All I Need to Know

You are probably familiar with the article by Robert Fulghum titled, "All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten." It's a classic and contains priceless advice.

"Most of what I really need to know about life, I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but here in the sandbox at nursery school.

"These are the things I learned: Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush ! Live a balanced life. Learn and think, draw and paint, sing and dance, play and work a little every day.

"When you get out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. Be aware of wonder.

"Remember the little seed in the plastic cup. The roots go down and the plant goes up, and nobody really knows why, but we are all like that.

"Goldfish, hamsters, white mice, and even the little seed in the plastic cup—they all die. So do we.

"And then remember the book about Dick and Jane, and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all: LOOK. Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule, love and basic sanitation, ecology, politics and sane living.

"Think of what a better world it would be if all of us—the whole world—had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon, and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. Or if we had a basic policy in our nation, and other nations, always to put things back where we found them, and cleaned up our own messes.

"And it's still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it's best to hold hands and stick together."

Going Around in Circles

I remember reading the following story in Reader's Digest about an independent trucker who was having difficulty finding his delivery location. "Take exit 20, turn right, and then take the second left," were the instructions he was given.

He took the correct exit, turned right, then took the second left and ended up back on the highway.

He tried again. The same thing happened.

He called the company, who gave him some adjusted directions. His next two attempts put him back on the highway going the opposite direction.

However, he recalled having seen a police car parked not far from the exit. So on his fifth attempt, he parked his rig, walked over to the police car and asked the officer for help.

"Don't worry," said the officer, "just wait a while. Your trucks have been coming by all morning. All you need to do is follow the next one that gets off the highway."

Do you ever feel like you are also going around in circles getting nowhere fast ?

 

Sometimes it takes a while to get God's directions—but while we're waiting there's always something for us to learn. 

"Your Time Is Limited ..."

 

In October of last year the passing of Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computers, was a shocker even though it was well known that he had battled cancer for some time. The shocker was that he was only 56.

Steve, a genius with computer technology—from the personal computer to the iPod and iPhone—had a profound impact pretty much on the entire world with his incredible computer-related inventions. He will be known among the greatest of inventors. Interesting that in 1993 he said, "Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me…. Going to bed at night saying we've done something wonderful—that's what matters to me."

One word of wisdom Jobs shared when he made it known that he had cancer was this: "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life."

How true this is. Time is limited. Life is short—and we only have one shot at it.  

Challenging Fear

Most of us struggle with fear of one sort or another at one time or another—some mild, some serious, some healthy, some unhealthy and self-defeating.

Healthy fear is a self-protective mechanism. We rightly fear (or should) driving through a red light, or doing anything that could hurt us or others. Unhealthy fear is that which is caused by someone who hurt us deeply, and especially when we bury and deny it. This fear can become a floating anxiety and cause us to be fearful of everyday living, separate us from close relationships and cause loneliness, give us ulcers or other physical ills, or cause us to hide it and "protect" ourselves with anger.

Fears that are relatively harmless can often be overcome by doing the thing we fear and thereby reconditioning our response to the particular thing we fear.

Unhealthy or self-defeating fears need to be dealt with at their root cause. Sadly, the things we fail to resolve we are destined to repeat.

To be made perfect in love means we need to resolve any unhealthy fears. To do this these fears need to be recognized and if repressed, they need to be brought into the conscious mind so they can be confronted and resolved.

Look at the symptoms in your life ...

Do you avoid close relationships ?

Is your life filled with anxiety ?

Are you an angry person ?

Do you have any impaired close relationships ?

Is your marriage a wreck ?

If any of these apply to you, chances are you may have unresolved fear. So when you pray, admit these and any other symptoms to God and ask Him to give you the courage to see the root cause of these—and to lead you to the help you need to overcome these. If the fears are buried, you may need qualified professional counseling help to overcome these.

As we resolve unhealthy fears, we open ourselves to love, and the more we are filled with God's love, the less fearful we will be because perfect love drives out fear.

Don't Waste Your Pain—Invest It

In almost every trial we face God is seeking to "tell" us something. Sometimes when we're hurting sufficiently to slow us down so we will stop and listen.

When you are hurting, you can be sure that God has something to say to you too—something for your good. Ask Him to help you hear what it is and to give you the courage to do what he is telling/ leading you to do. Whatever it is, you can be certain it will enrich your life in one way or another.

Furthermore, whatever you do, don't waste your pain. Invest it in your own growth and then in helping another fellow struggler along the way.

Dear God ...
please help me ...
to see ...
how you want ...
to use ...
all the trials ...
that come my way ...
to help me grow ...
and change my life ...
for the better ...

And please help me ...
never to waste my pain ...
but to invest it wisely ...
in my own growth ...
and in making me ...
a more effective helper ...
to other fellow strugglers ...

Thank you for hearing and answering my prayerz

Fickle or Faithful Friends

Babe Ruth was one of the all-time greats of American baseball. For years he had been the idol of sports fans. Time, however, took its toll. I read how, in one of his last games, he began to falter. He struck out and made several misplays that allowed the opposing team to score five runs in one inning. As he walked from the field, he was greeted with an enormous storm of boos and catcalls from the stands. Fans shook their fists.

Then a little boy jumped over the railing and, with tears running down his cheeks ran out to the great athlete. Unashamedly, he flung his arms around his hero's legs and held on tightly. Babe Ruth picked him up, hugged him, set him down, and together the two of them walked off the field hand in hand.

An unknown poet wrote:

    I went out to find a friend,
    But could not find one there.
    I went out to be a friend,
    And friends were everywhere!

The Impact of the Spoken Word

"Researchers at Kenyon College conducted a test in cooperation with the US Navy. The purpose was to discover how the tone of the voice affected sailors when they were given orders. The experiments revealed that the way a person was addressed determined to a large extent the kind of response he would make. For example, when an individual was spoken to in a soft voice, he would answer in a similar manner. But when he was shouted at, his reply came back in the same sharp tone. This was true whether the communication was given face-to-face, over the intercom, or by telephone."

With yellers there is a tendency to yell back at him or her. However, other research has shown that if we answer a yeller softly in a soft tone of voice, he will have to lean forward to hear what we are saying and tend to lower his own volume.

Richard De Haan wisely said, "What we say and how we say it not only makes a difference in the reaction we'll receive, but it also determines whether conflict or peace will result. Many arguments could be avoided and tense situations relaxed if we understood [and practiced] this truth."

Bear One Another's Burdens

It was a very hot summer day when Herman Trueblood was walking home from a cool dip in the ocean when he noticed a man perspiring profusely as he was trying with the help of his two young sons to push his broken-down car up an incline.

Trueblood looked at the struggling trio and said to himself, "Here is an opportunity for service. You ought to give them a hand." An opposing voice within chimed in, "No, It's none of your business. You'll get yourself all hot and dirty. Let them take care of their own responsibility."

Eventually he yielded to the better impulse, put his shoulder to the task and all working together pushed the car over the incline and on its way.

Before they took off, the father, putting his hand out to Trueblood, said, "I'm very glad that you came along. You had just enough strength, added to ours, to make the thing go."

Trueblood noted, "Years have passed since that hot day, but I can still hear that man saying, 'You had just enough strength, added to ours, to make the thing go.'"

There are numerous people around us who are barely making it over their private hill of despair when, with a helping hand, they could make it.

Dear God

please use me

to be a helping hand

to a friend in need

who just can't make it alone

 

Thank you for hearing and answering my prayerz ...

Winning Over Worry

It's Monday morning. The weekend is over. The alarm clock blares out its hideous jangle and suddenly you are snapped into the world of reality. First comes the struggle to get out of bed, then the rush to get to school or work on time, and then comes the stress of trying to juggle all of your seemingly endless responsibilities throughout the day.

Is this how your week starts ? And aren't these pressures mild compared to the ones you face as the day and week wear on?

We live in a world of ever-increasing stress and worry with school, work, family, financial, and social pressures. Not many people are free from worry of some kind. However, an overload of worry and anxiety are a major problem of contemporary society. In excessive amounts they can take years off your life.

Some people like to think that things don't bother them. "No problem," they say as they put on a brave front and reach for the aspirin to medicate the pain of their inner anxieties.

But it isn't possible to deaden inner anxiety. It will reveal itself in many ways. For instance, "A" withdraws when he is upset, hurt, or uptight. "B" talks endlessly to cover her anxiety. "C" chain smokes to avoid facing his. "D" attacks when he feels threatened. "E" dominates and "F" procrastinates. "G" is a constant complainer. "H" is a compulsive eater, "I" a compulsive drinker, "J" a compulsive worker, and "K" a compulsive gambler—all because of inner unresolved worry and anxiety.

Anxiety may also express itself in a physical way. Abdominal pains, high blood pressure, a twitch, allergies, ulcers, nervous stomach, tension headaches—all have been named by doctors as symptoms of anxiety and worry.

Yes, sooner or later unresolved worry and anxiety will win out. When one fails to talk out his worries in healthy ways, he will act them out in unhealthy ways in one form or another.

However, it's one thing to know about God's peace and another thing to experience it. It begins with being able to see and admit our real fears, by facing and resolving them, and by learning to give them over to God—and not take them back.

The causes behind worry and anxiety can be many and varied. The following are some of the major ones with some helpful tips for winning over them.

First, if anxiety is situational—that is, caused by adverse circumstances or too much work, I find it helps to list all my responsibilities on paper. This is half the battle. I then eliminate the least important matters, work on the things I can do something about, and try to learn to accept the things I cannot change and to stop worrying about them.

Second. If the problem is repressed, pent-up feelings such as resentment, hurt or anger, those feelings need to be expressed in healthy ways. If you're nursing a grudge, you will need to put things right with the other person concerned and forgive him or her. Negative feelings can be talked out with a trusted friend or counselor. Or, if it helps, go for a drive in your car with the windows closed and shout your feelings out, go to the bedroom and cry them out, or write them out. Just don't bottle them up.

One night when I was worried and couldn't sleep, I got up and typed a letter to God sharing all my feelings with him. Within a half-hour I had released my pent-up feelings. I then read them back to God, tore up the page, went back to bed, and fell asleep immediately.

Good, hard physical exercise is also helpful when you're feeling worried or anxious.

Third, if your worry is caused by unmet emotional or spiritual needs, you can remedy this by growing in your relationship to God and other people—both of which are keys to vital, worry-free living. A spiritual growth group or a good recovery program can be a big help for some. As you open up to other safe people and to God and feel their love and acceptance, you can slowly change feelings of fear, guilt, anger, inadequacy, anxiety, and worry for feelings of hope, confidence, peace, and love.

It is also true that unresolved fears have a way of blocking out love. So we need to ask God to help us overcome our fears so we can be filled with love. The more we love and trust God, the less we fear man and circumstances. Every day, visualize yourself opening up to God and being filled with his love, joy and forgiveness.

In 1929, business tycoon J.C. Penny was in the hospital because of his severe anxiety. One night he was sure he was going to die so he wrote farewell letters to his wife and son.

But he survived the night, and hearing singing the next morning in the chapel, felt drawn to go in. A group was singing, "God will take care of you".

Penny said, "Suddenly something happened. I can't explain it. It was a miracle. I felt as if I had been instantly lifted out of the darkness of a dungeon into warm brilliant sunlight. I felt as if I had been transported from hell to paradise. I felt the power of God as I had never felt it before.

"I realized then that I alone was responsible for all my troubles. I knew that God with his love was there to help me. From that day to this, my life has been free from worry. The most dramatic and glorious minutes of my life were those I spent in that chapel that morning."

The cause or causes of our anxiety and worry almost always lie within our self. At best they are triggered by outside circumstances. Only when we see and resolve these causes, are we free to fully surrender our worries and anxieties to God and experience his peace.

Whether this peace comes instantly or over a period of time doesn't matter. The important truth to remember is that God is always there. His love and power are constant and available to all. As we reach out to him through the fog of our worry and damaged emotions, we discover that he is waiting to help us if only we will respond to his love and give him the chance.

 

Dear God ...

if and when ...

I am worried ...

or afraid ...

please help me ...

not to deny it ...

or escape into over-busyness ...

procrastination ...

or any addictive ...

or compulsive behavior ...

but face it square on ...

see the cause ...

and lead me ...

to the help I need ...

to overcome ...

and win over my worry ...

 

Dear God ...

when I am worried ...

and anxious ...

if there are ...

hidden causes ...

behind these ...

please help me ...

to see them ...

and lead me ...

to the help ...

I need ...

to resolve these issues ...

at their root ...

I fully trust in you ...

 

Dear God ...

I commit ...

and trust ...

my life ...

and way to you ...

and choose ...

to trust you ...

in all circumstances ...

Grant that my emotions ...

will catch up ...

with my choice ...

to trust you ...

Help me ...

to resolve ...

all my fears ...

that cause me ...

to worry ...

so I can be filled ...

with your love ...

joy ...

and peace ...

 

Thank you for hearing and answering my prayerz ...

Guilty Silence

In his book, Seven Signs of the End Times, Mark Hitchcock shares the following: "I heard a story recently about two pastors standing near the side of a road holding up a sign that read, 'The end is near! Turn yourself around now before it's too late!'

"As the first driver sped by, he hollered, 'Leave us alone, you religious nuts!'

"From around the curve they heard screeching tires and a big crash. One pastor turned to the other and said, 'Maybe we should just put up a sign that says, Bridge Out Ahead.'"

And as Hitchcock added, "It does appear to me, as I read the signs in our world today that the bridge is out." Because of this, it is imperative that we let people know that they need to turn around and receive God's forgiveness before it is too late.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer so eloquently stated it: "Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act." May God deliver us from "our guilty silence."

Facts Versus Feelings

Old habits and old beliefs die hard. For centuries people believed Aristotle's opinion that the heavier an object was, the faster it would fall to earth.

According to a report I read, in 1589 Galileo challenged Aristotle's teaching. He invited learned professors to the base of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Galileo went to the top of the tower and pushed off a ten-pound and a one-pound weight. Both landed at the same instant, but the professors still wouldn't believe what they saw. They insisted Aristotle was right.

Once again, here is another case of people believing what they want to believe. It's like the old saying, "Don't confuse me with the facts, my mind's made up."

Some of us avoid facing facts because they're too threatening. Others of us don't face reality because it's not in sync with our feelings. I'm a great believer in acknowledging feelings but I can't always trust my interpretation of them.

How foolish it would be to be driving on a highway and disregard a major warning "danger ahead" sign because we don't feel the sign is correct. Maturity recognizes one's feelings, checks them out for reality, and doesn't allow them to control him or her. When it comes to life, if our feelings don't harmonize with God's Word, we'd better follow God's Word rather than make our feelings the voice of authority, which can be a very dangerous path to follow, especially when it comes to eternal life and eternal values.