Stressed? Been stressed a little too long? Too often? Need some help? Well, try the following and see if they don’t help a bit!
–> Go on a Prayer Walk—regularly! Praise and worship the Lord. Pour out your heart. Talk to Jesus the whole way! Listen to His sweet “conversation” with you. Be refreshed!
–> Use a Daily “To-Do” List to operate from. List your TOP FIVE things each day the night before. Go back over each morning during your Quiet Time and pray about your day before you. Take it all to God and lay it before Him. Keep in your own “Brain-in-a-Binder” so you can rest your mind. Go over your list as you throughout the day to keep a tab on how you are doing (also so you will not chase rabbits). Watch how much more peaceful each day will be.
–> Turn on Praise Music—LOUD! Got an iPod? I call mine my “stress-buster.” I LOVE turning it on while I clean or while I work on my daily chores. Not only does it make the work much more fun and easy, but I also find myself taking the Lord into every aspect of my day. Priceless!
–> Begin a new hobby. Set aside time to pursue your hobby. Now is a great time to grab your camera and take pictures of the beauty outside…or sunsets! How about Scrapbooking? How about baking? Or…what was on your mind immediately? Learn it! Decide now to learn something new each and every day! It is GOOD for you!
–> Organize ONE thing each day. Make a list of all you want to see done. Keep the list so that you can add to it as you find other needs. As you work through it, mark off what IS being done. This will show you how much you ARE doing. Continue to work on one thing per day. The difference will not take long!
–> Do ONE thing each day JUST FOR YOU! Yep! You read right! How long has it been since you have done ANYTHING for you? There is one common denominator in the lives of many who are totally stressed out—they RARELY do anything for themselves. For real! You are created with a need for a daily quiet time…with a need to be nurtured, encouraged, inspired…with a need for something to look forward to. YOU need something special just for you each day even if it is your morning coffee in a quiet place! What are you doing? What fills your cup? Are you operating from a very dry, parched vessel? Do just ONE thing today just for you. Then, do just ONE thing tomorrow just for you. Just a little thing. Maybe spending 5 minutes reading from your Bible. Maybe adding bubbles to your bath water. Maybe going for a quick 15 minute walk. Maybe taking your children’s lessons outside just to bask in the sun for a few minutes while they work through their math lessons. Maybe join Curves or a local fitness gym. Maybe get a bottle of bubbles and go outside to play! Do SOMETHING each day just for you! See the stress levels decrease while life becomes so much more fun.
–> Purpose to laugh more and more each day! I read a quote a few years ago in a devotional by Dennis and Barbara Rainey. It has become one of my personal life goals. In fact, laughter is ONE thing that we can do to de-stress every day. Here it is
“Laughter is the medicine intended to cure the disease of self-importance. It’s hard to puff yourself up to weather balloon size if you can deflate yourself with a good prick of self-directed humor. How many laughs are you having–some at your own expense? Have you, as a couple, claimed the promise, “He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouting.” (Job 8:21) Before the wedding ceremony, many couples need to have a bold objective for their first year of marriage: Over the next year, we will be found guilty of having too much fun rather than too little fun. That is not a bad objective for any year of marriage.”
So, what about you? Will you laugh more today than yesterday? Tomorrow than to day? Purpose to laugh more and more…the stress will run away!
–> Declutter! Don Aslett, famous organizing expert, says that 80% of what we own, we don’t even use. It is only clutter. I completely agree! In fact, I step out on a limb and make a completely un-researched assumption, but I would also imagine that 80% of what is on our schedule is clutter as well. We are sooo bogged down in clutter! Clutter can never be organized. Clutter can never be managed. It simply must be exterminated from our lives. So, why not de-stress a bit by getting rid of the “stuff” in your life. Stuff has a tendency to bring unneeded stress right along with it. Go ahead—get rid of it! Simplify! Simplify the clutter in your schedule. Throw away that stuff in the house. Copy quotes from those magazines and get rid of that bulky mess—journals are more precious than that clutter anyway! Jot down ideas in your journal. Get rid of those old clothes—you know that if you lose weight you will want NEW clothes anyway! (HOOT!) Over-run by cookbooks? Begin a “girl-time” to copy those that you love or those that you want to try into a special cookbook of your own. Sell or donate the rest. You very own cookbooks will be more helpful and way more special anyway. So, get busy getting rid of that clutter. Talk about instant de-stressing!
–> Get on your pj’s…cuddle up…watch old movies or a comedian. Pull out the chocolate…popcorn…old fluffy quilts. Make a sweet memory just “jelling” out with your precious family.
–> Read a book. It is amazing the power in a great book! Pull out a book with your little ones—something neat like Winnie the Pooh, Make Way for Ducklings, Dr. Seuss. Or…dig into a classic like The Hiding Place, The Little Preacher, Clean Your Boots, Sir, etc. Or read an old biography about someone neat. See if a family read aloud doesn’t breathe life into your home. BUT! That is not ALL! How long has it been since YOU have read a book JUST FOR YOU??? Grab something inspirational…something helpful…or something fun. OR ALL THREE! Just 10 minutes in a book will relieve some of that stress that can wipe you out!
–> Simplify! Simplify everything! Simplify stuff (yep, I said that again!)…commitments…curriculum…housework…meals. Completely simplify! No one will remember later all of those hours you spent on the stuff. They will remember your spirit.
