LAUGHTER, THE FUNNY STRESS MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUE

The Bible
The Bible tells us that a merry heart is just as good as medicine. (Proverbs 17:22)


The Research
Medical Research tells us that laughter reduces stress hormones and increases endorphins which are the body’s “feel good hormones”.


The Prescription
For effective stress management, medicate yourself with hearty doses of laughter and you will definitely feel better.

A starter prescription for this funny but effective stress management technique would read:
Laugh for 30 minutes once a day.

But, since laughter is such an excellent stress management technique and effective relaxation technique and since it does not have side effects and since you cannot be amused and upset at the same time, make it a habit to laugh often and for as long as possible for the rest of your life


The Pharmacy
To fill your laughter prescription, you can:
1. Buy comedy DVDs.
Schedule regular dates to watch your favourite comedians and let them tickle your funny bone in your own living room.

2. Surf clean comedy websites.
For starters you can surf Christian comedy index dot com which is a listing of Christian comedians. Watch their videos and you will soon be rolling with laughter.

3. Call an entertaining friend.
Listen to their humorous points of view as their sense of humor will change your perspective and this will go a long way to making your stressful situation more tolerable.

4. Read hilarious books and comics.
Buy your favorite funny books and keep them at home in a special place. When stressed out, take a ten minute time out to peruse the paragraphs that are guaranteed to have you roaring in laughter.

5. Open a Humor File.
Clip magazine articles and pictures and cartoons that make you chuckle and file them in your Humor File. When stress strikes, flip through the file and bring a smile to your face.

6. Cultivate your own sense of humor.
Try and see the funny side of your stressful situation by asking yourself how your favorite comedian would describe it and this may just make you smile.


Adapted from Rules of Relaxation by Dr Miriam Kinai © 2007



ASK GOD FOR A SOLUTION


To manage any stressful situation effectively, you have to ask God for whatever you need to resolve your stressful situation for He tells us to Ask, and it will be given to us. (Matthew 7:7)

After asking, understand that to receive your request, you have to believe that you will receive it for His Word urges us to Ask in faith, without doubting, for the person who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. Let not that doubting  person think that he will receive anything from the Lord because they are double-minded and unstable in all their ways. (James 1:6-8)

So, since Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not yet seen (Hebrews 11:1), asking in faith entails seeing yourself receiving the things that you are asking God to give you.

If you are asking for healing, you have to see the laboratory tests returning as normal, the cancerous mass becoming undetectable and the doctors telling you that you have been cured.

If you are praying for your family to be restored, you have to see your marital problems resolving and the wayward child coming back home.

If you are praying for a financial breakthrough, you have to see yourself receiving the appointment letter and cashing the cheque.

Therefore, ask God for what you need in prayer, believe that He will give it to you and then live expecting to receive it.




Adapted from Managing Stress with the Word of God by Dr. Miriam Kinai. (C) 2006


NO IS A COMPLETE SENTENCE

When you find that you are overwhelmed by other people's excessive demands on your resources, protect yourself and manage future stress by learning to say NO.

When you find yourself pressured to prioritize issues that you don’t consider a priority, protect your real priorities and reduce future stress by learning to say NO.

When you find yourself being coerced to make commitments that are not in line with your goals and are thus a waste of your time, protect your real goals and manage future stress by learning to say NO.

When you find yourself being bulldozed into projects that you leave you feeling distressed, depressed and depleted, protect yourself and reduce future stress by learning to say NO to the bulldozers.  

Discard the guilt of saying NO by accepting that saying NO to draining demands is one of the tenets of self care and stress management.

Understand also that your NO does not have to be abrasive. It can be a gentle NO. But, don’t embellish it with exaggerations or corrupt it by swearing. Let your yes be yes and your NO, NO since anything else comes from the evil one. (Matthew 5:37)

To develop the scientific art of saying  NO in  order to protect your self, your priorities, your purpose and your purse from future stress, you have to:
1. Set aside time to clarify your values and purpose.
2. Sit and budget your time, money, physical and mental energy to ensure you fulfill your purpose.
3. Set clear boundaries to guard your time, money and energy so that you can be cognizant of their infringement.
4. Sit and practice articulating the protective NO to the trespassers.

Understand also that when demands thinly disguised as requests are made on your precious resources, you don’t have to fumble, mumble and stumble into sin looking for explanations.

Those near and dear to you can be in the know about your purpose, priorities and purse strings but the rest of the public only requires a courteous NO since, wait for it because here it comes, NO, IS A COMPLETE SENTENCE.

Therefore, the next time you are inundated with distressing demands, divert the stress and decline the depressing demands with a simple NO since NO, say it after me, since NO IS A COMPLETE SENTENCE.


Adapted from Rules of Relaxation by Dr Miriam Kinai © 2007





OPEN YOUR LIFE TO JESUS TO MANAGE STRESS


To successfully manage any stressful situation, you have to let Jesus into your heart and into your life so that He can calm your inner stormy emotions and show you how to manage your outer stormy stressful situation. 

Jesus has taken the first step. He came to earth, was crucified for our sins and now He says, Look, I stand at the door and knock. If any person hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to them.” (Revelation 3:20)

He knocks and waits for you to invite Him in. You have to admit to yourself that you need divine help and then make the conscious choice of opening up your heart and life to Him. 


So let Jesus in right now for He wants to help you sort out your life and your stressful situation.

Opening the door of your heart to Jesus is very simple. All you have to do is to turn away from your sins and then You confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead and you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth one makes the confession for salvation. (Romans 10:9-10)

After opening your heart to Jesus, open up your stressful life to Him. Show Him the wounds that you hide from people. Let Him see the leg that was amputated by diabetes, the eye that was blinded by the freak accident, the mastectomy scar and the kidneys that have failed due to high blood pressure.

Show Him the limitations in your living arrangements imposed on you by financial setbacks, the vital medications you cannot afford, the meals you forego and the clothes peeling off your back. Let Him see the full extent of your depravity so that He can restore you to wholeness. 


Do not fear to bare it all for Him for He looks with love and listens with compassion. Share it all with Him for He loves you just as you are, right where you are. Let Him be the Friend who will walk with you through it all for He is the only one who can see it all and solve it all.




Adapted from Managing Stress with the Word of God by Dr. Miriam Kinai. For more information click here.


HOW BADLY DO YOU WANT IT?

If you want something (that Jesus would approve) and people and problems hindering your getting it, learn from the 4 men who brought a paralyzed man to one of Jesus' meetings. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith (Mark 2:3-12) he healed the sick man.

There are 7 lessons that we can learn from these men:
1. If you can’t get in through the door, climb in through the roof
These 4 men wanted to get in to where Jesus was but the crowd would not let them get in through the regular channels i.e. the door. They therefore had to think of a Plan B of how they would achieve their goal. They may have considered using the windows but chances are that if the crowd was so thick that they couldn’t enter through the door, the windows were also heavily populated.

Therefore, if you want it badly enough and you can’t get in through the door, climb up the roof and get in through the roof. If they won’t let you in through the door, take your entrance by spiritual force by climbing in through the roof.


2. If you can’t get in through the open door, enter through the closed roof  
The open door was closed to the men by the crowd and so they had to open up something for themselves so that they too could get in. There was no pre-existing opening in the roof. It was solid and closed unlike the open but heavily populated doors and windows.

Therefore if the pre-existing target market is saturated with products similar to yours and they won’t give you a second of their day or a dime of their money, create your own niche market. Just as they pulled the paralyzed man up to  the roof, utilize pull marketing to create a new niche opening in the market for your products.

So, create your own opening, your own chance, your own opportunity if you can’t access the existing ones.

In addition, think up before you think down. That means think of how you can get in from the top first before you start thinking of how you can get in from the bottom. Think of how you can break in through the roof first before strategerizing how you are going to tunnel your way up through the floor.


3. The problems may increase but continue working
These 4 men had been dealing with the problem of the weight of the sick man, the weight of his bed, the uncooperative crowd and now they had to fight gravity as they tried to pull and pulley him up the roof. 
Therefore, even if the problems increase at each stage, continue working until you get your breakthrough and desired goal.    


4. Keep your faith alive
The faith that Jesus saw in these men that resulted in the healing is the same faith that kept them working towards their goal despite the increasing challenges.

Therefore, keep your faith in Jesus’ ability to help you achieve your goals alive all the time and have faith in yourself and in your goals and products like the Proverbs 31 woman who knew that her goods were good for She perceives that her merchandise is good. (Proverbs 31:18)


5. Work until you get your breakthrough
These 4 men had been working for a long time for they had been walking carrying the sick man on his bed and then they had tried to carry him through the crowd and failed and then they had to pulley him up the roof and then they had to breakthrough the roof and then they had to lower him down to Jesus. They did all the work and followed through until they achieved their goal of having the sick man healed.

Therefore, work and then work and then work some more until you break through your problems and achieve your goals. Even if your goal is attending a healing service where the servant of God with the anointing of healing is going to be ministering, work even if that means waking up at 2.00am to beat the traffic and the weather and your responsibilities and get there by the time the doors open at 10.00am.



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CAST YOUR STRESSFUL BURDENS ON THE LORD


To manage any stressful situation effectively, you have to habitually humble yourself under the mighty hand of God so that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him because He cares for you. (1 Peter 5: 6-7)


Understand that God cares for you and you do not have to develop backaches from carrying burdens that are too heavy for you or develop headaches from trying to figure out how you are going to carry all your burdens. All you have to do is to Cast your burdens on the Lord and He shall sustain you. (Psalm 55: 22)

Therefore, cast all the problems arising out of your stressful situation to the Lord in prayer. Cast all the people who are stressing you to the Lord so that He can deal with them. Cast your entire stressful situation and all its attendant frustrations and uncertainties to the Lord in prayer and promise yourself that once you have let go of your burdens you will never pick them up again.

Let Him carry them for you since you cannot move forward if you are always agonizing over the same anxieties or aggravated by the same old problems. You have to lay them down once and for all.



Adapted from Managing Stress with the Word of God by Dr. Miriam Kinai. (C) 2006



MASSAGE STRESS AWAY


Muscle tension is a symptom of stress because we tense our muscles when we are stressed.

Since relieving muscle tension by massaging the tense muscle makes one feel relaxed, massage is a very effective relaxation technique.

Therefore, schedule time to get a professional massage whenever you want to de-stress and relax.   

If you are unable to get to a professional massage therapist, iron out the kinks in your body by applying pressure and motion to the soft tissues of your scalp, face, neck, feet or wherever else you feel tense.  

Enhance your massage experience by using healing essential oils and having an aromatherapeutic massage. Essential oils that have a calming effect on the mind and body include lavender essential oil, chamomile essential oil, ylang ylang essential oil and sandalwood essential oil.

To create a soothing massage oil blend mix a total of 10 drops of your essential oils  (for example 4 drops of lavender essential oil and 3 chamomile essential oil and 3 drops of ylang ylang essential) with 20 mls of a carrier oil such as sweet almond. If you can’t get sweet almond, you can use cold pressed olive oil. 

Perfect the session by playing soothing Christian music which has the double benefit of healing frayed nerves with the Balm of Gilead.

Take the relaxation session a notch higher by adding 5 drops of lavender essential oil to a diffuser or a bowl of hot water to saturate the room and evict stress.

Note that if you are giving yourself a massage, always perform a 24 hour patch test by applying the essential oil mixture to the skin on your elbow before you apply it to your temples to avoid developing a nasty reaction on your face which will increase your stress.

In addition, avoid massaging areas with skin diseases, swellings, recent scars, varicose veins and also over the abdomen during pregnancy. Finally, avoid using essential oils in children, the elderly and if you are pregnant unless under the supervision of a qualified aromatherapist.


Adapted from Rules of Relaxation by Dr Miriam Kinai © 2007


Relaxation Tuesday: What is your favorite relaxation technique?




ACKNOWLEDGE THAT GOD IS STILL GOD


When you praying for your stressful situation, you have to begin by acknowledging that God is still in control in heaven, on earth and in your stressful situation.

Learn from King Jehoshaphat when he was stressed by attacking armies in 2 Chronicles 20:4-7 for he acknowledged that:
1. God was God in heaven
2. God ruled over all the nations on earth
3. God was so powerful that no one could resist Him
4. God had given them their land and so He was also able to protect it from those who were trying to take it away from them. 

Therefore if you are suffering from a physical illness, declare that since God is the one who created your body, He is also able to heal it.

If there is a rift in your marriage, proclaim that since God is the one who joined you and your spouse, He is also able to keep you together for what God has joined together, no man or woman should separate. (Matthew 19:6)

So regardless of your specific stressful situation, confess that no problem is too big for Him to solve and that no situation is too stressful for Him to resolve for He is still the Almighty God.



Adapted from Managing Stress with the Word of God by Dr. Miriam Kinai. For more information click here.


Managing Stress Monday: Do you believe that God is still in control over your stressful situation?  


CONFLICT RESOLUTION: MEDIATING CONFLICTOR



From the conflict in John 8:2-11 when the Pharisees and scribes brought a woman caught committing adultery to Jesus, we can learn how to resolve conflicts when the mediator is one of the conflicting parties.

The first party in this conflict was the group of Pharisees and scribes. The second party was the woman since she was caught contravening the Law of Moses that the Pharisees and scribes advocated and enforced.

Jesus became the third party of this conflict when the Pharisees brought the woman and the conflict to Him.

The Pharisees then bestowed on Him the unenviable role of a Mediating Conflictor when, to paraphrase their words they asked Him, “According to the Law of Moses, this woman should be stoned because of committing adultery. But, what do you say about this issue?” 

Jesus’s role was therefore not strictly a mediator’s role for the Pharisees “But” suggested that they suspected that His opinion would conflict with theirs and that was why they were testing him by bringing this woman to Him so that they might have something to accuse Him of.

If you find yourself in a similar tricky role of a Mediating Conflictor, emulate Jesus and arbitrate by suggesting a solution that advocates your position without battering the other parties. 

Copy Jesus, who by declaring that the first stone should be thrown by the person who had never sinned, stood up for His teachings on love and mercy as well as saved the woman's life without breaking the Law of Moses that the Pharisees prescribed.

Therefore, learn to assert yourself without upsetting others so that you can resolve tricky conflicts effectively and increase the peace in your home, the productivity of your ministry and the profitability of your business.  


Adapted from Resolving Conflicts just like Jesus Christ by Dr. Miriam Kinai © 2010 For more information click here.


Conflict Resolution Friday? Have you ever resolved a tricky conflict?







DANIEL BELTESHAZZAR ON ADDICTION


Are you trying to resist the temptation of using an addictive substance?
Learn from Daniel Belteshazzar for even though he lived many centuries ago, he faced and overcome the same temptations that we face today. 
1. Decline free offers
Even if you are offered the addictive substances free, decline the free substances like Daniel did during his 3 year training in Babylon for he had free access to alcohol for King Nebuchadnezzar appointed for all the students a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank. (Daniel 1:5)
But he did not drink it for Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself neither with King Nebuchadnezzar’s delicacies nor with the wine. (Daniel 1:8)
Therefore, purpose like Daniel that you will not pollute your body, which is the Temple of the Holy Spirit, with alcohol, cigarettes, drugs or junk food whether or not it is free.
Stop accepting free “samples” from “friends” as their aim is to get you hooked so that you can then start paying for the addictive substances.
In addition, discipline yourself not to touch the addictive substances around you that may belong to your parents, guardians, other students or work mates.

2. Resist peer pressure
Daniel did not use the excuse that “Most of the other students are drinking the king’s wine and I’ll seem weird or antisocial if I don’t.”

He did the right thing in the sight of God and did not drink the alcohol for it is better to be “anti-social” than to be “anti-God”

Therefore even if all the other students in your learning institution or colleagues in your work place are using addictive substances, you don’t have to copy them. Stand firm like Daniel and abstain by doing the right thing in the sight of God.  



3. Do not justify using the addictive substances
Daniel did not justify drinking by saying “I’ll drink this alcohol to reduce the stress of studying this difficult Language and literature of the Chaldeans.(Daniel 1:4) He did the right thing regardless of his circumstances.

Therefore, even if you are stressed by studies or any other issue in life, do not use the stress as justification to use addictive substances. Do not also deceive yourself that you are reducing the stress by using the addictive substance. Manage the stress with the Word of God and not with an addictive substance.



Adapted from Managing Stress for Teens by Dr. Miriam Kinai © 2009.


Stress Management Thursday: What is the most effective way to resist temptation?



JESUS USED SWORD WORDS TO FIGHT TEMPTATION

Whenever you are tempted, remember that the best way to resist and overcome that temptation is by using SWORD WORDS just like Jesus Christ.

The devil tempted Him three times and each time Jesus rebuked him by declaring "It is written" (Matthew 4:4,7,10) and then quoted Scripture.

Jesus did not answer "I don't FEEL hungry satan" or "I don't WANT bread " or "I don't THINK it's a good idea" or “I KNOW that is a sin”. He began and ended his conversation with the devil by quoting the Word of God.

As the Son of the Almighty God, Jesus could have used a multitude of methods to rebuff the devil, but in His own wisdom He chose to rely on the sure and unfailing Word of God.

The Word of God was 100% effective then and it is still 100% effective today and it shall remain 100% effective for all time for grass withers and flowers fade, but the Word of God stands forever. (Isaiah 40:8)

Therefore, learn from Jesus and rely only on the Word of God to resist temptation and fight the devil. Understand that unless "It is written" (Matthew 4:4,7,10) it cannot effectively fight satan.

Go through your Bible and compile SWORD WORDS to help you fight your common temptation.


Adapted from SWORD WORDS by Dr. Miriam Kinai © 2008. For more info click here.


SWORD WORD Wednesday: Have you used SWORD WORDS to successful fight a temptation?

ESCAPE STRESS TO RELAX


When?
Emulate Jesus and escape In the morning for having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. (Mark 1:35)
If you can’t escape for an hour at daybreak, escape whenever else you are least likely to be disturbed.

Where?
Emulate Jesus and escape To a solitary place. (Mark 1:35)
This solitary place can be your bedroom or bathroom or office or a church or any other place that is physically away from your stressors.

Why?
Emulate Jesus and escape for There He prayed. (Mark 1:35)
Disengage yourself from stressors so that you can engage yourself with God in prayer and you will be at peace in the midst of stress.


Adapted from Rules of Relaxation by Dr. Miriam Kinai © 2007.


Relaxation Tuesday: What is your favorite relaxation technique?







MANAGE STRESS WHEN ALONE BY PRAYING CONFIDENTLY

Once in every while you may find that you are all alone in your stressful situation. 


This may be because you have no one you can fully confide in about your situation or you may feel that you are protecting the people you love by not telling them your problems because you know that they already have enough problems of their own. Or your stressful situation may have isolated you and you may find that no one wants to be associated with you. Or, you may be faced by a sudden, urgent crisis in which you don't have time to reach out to anyone. 


Whatever your circumstances, do not give up on yourself and on your stressful situation just because you are all alone. Pray for yourself and pray with the confidence that God is listening to you and He will answer you for the He
promises us that if we call upon Him and pray to Him, He will listen to us. And that if we seek Him with our whole hearts we will find Him. (Jeremiah 29:12-13)


Even if you have brought the stressful situation on yourself, you can still pray with confidence for the Bible assures us that we do not have a High Priest (i.e. Jesus) who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, because He was tempted in all points just as we are, yet He is without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace so that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4: 15-16)

Therefore, regardless of your past mistakes or your present life situation, pray with confidence for God is listening and He will help you triumph over your stressful situation even if no one else is praying for you because He is merciful and able to sympathize with you in your predicament.


Adapted from Managing Stress with the Word of God by Dr. Miriam Kinai. For more information click here.


Managing Stress Monday: Do you pray confidently over your stressful situations?  


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