Faith

Like everyone, I enjoy the Christmas holiday from beginning to end. It's my favorite time of the year.

I looked at the clothes that were hanging over the dining room chairs. This room isn’t used much. So, they were out of the way, here. I began to sort through them. I wanted to take out, the ones that; I don’t wear anymore. I will give them away. This is a task that I do Spring and Fall. Some of them are summer clothes. Some of them Winter. And there is way too many, of them. I have an abundance of clothes.

It was a Monday morning, and I was busy starting my week by organizing my schedule and some of my projects. The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage came to my door, looked in, and said, 'Are you ready for the week?' I don't recall her ever asking me that question, but I looked at her and said, 'Well, I'm trying to work through my to-do list for the week.' 'You do know what week it is,' she said with a friendly smirk.

I was working on my computer when The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage walked in and said, 'Are you ready to go?' She caught me by surprise. I looked up from my computer and, staring at her, said, 'What are you talking about?' 'You remember what you said this morning? That we can go to to get our blood drawn for the doctor?' I looked at her, not knowing what she was talking about, and said, 'What doctor are you talking about?' 'Don't tell me you don't remember me telling you about our appointment this afternoon?' I had no recollection at all about an appointment to have my blood drawn.

I first began to notice the sky years, ago. I was trying to get a picture of a sunrise, for the cover, of my latest book. I had never paid that much attention to it, before. But, I did then. I finally got the picture, I wanted.

If I had to choose a modern word to describe man’s condition apart from God, I would probably choose the word “stress.” Many believe that stress is the major cause of sickness and I am inclined to agree. Once we understand the many facets of stress it becomes clear that most of us are living stress filled lives and suffering the consequences. Consider stress in the following ways. The stress of guilt. The stress of rejection. The stress of abuse. The stress of finances. The stress of divorce. The stress of marriage. The stress of parenting. The stress of politics.The stress of social unrest.The stress of poor diet. The stress of bad lifestyle choices.The stress of offense, bitterness and anger.The stress of fear. The stress of failure. The stress of ministry.