Beating the Blues - Spring Edition

It can be hard to keep the blues from piling up in your life and making it hard to serve Jesus with joy in your heart. As a pastor, I can get down for a lot of reasons that are unique to full time ministry, but as a PERSON, it is common to all of us to have times of being down, and I'm no exception. Spring is nice with the sunshine and everything turning green, but it can also stir up tough issues for folks. I have friends going thru some relational issues, others dealing with finances, some with ministry related disappointments. I've got my own list of 'downers' right now. Any or all of those can add up to a tough stretch.

I believe in being proactive. It can be hard to step into intentionally improving your mood when you feel more like laying in bed and pulling the covers over your head, but (as silly as this will sound) the only way forward is taking steps forward. So, a list of suggestions that help me when I'm down, I hope they help you. And if you have any to add, feel free to reply and share.

• Find Some 'Up' People - It can be so easy to gravitate toward negative people when you're feeling negative, down people when you're feeling down. Look to be around people who build you up. Find some encouragers, some folks who will remind you of your good points when you're not feeling so good. And avoid not only the "Debbie Downers" in your life, but also the tendency some of us have to want to hide from the world. Take a field trip, get out, get moving, don't sit home and keep thinking about the things that keep you down. Get some encouragment, and that will come from 'up' people. (Heb. 10:25)
  
• Laugh At Something - I have a collection of movies that make me laugh, plus a growing collection of (clean) stand up comedy DVDs that I break out when I'm down. It gets the endorphins firing, it moves my blood around, and it changes my attitude when I laugh. I try to avoid romantic comedies with emotional entanglements when I need a laugh, aiming more for the screwball, slapstick, or just plain stand up. Laughter really is good medicine. (Prov. 17:22)
  
• Exercise - Yeah, I said it. Move your body. Get some air thru your lungs, some blood thru your heart, and some sweat on your forehead. All the physical benefits are matched by emotional and mental benefits, so make yourself move. Your heart and your heart will both thank you.
  
• Pray - Of course I was going to say this, but here's the deal: not because I'm a preacher, but because it works. Honestly, I have a hard time with God's timing sometimes, but I know from experience and from reading His word that there is a time for everything, and there is a time for down as well as up. Mourning can lead to dancing. Tears can lead to laughter. I pray and ask God to show me His time, and to turn my life toward Him. I know that in His time, it will turn out just right. (1 Thes. 5:17)
  
• Give Thanks - Making a list of the things and people you are most grateful for helps turn the tide of the blues. Mine starts with the 20-25 people who came to Christ last month, and the 40 people who've volunteered to do ministry the last two weeks. God is up to something very good at FBC, and I'm thankful that I can lift my eyes past how I'm feeling right now and begin to see the impact this church family is having on eternity. (1 Thes. 5:18)
  
• Serve Someone - When you give of yourself, when you begin to allow the work of the Holy Spirit through you to touch someone else's life, it always has benefits in your own life. Find someone who needs help, and offer them some love in Jesus' name. Give some time, give some encouragement, give something to someone that will make their day. God will use that to make yours better, too. (Luke 6:38)
  

If you're down right now, I'm going to be praying for you. Feel free to pray for me as I'm working thru my list, too. And if you have a suggestion that works for you, let me know, I'll add it in. But don't let the blues get you down. Don't give up, Look up!