Stress Relief Suggestion #33

One of the most obvious ways to avoid unnecessary stress is to select an environment (work, home, leisure) which is in line with your personal needs and desires. If you hate desk jobs, don't accept a job which requires that you sit at a desk all day. If you hate to talk politics, don't associate with people who love to talk politics, etc. 

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Thankfulness Challenge and Joy Dare


Today, I am thankful for:


96. Laughter
97. Working the yard with my son.
98. Studying the bible with my group of friends who call themselves "the buzzards"

copyright 2012 by Kathy Robbins

The Lion's Den

I worked at a somewhat dead-end retail job in Alabama. The small town in which I lived just didn’t have many opportunities for employment and I didn’t see much of a future for my family. My mom had moved to Texas the year before and I had been toying with the idea of following her. I had prayed about it and did not receive any clear direction from God. This was a bit frustrating because I had made rash decisions in the past without even consulting God, unless it was foolishly to delegate tasks to him. Those prayers went something like this: “Ok God, let me tell you what I am going to do. I am going to go to school at this school. My applications are in, my application fee is paid and my transcripts are in. I need you to make sure I get accepted and do well. And, I need this, this, and this. I’ve done my part and if you would do yours, we can ace this thing. Thanks for listening. Amen.”


I cringe when I think about doing this! I can’t believe I actually prayed like that at one time. But I guess that is just a symptom of being a baby Christian. I probably shouldn’t beat myself up over it too badly. Needless to say, things sometimes went well for me in spite of these prayers and there were times when things did not. Those times were when I was operating solo: not considering or consulting God at all. As a matter of fact, there were times that I made decisions that I know were contrary to his will for my life. 


So, this time, I didn’t want to blow it. I wanted to do what God wanted for me and the family. When we walk contrary to his ways, when times of trouble hit, we want to go to him for help. Sometimes, I can imagine him sitting up there, the Universal parent looking at me with the same look that my parents had when I was contrary to their rules and got into trouble. 

 I never got a clear answer. I finally decided no answer was not really a no, so I decided to take the leap. A few days before we left, I was sharing this story with the wife of a Pastor that I knew. She told me that I would not know whether or not it was right until I got here and had been here for a little while. She told me that after I arrived, I would know. 


I brought my boys out to Texas with nothing but their bicycles and a few clothes. The same day that we left, a mission group from our church was going west too. They were on their way to Guatemala to deliver wheelchairs in a ministry. As I drove on I-10, coming west, I thought of them on their long trip. I also thought of our last Sunday School lesson at church. It was about Daniel, and how he was a stranger in a foreign land. I felt like I would be a stranger in Texas. Although it was not a foreign land, it would be new to me. Daniel held to his customs although he was in a different land. He refused to follow the customs of the new land. And the King respected him for that.

I don’t know why, but I just kept thinking about this story as we traveled. 

We first arrived in Laredo to visit my brother, who I had not seen in years. We were at his house one afternoon, where I had lay down to take a nap. I remember hearing that he had a man coming to his house to hang a new painting of something or the other that he had bought. I didn’t know much about it. I was sure that it wouldn’t interfere with my nap. Few things do.

When I awoke, I started down the stairs when I saw the new painting: it was a beautiful painting of Daniel in the Lion’s Den. 

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Thankfulness Challenge and Joy Dare:
Today, I am thankful for:


90. A nice evening with a friend
91. The way that ice cream tends to make things better for kids.
92. The nice gentleman who put air in my tire yesterday.

copyright 2012 by Kathy Robbins

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

John11: 14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.


20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.
21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.
39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha , the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.


The above scripture is from the Book of John, in the New Testament of the Holy Bible. It is an excerpt from the familiar story of the miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. 


My pastor at Buda United Methodist preached on this scripture once before. He made the point that in verse 21 Martha’s words show that she understands; she really gets it about Jesus. If he had been there, her brother would not have died. He would still be alive because of the healing, creative power of Emmanuel.

But then, skip down to verse 39, where Jesus commands that the stone be removed. Just 18 verses later, Martha explains to Jesus that Lazarus has been dead for four days and he ‘stinketh’. Whoa! Don’t roll away the stone. I am heartbroken for my brother, but, uh, as much as I loved him, I am not prepared for the smell! Let’s just not go there, Jesus! 


Where was the faith of verses 21-22? What happened? That same faith, which is surely more than a mustard seed seems to have vanished.


Surely, if Jesus can heal, he can make stench disappear. What happened was Martha’s humanness. Martha went from the life-saving, creative faith to the knowledge of the world without considering what happens with God.


I have suffered from this same malady. I will call it the “Martha syndrome.” Sometimes, I enter into lay-ministry and perform acts that are based on faith and belief that defy the natural. Through the grace of God, I get it right. I know in my spirit that I have gotten it right, similar to Martha in verses 21-22. 




Then, something happens. Like Martha, usually within the hour, I revert to the ways of the world without realizing what I am doing. And I do something that once I am aware of what I have done, I just want to kick myself. I realize just how unworthy I am on my own. I am like a child who has been cooped up inside with adults all day, minding my manners, who is let outside with my peers and the good manners drop by the wayside.


I get really frustrated with this aspect of my faith journey. One day, I was counseling a member of a board that I chair in a particular ministry. He was frustrated and had expressed anger at a particular situation and then wanted to resign from the board because of the situation in which he found himself.


I explained to him that I believe in my ‘heart of hearts’ that if, when engaged in ministry, we don’t pour ourselves almost to the point of exhaustion, get frustrated, get stretched, reach and get chased out of our comfort zone, beyond the shadow of a doubt, we are not doing it right. Ministry from a lay person’s point of view is not a bed of roses. I have never operated in the role of a pastor, but I believe that it probably is not a bed of roses either. I think that this board member reached understanding and reconciliation with the event, and decided that he didn’t need to resign after all.

I was pleased that the Holy Spirit had given me the right words, and that I had yielded to the Spirit to have the right words for the moment. I was feeling really good about this.

An hour later, I had to drive into the city to cash a check at a bank. I am a country girl, and Austin, Texas has been said to have the most congested traffic in the nation, second only to New York City, New York. Country girls don’t like traffic congestion. We like wide open spaces. I grew frustrated on many levels, and before I arrived back home, I had lost my temper.

Like Martha, I had gone from verses 21-22 all the way down to verse 39. I went from yielding to the spirit to succumbing to temptation. I think that God allowed this to happen to keep me humble, and to show me that without him, I am helpless, and unworthy. Any worthiness that I have is only through Christ. Without him, I am nothing.

About 2 weeks later, I had the opportunity to visit a patient in the hospital to minister until my pastor could arrive at the end of a day-long meeting. I prayed before I entered the hospital, asking the Lord to lead, guide and direct me and to help me to yield to the spirit and simply be his vessel. The visit went well. Again, I knew in my heart of hearts that I was operating like Martha in verses 21-22. But, I knew from experience, God was about to show me something. He would show me where I needed to improve. And he did. Now I have come to expect for him to show me something. I hope it is not too harsh of a lesson. And usually, the gentleness of the lesson is in direct proportion to the amount of gentleness that I employ in the ‘teaching moment’. Funny how that works, isn’t it?

So I pray that I will become humble within myself, yet bold in Christ.

Amen.

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Thankfulness Challenge and Joy Dare
Today, I am thankful for :


87. Fog, for that is what the Lord has given us, so with fog, I will be happy.
88. Seeing water in Onion Creek for the first time I can remember
89. Hugs from my sons just when I need it the most.
90. The beautiful souls in my prayer group who make my life more rich.

Linking up today with Laura Boggess:

copyright 2012 by Kathy Robbins

Stress Relief Suggestion #28

Writing your thoughts and feelings down in a journal can help you clarify things and can give you a renewed perspective. Or writing a letter to someone that you say all of the things that you want to, and then throwing the letter away can help to vent steam.

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Thankfulness Challenge and Joy Dare


Today, I am thankful for:


65. Humility
66. Passion
67. Processing information with friends.

copyright 2012 by Kathy Robbins

Priorities

Maybe it was the writer in me. Maybe it was boredom. Whatever the reason, when I worked in retail, running a register, to keep my mind busy, I would sometimes make up a story in my head about the people coming through my check-out line. Sometimes, I just made up a story about what they bought.


A thin, black woman came through my check-out line wearing pajama bottoms, slippers, a cute top, with a beige coat, opened and unbuttoned. She placed a bag of hard, red candy, individually wrapped on the counter. Right beside it, she placed a can of extra strength feminine deodorant spray. What a combination: candy and feminine deodorant spray. For these two items, she hopped into her car, not bothering to change out of her pajamas and slippers, and drove to the nearest discount store.


And she wasn’t just buying feminine deodorant spray, but extra strength feminine deodorant spray. I offered a greeting and scanned her items as I wondered to myself what had happened to her that caused her to need extra strength feminine deodorant spray. I knew that there must be a story here, but what it was, I did not know. I certainly was not about to ask.



Trying to look rather bored to  conceal the activity in my mind, I read the total of her groceries to her. She opened her thin hand and began to count out wadded-up dollar bills and change. She didn’t have enough money to buy both items. I didn’t think much about that because I know that happens to all of us at times. We forget our wallets, forget to get enough cash; it happens all of the time. Now it was time for a decision. Which item should she keep: the extra strength feminine deodorant spray, or the candy? She wanted to know the individual price of the spray, then of the candy. I told her the price of each. I watched her closely as she was obviously thinking hard. This was a matter of priorities. I knew which I would keep if it were me, but we are all different. I imagined a drum roll in my mind as she pondered. Which-- the candy or the deodorant?


Maybe she could buy a bar of soap and the candy. Or maybe a bar of soap and the deodorant. 


She put back the deodorant and opted for the candy. A part of me wanted to look at her with the best “middle-age old lady” look that I could, dropping my glasses down lower on my nose, raising my eyebrows, pausing and slowly saying, “Don’t you think that we should examine our priorities?” 

Instead, I took her money, gave her some change and her receipt and thanked her for her business. 

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Thanksgiving Challenge and Joy Dare

Today, I am thankful for:

57. Waking up another day, for no day is promised to us.
58. Austin district Lay Speaking Board.
59. Unplanned fun with friends and family.
60. Batteries full of power.
61. Beautiful sunsets over this big Texas sky.

copyright 2012 by Kathy Robbins

Mexican Spinach Dip and Queso

I had the pleasure of attending an Emmaus meeting in Austin, Texas on Thursday night. After the meeting and worship, we were treated to refreshments. As I made my way to a table of chip and dip, a lady standing behind a crock pot asked me if I would like spinach dip. I told her that I would love some. She dipped it out of her crockpot onto my plate. It was the best that I had ever had! I shared with her that I would love the recipe, and she was gracious enough to email it to me. Now, I would like to share it with you. Enjoy!

Mexican Spinach Dip

1 10 oz pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained

1 8 oz pkg. cream cheese, room temperature

½  white onion, chopped

1/8 to ¼ cup fresh or canned jalapeños, seeded, chopped

2 cans Ro-Tel tomatoes (1 drained, 1 undrained)

12 ozs. Mexican cheese blend

1/3 cup sour cream

¼ teaspoon cumin or to taste

½ teaspoon chili powder or to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.

Turn into a baking or casserole dish.  Bake 30 minutes or until hot and

bubbly.  Serve with corn chips or tortilla chips.

Here is a recipe that I got from a friend after tasting Queso at a Christmas Party for the Senior High Youth at my church. I have made this many times, especially during football games that I watched on TV. It is delicious!

Queso

1 pound of hamburger meat

2 cans of Ro-Tel Tomatoes

1 pound of Velveta

Brown hamburger meat and drain. Combine with one pound of Velveeta and 2 cans of Ro-Tel. Put on Medium heat. (Warm enough to melt the cheese). Stir regularly while heating. Keep on low heat, stirring regularly when serving on Tortilla  Chips or Fritos.

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Thankfulness Challenge and Joy Dare:

Today, I am Thankful for:

48. Babies with healthy lungs.
49. Beautifully decorated tables for Valentine's Brunch.


copyright 2012 by Kathy Robbins

Stress Relief Idea #26

Create order out of chaos. Organize your home and workspace so that you always know exactly where things are. Put things away where they belong and you won't have to go through the stress of losing things.
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Thankfulness Challenge and Joy Dare

Today, I am thankful for:


36. Big hugs from my boys.
37. The songs of birds.


copyright 2012 by Kathy Robbins

Stress Relief Idea #25

Get enough sleep. If necessary, use an alarm clock to remind you to go to bed.

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Thankfulness Challenge- Today I am thankful for:


32. Beautiful, dark, blowing clouds at dawn.
33. God's grace.
34. Waking up.




copyright 2012 by Kathy Robbins

Stress Relief Idea #24

Wear earplugs. If you need to find some quiet at home, wear earplugs.
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Thankfulness Challenge:


11. Macaroni and Cheese
12. Nephews and one Niece
13. Dinner around the table with family.
14. Holy Communion.
15. Fruitful meetings.
16. A car that runs.
17. Good friends.
18. Followers on my blog.
19. Beautiful flowers.
20. Safe travels
21. Well-mannered sons.
22. A refrigerator that runs.
23. Daily phone calls from my son three states away.
24. Police Officers.
25. Mountain Dew.

copyright 2012 by Kathy Robbins

Thankfulness Challenge

For the past two weeks, I have written a blogs about my first two challenges for 2012. The first is to read the bible all the way through. The second is to walk 719 miles for the year. I am happy to report that I am still on track on both challenges.


My third challenge is to make a list of 1000 things for which I thank God. This is based on a challenge made by Ann Voskamp in One Thousand Gifts: Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are.


The most profound life changing things are sometimes the most simple. That is the case with giving thanks to God. According to Voskamp, after she began this practice, she began to see a change in herself; other people did too. This simple discipline, of giving thanks for the most simple things in our lives that are blessings throughout our day can be life changing. Who knew?


Actually, according to Paul, we are to pray without ceasing, giving thanks for all things. All things includes both the good and bad, because regardless of our circumstances, God is still alive and good. Let it be so.


I will put my unending list at the bottom of my posts. I invite you to join me in making this list. To reach 1000 things, it will require that I do three to four things a day.


Today, I am thankful for 


1. Food

2. Clothes

3. Shelter

4. My beautiful three boys.

What are you thankful for today. Would you please put it in the comments section?

Linking up today with Ann Voskamp and Laura Boggess

copyright 2012 by Kathy Robbins