Lose the Stress....

....gain a relaxed spirit.

Wow!, I just flunked this chapter in Arterburn's (2007) book. He asks five questions that relate to the level of stress in our lives:

1. Do you have effective ways of relaxing?
2. Do you regularly exercise?
3. How sensibly do you eat?
4. How well do you manage your time?
5. Are you getting enough sleep?

How do you stack up to these questions?

Arterburn (2007) states:

You'd have to be living on another planet not to know that stress affects your body in negative ways. Because stress is something we all experience, we all need to learn effective ways to manage or reduce it..... Are there habits and pratices you could change today that would make you feel better? The answer is probably yes.

Since the name of this blog is "authentic, striving to be real", I am not even going to begin to suggest that I have this area of my life under control. However, that should not stop us from taking a serious look at the five questions that Arterburn places before his readers. I think I know what I need to do in this area....I am going to take one of the questions that I feel will have the greatest impact and seek to live it out.

Will you consider doing the same?

Lose the Emotional Confusion.... (PART 3)

....gain the clarity of peace.

Another state of emotion that Arterburn (2007) highlights is rejection. Rejection so often is one of the more painful states since it typically involves someone very close. It takes many forms and even after the shock of rejection wanes, it can leave some very stubborn and nasty lies in its wake. Arterburn touches on this concept when he states:

You see, the enemy used emotional pain to implant lies--that no one will want or love you; that people will only hurt you; that if only you were better...all lies!

I don't fully understand why rejection seems to cut to the very core of our being, but Arterburn does remind his readers of the following:

The truth is that there is someone who is completely trustworthy and who will never reject you. Your acceptance has nothing to do with your actions or your appearance. Jesus unconditionally loves you because you are His. He identifies with your pain. According to Isaiah 53, Christ was despised, rejected, and a man of sorrow. Because of His great love for you, He suffered the pain of rejection and crucified it once for all on the cross.

Bottom-line, rejection has the potential of carrying emotional confusion. To begin cutting through the confusion, realize that even Jesus was rejected.

Lord, rejection hurts deeply. Help me to fully understand that even you experienced rejection. Expose the stubborn lies that are seeking to embed in my thought life due to the rejection. Fill me with your peace.

Lose the Emotional Confusion.... (PART 2)

....gain the clarity to peace.

Be sure to look back at the previous post for greater understanding of this one. While Arterburn (2007) hightlights many emotional states, I would like to focus attention on two that easily entrap many folks: inadequacy and insecurity. Crassly stated, inadequacy tells us that we really don't measure up and insecurity reminds us of our many vulnerabilities.

Arterburn states:

You are inadequate because you are human. [....] If you start to look at your emotions and find that inadequacy is at the top of the list, give up on trying to feel better about yourself and start focusing on feeling better about God. Look at what God has done through you. Look at what God has allowed to happen in your life even though you did not have it all together or have all that others had.

I am going to take the liberty of paraphrasing (maybe, embellishing) Arterburn on the matter of inadequacy; here it goes:

If you have bought the deception that you have to be darn near perfect for God to ever use you, give it up.....you will never be good enough. Remember, we are human. But get this-- God would like to use us anyway, even with all of our imperfections. I know, it makes no sense that God wants to use me or you to build His kingdom, but that's just the way it is. Maybe you and I should worry less about measuring up and just start looking for what God may simply want to do through us.

Regarding insecurity, Arterburn states:

The only place you are truly secure is in your relationship with God. A multitude of scriptures speak to who we are in Christ-- we are loved, forgiven, saved by grace through faith, joint heirs with Christ, blessed with all spirtual blessings, sons and daughters of God, complete in Him, and so much more.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 God is the One who makes you and us strong in Christ. God make us his chosen people. He put his mark on us to show that we are his, and he put his Spirit in our hearts to be a guarantee for all he has promised (NCV)

Here goes another Fox paraphrase:

You really think anything in this world is going to provide lasting security? I can tell you right now, the only real security in this world is in our relationship with God. It's your choice....you can either base your security on your feelings or on what God's Word says. I'm choosing His Word!

Lord, when those feelings of inadequacy and insecurity rise in my spirit, help me to apply your Word to my life.