|
1. Emotional Support |
At any given time, someone you know is going through a struggle. We all need friends to help us up when we´re down. Who could use your encouragement right now? A call from you may be all they need to keep going. Call them -- remember, tomorrow you may need that call!
"Two are better than one...For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up." Eccles. 4:9-10 |
|
|
 |
|
2. Prayer--Our Connector to God |
Prayer gets us "connected" with God. You wouldn´t be reading this if you had tried to access this site
without first connecting to the Internet via your booted-up computer. Prayer connects us to the right "site,"
the Throne of God. God mainly speaks to us through his Word, and we talk to him through prayer, either aloud or in our
heart. Having a quiet time alone with God, reading the Bible, and prayer, all work together to keep us in tune
spiritually.
Jeremiah 33:3, "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which
thou knowest not." |
|
|
|
|
3. Daily Quiet Time |
Whatever you call it -- Quiet Time, Devotions, Alone-with-God-Time -- it is as necessary spiritually
for Christian living as food is for physical life. You will face frustrations today that will overwhelm you without
the sense of companionship with God in your heart. Make time spent with God the first priority of the day, every day.
Don´t start the day without Him!
Job 23:12, "I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary
food. "
|
|
|
|
|
4. John--A Good Place to Start |
A good place for a new Christian to start reading the Bible is the book of St. John in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, the book of Proverbs is an excellent choice. It has 31 chapters, one for each day of the month. You will gain wisdom way above your peers by reading a chapter a day in Proverbs for at least a year!
"...they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." Acts 17:11 |
|
|
|
|
5. Anger Can Be Good |
Anger -- is it always wrong? No. Some anger is good. Good anger is motivated by unselfishness and is directed against the abuse of what is right -- justice, compassion, love. Anger which motivates a person to strive toward good, like getting laws changed to stop child abuse, is good anger. A wise person will be able to discern the difference.
Romans 12:9b, "Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good."
|
|
|
|
|
6. Timely Anger |
Anger can be a timely, useful tool. For example, if a poisonous snake is about to strike a small child, his father would be motivated by anger to quickly kill the snake and protect his child´s life. God gives us the "fight or flight" instinct to produce the adrenaline we need in crisis situations.
Isaiah 7:15b, "…know to refuse the evil, and choose the good."
|
|
|
|
|
7. Making Tea |
"He makes me so mad!" Does he? Pouring hot water over a tea bag doesn´t make tea. The tea is already there. The hot water just brings out its strong flavor. Hot-water situations can´t bring anger out of you unless it´s already there. While you can´t control another´s actions, you do have a choice in your emotional reactions. Be better prepared by imagining generic situations involving anger and decide beforehand how you will react to them.
Luke 6:45, "...of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh."
|
|
|
|
|
8. Ask Forgiveness |
Every time you lose emotional control, go tell the one you have offended, "I´m sorry. Will you forgive me? I want to do better than this." It won´t take many times of humbling yourself this way until you will be controlling your anger before it explodes all over those you love. They deserve that, and so do you.
Ephes. 4:32, "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ´s sake hath forgiven you."
|
|
|
|
|
9. Keeping Track of Time |
|
"Where has the day gone?" We´ve all asked ourselves that question. You can keep track of how fast time is passing by using a timer throughout the day -- especially helpful when working on a computer when hours seem to go by in only minutes!
|
|
|
|
|
10. Tickle Your Funny Bone |
Have you ever been so tired you could drop,
then someone said or did something so funny you had a good belly laugh? You probably needed the emotional release as much or more than you needed physical rest. So take a tip and PLAN to laugh every day. Subscribe to a clean-jokes web site, ask friends to share
their favorite
chuckles,
collect puns or written jokes -- whatever tickles your funny bone. Remember, a merry heart is like good medicine
(Pro. 17:22) and pleasant words "health to the bones."
(Pro. 16:24) That means laughter even helps arthritis!
|
|
|
