Hello and welcome to
"Health for a Lifetime"
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I'm your host Don Mackintosh
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We're glad that
you've joined us today.
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Today, we're going to
be talking about stress,
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and there is such a
thing as good stress,
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and there is bad stress.
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Here to talk with us about
stress and an interesting way
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to handle it is
Dr. Skip MacCarty.
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You've been doing stress
seminars for over 20 years.
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You're a fellow of the
American Academy of Stress
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You've given talks to
many different people.
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We're glad you could
join us here at 3ABN,
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and also our audience as well.
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Today, we're going to
talk about something that
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is a little bit unique...
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And that is singing or
the singing really of hymns
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as they relate to
stress and stress management.
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How in the world did you
come up with connecting hymns
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with stress management?
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Well Don, you're probably not
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going to read books on stress
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and come up with
this - this I had learned.
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But when you think about it,
singing is part of every culture
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of the world - there
is singing, people sing!
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And even if they
can't sing very well,
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they have favorite
songs, favorite tunes,
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and sometimes it's because
of a tune or many times it's
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because of the
words of those songs.
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And several years ago, I began,
as part of my devotional time,
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to just start
singing my way through the
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Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal.
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There are 700 hymns here,
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and since I was
doing research on stress;
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I've been
researching now for years,
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I wasn't really
thinking about it when I did it.
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I was singing through
hymns just to be singing
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and as part of my
worship experience...
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And I wanted to sing
through every hymn in the book.
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I didn't get very
far before I recognized -
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Hey - some of these are
really related to stress issues,
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and are really quite helpful;
they would be helpful to people.
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So I began to put in
the back of my book here -
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I began to put the
numbers of the hymns
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that were related to stress.
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After a while, I had 100 hymns
there that were stress-related.
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And I began to realize
more and more - this is awesome
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...I thought back then, in
my own experience and realized,
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- this is a very powerful
resource for managing stress.
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So it was through your
singing through the hymns
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or looking at them in
your own private devotions,
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you're not a public
singer, maybe. Correct
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And you decided - Hey,
this has been very useful to me,
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and you made the
connection there.
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Yes, and as I thought
back over the years, Don,
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of my own
experience, I remembered a time
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I had never
connected these before.
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I came to that conclusion
through singing through the
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hymnal and began to just
amass these numbers of hymns
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that were stress-related,
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but then I began to
think back over the years,
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and there was a time,
probably 35 years ago now,
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that I was driving
from - I was pastoring at
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Winnemucca,
Nevada, and I was driving
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a thousand miles
to visit family...
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Winnemucca? Winnemucca, Nevada
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The name sounds a little
distressing to me, but...
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It means "one moccasin"
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Oh okay, well then maybe
that's not distressing, okay.
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And we had a
little congregation there,
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and I was travelling, driving
by myself a thousand miles
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to visit family - it was
at a particularly stressful
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time in my life.
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And I could not get
my mind off the stresses,
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and so I happen to
have a hymnal with me.
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And so I began to sing hymns
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as I was
traveling across country,
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and I'll tell you the effect,
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it just pulled me out of it,
and then I would put it aside
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and listen to the radio for
a while and my mind would start
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getting back into that
stuff and I'd have to start
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singing hymns again and
there were several hymns
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particularly that
got me through that.
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But I had forgotten all
about that experience...
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Then later in my life I
went through a very, very
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devastating divorce for me.
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During that period of
time, also, I could hardly even
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sleep at nights, but
I remembered thinking
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back on that period
that again, there were songs,
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there were hymns that helped me
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at my most discouraging
times during that period,
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but I had forgotten about
it; once I got through that
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experience I had
forgotten about it.
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Then, once I began
singing through the hymnal
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and seeing how many
hymns that were stress-related,
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I thought back on
those experiences and I said,
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"This really is a
powerful instrument,
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and I just hadn't
accessed it intentionally before
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like I'm going to
do from this point on"
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One of the great
reformers, Martin Luther,
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talked about how hymns
helped him in depressive times,
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I remember reading about that.
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So you mentioned the
Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal,
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does that mean they need to be
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out of the
Seventh-day Adventist hymn book,
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are these all written
by Seventh-day Adventists?
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Well, interestingly, I had
the same question in my mind
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about this and I did
a little research on it,
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and there is 97+% of
the hymns that we have
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in the Seventh-day Adventist
Hymnal are just Christian hymns,
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not written by
Seventh-day Adventists.
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We got them from other
hymnals and from other sources,
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and got permission to use them.
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You can take ANY
hymnal, it makes no difference
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where the hymnal comes from
or it doesn't even have to be
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something in the
hymnal, but just Christian hymns
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are a powerful resource.
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And do you cover this in
your seminar - "Beyond Coping"
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Actually, I do not,
because that seminar is
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designed to more
for the community.
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I feel this is a
step beyond that,
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so we don't really have
a section on this because
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most people couldn't relate.
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A lot of the
people... I like to have,
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I want people walking in
off the street who aren't
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thinking about God, who
are just thinking secularly,
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and I want to be able to relate
to them and little, by little,
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by little, open their
hearts to the tremendous
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spiritual resources we have,
but hymns are a step beyond
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where most of them would be.
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Well you know, I have to
say that where I live there is
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a lot of people
that enjoy country music,
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and you've heard that old
saying that if you listen to it
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long enough, you
lose all - your wife,
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your car, everything else!
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And they say if you
listen to it backwards,
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you get them all back!
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So actually, you know,
even those that are listening
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to other kinds of music,
they can get depressed by that.
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I mean, I have and
certainly hymns have been really
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meaningful for me too -
kind of a funny story isn't it?
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Well, give us an example then,
to shift gears back to hymns,
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of a hymn that has been
helpful for stress with you.
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Okay, I'll take
one, an example...
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"Dear Lord and
Father of Mankind"
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It's hymn #480, written
by John Greenleaf Whittier
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Famous poet...
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Yes, listen to these words...
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"Dear Lord and Father of mankind
Forgive our feverish ways;
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...Now think about that -
"Forgive our feverish ways"
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Fast-paced, always at it...
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EXACTLY, even in the ministry.
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You know, we can be
just feverish about our ways,
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and I love the way this starts.
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Dear Lord and Father of mankind
forgive our feverish ways
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They are just stress-inducing
when we live at that pace.
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Reclothe us in our rightful mind
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In purer lives thy service find,
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In deeper reverence praise.
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Great I love the
other verse here -
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Drop thy still
dews of quietness,
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There's that element of
peace and serenity we strive for
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in stress management.
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Till all our strivings cease;
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We can still be active but
there's a difference between
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active and just that
kind of ceaseless striving.
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Take from our souls
the strain and stress,
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And let our ordered lives
confess the beauty of Thy peace"
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I'm in control.
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Don, a person could do a
lot worse than singing that
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song at the beginning
of the day - believe me.
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It just puts you in a
spirit; it puts you in a mood...
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And it is, I think, an awesome
resource just in and of itself
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to help with stress.
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So you just sing this in
the shower or you sing this,
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you memorize it? I do, I do
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Okay, so these hymns, they
truly just kind of encapsulate
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what you'd want.
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Any other hymns that you have
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been just really
blessed by in this way?
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Another one that is, I can't
say too much for this hymn -
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It is SO awesome, it's
called "How Firm a Foundation"
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I think it's #509 in our
Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal
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It actually - the
author is anonymous.
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We got it from an old hymnal...
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"Ripen's A Selection
of Hymns" it's called
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But it is rooted in Scripture.
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Every verse of this
is rooted in Scripture,
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and just listen to these
words and think if your going
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through a stressful time and
having these words impact you.
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"How firm a foundation,
ye saints of the Lord,
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Is laid for your
faith in His excellent Word!
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I don't know if we dare
sing it Don, but I can hardly
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read the words without singing,
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and I sing so awful that it
might destroy the program...
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But... What more can He
say than to you He has said,
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To you who for
refuge to Jesus hath fled.
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So that's just saying that
you have a tremendous resource.
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What more could God give you
than what I've already given you
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And now it starts just going
through promise after promise.
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Don, you could take
only one verse of this hymn,
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and memorize that one
verse and sing it over and over
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in a stressful
time and get help,
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but you put all
these verses together...
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it's just awesome
the impact it can have.
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Now think of this...
"Fear not, I am with thee
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O be not
dismayed; For I am thy God
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and will still give thee aid;
00:10:14.60\00:10:17.64
I'll strengthen thee, help
thee, and cause thee to stand;
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Upheld by My
righteous omnipotent hand. "
00:10:23.79\00:10:26.98
So that's a very meaningful
personal acquaintance with God.
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Awesome - and it doesn't stop.
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"When thro the deep waters"
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You see, this is
God speaking to us.
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So much of our hymns
are us speaking to God.
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This is God speaking to us.
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"When thro the deep
waters I call thee to go"
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"The rivers of
sorrow shall not overflow"
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"For I will be with
thee, thy troubles to bless"
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"And sanctify to
thee thy deepest distress"
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So He sanctifies
the stress in our lives.
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He takes the distress
in our life and He brings
00:11:00.25\00:11:02.02
meaning out of it - He
brings something good out of it.
00:11:02.05\00:11:04.44
He says, I'm with you through
this and that makes it okay.
00:11:04.47\00:11:07.95
I'll walk with you and...
"When thro fiery trials thy
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pathway shall lie, My grace all
sufficient shall be thy supply"
00:11:13.52\00:11:20.59
This is 2 Corinthians 12:9
00:11:20.62\00:11:23.72
"The flame shall not
hurt thee; I only design
00:11:23.75\00:11:28.04
thy dross to consume,
and thy gold to refine"
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In other words, trust
me through this experience,
00:11:32.90\00:11:35.01
and I'll do
something good in your life -
00:11:35.04\00:11:37.33
if you just trust me and
hold on to me - don't give up,
00:11:37.36\00:11:39.81
don't lose faith.
00:11:39.84\00:11:41.21
And Don, it just keeps coming
and coming - the next verse...
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"The soul that on Jesus
hath leaned for repose. "
00:11:44.80\00:11:49.92
"I will not, I will
not desert to His foes"
00:11:49.95\00:11:55.49
"That soul, though all
hell should endeavor to shake"
00:11:55.52\00:12:00.02
Sometimes you're in
an experience and that's
00:12:00.05\00:12:01.46
what you feel like -
you feel like you're just
00:12:01.49\00:12:02.86
being SHAKEN to the
core by the forces of hell.
00:12:02.89\00:12:06.21
Here it comes...
"I'll never, no never,
00:12:06.24\00:12:10.12
no never forsake"
00:12:10.15\00:12:12.71
I can tell you, Don, I wake
up in the middle of the night
00:12:12.74\00:12:15.56
sometimes and my mind
starts going - in fact,
00:12:15.59\00:12:17.93
I'll be honest with
you, the last several nights,
00:12:17.96\00:12:20.32
I've woken up and because
I can't get out of my mind
00:12:20.35\00:12:27.25
when the first night
when you came here to the area
00:12:27.28\00:12:30.88
and we were rooming together
during the tapings here,
00:12:30.91\00:12:34.01
you brought this magazine,
I hadn't seen this before,
00:12:34.04\00:12:36.56
the Time Magazine issue
of the terrorists attacks on
00:12:36.59\00:12:40.61
the World Trade Towers...
00:12:40.64\00:12:42.01
The first time I had gone
through and actually seen the
00:12:42.04\00:12:44.63
pictures here but as I
was going through and seeing
00:12:44.66\00:12:47.89
pictures, they show
pictures of the people jumping
00:12:47.92\00:12:49.83
out of the buildings.
00:12:49.86\00:12:51.23
They show pictures of the
explosions and of some of the
00:12:51.26\00:12:54.33
horrible things
taking place here.
00:12:54.36\00:12:56.71
And I went to bed late at
night when I looked this through
00:12:56.74\00:13:00.46
I woke up in the
middle of the night -
00:13:00.49\00:13:02.39
I literally pictured
myself having to make a choice
00:13:02.42\00:13:04.78
to jump out of the buildings.
00:13:04.81\00:13:06.18
Pictured myself being
on one of those planes,
00:13:06.21\00:13:07.97
and my stomach
started burning...
00:13:08.00\00:13:10.19
And I just began to
sing this hymn over and over,
00:13:10.22\00:13:14.86
very slowly
concentrated on the words.
00:13:14.89\00:13:17.89
For God said... No matter
what, Skip, no matter what,
00:13:17.92\00:13:20.66
I'll be with you - I'll
go through anything with you.
00:13:20.69\00:13:25.64
And it's going to be okay,
if you trust me, it will be okay
00:13:25.67\00:13:28.33
Even if "worse case"
happens on this earth,
00:13:28.36\00:13:31.47
it's going to be okay
in the heavenly economy,
00:13:31.50\00:13:33.83
just trust me...
Awesome, absolutely awesome!
00:13:33.86\00:13:36.79
So an anonymous author
but he wrote those words.
00:13:36.82\00:13:40.16
You know there's
actually a program that's on
00:13:40.19\00:13:43.08
Christian stations that a man
00:13:43.11\00:13:45.65
preaches from the Bible
and that's his theme song.
00:13:45.68\00:13:47.73
He has Our Firm a Foundation
00:13:47.76\00:13:49.55
and it's always a
great comfort to hear that.
00:13:49.58\00:13:51.65
And you know, I would
say maybe there are people
00:13:51.68\00:13:55.56
watching today that say -
00:13:55.59\00:13:56.96
Hey look, I'd like to get a hold
00:13:56.99\00:13:58.36
of a
Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal
00:13:58.39\00:13:59.76
even though I am a
secular person because, frankly,
00:13:59.79\00:14:01.52
I think many times people
don't realize how depressive
00:14:01.55\00:14:05.27
the music
they're listening to is,
00:14:05.30\00:14:07.17
and these are just very
hopeful, what would you say,
00:14:07.20\00:14:12.12
testimony-laden,
experience-laden lyrics
00:14:12.15\00:14:16.11
that can just
bring the Spirit of God,
00:14:16.14\00:14:18.53
and can bring
people out of stress.
00:14:18.56\00:14:20.31
Don, in December of 2000,
I was the opening speaker of
00:14:20.34\00:14:24.70
the International Congress
on Stress held in Hawaii
00:14:24.73\00:14:27.14
It wasn't because
I'm a great speaker;
00:14:27.17\00:14:28.89
it wasn't because they think
I'm the LEAD stress researcher
00:14:28.92\00:14:33.60
in the world - NO, not that all
00:14:33.63\00:14:35.80
It's because I submitted
an abstract to read as a paper
00:14:35.83\00:14:39.01
there sometime
during the Congress,
00:14:39.04\00:14:40.63
on the Bible as a
resource for stress management.
00:14:40.66\00:14:43.91
Stress researchers today know
that spirituality reduces stress
00:14:43.94\00:14:48.08
They don't know why,
and they were curious as to
00:14:48.11\00:14:50.86
what would a
minister stress researcher say
00:14:50.89\00:14:55.07
about the Bible as a
resource for stress management.
00:14:55.10\00:14:57.25
But since I read that
paper, I realized that maybe not
00:14:57.28\00:15:01.47
quite as equal, but
very, very high on the
00:15:01.50\00:15:03.94
list - hymns have a
similar impact on people.
00:15:03.97\00:15:06.61
And one of the reasons I
think that some of the hymns
00:15:06.64\00:15:09.30
have stood the test of time
as they have is because they
00:15:09.33\00:15:12.56
speak so DEEPLY to people
who are going through trials.
00:15:12.59\00:15:15.56
We're talking with Dr. MacCarty
00:15:15.59\00:15:18.33
He has written much
in a seminar called...
00:15:18.36\00:15:21.45
"Stress Beyond Coping"
about how to deal with stress.
00:15:21.48\00:15:23.94
We're talking about HYMNS as
they relate to stress and music.
00:15:23.97\00:15:27.65
Join us when we come back.
00:15:27.68\00:15:29.27
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Welcome back, we're
talking with Dr. Skip MacCarty,
00:16:37.17\00:16:40.56
and we're talking about stress;
00:16:40.59\00:16:42.28
we're talking about how
it is we can handle stress...
00:16:42.31\00:16:44.84
And the thing we're
talking about today is this
00:16:44.87\00:16:46.39
connection with
MUSIC and stress;
00:16:46.42\00:16:49.22
more specifically, the
famous old Christian hymns.
00:16:49.25\00:16:54.62
And you have shared with us
that this journey you've been on
00:16:54.65\00:16:58.08
has been a great
blessing to you at pivotal times
00:16:58.11\00:17:00.17
in your own personal life,
00:17:00.20\00:17:01.57
but that there is over 100
hymns that you've found that
00:17:01.60\00:17:03.88
are related to stress.
00:17:03.91\00:17:05.28
Well over 100, maybe 200 now.
00:17:05.31\00:17:07.50
How does a hymn like
this have the ability
00:17:07.53\00:17:12.00
to help someone that's going
through a period of stress?
00:17:12.03\00:17:14.23
Well Don, I've created what I
call a stress management pyramid
00:17:14.26\00:17:18.64
A stress management
pyramid takes the 7 components,
00:17:18.67\00:17:21.65
7 keys of managing stress,
00:17:21.68\00:17:23.68
arranges them in
hierarchical order,
00:17:23.71\00:17:27.80
and at the top of that
pyramid you have the most
00:17:27.83\00:17:29.62
powerful components
of managing stress...
00:17:29.65\00:17:32.33
And notice at the
very top, you have
00:17:32.36\00:17:33.99
"spiritual integration,"
the prayer and spiritual life.
00:17:34.02\00:17:36.88
And then right
close to that "viewpoint"
00:17:36.91\00:17:38.86
That is your attitude -
the eyes through which you
00:17:38.89\00:17:41.55
look at life through.
00:17:41.58\00:17:43.71
Hymns encompass both of those.
00:17:43.74\00:17:47.67
They are very
definitely spiritually oriented,
00:17:47.70\00:17:51.01
and have powerful
spiritual resources,
00:17:51.04\00:17:53.01
and they help you
shape attitudes toward life.
00:17:53.04\00:17:56.27
There is an atheist
professor at Stanford who is
00:17:56.30\00:18:00.47
an expert in
the field of stress.
00:18:00.50\00:18:01.99
He wrote a book called...
"Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers"
00:18:02.02\00:18:05.01
and several editions of that.
00:18:05.04\00:18:07.41
A very good book on
the physiology of stress.
00:18:07.44\00:18:09.54
Towards the end of his book he
makes this statement, he says...
00:18:09.58\00:18:17.62
and if on top of all that,
the deity is viewed as benign...
00:18:33.69\00:18:35.93
In other words, he's
not going to hurt you.
00:18:36.34\00:18:37.71
So he is saying if he
has rules and there are
00:18:37.74\00:18:40.05
cause and effects - so you
know if you do certain things,
00:18:40.08\00:18:42.15
that you will
get certain results,
00:18:42.18\00:18:43.55
and if this isn't a deity
that is going to hurt you...
00:18:43.58\00:18:46.40
He says, the
stress-inducing advantages
00:18:46.43\00:18:48.33
must be extraordinary,
then he goes on to say...
00:18:48.37\00:18:50.27
So he is exactly
right-on and hymns a are part of
00:19:09.79\00:19:14.45
those spiritual resources...
Not only is he having a
00:19:14.48\00:19:17.33
hard time remaining an atheist,
00:19:17.36\00:19:19.43
he's starting to make a decision
about which religion he wants,
00:19:19.46\00:19:21.99
and it looks like he is pointing
right toward Christianity.
00:19:22.02\00:19:25.02
Exactly... because in another
place in that same quotation,
00:19:25.05\00:19:28.73
that I didn't have in there,
00:19:28.77\00:19:30.14
he said, "If you believe
you can call upon your God,
00:19:30.17\00:19:32.94
and get an answer,
which most religions, he says
00:19:32.98\00:19:36.01
don't believe that,
that's another element...
00:19:36.04\00:19:38.22
Do you have a God that would
be a great source of support.
00:19:38.25\00:19:41.05
"Call upon me and I will answer
00:19:41.08\00:19:42.45
and show you great things which
you know not"... says Jeremiah
00:19:42.48\00:19:45.42
He's limiting himself to a
real picture there. Exactly!
00:19:45.45\00:19:49.15
And Don, I'm not saying
every hymn is a stress resource,
00:19:49.18\00:19:51.95
but many of them are.
00:19:51.98\00:19:53.89
What a powerful thing to know!
00:19:53.92\00:19:56.43
Can you give another example
00:19:56.46\00:19:57.83
of a hymn that could
have that kind of effect.
00:19:57.86\00:20:00.09
Let me put another
one on the screen...
00:20:00.13\00:20:01.50
The title of it
is... "Day by Day"
00:20:01.53\00:20:03.06
and Carolina Sandal
Berg wrote the hymn.
00:20:03.09\00:20:09.77
She was 26 when
she wrote this song.
00:20:09.80\00:20:14.07
Her father was a pastor and he
00:20:14.10\00:20:15.47
had just drowned
before she wrote this song.
00:20:15.50\00:20:18.18
It's a beautiful hymn...
00:20:18.21\00:20:20.39
"Trusting in my
Father's wise bestowment"
00:20:23.70\00:20:26.07
Talking about
her Heavenly Father.
00:20:26.10\00:20:27.47
"As your days your strength
00:20:59.00\00:21:01.08
shall be in
measure"... Think about that
00:21:01.11\00:21:02.95
As your days your
strength shall be in measure -
00:21:02.98\00:21:05.14
God knows what is coming today
00:21:05.17\00:21:06.54
and He gives you the grace,
00:21:06.57\00:21:08.06
and the strength at
the beginning of the day
00:21:08.09\00:21:09.46
to handle whatever is coming.
00:21:09.49\00:21:10.86
Powerful... It is
just an awesome resource.
00:21:24.14\00:21:30.73
So these hymns, they can
just, on your pyramid there
00:21:30.76\00:21:35.10
it not only is a spiritual thing
00:21:35.13\00:21:37.43
but it can change
your viewpoint... It can
00:21:37.46\00:21:41.02
And then reconnects you...
00:21:41.05\00:21:42.50
The other side of your pyramid
was close relationships...
00:21:42.53\00:21:45.35
If you sing these with
other people, it's almost as if
00:21:45.38\00:21:47.64
you're coming
back in the community.
00:21:47.67\00:21:49.61
Well, you're putting
those 3 top components
00:21:49.64\00:21:51.45
in that stress
pyramid together when you are
00:21:51.48\00:21:53.04
singing with other people,
00:21:53.07\00:21:54.44
and you're really investing
yourself in those words...
00:21:54.47\00:21:56.22
And Don, you
CANNOT, you cannot have a
00:21:56.25\00:21:58.99
depressing thought and one
of these hymns in your mind
00:21:59.02\00:22:01.47
at the same time
- you can't do it.
00:22:01.50\00:22:03.27
So you can actually
change discouragement,
00:22:03.30\00:22:06.40
and many times so much of
stress is process of stress.
00:22:06.43\00:22:10.43
In other words,
it's not real stress...
00:22:10.46\00:22:11.83
It's not like I'm
attacking you and beating you...
00:22:11.86\00:22:13.39
It's you're
thinking about something...
00:22:13.42\00:22:15.68
You're worrying about something.
00:22:15.72\00:22:17.09
You're thinking about some
past hurt or loss of some kind,
00:22:17.12\00:22:21.84
and that's creating stress.
00:22:21.87\00:22:24.37
And if you start plugging
in something more positive
00:22:24.40\00:22:27.39
into your mind - like
these wonderful promises,
00:22:27.42\00:22:29.75
these great hymns - you start
repeating them to yourself.
00:22:29.78\00:22:32.61
It literally CHASES the process
of stress away from your body.
00:22:32.64\00:22:37.24
Your body, chemically, responds
to that in a positive way.
00:22:37.27\00:22:40.08
I want to look
at another example,
00:22:40.11\00:22:41.48
but what you're saying reminds
me of a quote by a philosopher
00:22:41.51\00:22:45.46
whose name was, I believe,
"Pogo" - is how he spells it.
00:22:45.49\00:22:49.60
And he said, "If you allow me
to write the songs for a nation,
00:22:49.63\00:22:52.70
I'll tell you what it's
going to be like in 25 years.
00:22:52.73\00:22:55.31
Because he recognized it could
00:22:55.34\00:22:57.05
change the
viewpoint of a whole nation.
00:22:57.08\00:23:00.13
And it's kind of strange
that we'd be talking about
00:23:00.16\00:23:02.25
hymns when we're
talking about stress management,
00:23:02.28\00:23:04.69
and in terms of a
real serious discipline,
00:23:04.72\00:23:06.82
but they're very
powerful, VERY powerful.
00:23:06.86\00:23:11.24
Give us another
example, I'm loving these hymns.
00:23:11.28\00:23:13.72
What's another example of a
hymn that has a great effect?
00:23:13.76\00:23:15.93
Well there's another one
that I love that called...
00:23:15.96\00:23:18.83
"In the Cross of Christ
I Glory" listen to this...
00:23:18.86\00:23:21.67
"In the Cross of Christ I glory,
Towering o'er the wrecks of time
00:23:21.70\00:23:24.54
John Bowering, by
the way, was said to have
00:23:24.57\00:23:27.17
been approaching the shores of
00:23:27.20\00:23:28.64
south China and on
the South China Sea,
00:23:28.67\00:23:30.78
and he saw this cross that
a hurricane had come through
00:23:30.81\00:23:35.70
and had destroyed
everything except this cross
00:23:35.73\00:23:38.10
that was standing up
over this village there.
00:23:38.13\00:23:41.12
So... "Towering
over the wrecks of time,
00:23:41.15\00:23:43.77
All the light of sacred story
Gather round its head sublime
00:23:43.80\00:23:46.98
When the woes of
life o'er-take me,
00:23:47.01\00:23:50.48
Hopes deceive and fears
annoy ... There's a lot of life
00:23:50.51\00:23:54.38
where that
applies to right there...
00:23:54.41\00:23:56.37
Never shall the cross forsake me
Lo' it glows with peace and joy.
00:23:56.40\00:24:01.06
If you know anything about
stress management research,
00:24:01.09\00:24:02.86
they're striving
for peace and joy.
00:24:02.89\00:24:04.63
That's what we're trying to
create in stress management.
00:24:04.66\00:24:06.93
Then I love this verse...
When the sun of bliss is beating
00:24:06.96\00:24:11.63
In other words, it's not a
bad day... it's a good day.
00:24:11.66\00:24:13.95
It's a great day!
Light and love upon my way
00:24:13.98\00:24:17.19
From the cross the
radiance streaming,
00:24:17.22\00:24:19.61
Adds new luster to the day.
00:24:19.64\00:24:21.04
In other words, a
spiritual relationship makes
00:24:21.07\00:24:24.55
a good day better!
00:24:24.58\00:24:25.95
It doesn't just take
a day that's going bad
00:24:25.98\00:24:28.05
and make it bearable... No
It makes a good day better.
00:24:28.08\00:24:32.49
Bane and
blessing, pain and pleasure,
00:24:32.52\00:24:34.96
By the cross are sanctified.
00:24:34.99\00:24:37.19
Peace is there
that knows no measure.
00:24:37.22\00:24:39.18
Joys that
through all time abide. "
00:24:39.21\00:24:42.17
Was there anything else
that you learned as you've been
00:24:42.20\00:24:44.13
looking at hymns
and going through that
00:24:44.16\00:24:45.94
hymn book you want to share?
00:24:45.97\00:24:47.34
Well Don, there
were 2 surprises to me...
00:24:47.37\00:24:51.89
Our hymnal, "The
Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal"
00:24:51.92\00:24:53.70
is grouped in sections,
it's grouped by subjects.
00:24:53.73\00:24:57.53
All about Jesus
are in one section.
00:24:57.56\00:24:59.54
Worship of God in
another, etcetera...
00:24:59.57\00:25:01.25
The hymns, and this
caught me by surprise...
00:25:01.28\00:25:03.72
The hymns that had
the highest percentage...
00:25:03.75\00:25:06.04
The subject that had
the highest percentage of
00:25:06.07\00:25:07.51
stress-related hymns,
I felt, stress-related,
00:25:07.54\00:25:10.88
were the second coming of
Christ hymns - the blessed hope!
00:25:10.91\00:25:13.89
The blessed hope -
that offers such hope.
00:25:13.92\00:25:16.60
Hymn after hymn,
after hymn is offering hope
00:25:16.63\00:25:19.12
for reunion with loved ones;
00:25:19.15\00:25:20.99
hope that the trials and griefs
of this life will be over,
00:25:21.02\00:25:24.60
and hymns that motivated people
to be active and energetic
00:25:24.63\00:25:28.73
and hopeful in this
life, and joyful in this life.
00:25:28.76\00:25:30.70
So the second coming
really impressed you.
00:25:30.73\00:25:32.34
The second coming...
the other one was the
00:25:32.37\00:25:34.12
of the Sabbath and most
of these were not written by
00:25:34.15\00:25:35.93
Seventh-day Adventists.
00:25:35.96\00:25:37.33
But hymns on the Sabbath,
because rest and relaxation
00:25:37.36\00:25:40.44
and peace and
quiet, are so important in
00:25:40.47\00:25:42.45
stress management research to
00:25:42.48\00:25:44.07
to stress
management researchers,
00:25:44.10\00:25:46.04
that those hymns were
just bulls eye, hymn after hymn
00:25:46.07\00:25:49.96
on the Sabbath
were just saying...
00:25:49.99\00:25:52.60
What a wonderful peace
to lay down our challenges
00:25:52.63\00:25:57.37
of the week and just
to have this respite.
00:25:57.40\00:26:00.41
What does the Bible say,
specifically, about hymns
00:26:00.44\00:26:03.48
and stress management?
00:26:03.51\00:26:05.32
Well it has
several... it admonishes us
00:26:05.35\00:26:09.13
to be involved in hymns.
00:26:09.16\00:26:10.53
In Colossians 3, is
one Scripture that says...
00:26:10.56\00:26:13.67
I tell you, those
hymns, those songs,
00:26:32.11\00:26:33.84
create gratitude and peace.
00:26:33.87\00:26:36.40
I've experienced that and found
00:26:36.43\00:26:38.83
it to be true and for
other people who use this.
00:26:38.86\00:26:40.23
So this is a Biblical concept
as well and it points us to
00:26:40.26\00:26:43.00
the pathos of those
old hymns, the Psalms,
00:26:43.03\00:26:45.33
I guess you'd say... Exactly
00:26:45.37\00:26:46.81
And some contemporary hymns
00:26:46.84\00:26:48.25
as well are VERY
powerful to help that way...
00:26:48.28\00:26:50.64
So how does this all
fit then in your overall
00:26:50.67\00:26:52.94
you know, stress
pyramid, if you will?
00:26:52.97\00:26:55.48
Well let me just kind of
re-phrase that if I could...
00:26:55.51\00:27:00.17
We'll put the stress pyramid up
for a moment and I recommend...
00:27:00.20\00:27:02.43
Stress management
isn't just hymn-singing, Don,
00:27:03.46\00:27:06.12
it's not just hymn-singing...
It's ALL these things!
00:27:06.15\00:27:07.95
Eating healthfully, exercising,
having periods of relaxation,
00:27:07.98\00:27:12.06
having good,
wholesome relationships,
00:27:12.09\00:27:14.11
and then with all
these other things as well.
00:27:14.14\00:27:17.26
It means, I think as
one of the components of the
00:27:17.29\00:27:19.42
spiritual... the most important
the spiritual component,
00:27:19.45\00:27:21.69
and having a healthy
attitude toward life viewpoints,
00:27:21.72\00:27:24.64
a healthy belief system
- is to commit some hymns,
00:27:24.67\00:27:27.82
learn some hymns and
at times of real need in
00:27:27.85\00:27:30.62
your life, just run
those hymns through your mind,
00:27:30.65\00:27:33.38
and it will just pull you
right out of discouragement...
00:27:33.41\00:27:35.68
very powerful to do that.
00:27:35.71\00:27:37.47
This has been most helpful.
00:27:37.50\00:27:38.87
We're thankful that
you could be with us,
00:27:38.90\00:27:40.42
and we're glad that you
could be with us as well.
00:27:40.45\00:27:42.50
We hope that you WILL
take this advice seriously.
00:27:42.53\00:27:46.99
Perhaps you want to get a hold
00:27:47.02\00:27:48.39
of a Seventh-day
Adventist Hymnal,
00:27:48.42\00:27:49.79
we can tell you how
to do that here at 3ABN.
00:27:49.82\00:27:51.91
Perhaps you want to
get a hold of the seminar?
00:27:51.94\00:27:53.83
Whatever you do, go
on your way SINGING today
00:27:53.86\00:27:56.64
and have Health that
Lasts for a Lifetime!
00:27:56.68\00:27:59.43