Burned-Out People Helpers

Counselors, ministry leaders, health care professionals ... if you're a "people helper," you are at higher risk for burnout than the average person. Be pro-active!
http://www.hpso.com/resources/article/42.jsp

Being diligent to stay in that healthy place ~
Linda

Community

"We need to find a still point inside a community of faith. We need to find a home ... Finding a home is not, in the end, so much a question of finding a building, a city, a country or a place where we feel we belong. More deeply, finding a home is a question of finding another heart or a community of hearts wherein we feel at one, safe, warm, comfortable, able to be ourselves, secure enough to express both faith and affection ... There is an answer to that loneliness, a new home inside that community of faith."
~ Rohlheiser

"If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if His love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care - then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of Himself"
~ Philippians 2:1-5 (The Message).

With prayer that you will discover that

unique, peaceful, Christ-honoring place ~

Linda

You Are in His Hands

Since the Bible frequently uses the term, "hands" for God (over 40 times in the New Testament, e.g., Acts 11:21), what does that mean for us?

1) In the Bible, the hand is the part of the body that carries out a person's will. So, to place ourselves in Jesus's hands is to put oneself under His authority (Genesis 9:2).

2) The "hand" represents strength or power (Exodus 3:19-20). He can do more than we could ask or think.

3) Laying one's hands on a scapegoat (Leviticus 16) symbolized transferring a person's sins to the animal as the sinner, who by that act, confessed his sins to God and trusted God to forgive him. We lay our sins on Jesus as our substitute.

4) Jesus put His hands on people to heal them, to bless the children, to touch lepers, to extend the warmth and presence of God. We, likewise, touch (literally) people with His love and grace.

5) Jesus is described as seated on the right hand of God the Father - the sign of co-regency - He is equal with the Father in exercising divine power.

6) The hand of Jesus is a place of safety and security - in John 10:28, Jesus says, "no one will snatch them (believers) out of my hands". ""Snatch" here refers to a closed fist where no one can pry open the hands of Jesus to tear you from Him - not even you!

7) Jesus was known to Thomas by the nail wounds in His hands (John 20:24-28). The core of His sacrificial love is demonstrated to us by the hands of His resurected body.

8) Jesus said that he drove out demons by the "finger of God" (Luke 11:20). That power has defeated our enemy.

You are safe today in His hands; you are always in front of Him - your name is engraved in the palm of His hand (Isaiah 49:16); He is touching you and caring for you. . . . . .Who are you touching today with the hands of Jesus? Who will know that they have been touched with love by Him because they have been touched by you?

Thankfully Touched by the Master, Bob

Brian's Prayer

LORD, JUST PLEASE MAKE MY DAY EASY TO BEAR.
HELP ME FROM CHOOSING WHAT COULD BE WRONG.
GUIDE ME IN ALL OF MY THOUGHTS AND MY DEEDS.
KEEP MY AUTISM SMALL, YOUR DIVINE WISDOM STRONG.

I ONLY WANT TO DO YOUR WILL, LORD.
AND MY BODY OUTSIDE IS SO WEAK.
I ONLY CAN USE MY FINGER TO SHARE.
WHAT IT IS THAT YOU WANT ME TO SPEAK.

I WANT OTHERS TO FEEL THE WONDER I FEEL.
WHEN I KNOW THAT YOU ARE HERE WITHIN ME.
THE JOY AND THAT HOPE AND THE TENDERNESS TOO.
THAT IS YOUR LIGHT AND YOUR TRUTH, MAKES ME FREE.

HOW CAN I GET OTHERS TO SEE WHAT I SEE?
THAT OUR OUTWARD APPEARANCE IS FOR NOUGHT.
YOU CARE FOR OUR SOUL AND OUR SPIRIT.
AND YOUR GRACE AND MERCY CANNOT BE BOUGHT.

OUR COLOR, OUR CLOTHING, OUR ETHNICITY.
DOESN'T MATTER TO YOU, NOT ONE BIT.
BUT OUR VERY INTIMATE, DEEP CHARACTER.
IS WHAT WITH YOUR LOVE, YOU WILL FIT.

THEN THEY WILL KNOW THAT IT IS ONLY YOU.
THAT WE MUST HONOR, LOVE, AND ADORE.
FOR FIRST TO KNOW THAT WE ARE IN SIN.
AND ACCEPT YOUR SON, CAN WE BE PURE.

THEN, THROUGH GOOD TIMES AND HARDSHIP.
WILL WE KNOW THAT YOU'RE THERE BESIDE US.
I KNOW FROM MY VERY OWN EXPERIENCE.
THAT YOU WILL NEVER, EVER LEAVE US.

IN JESUS' NAME, AMEN

To read more about Brian and his prayers,

click on the link on the lower right column under Categories.

Linda

Clutter

Everywhere I turn these days, conversations with friends, family, and clients seems to turn to the subject of clutter. I don't hear much delight, joy, or pride over vast heaps of accumulation. I do hear disappointment, frustration, desperation, disgust - emotions that lead to a paralyzing state of being overwhelmed, immobilized, and powerless.

What's going on? Why have we accumulated so much junk? And, the bigger question - why don't we simply get rid of it and simplify our lives?

A jam-packed home/car/workspace often reflects the clutter that's built up over time in our minds - and hearts. Our culture has led us to believe that our possessions define us, giving us value and significance. We fail to realize that the only One who can define us and give us value and significance is Christ.

We think that if we hang on to things, we can somehow hang on to the past, to memories, or to people that are no longer with us. Instead, we become prisoners, and unhappy ones at that. Our possessions simply end up owning us. He who dies with the most toys does not win. He ends up the loser, because in the final analysis, the relationships in our lives suffer the consequences of our obsession with material goods.

I've yet to see a hearse pulling a U-haul trailer. We can't take our accumulations with us.

Which leads to maybe the biggest question of all - what's the spiritual component of our obsessiveness over things - and our stubborn unwillingness to part from them? "What would Jesus do?" Check out Matthew 6:19-21, 24. Sounds like a journaling opportunity to me ...

I'd love to hear your comments. And please take time to peruse a few links I've pulled together for a coaching client.

Evaluating & Motivating ~
Linda

The Top 6 Causes of Clutter
http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/gallery/0,21863,1722061,00.html

Clutter & the Kitchen Table
http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/content/0,21770,1573728,00.html

Clutter-Busting Secrets of the Pros
http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/gallery/0,21863,1105517,00.html

6 Families Conquer Clutter
http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/package/0,21861,1178099-1700369,00.html