May 2002

The "instruction book" for life is the Bible.

"War Dead"

May 28, 2002

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."

- 1John 3:16 (NIV)

Sorry you didn't get your "normal" Sunday afternoon email from me.  But, I, like many of you, I am sure, spent the weekend with my family.  Yesterday, we spent the better part of the day at one of the fire houses I serve.  They barbecued and we sat around and visited.  They even set up a dump tank for the kiddos to have a little refuge from the heat.

Memorial Day had a new meaning to me this year.  And, maybe to you, too.  We have celebrated the holiday as a day to remember those who died so that others may have freedom.   Well, since 9/11, we added hundreds of more names to that list that we should be memorializing.

Maybe you were a little like me, thinking automatically that this day was to honor war dead.  It is.   But, I always thought of it in terms of military dead.  Well, now that the war has come to our shores, our uniformed non-military personnel who have died should be included.  At least, that is my humble opinion.  Every year in this country, approximately 100 firefighters and 100 police officers lay down their lives serving others.  Last year, 445 firefighters died, 343 of them at the World Trade Center (source: FEMA) - this is the most in recorded history in the United States.   Additionally, 233 police officers gave their all (70 at the WTC), the most since 1974 (source: National Law Enforcement Memorial).   That's 678 deaths just in our emergency services community - and in just one year.  Pretty staggering, huh?

Our verse this week tells us that laying down our lives for "our brothers" IS love.  Therefore, we should love those who have laid down their lives for us.  We can do that, at least a little bit, by including firefighters, police officers and paramedics to the list of soldiers we honor on our Memorial Day.

Honoring our brothers and sisters who have fallen before us is just one way to show our REAL CHIEF's Love to others as we serve...

"Where Seldom is Heard..."

May 19, 2002

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."

- 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV)

Do remember the old song you used to sing around a campfire, "Home on the Range?"  "Oh, give me a home... where the buffalo roam (watch where you step - hehehe)."    How about the line, "Where seldom is heard... a discouraging word... and the skies are not cloudy all day."  The song painted a wonderful picture didn't it?  Buffalo, deer and antelope frolicking on the range (of course, I think that would tend to destroy a kitchen appliance, but what do I know?).  No clouds.   And, best part yet - no discouraging words.  Is that the perfect description of a stress-free place?

I am blessed to have two good friends who both have the "gift" of encouragement.  Both of these men run important ministries.  Both have things that they could be complaining about.   But, when around me, they are constantly encouraging me.  In other words, they say things to me that make me feel good about what I am doing in the ministry.  That is important.  I can't tell you how many times that I have felt the sting of fatigue in ministry, only to have one or both of those men call me and lift me up.

In the Bible, the Apostle Paul often felt the loneliness and fatigue of ministry... especially in the beginning when no one was quite sure of what to think of this new convert to Christianity.   I mean, after all, wasn't this the same Paul that persecuted Christians?   Then, along came a man to help him, a guy named Barnabas.... a name which literally means "son of encouragement."  Barnabas would often encourage Paul in his ministry.  I really believe that the encouragement is what helped Paul launch his successful ministry to the gentiles (the non-Jews) of the time.

How about you?   Do you need encouragement every now and then?  Of course you do.  Now, you have to learn like I am learning.  Once you have received encouragement, you need to learn how to GIVE BACK... encourage someone who needs the uplifting.

Get down on your knees right now and ask our REAL CHIEF to bring someone into your life who needs encouraging in HIM. 

And, I want to tell you this - you are important and needed.  Why?  First, because God loves you so very much.  Second, because you are involved in a career that touches so many other lives.  You have the opportunity, on a daily basis, to let HIS light shine through you as you serve...

"Who Is My Mother?"

May 12, 2002

""Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you."

- Exodus 20:12 (NIV)

This was sent to me about four or five years ago.  I am sorry I don't know the author.  This is our Stress Relief for moms.

This is for all the mothers

• who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, "It's OK honey, Mommy's here.
• Who walk around the house all night with their babies when they keep crying and won't stop. show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.
• who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes.
• who give birth to babies they'll never see.
• And the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.
• who froze their buns on metal bleachers many a Friday night instead of watching from cars, so that when their kids asked, "Did you see me?" they could say, "Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world," and mean it.
• who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet like a tired 2-year old who wants ice cream before dinner.
• who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies.
• And for all the mothers who wanted to but just couldn't.
• who read "Goodnight, Moon" twice a night for a year. And then read it again. "Just one more time."
• who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.
• who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.
• whose heads turn automatically when a little voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know their own off spring are at home.
• who sent their kids to school with stomach aches, assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up. Now.
• whose children have gone astray and can't find the words to reach them.
• who bite their lips sometimes until they bleed when their 14 year olds dye their hair green.
•  

"From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. "Go on up, you baldhead!" they said. "Go on up, you baldhead!" He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths."

- II Kings 2:23 & 24 (NIV)

It is my prayer that the verses we discuss help each of you as it has helped me deal with the amount of stress we are all faced to deal with.

If you are not yet saved, I have Good News for you. Jesus loves you very much and His Holy Spirit is drawing you to Him. To learn more, click here.

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STRESS RELIEF is written every week, usually on Sunday afterno