Women and stress

It seems that since the beginning of this week, I have heard/read facts about "women and stress" on multiple occasions. A few nights ago John Tesh from 95.9 FSH shared a fact that stress for women is just as bad as chronic smoking or alcohol abuse. I find it ironic that I fret over exercise, eating well, using sunscreen, and even getting rest but when it comes to stress, it just doesn't hit home with me. Not that I don't have stress, because the Lord knows that I do, but it's like stress is such a norm for me. It's almost expected. When I'm not stressed, I'm bored and looking for something to keep me busy. Yes, I am Type-A.

John also shared, and I don't know if it was related to the stress story, but to break habits, do things in reverse order or out of the ordinary. For example, if you normally open the fridge with your right hand, open it with your left hand. Also, try brushing your teeth with your opposite hand. Apparently, that is supposed to work the area of your brain that falls into habits. I wonder what would happen if I stressed about stress. LOL

I'm somewhat making light of this subject, but I know it is a very serious matter. It reminds me that women and men are built differently BY DESIGN. There is definitely a reason why this topic perpetually popped up this week.

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Anza Borrego and Holy Jim Trail

Inspired by the Laugh Out Loud article I posted a few weeks ago:

Anza Borrego
We day tripped to Anza Borrego Desert, which was probably not the best idea in retrospect since it happened to be a 100-degree day out there.



"His handiwork" brought a tiny stream through the desert that basically quenched every living thing in that valley as well as a palm tree oasis. Yes, palm tree oasis in Anza Borrego!

The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
-Psalm 19:1

Holy Jim Trail

After church a few Sundays ago, we hiked our first Trabuco Canyon hike at Holy Jim Trail.

Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.
-Genesis 1:31

Prayer request

I received a prayer request from a colleague. 

His wife and two daughters are not believers and he is asking (i'm paraphrasing) that we pray that the Lord continue to knock on their hearts to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior and that he may be a witness/living testimony to them.

Although he is somewhat a new believer, it's wonderful to see his faithfulness and love for the Lord.  It's so obvious when you speak to him!  He is currently working with some other folks from Calvary Chapel - Golden Springs mission to build a church in Mexico.  They could use our prayers, too!
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Congrats to Les!

A special post to congratulate my sister, Leslie, on her new summer internship position teaching and organizing leadership programs for under-privileged students!

Lord knows how hard she has worked! I can attest to the fact that she tirelessly searched, interviewed, and sent thank you letters for the past few months and after a few, BIG let-downs it seems as though God has revealed His plan for her (for the summer anyway).

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Laugh Out Loud Psalm 126:2

Just a quick post on an article that I received during Fellowship today. A nice article with tips on worshipping this summer. http://www.christianitytoday.com/cl/2007/003/8.34.html

I'm inspired by #4 and will post some pictures that we took on our recent trip to Anza Borrego sometime this week.

Have a blessed day!

Potter's Field

There are times when I sit so far into my seat that my lower back meets the intersection of the seat and back rest leaving my legs hang so that the tips of my toes barely touch the floor. And there are times when I slouch so far into the seat that my neck literally rests on the top of the chair. Today, I sat so far at the edge of my seat that I would barely call it sitting. It was more like leaning. I laughed in hysterics one second so much that my stomach ached and teared the very next (and not because my stomach ached). I can hardly get my thoughts in order to write this post.

Tonight for Married Couples Fellowship, Mike and Pam - Potter's Field Ministries -were our guest speakers. THEY ROCK! And you know why? Because they are so open to God that for that one hour and a half, God flowed and worked through them so gracefully so easily so free flowing. His presence was so strong and as a woman behind so perfectly put it, "This is amazing!"

So who's Mike and Pam? Mike is a pastor and potter who has, together with his wife, created Potter's Ministry. I won't even attempt to explain his crazy style of a sermon, but if you ever have a chance to attend one of their sermons, I'd say it's a MUST (find their calendar at www.pottersfield.org). It's one of those things that reaches people in different ways, but at the very least it's fun and it's worship. A powerful anecdote that Mike left us with that I'll share with you is "Jesus in my life versus Jesus IS my life."

Praise the Lord!