Three Things I Learned About Stress

Wow! Now that is funny! Have you ever felt like the dog in this picture? Sure you have...we ALL have! I have used this picture a couple of times when speaking to groups on stress in their lives and how to lighten up some. My first presentation to a group was titled "Lighten Up, It's Just Administration". This is where my blog names came from; luija (lew-e-ga)! My first blog many years ago was luija.com and I had a lot of fun there. It soon morphed into luijarick.

In the secular / corporate world I would be the CFO, COO, and CEO all rolled into one person. In church life the CFO would be the Business Manager or Minister of Administration or Administrative Pastor. The COO would be the Administrator / Facility Manager, and the CEO would be the Executive Pastor. I have been all three for two years now and I have to say that picture above depicts many days for me the past two years. Wearing multiple hats in the office is really a challenge and some days, somehow, you just end up under the fat lady. Here are three things I learned from this picture over time.

1. Never stand under a fat lady for very long! The fat lady can be your work load, stress, circumstances in your life, or another person. Just know those are going to overshadow you at times so don't stand under them very long. Learn ways to move out from underneath the weight. I use laughter and fun to try and maneuver my way out from under those stressors in my daily routine.The key is removing the stressors.

2.  The folding chair is going to collapse sooner or later... but you don't have to be under it. We just can't stop some things from getting on top of us and put pressure on us. There is really not an "EASY" button to press and it all goes away. But we can avoid being under the chair by creating a safe place. A safe place can be with friends, time away from the office, anything that gets your mind off problems and allows you to breath and think clearly. With office stress, I get away from my office and walk the facility, go make a hospital visit, get a Dr Pepper from the kitchen, or whatever can help clear my mind.

3. When the chair collapses....don't just stand there! When life's problems pile up on you and crashes down around you, get out of the way. You have to do something about it and not let it get the best of you. I have mentors I use to vent and stay calm and help me with clear thinking. Placing people around you that will listen and help you think through issues is invaluable.

Here's the bottom line! When you look up and you're under the fat lady's chair that is about to collapse, remember those three things I learned and stay calm and RUN like the wind!

Comments? Discussion?

Luijarick

Mentoring Blues

I am going on my second year as a volunteer mentor at an elementary school here in Waco our church has adopted. It is a daunting task for me feeling many times that I have nothing to offer. I mean I am not a school teacher or anything and don't have the qualifications to be teaching. I ask myself many times, "am I making a difference?"

This year I am mentoring a 4th grade boy, I'll call him RH for this blog. We have only met once and today would have been our second time together. We meet once a week for one hour and do learning activities, play games, and get to know each other. My first session last week was great! We spent most of the time talking and getting to know each other. He is a pretty cool kid and we had fun together. All this week I have been thinking hard about my session with RH this week. What game would we play, what learning activity would he benefit from. I decided that I would let him choose a book and hear him read and then read to him.It was my anticipation all morning! I show up at my usual time only to be very disappointed. RH was in time out!

This was my very first time to have my mentor kid in time out. RH saw me come in the school office and had this sad look. I was not sure what was going to happen today. The school counselor came out and informed me that RH can't meet today. When they are in trouble, the privilege of mentoring is taken away. I understand the process and agree with it, yet is was disappointing for me.I told RH I was praying for him and that rules have to be followed or there will be consequences.

 It's the same with you and I when we disobey God's word, there are consequences. In the Bible we are instructed to repent of our sin and ask for forgiveness which He is faithful to extend to us. The good part of this episode today with RH is that it will open the door for me next week to discuss our actions and consequences and with good behavior it will allow us to meet each week.

Luijarick

Comments? Discussion? Your thoughts?

That Pesky Predictive Text Thing

We all use it because its makes us fast when texting. It thinks for us and always enters just the right word for us. It seems to know just what we are thinking and changes our misspelled words so we look good. Right? Wrong!

Here is an actual text message I sent to our staff of ministers at church after making hospital visits. We are all asked to send a message around after we make the rounds at the hospitals so the others are informed for their visits. So I simply did just that and sent this message recently after three visits. (the names have been changed to protect the innocent)

"Prayed with Bill, surgery went well, just recovering now. Prayed with Cindy they found the blockage and she is doing much better. Steve was in the shower so i kissed him."

I did just as you have and saw the incorrect wording just as I sent the message. NOoooooo! Wait! Rats it's already gone. Of course my quick next text message to the staff was " I meant to say I MISSED him" (dumb predictive text)

Some responses I received:

• You bring a new level to hospital visits, I have never kissed anyone in the hospital.
• You kissed him in the shower? I don't think I needed to know that.
• That is the best one I have seen recently.
• Wow! Thanks for letting us know that.

Needless to say I have a new reputation for making my hospital visits very personal and meaningful to the patients. So, there you have it straight from the horses mouth.

Comments! Discussion!
Luijarick

Luija.com Meets Blogspot.com

Many of you know me as luijarick over at luija.com. I wrote there for many years and had a lot of faithful followers and we had a lot of fun there. However, due to costs and time constraints I had to abandon luija.com. I still own the name but chose to make the change to blogspot and give this a try.

So, here I am again! Welcome to luijarick! Once again we will be having some fun, making light of what I do for a living...ad-min-i-stra-tion. Boring you say! Well think again because I assure you there is always something worth blogging about in my world. Although, I think I will take a slight turn with this new blog and open it up to the church congregation at large. Here you may read funny stories, sad stories, weird stories, and stories about what is on my mind at times.

Ok! That is all of the introduction for now. I just wanted to get this up and running and start getting the word out again that luijarick is at it again! Come back often or you'll miss something!

Luijarick