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Stress Thoughts : A Personal Revelation
Rev George Malkus, the man behind the Hallelujah Diet

As you know I have seen remarkable health improvement in my own life due to the lifestyle changes that I made years ago (Hallelujah Diet). I also have a passion for sharing this health message with others. About a year and a half ago the Lord began to deal with me about stress in my own life. Our health ministry was growing. We were holding regular classes and seminars, we offered a quarterly newsletter, and I spoke with people almost every day (by phone and in person) about health and lifestyle topics. At times I would talk for hours with people in an effort to encourage them toward better health. I frequently had a 'call list' of calls to be returned. Interest in what we were doing was growing beyond what I ever could have imagined.

My daughter had begun to help me in our health ministry, but it still was overwhelming. In addition to this we homeschool our children, which is quite a time commitment each day as well. Did I say overwhelming?

I absolutely LOVED everything that I was doing, but I was too busy. One evening, as I sat in a very stressed state at my computer typing an article (for our newsletter which was late being published), I heard the Lord speak to me saying, "If you don't stop this, it's going to kill you." Then there was a pause, and then He continued, "And then what are people going to say?" WOW. The Lord was telling me that my body could not handle the stress that I was putting on my system. And despite all that I was doing for my health this could become a downfall in my life. I had virtually no "bad" or negative stress in my life. The busy schedule and constant deadlines were causing stress even though I was enjoying what I was doing AND I truly believe that the work that I was doing was inspired by the Lord.

I began to study the effects of stress on the body. As most people know, adrenaline is the primary chemical/hormone that the body produces as a first response to stress. This is the short-term stress hormone. When stress continues, cortisol levels are raised in the body. I think of cortisol as "overdrive" stress-response energy. As I studied, I learned that symptoms of high levels of cortisol in the body are similar to that of taking the drug cortisone. High levels of cortisol suppress the immune function of the body and suppress production of some of the beneficial hormones such as DHEA.

When under stress the body is on guard preparing for an emergency, which affects every aspect of our body functions. As I studied further, I began to see that although I was doing so much for my health, my body was being depleted and could not function properly as long as I was dealing with the daily events of my life in the "overdrive" mode each day. I was building my immune system using diet and nutrition, and yet was suppressing it by stimulating my adrenal gland emergency response.

I did not feel that the Lord was directing me to change my passion or to stop the ministry that I was doing (both in and out of the household), but He was instructing me to gain a new perspective. We still have a very active and growing ministry. Since this time, we actually opened a health food store to operate alongside our ministry and started sending out a health publication by e-mail. Although I took a little extra time off this summer, we are looking toward possible expansion in the fall, offering
more educational opportunities. I still homeschool my kids.

The thing that HAS changed is that I have come to a place of recognizing that anything beneficial that I do is directed by the Lord and therefore I rest in His timing and His provision. He has led us to hire some help and we will likely add to our staff again later this fall. I am learning to delegate those things that can be given to someone else to do. I also view deadlines as guideposts and not 'God-posts,' and realise that if I have done all I can do and things are not ready at a given time then I must trust that God's timing is always perfect and much better than my own. At these times, I either set a new deadline or pass the task to someone who is capable to handle it. I also have come to learn how to relax (a learned behavior) and know that relaxation is an important part of my day/week/month/year. I must trust God totally with all aspects of my life. These, too, are biblical principles (just as the Hallelujah diet is), and are just as important to my health as my diet.

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Ed: Rev Malkus has been an inspiration to many thousands of people for the last 10 years or so. This article is part of a larger article that first apeared in the Hallelujah Newsletter, a regular email newsletter from Hallelujah Acres