Heavy or Light?

Hi there, I trust your week is going well and that there are things happening for which you can rejoice. Here is something to think about mid-week…
 
A woman confidently walked around the room while leading and explaining stress management to an audience. She was holding a raised glass of water. Everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question “Is this glass half empty or half full?” However, she fooled them all - "How heavy is this glass of water?” she asked with a smile.  The answers came in thick and fast ranging from 8oz. to 20oz.

Again, she caught them out: "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It actually depends on how long I hold the glass. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."
She continued, "And that's the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, eventually, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on. As with the glass of water, you have to put it down and rest for a while before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden - holding stress longer and better each time practiced.

So, don't carry your burdens through all of the day and into the evening. Don’t carry your burdens through the night and into the next day. Put them down somewhere along the way. You may actually have to take them back up again at some future time, but then you will be refreshed a little to be able to carry on. It may not always be the ideal, but at least you will be better prepared to manage than if you had tried to continue unrelenting.
 
Remember the words of Jesus: “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
 
Here are some thoughts regarding stress gleaned from a number of sources. I hope that they will put a bit of a smile on your face:

• Accept the fact that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue!
• Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
• If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
• It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.
• Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.
• Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
• Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late once in a while.
• The second mouse gets the cheese.
• When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
• We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names; and all are different colours, but they all have to live in the same box.
• A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
• Save the earth..... It's the only planet with chocolate (that’s for my wife!)

...and, very importantly...
Be the kind of person that when your feet hit the floor each morning the devil says, "Oh damn, he/she is up!"
 
Pray with me: “Lord, thank You for everything that is happening in my life today. While I may not always appreciate some things, there is nothing that together with You I cannot manage. Thank You for Your strength, Your presence, and Your grace. Amen”
 
Ps Stephen