HELP...
Psalm 145:8-18 (Amplified Bible) (Emphasis and italics are mine)
8 The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and abounding in mercy and loving-kindness.
9 The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works [the entirety of things created].
10 All Your works shall praise You, O Lord, and Your loving ones shall bless You [affectionately and gratefully shall Your saints confess and praise You]!
11 They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom and talk of Your power,
12 To make known to the sons of men God's mighty deeds and the glorious majesty of His kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
14 The Lord upholds all those [of His own] who are falling and raises up all those who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all wait for You [looking, watching, and expecting] and You give them their food in due season.
16 You open Your hand and satisfy every living thing with favor.
17 The Lord is righteous in all His ways and gracious and merciful in all His works.
18 The Lord is near
to all who call upon Him,
to all who call upon Him sincerely and in truth.
(call means to learn how to get the attention form Him that you need and want)
Point to ponder: There are times when our burdens are more than we can carry. Give your burdens to the Lord daily so that their weight does not bury you in anguish. God wants to help you; so let Him. (Comments and Scriptures inspired by Chaplain Maria McGonegal in peacealways2you@yahoo.com on Mar. 6, '09.)
Today we deal with the most often ignored piece of the Five Piece Puzzle of Stress Management... #5.
THE FIVE PIECES OF THE PUZZLE...
(Quoted from STRESS/UN STRESS by Keith W. Sehnert, M.D., Augsberg Publ.,
Minneapolis, Minn., pg. 82, copyright 1981, used by permission)
1. "CHANGE YOUR WORK AND SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT"... IF POSSIBLE. IF IT
IS NOT POSSIBLE TO CHANGE IT... THEN YOU MUST CHANGE HOW YOU
LOOK AT IT AND HOW YOU ALLOW IT TO AFFECT YOU... YOU CAN
CHANGE THE BAD INTO SOMETHING THAT CAN WORK FOR YOUR GOOD.
2. "UNDERSTAND YOUR EMOTIONS"... WHY YOU FEEL THE WAY YOU
FEEL AND HOW TO ADJUST WHEN NECESSARY.
3. "LEARN UNSTRESS REMEDIES."
4. "TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY"... NO ONE ELSE CAN DO THIS FOR YOU!
5. "PROVIDE FOR YOUR SPIRITUAL NEEDS."
David, the writer of the Psalm, was a warrior from a very young age. Before that he was shepherd to his father's flock in the wilderness. He was trained as a child in the ways of the God of his forefathers. The shepherd's job is a simple one, though not always an easy one. The shepherd must lead the flock to good water and good food or the flock will die. David was trained for this job by his father and older brothers.
Sheep are strange animals and need much care, tending and guarding. If a bear, lion or wolf gets a sheep from the flock, it is the shepherd's job to retrieve the sheep, if possible, or kill the marauder if the sheep is not retrievable. His weapons were a staff (the long hooked stick used to rescue sheep from dangerous places), a rod (a heavy, stout stick used to beat the brains out of a foe) and a sling-shot. David had pursued and killed the wild animals that tried to raid his flock.
When he took some provisions to his brothers who were in the army, he found the whole army cowering on a hillside while they listened to the taunts and ridicule of a giant of a man in the valley below challenging them to send out a man to fight him and settle the battles. King Saul was in charge. No one would go. Goliath was a very large man. They were all frightened of him.
David asked why no one would go out to meet the enemy... They were all afraid was the answer. David volunteered to go and meet Goliath. King Saul tried to put his armor on David but it would not fit... David was a youth... Saul was a very large man... Saul's armor would not fit David... David elected to go anyway.
While crossing a stream before he got to Goliath, David picked up some small stones for his sling, and continued on... Loading his sling as he went, David twirled his sling until he had it up to speed and let fly at Goliath striking Goliath in the forehead and cutting him down to the ground. David then took Goliath's great sword and cut off Goliaths head and held it high for all of both armies to see. Goliath's army fled. David was declared a hero. David sought the help of God as he went out to face Goliath. David did all that he knew to do and sought the help and favor of God to help him overcome the enemy that he faced... An enemy that should have easily defeated David was brought down and the day was won because David trusted God and did what he was capable of doing.
David went on to become king and commander-in-chief of his own armies. He worked his way up through the ranks from Shepherd Boy to King of the Nation. In his Journey he made a lot of mistakes and sometimes even intentionally disobeyed. He always repented and learned from his times of disobedience and rebellion. He lived through a very full and busy life to die in old age.
All people with wisdom know that there is always a greater power than themselves. David was a descendant of the Hebrews and they call that greater power Almighty God. They are given the opportunity to learn about Him, His desires for them and how to procure that power when we need it. David did as he had learned to do. Why did his brothers, the rest of the army and the king not do anything with what they had been taught to do?
The key is the same for all of us... The key is CHOICE... Choosing to learn and then choosing to use what you have learned until it becomes a part of you and you live it. I have a saying, "You do not know a thing until you can retain it, repeat it and apply it."
Much of what is called education is retained long enough to be able to repeat it to pass testing but not usually long enough to be applied until it is part of our usual activity and attitude. Some of what we learn is retained long enough to get the usefulness of it and we use it to establish principles... Those things that always work no matter who finds them and uses them. Common sense would probably be another good descriptive term... That which we learn that guides and directs us in living and succeeding.
If there is something in your life not working correctly, find out why it is not working correctly. We are not looking for fault here, we are looking for cause or to see what is lacking if it is not there. What might I need to know that I do not know but could learn??? What do I need to practice that I am not practicing???
If you are reading this message, then your life and my life have been influenced by one thing more than any other one thing... Interaction with other people... Family, strangers, friends, enemies, loved ones, significant others, on the job contacts, classroom contacts, training class members, Instructors, Supervisors, Chain-of-Command... Every contact with any other person influences you in some way. Many factors are at work that help to determine what kind of influence you will experience. Attitude is a vital key here. The attitudes of others and your own attitude.
I have viewed and evaluated this situation for all of my life after beginning school in the first grade. Along the way I learned that I could learn if I wanted to learn... I could fail if I wanted to fail. I learned that I could even do things that well educated people told me that I could not ever do.
I also learned that most anyone could do this themselves if they believed they could do it. I have a very long history of proving it for myself. I have that same long history watching some few others succeed where they were told they would fail... And I have seen a lot of those who failed because someone told them they were going to fail or they personally believed that they would fail!.
When I do not know what I need to know, I seek information. When I find that information, I absorb it as best that I am able. Then I set about to apply that information until I know it... Until it becomes part of me by experience... Then I not only know about it... I know it... And I can put it to use!!!
Until the age of 27 I lived in a spiritual vacuum... No one around me could help me or show me how to get into contact with God. I was told to pray. I knew 2 prayers... "Now I lay me down to sleep..." and the Lord's Prayer. Prayer means spiritual interaction, communication, conversation... Conveying your thoughts to another when You cannot see them nor feel them... But no one told me that. Also I learned that effective communication involves close attention and a relationship between two or more people during the communication. No one had told me that. To communicate with another you need to know them or know something about them in order to establish and continue the communication. No one instructed me in that information.
I spent much of my life wanting to communicate but being afraid to try because I lacked instruction and knowledge. I began to truly hone the skill of communication after becoming a Virginia State Police Trooper... But I did not become really good at communication until I was called to ministry and set out to learn how to reach people where they were and communicate with them. Because it was so difficult for me to gain the ability to communicate well, I have now dedicated myself to communicating with others in ways that will help them where they are.
Nobody believed David could slay Goliath... But David believed that with God's help he could do it, so he went out and did it.
Every thing we need to know is available somewhere. Much of what I needed to know was already gathered into one resource... I just had to learn it by digging into that resource... The Bible... Specifically the New Testament. I had to learn it's lesson on the history of God's dealing with the human race. I had to learn what was said in it's pages and how it applied to me in my life. I asked God to teach me and I set out to learn from the Bible and any other resource that might be able to help me... History, Autobiographies, Biographies, Diaries, Journals, Lesson Plans, Mechanics, How-To Manuals, etc...
I learned about health, physical well being and care, emergency medical treatments, alcoholism and other addictions. I learned about physics and applied mechanics as I learned engineering and how to fabricate the structures others drew pictures of. I learned about weapons, railroading, human nature, confrontation, crisis management, death notification, dealing with death... I learned how to evaluate and learn from the mistakes of others. I learned to survive and I learned to live.
All of this took choosing to learn, gaining an education, making practical application and obtaining the results that were promised when the instructions were properly applied. This has taken a lifetime of learning, dedication and application... But today I am here to tell you that the process and the principles work for those who are willing to ask, seek, knock and apply with perseverance.
My perseverance is illustrated today by the fact that I have used about 1/2 roll of Bounty Paper Towels to soak up all of the excess fluids that are caused by something I cannot see that has attacked my respiratory system. I have done and am doing all that I know to do. If I did what I felt like doing today, I would be asleep. Successful people are those who do what should be done whether they feel like doing it or not.
I know a lot of you are out there doing what you know to do... Are you also looking to learn what more you might be able to do better or differently and get better results? Life, on the job and personally, is a series of challenges. Sometimes we need to learn new things in order to better solve old challenges. Ask, seek, knock... Find whatever else is out there for you.
Thank you for who you are and for what you do. This world would be a terrible place in which to live if it were not for people like you in it.
"BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!" ALWAYS be alert, watchful, suspicious and wary. Take the very best care of you as you care for and about others. See to the strength and well being of your spirit as well as all the rest of you. Your spirit must be strong for you to be successful.
Call or write if I may be of any service... Or if you just want to encourage me... Feedback encourages all who write... It helps to know we are reaching someone who reads the message.
My daughter, Donna, is progressing slowly. We are still dealing with IV antibiotics, wound cleaning and packing and much bed rest but we are still doing better after this last surgery than after any of the other dozen or so in the last three years.
As it has always been... So it still is!!!
"VICTORIOUS WARRIORS WIN FIRST...
AND THEN GO TO WAR,
WHILE DEFEATED WARRIORS GO TO WAR FIRST...
AND THEN SEEK TO WIN." Sun tzu
Training and practice are everything!
Without them, the best results are not obtained!
ONLY LIVE PEACE KEEPERS SEE THE VICTORY!!!
THEY SEE IT ONLY BECAUSE OTHERS HAVE MADE THEIR ETERNAL
PAYMENTS OF SWEAT, BLOOD, TEARS AND LIFE FOR THAT VICTORY!
WITH THE DEEPEST OF APPRECIATION AND RESPECT...
BE BLESSED (A CONDITION TO BE ENVIED)...
BE SUCCESSFUL... BE SAFE...
[My injunction to be safe means doing all you know to do as you do your job... it means
doing the best you can with what you have where you are using all your faculties to get
the job done well and with good results conquering evil and keeping or restoring peace...
it does not mean to avoid duty and honor... it does not mean to cower or allow anything
to hinder you in the process of duty according to rules, law and ethics... it means that if
the demand takes your earthly life you destroy as much evil as possible in the process.
That is my definition of being safe... doing the best you can and leaving the rest to God
or whomever else is responsible... being best employed for the sake and protection of all
the things and people that we hold dear.]
I represent, write for... and give the credit to:
God the Father (my Commander-in-Chief),
Jesus Christ the Son (the Eternal Captain of my life) and
the Holy Spirit of God (my Eternal Teacher, Keeper and Guide).
In Christ I live... with Him and for you I serve...
And I rejoice that you are there whether you are Christian or not...
For God, Country and the Peace Keeper...
D. R. (Don) Staton, Chaplain to Peace Keepers,
Surviving Peace Keeper,
Virginia State Police Alumni,
RETIRED Police Officer Virginia Beach Police Dept.,
DCJS Certified Police Instructor,
Community Service Officer (Traffic Safety)
757-431-2190, chpln1@verizon.net
3709 Beacon Lane, Virginia Beach, VA 23452
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