Wanderings – Page 72 – The Life and Times of Joe Suttle

Stress Busters

joe March 29, 2008 General

Was looking for an article in a computer e-newsletter. What caught my eye after reading the article, were the words “15 Stress Tips”. Could not resist clicking on the link to see what was going to be revealed. First off, the website was www.dietriffic.com – not a site my fingers would have normally taken me to. Yet, there it was – “15 Effective Stress Banishing Tips”. Let me tell you, reading them was very interesting. I won’t bore you with all 15, but here are the ones that caught my eye…

“Breath Deeply” – let’s you ease tension; “Mini Massage”; “Write It Down” – very interesting recommendation to restrict your “worry” time to 30 minutes a day (almost better than “count to 10”); “Laugh at yourself, or others!”; “Listen to Music” – I cranked up the IPod immediately with some fantastic praise sounds; and finally “Exercise.”

If you want the full link so you can read all 15 yourself, drop me an email and I’ll send it to you. Hope you have a fantastic Sunday!

Better Days…

joe March 28, 2008 Faith, General

There have been better days, but they usually are “better” because we got totally immersed in what we enjoy doing. There were also those days that were better because the day before was the “pits”. You know…sicker than a dog one day, and the next you are not. The days that have you buzzing from place to place, with little time to sit and contemplate or catch your breath – those are probably not our better days. This week has flown by, with little time to contemplate or “smell the roses”. Sure, there have been moments, but then the rush of “whatever” came and captured the moment. Too bad that we just don’t stop and let the world rush by. Catch our breath, look for something good and beautiful close by, spend time with someone we care about, think about the words to a song or poem or Bible verse.

Finished James chapter 1 this morning. Interesting choice of words in verse 27 – “keep oneself unstained by the world.” He may have been talking about the impact the world can have on us, but I remember the first time I stained some wood. After carefully reading the instructions, then pouring the stain on the wood…it looked like a disaster as the stain immediately soaked into the wood. Now, this was some furniture that I had spent hours stripping the old finish off of, and the thought that now buried deep in the wood grain was this “color” that wasn’t quite right. Stain is different than paint – when paint dries, basically you can chip or sand it off. Not so with stain – it (depending on the wood) penetrates deep within the wood grain. You want it off or out, then start cutting away. If that is what the world can do in my life, then perhaps I need to be a little more careful – watch out for what I let cover or get in to my life…

Re-Tired

joe March 27, 2008 General

That’s something you get every day – at least I do. It is different from being “Retired”, which I am definitely enjoying. People keep asking “How’s retirement”, and my answer is “generally great!” There are some things that we keep trying to find time to do, but our schedules are still maxed out. Now that our routine is getting established we find/make time for the fun stuff. Actually, most of what we do is fun. Well, digging up the roots of old shrubs and trees in the back yard definitely was not “fun”. However, putting some plants in IS!

Gotta run right now and check out something at church, then will add some notes here when I get back.