Starting Right
Starting Right is a 5 minute Day Starter to help keep you motivated, encouraged, and focused throughout your day. DannyMac is a pastor, teacher, motivational speaker, husband, and father. His years of leading and training people have given him vast experience in helping individuals to accomplish change in their lives and meet their goals. He can help you set the course for your day by offering practical advice from God's Word in a positive and fun way. There is no better way to begin your day than by Starting Right with DannyMac.
Starting Right
Lucy, Proverbs, and Your Morning Coffee
Danny Mac takes us on a thoughtful journey from humorous cultural references to profound biblical wisdom in this episode about managing life's stress burdens. After receiving an email filled with inspirational quotes, Danny reflects on our endless search for solutions to life's challenges, humorously referencing the classic I Love Lucy episode featuring "Vita Vita Vegemin" – a 1950s fictional tonic promising relief from being "tired, run down, and listless."
While internet quotes and quick fixes abound in our digital age, Danny contrasts these temporary solutions with the timeless wisdom of scripture. From Proverbs' insight that "a joyful, cheerful heart brings healing to both body and soul" to the comforting assurance in Psalm 34 that God answers prayers and frees us from fears, these ancient texts offer something deeper than clever sayings.
Good morning and welcome to Starting Right. I am Danny Mac and I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great start to your day. So grab your cup of coffee, sit back and relax for the next five minutes as I help you start your day by starting right. I was going through my emails this morning and I came across one that had the title in it Great Ways to Deal with Life's Stress Burdens. I thought, man, I got to read that with life's stress burdens. I thought, man, I got to read that. I opened up the email and it was simply a list of great quotes or proverbs that were meant to inspire you to help you, you know deal with the stress and problems of your life.
Speaker 1:I began to think about how different people respond to stress and to burdens and how we try to find so many different options to deal with it. And as I was thinking on it, I remembered an old episode of I Love Lucy. I think most of you remember Lucy. She was constantly getting herself into trouble and then had 30 minutes basically to get herself out of it. Although it was made in the 1950s, it was constantly in reruns for the next 40 years. There was one episode in particular that came to mind as I was looking through this list of stress helpers. It was an episode where Lucy was shooting a commercial and she was trying to sell a product called Vita Vita Vegemin. I will never forget the sales pitch. She would stand up there with a big smile on her face and say Are you tired, run down, listless, do you poop out at parties? Are you unpopular? The answer to all of your problems is right here in this bottle of Vita Vita Vegemin. Well, of course, what Lucy didn't know is that Vita Vita Vegemin was mostly alcohol and before long she was of no use to perform any commercial. But what made this come to my mind was that even back then people were looking for a variety of ways to deal with the stresses in their lives, to deal with the being tired and run down and the stresses that they're facing. And today you can look on the Internet, you can look on Facebook, you can look anywhere you want. You can see such a variety of places and ways that people are advertising to help to deal with stress and to deal with problems in life.
Speaker 1:I want to read you just some of these quotes that came in that email, and then I'm going to give you some scripture as well. But here's some of the things from the email Great ways to deal with life's stress burdens Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them. Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on when everything is coming your way. You are in the wrong lane. Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker. Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it. You have to accept that some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
Speaker 1:It may be your sole purpose in life to simply be kind to others. Nobody cares if you can't dance. Well, just get up and dance. Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
Speaker 1:We could all learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box. There's some advice in there. That's not too bad, but now let me give you some good advice, some really solid advice, about how to deal with life's burdens. Proverbs 17 and 22 in the Passion Translation says A joyful, cheerful heart brings healing to both body and soul.
Speaker 1:Proverbs 12 and 25, worry weighs a person down, but an encouraging word cheers a person up. Psalm 34.4, I prayed to the Lord and he answered me. He freed me from all of my fears. Exodus 14.14, the Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.
Speaker 1:Luke 12.25, can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Psalm 94.19, when doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer. And then there's the way the Good News Bible translates verse 4 from the 23rd Psalm Even if I go through the deepest darkness, I will not be afraid, lord, for you are with me, your shepherds, rod and your staff. They protect me.
Speaker 1:I guess there are a lot of ways you can decide to deal with stress and troubles in your life, but if we can learn to trust the Lord and smile, to keep an attitude that is focused on the good things and those great things that God has and does for us, remember that God is the only one who knows what's coming next, and he has promised that he will hold you in the palm of his hand through it all. That's going to be the greatest way to deal with life's stress burdens, and you don't need Vita Vita, vegemin or anything else like that, because God is with you to give you that peace. Have a great day, my friends. We'll talk again tomorrow. Thank you for listening today and I invite you to join me Monday to Friday, right here on Starting Right with Danny Mac.
