As I return to work stress free after honoring our Lord on the Sabbath, I am reminded that still countless others are going back to work stressed out, juiced up and definitely not ready for prime time.

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.[a] 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Matthew 10:29-31

It's Monday and I'm ready to start off the new week all refreshed from the one day that gives me rest - Sunday.  

Just as I head off for the start of a new week refreshed and stress-free, I am reminded that many others are heading off to the start of a new week stressed out, juiced out and definitely not ready for prime-time.

 One Sunday morning as I was searching the radio for our old standby Ravi Zacharias, I happened to find one station's  program about investing money wisely,  It seems that we have become a nation obsessed with money that we see Sunday as a wasted day of activity, not worthy of recognition. 

 It is as though two big men came along and pushed the week together while conveniently taking out that one important day the Lord gave us to refresh and rekindle our soul. 

According to this BBC,article, more people are calling sick on Monday. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8347332.stm According to Dr. Cary Cooper,"It is more believable to use back pain as a reason as often stress is seen as a four letter word. It's seen as embarrassing.

"The UK has gone from being a manufacturing economy to a service-based economy in the past 30 years so the problems that are most likely to rise in the workplace are people problems rather than physical problems, despite what the survey suggests." In another article in the BBC, a 10-year study carried out in Scotland suggested that up to 20% more people die from heart attacks on a Monday than any other day.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/612550.stm

Like the panic-stricken worker's on the Edmund Fitzgerald as their ore boat was beginning to sink, many of us are entering the new week without the refreshing water that only our Lord Jesus is capable of providing,  Sunday, my friends, was made for man and a reminder that He will take care of all of our physical, monetary and psychological needs, no matter what you are experiencing in this life.

As we begin the work week, let us be mindful of our stressed filled coworker's by offering words of encouragement, and if they ask you why the silly grin on your face you can simply add, 'I went to church, helped out in the children's ministry, sang in the choir and had lunch with friends. You don't have to say anything more to convey the importance Sunday has in your life. 

May this coming week be a blessing to all.  

It is when we are suffering that Jesus wants us to have conversations with him....

IYour word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Psalm 119:105

In conversational style as though I were talking to a friend, I share my burden, my pain, and all my hurts with my Savior Jesus. It seems, that those moments of conversations happen in the middle of the night when I cannot sleep when the images of my suffering come to the forefront of my thoughts. 

When my thoughts gravitate to.....

If only I had done this

If only my loved one had listened to me

If only I could rewind life's take for a do-over

It is that moment when my thoughts are lifted up to my Savior Jesus It is that moment Jesus comforts me so I can lull myself to sleep.  

Our lives are like the rocky, perilous mountain path, narrow and unsteady with thoughts of uncertainty each time I look down and see the cascading stones slip away each step I take. 

When my thoughts drift to the 'what if's' of life......

What if my faith isn't strong enough?

What if God isn't who he said he was?

What if He doesn't hear my cry?

It is at this point on my perilous path that my shepherd Jesus gently lifts me up and carries me. In conversation style, I tell my savior Jesus...

Thank you, Jesus, for hearing my cry

Thank you, Jesus, for listening to my momentary affliction

Thank you, Jesus, for rescuing me

Thank Jesus for being my guiding light on this treacherous journey

Once the ground beneath my feet levels out my savior Jesus sets me down so I could once again walk beside him and share my afflictions in a conversational style. Just as he has been my guide through these darkest days, he wants to be yours too. Won't you unlock the door to your heart and welcome the king of Kings, the lord of Lords in?  

It just might be the beginning of many conversations!

Porque de tal manera amó Dios al mundo que dio a su Hijo único, para que todo aquel que en él cree no se pierda, sino que tenga vida eterna. Juan 3:16

6 Porque de tal manera amó Dios al mundo que dio a su Hijo único, para que todo aquel que en él cree no se pierda, sino que tenga vida eterna. Juan 3:16

Soy un hijo de Dios vivo lleno del precioso Espíritu Santo, que es como una casa que se encuentra en una colina frente al mar, con sus ventanas abiertas. preparado para recibir las brisas que fluyen suaves. Antes de nuestro Salvador ascendió a tomar su lugar que le corresponde en el cielo que se comprometió a enviar este precioso regalo para todos los que lo reciben.

Una de mis cosas favoritas para hacer es Google Earth. Me encanta como se puede ver en nuestro planeta desde lejos, y luego poco a poco acercarse más, más y más hasta que la visualización de los edificios de la vista de la calle.

Es como tomar unas vacaciones sin gastar cantidades exorbitantes de dinero.

Empecé a pensar por un momento lo que si Dios nuestro Padre está sentado en el cielo de ver nuestro planeta desde lejos. Se puede ver las explosiones de todo el planeta como la guerra y las batallas de estallar. Se puede ver a familias enteras están destrozando por los argumentos y las guerras. Estoy seguro de que Dios no se complace en ver todo el derramamiento de sangre, toda la discusión, todo el odio que viene de nuestro pequeño planeta

 El corazón de Dios está rompiendo en su búsqueda de sólo un remanente que aún creen.