SpringWell Church is currently accepting resumes for the position of Preschool Director. Responsibilities include oversight of all Sunday ministries to children, Nursery through 5K. We are looking for an enthusiastic person who relates well to children and adults.
We seek a leader with a caring heart and strong administrative abilities. Hours are as follows: Monday-Wednesday 9 AM-1 PM; Thursday 9 AM-12 PM; and Sunday 7:30 AM-12:30 PM. Please submit resume to chip.joiner@springwell.org or contact Chip Joiner at 864-268-2299 ext. 26. Job Description is available upon request.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Customer Service
Last Thursday evening, I attended the Dave Ramsey Townhall event at SpringWell Church. He is definitely a master of the one-liners and he knows his stuff. If you saw him, you remember that at one point during the evening, he began to talk about the art serving others. He gave the example of a young man named Johnathan, who worked at a local sub shop in Dave's community. Johnathan called every customer by name when they walked in, he knew their order before they could place it, and he did it all with a smile. Johnathan ultimately left the sub shop and the sub shop is now closed. The owner blames it on the economy. In reality, Dave says, they didn't close because of the economy, they closed because they lost their Johnathan.
For some reason, of all the great things Dave said last Thursday, that is what stuck with me the most. It's all about customer service, or in the church business we call it relationships.
During these past two weeks I have had to face some bad customer service myself. On Monday, April 13, I dropped my lawnmower off at the small engine repair shop to see if they could get it running after an almost three year hiatus. I tried to work on it, but couldn't clean the carburetor sufficiently enough for it to run. As I was leaving, the owner told me it wold take him a "couple" of days to repair it. "Cool", I said as I jumped in my truck to drive back home. A week and a half later, I still had not heard from the repair shop about my lawnmower. I called. "Oh, we have been so backed up we haven't gotten to it, yet. We will work on it today and give you a call tomorrow." I let that one slide. Everyone has things happen, people get behind. I'm cool with that. Would've been nice to have a phone call from them, though. The next day - no call. Or the next. Or the next. Or the next. Finally, I call them this past Saturday to check on their progress. Again, the nice man on the other end of the phone said, "We are working on it right now. We will give you a call in about two hours." Great! Two hours later - no call. So, I called them. Got their answering machine. Arrrrgggggh!! Of course, the next day being Sunday, they were closed. Still, no call. Monday comes. You guessed it - no call. So, again, I called them a little more perturbed, now. "When's my mower going to be ready!? You have had it two weeks today and you haven't updated me at all!" The sweet girl on the other end said, "Mr. Joiner, it is finished, but we want to have our master mechanic take a look at it. I'll call you in about an hour and you can come and get it." Sure - I've heard that story before. By six o'clock that evening - NO CALL! So, I get into the office this morning and at 11am I receive a call. It is the lawnmower repair shop. "You're lawnmower is ready. You can pick it up this afternoon." Two weeks after the delivery date. No apology for breaking their promise to me that it would only take a couple of days to repair it or for not communicating with me that they were more back-logged than they had thought.
Next, I walk in the house Sunday evening after church and my son and daughter say, "Dad! You need to see this!" I followed them upstairs where I found the ceiling in the hallway damaged from a massive water leak. The hallway light was full of water, it soaked the carpet and water-logged the computer. Turns out the A/C unit in the attic was leaking. We called our warranty company to get somebody out to the house to repair it. The warranty company was great. Quick response. The next day, Monday, the A/C repairman calls and says he will be at our house between 1 and 2pm. I have to take a half day off work to go and meet this guy because he couldn't work us in later in the day - no possible way. Here we go again. 2pm rolls around. No A/C repairman. 4pm. No repairman. 5pm. No repairman. I call him. "Dude, you were supposed to be here by 2pm. It's after 5pm. Where are you? Did you get into a wreck? Are you okay?" Here's the answer. "Oh, sorry. I had some units at one of my warehouses go down and had to take care of those. I'm not going to be able to get there today." WHAT!? You had units go down? Okay, fine. But you don't have enough common sense to call a customer who had taken a half day off of work to meet you to let him know you wouldn't make it? A/C repairman: "Uh, sorry. I'll try to make it. Where do you live again?" I won't tell you what I said at that point. By 8pm he still hadn't shown up. So Trent and I went to Lowe's, bought some PVC, climbed up in the attic and fixed the the A/C ourselves. The blessing is, it only cost me $7.
Here is the point, I guess. I am not a complainer or a whiner. I understand that things go wrong and that no one is perfect. But, man, bad customer service just gripes me. Can you tell? So here is what God has been hitting me with after hearing Dave speak and experiencing bad customer service myself this week. HOW DO YOU TREAT YOUR CUSTOMERS? That is the question I have asked myself. My most important customers are Cindy, Shelby and Trent - my family. How is my customer service to them? My other customers are the people I work with - the staff at SpringWell. And lastly, my customers are every person in this community that qualifies as a family. HOW AM I TREATING MY CUSTOMERS?
What about you? How is your customer service? You might be a teacher, a realtor, a store manager, a soccer coach, a parent, a nurse, an A/C repairman or a spouse. But the question is, HOW ARE YOU TREATING YOUR CUSTOMERS? Is your customer service the best? Remember, it really is all about relationships.
This week, I am working on my customer service. God has shown me it needs to be better. So, I will do my best to make it THE BEST. No excuses.
For some reason, of all the great things Dave said last Thursday, that is what stuck with me the most. It's all about customer service, or in the church business we call it relationships.
During these past two weeks I have had to face some bad customer service myself. On Monday, April 13, I dropped my lawnmower off at the small engine repair shop to see if they could get it running after an almost three year hiatus. I tried to work on it, but couldn't clean the carburetor sufficiently enough for it to run. As I was leaving, the owner told me it wold take him a "couple" of days to repair it. "Cool", I said as I jumped in my truck to drive back home. A week and a half later, I still had not heard from the repair shop about my lawnmower. I called. "Oh, we have been so backed up we haven't gotten to it, yet. We will work on it today and give you a call tomorrow." I let that one slide. Everyone has things happen, people get behind. I'm cool with that. Would've been nice to have a phone call from them, though. The next day - no call. Or the next. Or the next. Or the next. Finally, I call them this past Saturday to check on their progress. Again, the nice man on the other end of the phone said, "We are working on it right now. We will give you a call in about two hours." Great! Two hours later - no call. So, I called them. Got their answering machine. Arrrrgggggh!! Of course, the next day being Sunday, they were closed. Still, no call. Monday comes. You guessed it - no call. So, again, I called them a little more perturbed, now. "When's my mower going to be ready!? You have had it two weeks today and you haven't updated me at all!" The sweet girl on the other end said, "Mr. Joiner, it is finished, but we want to have our master mechanic take a look at it. I'll call you in about an hour and you can come and get it." Sure - I've heard that story before. By six o'clock that evening - NO CALL! So, I get into the office this morning and at 11am I receive a call. It is the lawnmower repair shop. "You're lawnmower is ready. You can pick it up this afternoon." Two weeks after the delivery date. No apology for breaking their promise to me that it would only take a couple of days to repair it or for not communicating with me that they were more back-logged than they had thought.
Next, I walk in the house Sunday evening after church and my son and daughter say, "Dad! You need to see this!" I followed them upstairs where I found the ceiling in the hallway damaged from a massive water leak. The hallway light was full of water, it soaked the carpet and water-logged the computer. Turns out the A/C unit in the attic was leaking. We called our warranty company to get somebody out to the house to repair it. The warranty company was great. Quick response. The next day, Monday, the A/C repairman calls and says he will be at our house between 1 and 2pm. I have to take a half day off work to go and meet this guy because he couldn't work us in later in the day - no possible way. Here we go again. 2pm rolls around. No A/C repairman. 4pm. No repairman. 5pm. No repairman. I call him. "Dude, you were supposed to be here by 2pm. It's after 5pm. Where are you? Did you get into a wreck? Are you okay?" Here's the answer. "Oh, sorry. I had some units at one of my warehouses go down and had to take care of those. I'm not going to be able to get there today." WHAT!? You had units go down? Okay, fine. But you don't have enough common sense to call a customer who had taken a half day off of work to meet you to let him know you wouldn't make it? A/C repairman: "Uh, sorry. I'll try to make it. Where do you live again?" I won't tell you what I said at that point. By 8pm he still hadn't shown up. So Trent and I went to Lowe's, bought some PVC, climbed up in the attic and fixed the the A/C ourselves. The blessing is, it only cost me $7.
Here is the point, I guess. I am not a complainer or a whiner. I understand that things go wrong and that no one is perfect. But, man, bad customer service just gripes me. Can you tell? So here is what God has been hitting me with after hearing Dave speak and experiencing bad customer service myself this week. HOW DO YOU TREAT YOUR CUSTOMERS? That is the question I have asked myself. My most important customers are Cindy, Shelby and Trent - my family. How is my customer service to them? My other customers are the people I work with - the staff at SpringWell. And lastly, my customers are every person in this community that qualifies as a family. HOW AM I TREATING MY CUSTOMERS?
What about you? How is your customer service? You might be a teacher, a realtor, a store manager, a soccer coach, a parent, a nurse, an A/C repairman or a spouse. But the question is, HOW ARE YOU TREATING YOUR CUSTOMERS? Is your customer service the best? Remember, it really is all about relationships.
This week, I am working on my customer service. God has shown me it needs to be better. So, I will do my best to make it THE BEST. No excuses.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Amazing Grace and Lynyrd Skynyrd
I thought maybe it was time I shared with everyone how God used a Southern Rock band from Jacksonville, Florida to lead a punk kid to Christ. That punk kid, by the way, was me. I was raised in Birmingham, Alabama. My father was a homocide detective seargent for the Birmingham Police Department during the sixties when the race riots were raging in the streets and Mayor Bull Conner turned the fire hoses on so many African Americans. Fortunately, my father wasn't involved with all of the racial unrest because, being a detective, he didn't "walk a beat." He remained with the police department through the seventies, and retired in 1983. My mother was a hard worker who managed a cafeteria and owned a local deli.
Although they were good people, my parents did not attend church, and at the time, were not Christians. I rarely attended church, and was raised to be simply uninterested in God. My girlfriend at the time, Cindy (who is now my wife), would drag me to her church every now and then. I would go on Sunday nights when there were only a few people in attendance because I didn't want to be around church people. Honestly, I hated it, but I liked Cindy - so I went.
In 1979, while riding in the car with my friend, Bobby Streip and his sister (who was driving), we were listening to some music and hanging out. Bobby's sister put in a tape of a band named Lynyrd Skynyrd. I didn't know who they were, but when I heard the first thundering riff of their song "Saturday Night Special," and those triple lead guitars screaming through 120 watt Peavey amps I knew I was listening to something that stirred my soul. I was only in 9th grade, but this was a spiritual moment for me - and in that moment I was transformed. My life would be different - just because of this music! I had found my "god." And his name was Lynyrd Skynyrd.
I joined the church of Skynyrd and was baptized as a follower when I bought the "Nuthin' Fancy" album and immersed myself in the depth of the music. I became a fully devoted follower and disciple of Skynyrd when I began to lead the lifestyle the band was leading. I bought an electric guitar and tried to learn some of the songs, but failed miserably, so I learned how to drink whiskey and act tough (even though I was 5'9" and 129 pounds). I got into a lot of trouble, did some stupid things, and hurt some good friends - all because I saw myself as "tough" and "mean." Honestly, I was too big for my britches.
I graduated from high school in May of 1983, and joined the navy because I wanted to leave everything behind and conquer the world. In November of that year I left for the navy and bootcamp in Orlando, Florida. After bootcamp, I put in for my orders and asked to be sent to either, Hawai'i, Spain, or Bermuda. Instead of paradise, the navy sent me to Jacksonville, Florida (the home of Lynyrd Skynyrd). I was ordered to the Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department for four years of shore duty. In other words, I was going to become very familiar with Jacksonville over the next four years. My navy career was actually very positive. The military helped to mature me in some ways, and I was awarded several times as sailor of the month, quarter, and even year for Naval Air Station, Jacksonville.
Since I was going to be in Jacksonville for my four years, I decided to move off base and into an apartment. The apartment I found was located in Orange Park - directly across the street from the cemetary where Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines (members of Lynyrd Skynyrd) were buried. Their plane had crashed in 1977 in a swamp in Mississippi killing several members of the band and ending their reign as the kings of Southern Rock. In fact, when I looked out my bedroom window, I could see their graves. I now lived in the same town where my "god" was from and I could see his grave every day. I continued to soak up everything Skynyrd and live the lifestyle of a Southern Rock band.
In April of 1985, my friend, Jeff White (a Christian), told me about a band that would be playing at Orange Park High School on Friday the 26th. He explained that the band was called "Vision," but that there were four members of Lynyrd Skynyrd in it and wanted to know if I could go. (Could I go? To actually see members of Skynyrd? Of course I could go!) I handed him $2 for my ticket, and excitedly prepared myself to finally meet my "god."
The night of the concert, I dressed in my best Skynyrd outfit - Freebird t-shirt, black wristbands (it was the '80's, okay?), boots, and my best jeans. I rode my motorcycle to the show and met Jeff out front. As we entered the auditorium (lunchroom), I noticed a guy holding a Bible intensely talking to another guy who was not holding a Bible. I thought to myself, "Man, why can't these Bible thumpers leave us alone and let us enjoy the show?" Little did I know that God's hand had been orchestrating this moment since that day in 1979 when I first heard Skynyrd on that tape deck riding in the car with Bobby Streip and his sister.
We took our seats, the lights in the auditorium darkened and the band took the stage. I was so excited about finally seeing Skynyrd I almost couldn't contain myself. To my right stood Leon Wilkerson on bass guitar, and Gary Rossington on lead guitar. To my left was Billy Powell on piano and keyboards. And behind the lead singer was Artimus Pyle, the drummer. It was really them - members of Lynyrd Skynyrd - and I was in the same room with these guys.
The music started, but they didn't play any Skynyrd tunes. That was okay, just being there was heaven for me. But about three songs into the set, the band stopped and the lead singer stepped forward and began talking about God, church and religion. The band would play a song or two, then he would talk about Jesus. I began to get the picture. This was a Christian band. I admit, I was somewhat disappointed by this turn of events and even thought about leaving, but it was Skynyrd (for the most part) so I decided to stay.
By the end of the show, the lead singer had talked about Jesus in ways I had never heard before. He talked about how God accepted me, and loved me unconditionally. He explained how Jesus was my advocate in heaven, pleading my case, and how he took the punishment for my sins. In the end, the lead singer asked anyone in the audience who wanted to know Jesus to come down to the stage so they could pray. As people moved to the stage, the band members would stop playing and go to the people at the front and pray with them.
I can't explain adequately in words what happened next, but in my spirit, I felt compelled to go to the front. As I did, Billy Powell, the piano player for Lynyrd Skynyrd (my god), met me at the stage. He asked my name, and I told him. He introduced himself and said that we were going to pray. I held his hands (the same hands that played Freebird!), and the lead singer led all of us in a prayer. As the prayer ended, I not only felt - but saw -the Holy Spirit enter me. It felt as if someone had poured a bucket of icewater over me. At that moment, my life was changed! I didn't know how, but I knew I was different. God had used Lynyrd Skynyrd to bring this punk kid to faith in Jesus Christ. That was Friday, April 26, 1985. Today, some 24 years later, I still don't understand why would God do that for me, but I sure am thankful he did! Since that day, all I have honestly wanted to do is give my life back to God.
Although they were good people, my parents did not attend church, and at the time, were not Christians. I rarely attended church, and was raised to be simply uninterested in God. My girlfriend at the time, Cindy (who is now my wife), would drag me to her church every now and then. I would go on Sunday nights when there were only a few people in attendance because I didn't want to be around church people. Honestly, I hated it, but I liked Cindy - so I went.
In 1979, while riding in the car with my friend, Bobby Streip and his sister (who was driving), we were listening to some music and hanging out. Bobby's sister put in a tape of a band named Lynyrd Skynyrd. I didn't know who they were, but when I heard the first thundering riff of their song "Saturday Night Special," and those triple lead guitars screaming through 120 watt Peavey amps I knew I was listening to something that stirred my soul. I was only in 9th grade, but this was a spiritual moment for me - and in that moment I was transformed. My life would be different - just because of this music! I had found my "god." And his name was Lynyrd Skynyrd.
I joined the church of Skynyrd and was baptized as a follower when I bought the "Nuthin' Fancy" album and immersed myself in the depth of the music. I became a fully devoted follower and disciple of Skynyrd when I began to lead the lifestyle the band was leading. I bought an electric guitar and tried to learn some of the songs, but failed miserably, so I learned how to drink whiskey and act tough (even though I was 5'9" and 129 pounds). I got into a lot of trouble, did some stupid things, and hurt some good friends - all because I saw myself as "tough" and "mean." Honestly, I was too big for my britches.
I graduated from high school in May of 1983, and joined the navy because I wanted to leave everything behind and conquer the world. In November of that year I left for the navy and bootcamp in Orlando, Florida. After bootcamp, I put in for my orders and asked to be sent to either, Hawai'i, Spain, or Bermuda. Instead of paradise, the navy sent me to Jacksonville, Florida (the home of Lynyrd Skynyrd). I was ordered to the Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department for four years of shore duty. In other words, I was going to become very familiar with Jacksonville over the next four years. My navy career was actually very positive. The military helped to mature me in some ways, and I was awarded several times as sailor of the month, quarter, and even year for Naval Air Station, Jacksonville.
Since I was going to be in Jacksonville for my four years, I decided to move off base and into an apartment. The apartment I found was located in Orange Park - directly across the street from the cemetary where Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines (members of Lynyrd Skynyrd) were buried. Their plane had crashed in 1977 in a swamp in Mississippi killing several members of the band and ending their reign as the kings of Southern Rock. In fact, when I looked out my bedroom window, I could see their graves. I now lived in the same town where my "god" was from and I could see his grave every day. I continued to soak up everything Skynyrd and live the lifestyle of a Southern Rock band.
In April of 1985, my friend, Jeff White (a Christian), told me about a band that would be playing at Orange Park High School on Friday the 26th. He explained that the band was called "Vision," but that there were four members of Lynyrd Skynyrd in it and wanted to know if I could go. (Could I go? To actually see members of Skynyrd? Of course I could go!) I handed him $2 for my ticket, and excitedly prepared myself to finally meet my "god."
The night of the concert, I dressed in my best Skynyrd outfit - Freebird t-shirt, black wristbands (it was the '80's, okay?), boots, and my best jeans. I rode my motorcycle to the show and met Jeff out front. As we entered the auditorium (lunchroom), I noticed a guy holding a Bible intensely talking to another guy who was not holding a Bible. I thought to myself, "Man, why can't these Bible thumpers leave us alone and let us enjoy the show?" Little did I know that God's hand had been orchestrating this moment since that day in 1979 when I first heard Skynyrd on that tape deck riding in the car with Bobby Streip and his sister.
We took our seats, the lights in the auditorium darkened and the band took the stage. I was so excited about finally seeing Skynyrd I almost couldn't contain myself. To my right stood Leon Wilkerson on bass guitar, and Gary Rossington on lead guitar. To my left was Billy Powell on piano and keyboards. And behind the lead singer was Artimus Pyle, the drummer. It was really them - members of Lynyrd Skynyrd - and I was in the same room with these guys.
The music started, but they didn't play any Skynyrd tunes. That was okay, just being there was heaven for me. But about three songs into the set, the band stopped and the lead singer stepped forward and began talking about God, church and religion. The band would play a song or two, then he would talk about Jesus. I began to get the picture. This was a Christian band. I admit, I was somewhat disappointed by this turn of events and even thought about leaving, but it was Skynyrd (for the most part) so I decided to stay.
By the end of the show, the lead singer had talked about Jesus in ways I had never heard before. He talked about how God accepted me, and loved me unconditionally. He explained how Jesus was my advocate in heaven, pleading my case, and how he took the punishment for my sins. In the end, the lead singer asked anyone in the audience who wanted to know Jesus to come down to the stage so they could pray. As people moved to the stage, the band members would stop playing and go to the people at the front and pray with them.
I can't explain adequately in words what happened next, but in my spirit, I felt compelled to go to the front. As I did, Billy Powell, the piano player for Lynyrd Skynyrd (my god), met me at the stage. He asked my name, and I told him. He introduced himself and said that we were going to pray. I held his hands (the same hands that played Freebird!), and the lead singer led all of us in a prayer. As the prayer ended, I not only felt - but saw -the Holy Spirit enter me. It felt as if someone had poured a bucket of icewater over me. At that moment, my life was changed! I didn't know how, but I knew I was different. God had used Lynyrd Skynyrd to bring this punk kid to faith in Jesus Christ. That was Friday, April 26, 1985. Today, some 24 years later, I still don't understand why would God do that for me, but I sure am thankful he did! Since that day, all I have honestly wanted to do is give my life back to God.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
STRESSED? TRY THIS STRESS SCALE
We all know what stress is because most of us live with it every day. Stress in our lives is caused by all kinds of circumstances and people. There are two kinds of stress - good stress and bad stress. I play guitar, and I compare stress to a guitar string. For the instrument to be in tune and sound musical, there needs to be a certain amount of stress on the strings. This is the good stress - the stress in our lives that spurs us on to better things. But if you put too much stress on the guitar string, it will eventually snap. This is the bad stress - the stress that pushes us to our breaking point.
For me, the first six months of 2009 are turning out to be kind of stressful. Some of it is good, some of it is not so good. Here is some of what I am facing over the next several months. I have started a new job, my family has changed churches, we are in the process of buying a house, we will be moving in March, my daughter will graduate from high school in June, and my son will turn 16 on March 2, and begin driving.
Now, I know that compared to some people this is not too stressful. Like I said, there is good stress and bad stress. Not all of this is bad. My family and I are very thankful for a new job and church. It means we can finally buy a house, which means we have to move. I am very proud of my daughter for graduating high school and starting college. And even though it terrifies me, I believe my son can become a good driver.
Okay, so I say all of that just to get to this question: How stressed are you? There was a great study on stress done by Thomas Holmes and R.H. Rahe, professors of psychiatry at the University of Washington several years ago. What they did was to develop a stress scale of common life experiences. They assigned the death of a spouse a score of 100, then they measured the relative stress in the lives of the people they studied, caused by other changes and losses. They discovered that people with a cumulative stress score (within one year) of between 150 and 299 became sick physically, psychologically and/or psychosomatically, and that 80 percent of people with stress levels over 300 became sick.
So here is the scale. Simply see what "stressors" you have gone through in the past year and add it up. Give it a try and see where you come out. Are you one of the sick people, or are you on that road to being sick? Let me know how you are doing after you add up your numbers. By the way, today I am at 139.
STRESS SCALE
1. Death of a spouse...100
2. Divorce...73
3. Marital separation from mate...65
4. Detention in jail...63
5. Death of a close family member...63
6. Major personal illness...53
7. Marriage...50
8. Being fired at work...47
9. Marital reconciliation with mate...45
10. Retirement from work...45
11. Major change in health/behavior of a family member...44
12. Pregnancy...40
13. Sexual difficulties...39
14. Gaining a new family member through birth or adoption...39
15. Major business readjustment (merger, bankruptcy)...39
16. Major change in financial state (better or worse)...38
17. Death of a close friend...37
18. Changing to a different line of work...36
19. Major change in number of arguments with spouse (more or less)...35
20. Taking out a mortgage for a major purchase (house)...31
21. Foreclosure on a mortgage...30
22. Major change in responsibilities at work...29
23. Son or daughter leaving home (marriage, college)...29
24. Trouble with the in-laws...29
25. Outstanding personal achievement...28
26. Wife beginning or ceasing work outside the home...26
27. Beginning or ceasing formal schooling...26
28. Major change in living conditions (building a home, remodeling)...25
29. Revision of personal habits (dress, manners)...24
30. Troubles with the boss...23
31. Major change in working hours or conditions...20
32. Change in residence...20
33. Changing to a new school...20
34. Major change in usual type and/or amount of recreation...19
35. Major change in church activities (more or less)...19
36. Major change in social activities (clubs, dancing, movies)...18
37. Taking out a loan for a lesser purchase (car, TV, freezer)...17
38. Major change in sleeping habits...16
39. Major change in number of family get-togethers...15
40. Major change in eating habits...13
41. Vacation...13
42. Christmas...12
43. Minor violations of the law (traffic tickets, etc.)...11
So, how stressed are you? If your stress level is above 199 and you never feel well, now you know one of the reasons why. Hopefully this scale can help you reduce some stress in your life.
For me, the first six months of 2009 are turning out to be kind of stressful. Some of it is good, some of it is not so good. Here is some of what I am facing over the next several months. I have started a new job, my family has changed churches, we are in the process of buying a house, we will be moving in March, my daughter will graduate from high school in June, and my son will turn 16 on March 2, and begin driving.
Now, I know that compared to some people this is not too stressful. Like I said, there is good stress and bad stress. Not all of this is bad. My family and I are very thankful for a new job and church. It means we can finally buy a house, which means we have to move. I am very proud of my daughter for graduating high school and starting college. And even though it terrifies me, I believe my son can become a good driver.
Okay, so I say all of that just to get to this question: How stressed are you? There was a great study on stress done by Thomas Holmes and R.H. Rahe, professors of psychiatry at the University of Washington several years ago. What they did was to develop a stress scale of common life experiences. They assigned the death of a spouse a score of 100, then they measured the relative stress in the lives of the people they studied, caused by other changes and losses. They discovered that people with a cumulative stress score (within one year) of between 150 and 299 became sick physically, psychologically and/or psychosomatically, and that 80 percent of people with stress levels over 300 became sick.
So here is the scale. Simply see what "stressors" you have gone through in the past year and add it up. Give it a try and see where you come out. Are you one of the sick people, or are you on that road to being sick? Let me know how you are doing after you add up your numbers. By the way, today I am at 139.
STRESS SCALE
1. Death of a spouse...100
2. Divorce...73
3. Marital separation from mate...65
4. Detention in jail...63
5. Death of a close family member...63
6. Major personal illness...53
7. Marriage...50
8. Being fired at work...47
9. Marital reconciliation with mate...45
10. Retirement from work...45
11. Major change in health/behavior of a family member...44
12. Pregnancy...40
13. Sexual difficulties...39
14. Gaining a new family member through birth or adoption...39
15. Major business readjustment (merger, bankruptcy)...39
16. Major change in financial state (better or worse)...38
17. Death of a close friend...37
18. Changing to a different line of work...36
19. Major change in number of arguments with spouse (more or less)...35
20. Taking out a mortgage for a major purchase (house)...31
21. Foreclosure on a mortgage...30
22. Major change in responsibilities at work...29
23. Son or daughter leaving home (marriage, college)...29
24. Trouble with the in-laws...29
25. Outstanding personal achievement...28
26. Wife beginning or ceasing work outside the home...26
27. Beginning or ceasing formal schooling...26
28. Major change in living conditions (building a home, remodeling)...25
29. Revision of personal habits (dress, manners)...24
30. Troubles with the boss...23
31. Major change in working hours or conditions...20
32. Change in residence...20
33. Changing to a new school...20
34. Major change in usual type and/or amount of recreation...19
35. Major change in church activities (more or less)...19
36. Major change in social activities (clubs, dancing, movies)...18
37. Taking out a loan for a lesser purchase (car, TV, freezer)...17
38. Major change in sleeping habits...16
39. Major change in number of family get-togethers...15
40. Major change in eating habits...13
41. Vacation...13
42. Christmas...12
43. Minor violations of the law (traffic tickets, etc.)...11
So, how stressed are you? If your stress level is above 199 and you never feel well, now you know one of the reasons why. Hopefully this scale can help you reduce some stress in your life.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
A New Chapter
Well, this past week was one to remember - in a good way. I ended my ministry at First Baptist Mauldin (a kind and loving church, btw), and began my new ministry at SpringWell Church. The folks at SpringWell have been fantastic to work with and I really look forward to the journey we are going to take together.
When I started as Family Pastor at SpringWell, it ended a long journey with God in which he tested me and my family in ways that we sometimes couldn't understand. I hope to share my journey of the last several years with you here over time - and maybe it can help someone who is struggling to understand why life sometimes hurts so badly. The only thing I will share with you right now is this - embrace the struggle.
God has faithfully seen us through our "dark night of the soul" and now we have a new beginning. Honestly, there were days when we thought we would never get another chance. We had no hope. Today, I can say God delivered us. I also know that there will be more "struggles" in the future, but for now I am enjoying the mountaintop! I am really looking forward to writing this new chapter of our lives!
When I started as Family Pastor at SpringWell, it ended a long journey with God in which he tested me and my family in ways that we sometimes couldn't understand. I hope to share my journey of the last several years with you here over time - and maybe it can help someone who is struggling to understand why life sometimes hurts so badly. The only thing I will share with you right now is this - embrace the struggle.
God has faithfully seen us through our "dark night of the soul" and now we have a new beginning. Honestly, there were days when we thought we would never get another chance. We had no hope. Today, I can say God delivered us. I also know that there will be more "struggles" in the future, but for now I am enjoying the mountaintop! I am really looking forward to writing this new chapter of our lives!
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