The Gift: A few months ago, we decided to give our family the special gift of a trip to Walt Disney World for Christmas. Rather than the huge stress and spend of shopping and buying gifts that most will not even remember by next Christmas, we decided we’d make magical memories together as a family. … [Read more…]
I had a friend give me a devotional earlier this week that made me look at things a little differently. Generally, Elijah’s Tree focuses on preventing stress and burnout so those in ministry can continue with their calling in ministry. However, this devotional, The Red Sea Rules: 10 God-Given Strategies for Difficult Times, pointed out … [Read more…]
As we aim to reach people in many different types of ministries, there is one that continues to show a high rate of burnout and stress. The field of caregivers, and those who minister in this way, face the challenge of loving others as family, even if they are not. When looking for a topic … [Read more…]
If there is anything we can agree on, we are all busy! Between work, family, church and our interests, there is very little time for anything else. Yet, we are told to follow Jesus’ example and pull away from the craziness and find solitude in God. In her book Quite Places , Jane Rubietta writes … [Read more…]
In my last blog, we talked about Jesus’ last retreat, and how it helped give Him the strength to continue in His calling. The Scripture I used came from Luke 22:43 & 44. However, the passage was Luke 22:39-46. As I read over it several times, there were a few words of one verse that … [Read more…]
Something that has been on my heart lately is the retreat that Jesus took before His crucifixion. As we read through the Bible, we see the prophecy of the crucifixion. As we read through the different gospels, we see the anticipation for it. And during the narration describing the event, we see the stress Jesus … [Read more…]
People tend to ask me for things to help in the moment of stressful situations. I generally tell them, in the moment is a bad time to realize you are stressed out. However, it’s better late than never. Even at times of highly stressful situations there are tactics which can be used to help out. … [Read more…]
Many people are stressed and beginning the phases of burnout because of a lack of time. However, if we take ownership of these issues ourselves, it would be lack of planning. I know not all things are plannable. For instance, one of the highest rates of employment turnover is in the field of childcare. I … [Read more…]
Zig Ziegler said “You don’t do something because you are motivated; you become motivated because you do something.” With this quote in mind, I happened to come across a list of how stress affects your behavior. Most were pretty common things such as: over/undereating, tobacco and alcohol use, and exercising less. Here’s how Zig’s principle … [Read more…]
As I continue to study and read different articles on stress and burnout in ministry, the topic of moral failure keeps returning. The need for escape from ministry seems to be fulfilled by running to something exactly the opposite of ministry. The escape from ministry can be confused as an escape from God and a … [Read more…]