospital twice to monitor his heart.  The list goes on….

Yeah, life comes at you fast! Sometimes, we just want to say “ENOUGH, ALREADY!” How much can one family take?  In the midst of this roller coaster ride for months our oldest daughter’s family has had a sense of peace and calm through these multiple ordeals!     How do you have that sustaining peace when things in this world just don’t seem to go as planned?  Isn’t that what we would all like to know? We’re going to be looking at that this week as we conclude our series “Help, I’m Stressed Out!”

Here’s a hint:

Isaiah 26:3 (NIV) You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.

Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus

Robin

Help, I’m stressed out! (Part 6)

May 11, 2020

I feel like a failure!

We have been talking a lot about “stress” lately!  We all get stressed from time to time.  We have dealt with several different specific things that bring stress into your life and how to deal with that biblically.  This coming week, Zach will preach about the stress of “failure”  Of course, if the truth be known, Zach takes a great deal of stress off of me when he preaches.  It gives you and me both a break!   It also frees me up to do other necessary duties related to my calling, while at the same time allowing Zach to use one of his gifts.

Many of the stresses we have talked about lead us to feeling a sense of failure.  What do you do when you are overwhelmed with this sense of failure?  These should get you off to a great start!

Try this:

1. Don’t let it over-whelm you! Understand that to succeed in life you will need to fail occasionally. Even the most accomplished people haven’t done everything perfectly in their lives. Everyone fails from time to time. None of us are perfect.  If we never fail, then we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.  Don’t think you’re the only one who has ever failed. If others have gotten through it, so will you.
2. Don’t take your anger out on other people! Sure you might feel lousy and “hurting” people “hurt” people, but it not only does you no good, they may be some of the very people that can help you! No one succeeds or fails alone.
3. Learn from your Mistakes! Don’t make it seem like the end of the world–it’s not! Get over it and move on with your life. Sometimes failure is a way to learn valuable lessons that steer a person in a better more positive direction.  Try to analyze the problem, so you can fix it. Pledge to do better. Fix what you did wrong!
4. Look at things from God’s perspective. The Apostle Paul addressed this in his letter to the church in Thessalonica.  Evidently there were people that thought his visit was a failure, but he knew according to God’s principles, it was not a failure.  He says ^“You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure” (1 Thes 2:1)  btw – “Faithfulness” is more important in God’s eyes than “success”!
5. Write down your personal goals! The man who aims at nothing usually hits it!  Do you know where you want to do and who you want to be? Better yet, do you know what God wants you to do and what He wants you to be?
6. Don’t quit! Be persistent! ! Don’t expect miracles to occur overnight. It takes time to turn things around!
7. Rely on God’s Strength! Enough said?  I think so, because greater is He that is within me than He that is in the world!

Phil 4:13 (NIV) I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

John 16:33 (NIV) “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Robin

Help, I’m stressed out! (Part 5)

May 4, 2010

I’m depressed!

Here’s a Depressing thought!  More Americans are depressed than you could possibly imagine.

Here’s some Depressing fact and figures:  compiled by Bob Murray, PhD and Alicia Fortinberry, MS

Found at: http://www.upliftprogram.com/depression_stats.html

• Depressive disorders affect approximately 18.8 million American adults or about 9.5% of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year. This includes major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, and bipolar disorder.
• Everyone, will at some time in their life be affected by depression — their own or someone else’s, according to Australian Government statistics. (Depression statistics in Australia are comparable to those of the US and UK.)
• Pre-schoolers are the fastest-growing market for antidepressants. At least four percent of preschoolers — over a million — are clinically depressed.
• The rate of increase of depression among children is an astounding 23% p.a.
• 15% of the population of most developed countries suffers severe depression.
• 30% of women are depressed. Men’s figures were previously thought to be half that of women, but new estimates are higher.
• 54% of people believe depression is a personal weakness.
• 41% of depressed women are too embarrassed to seek help.
• 80% of depressed people are not currently having any treatment.
• 92% of depressed African-American males do not seek treatment.
• 15% of depressed people will commit suicide.
• Depression will be the second largest killer after heart disease by 2020 — and studies show depression is a contributory factor to fatal coronary disease.

Depressing isn’t it?   It doesn’t have to be that way!!!  God doesn’t want you to have to live that way!  That’s why we’re dealing with these topics.  This Sunday, we’ll look at some very practical things that God did for Elijah that helped him with his depression.  Maybe those things will help you too.  Here’s some good scripture in the mean time.

2 Chronicles 20:15&17 (NIV) ¹⁵ ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. ^……... Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.’ “

John 16:33 (NIV) “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

1 Corinthians 10:13 TLB “But remember this-the wrong desires that come into your life aren’t anything new and different. Many others have faced exactly the same problems before you. And no temptation is irresistible. You can trust God to keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it, for he has promised this and will do what he says. He will show you how to escape temptation’s power so that you can bear up patiently against it.”

Robin

Help, I’m stressed out! (Part 4)

April 27, 2010

Why preach this series?

A good friend of mine recently mentioned that these sermon topics sure were “depressing”. And in jest said, that ought to really make people want to come to church!  After one of my blogs on the sermon series “Help, I’m stressed out!” I received these 4 comments from different people online:

1. Sounds like my kind of series LOL! Seriously, this will be very helpful to a lot of people, lets pray they are there to hear it …

2. I can’t wait! It’s sometimes hard to cast your burdens on Jesus, but once you do you realize…He only gives you what you can handle..nothing more nothing less.

3. I need these sermons. With my fathers passing in January, I have struggled with always wanting to be in control which is the main cause of my stress. I have been a very fortunate  single parent for years stress 1, my mother needs a care giver daily stress 2, I decided to go back to school to further my education for job opportunism stress 3, & my fathers passing turned my world upside down taking care of life insurance policies, changing, SS benefits & pension to my mothers name, the list goes on.. all of which I took on knowing my mother couldn’t. Had I not been a Christian I just don’t know how I would have gotten through it. Through this I have learned once again God really is in control & if my faith was stronger I would let go & my stress levels wouldn’t be what they are. Sometimes we need reminders & I look forward to these up-coming sermons.

4. Heard your sermon today — seemed as if you were talking to me! God Bless you as you are helping all of us. I know he guides you hour by hour.

So, maybe these sermon topics really will cause people to want to come to church! I hope so, there is so much in the Scripture that helps us to deal with life issues, as well as, prepare us for the next!

Robin

Help, I’m Stressed out! (Part 3)

April 20, 2010

I’m Just Devastated!

Life comes at you fast! Sometimes life hits you hard!  We are in our third week of looking at stress in our life!  This coming week we will look at being devastated! There may be times that you are sailing through life, everything is going great, and all of a sudden something comes along and knocks the wind out of your sails.  Sometimes life can hit you so hard that you can become completely devastated!   I looked up the word devastated in an online dictionary and thesaurus. Here’s the result!

dev·as·tate (dv-stt)

tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates

1. To lay waste; destroy.

2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: She was devastated by the rude remark.

devastated

adjective shattered, shocked, stunned, overcome, crushed, overwhelmed, distressed, gutted (slang), dazed, knocked sideways (informal), knocked for six (informal) He was devastated by the news of his friend’s death.

Have you ever felt like that?  Truly life can be hard sometimes. We can be so distraught over things that happen that can’t seem to pick up the pieces and go on!  This Sunday, we will address the stress in our life, when we are devastated and what to do about it.  Until then, keep this Scripture in mind!

2 Corinthians 4:8-10; 16-18 (NIV)

⁸We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

¹⁶Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Pastor Robin

Help, I’m Stressed out! (Part 2)

April 13, 2010

Lots of people are all stressed out, you know! A study done by the American Psychological Association in partnership with the National Women’s Health Resource Center and iVillage.com showed that nearly 47% of all Americans are worried about how much stress they have to deal with. Not only are we stressed, but now we’re stressed out about being stressed! The people in the study that indicated that they lived with a high level of stress!

We all have stress!  Last week, we talked about being stressed out by the pressures we all face of daily life and what to do about them.  Sometimes, these pressures we face cause us to “worry”, which is our topic for this week.  Did you know the Bible has a lot to say about worry.

Mat 6: 25 – 34 (NLT) ²⁵ “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? ²⁷ Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

²⁸ “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, ²⁹ yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. ³⁰ And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

³¹ “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ ³² These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. ³³ Seek the Kingdom of God^[d] above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

³⁴ “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

That’s easier said than done isn’t it?  This Sunday, we’ll look at why we’re stressed out with worry and what to do about it!  So, until then, how about let’s just do what that old country song says, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy!”

Pastor Robin

Help, I’m stressed out! (Part 1)

April 6, 2010

So many people are stressed out in life and about life! It may seem that there’s nothing you can do about the stress in your life. You will never have anymore hours in a day than you do right now to get everything done. The bills aren’t going to stop coming!    Your career or family responsibilities will always be demanding.

Now I do happen to believe that a little stress is good! *Don’t shoot me yet! I’ve noticed when someone trains competes for athletic competition, they put their body a certain amount of physical stress.  For instance, when a weight lifter increases the poundage that he is lifting, the muscles respond by growing stronger. Now of course, you can’t put too much stress on those muscles because then you could risk injury.  I’ve noticed that when grass is under a little bit of stress, it grows greener and stronger.  Yet when where is too much stress, the grass dies and becomes a dirt path.  So I believe that a little stress is good for you. It will challenge you and make you better!  However, when you have more stress that you can handle it can have devastating effects on you.  It can affect nearly every part of your body including physical, emotional and spiritual.

There are so many people that are carrying such a heavy load of stress that it is not good!  You may be one of them. If that’s you, then our next sermon series at Northside Christian Church is for you!  The title of the sermon series is “HELP, I’M STRESSED OUT!” You may feel like you have absolutely no control over the stress in your life.  That is only partly true.  You have a lot more control than you might think. In fact, just realizing that you’re in control of your life is the foundation of stress management.  Stress comes in a variety of ways.  One of the first initial steps is to identify the sources of stress in your life.  We will be dealing with specific areas of stress like: pressure, worry, devastation; feeling like a failure and several other topics.  We will deal with each of these in a biblical point of view over the next several weeks.

Please join us each Sunday as we strive to reduce the bad stress in our lives.  Now don’t get stressed out – if you are reading this and you are not close enough to attend Northside Christian Church, you can catch the sermons online through our website at northsideweb.org

Robin