Constant headaches.
Tight shoulders.
Sporadic sleep.
If you were diagnosing a patient who told of these symptoms, what would your verdict be?
That's right!
STRESS!!!
It doesn't take much to spot stress running amuck in our lives. The symptoms are easy to identify. The results, hard to overlook. Stress has become an epidemic. A crisis in and of itself. I've known its grip. I imagine you have, too.
So, here's the million dollar question:
How can you and I take a bite out of the stress that is trying to eat us alive?
A few years ago, when stress was getting the best of me, I decided to spend an entire afternoon creating a game plan. You know, a plan of attack. I was ready to give stress some stress of its own!
I thought about the areas of my life where stress was
stealing my joy,
stifling my growth,
and creating havoc.
Here's a sneak peak at what I came up with:
GOAL: To Live Stress Free
1.
Not take myself so seriously:
Of course, this in only a small portion of my "attack on stress". In fleshing out my entire game plan, I also included areas such as "my marriage", "my professional life", "my relationships", "my finances", etc..
Every area of my life was spread out on the table of my heart,
picked through,
examined,
and prayed over.
As I prayed, God was faithful to reveal to me areas of obvious stress, as well as hidden. He spoke words of healing, praise, direction, and boldness as together we tackled these strongholds and came face to face with the reality of them in my life.
Then, it was time to put my plan on paper.
It wasn't enough to simply think about it, or pray about it. To Make. It. Count. and to make it make a difference in my life, I had to put plans to paper, and ideas into action.
Once I had my plan, I referred to it often. I kept it in the forefront of my mind. I tried to be intentional about stopping, thinking, praying and then basing my choices, my reactions, my "yes" and my "no", on my game plan.
Day by day, moment by moment, prayer by prayer,
I am loosening the chains of stress.
And, I have to tell you,
the freer I become, the freer I want to be.
Are you dragging around a load of stress in your life?
Are you in a stress crisis?
If so, it's time to plan your strategy of attack.
It's time to identify the areas in your life that need immediate attention.
It's time to sit down with your Heavenly Father and unite forces to devise a game plan.
Tight shoulders.
Sporadic sleep.
If you were diagnosing a patient who told of these symptoms, what would your verdict be?
That's right!
STRESS!!!
It doesn't take much to spot stress running amuck in our lives. The symptoms are easy to identify. The results, hard to overlook. Stress has become an epidemic. A crisis in and of itself. I've known its grip. I imagine you have, too.
So, here's the million dollar question:
How can you and I take a bite out of the stress that is trying to eat us alive?
A few years ago, when stress was getting the best of me, I decided to spend an entire afternoon creating a game plan. You know, a plan of attack. I was ready to give stress some stress of its own!
I thought about the areas of my life where stress was
stealing my joy,
stifling my growth,
and creating havoc.
Here's a sneak peak at what I came up with:
GOAL: To Live Stress Free
I must do the following:
a. Laugh
at myself more often
b. Be
willing to make mistakes
c. Admit
when I am wrong or make a mistake
d. Forgive
myself immediately
e. Stop
putting so much weight in the comments / remarks of others
f. Stop
comparing myself to other people
g. Guard
my heart
h. Applaud
myself more often!!!
2.
Be confident
in who I am in Christ
a. Stop
fearing ridicule or failure
b. Stop
fearing / dreading new , challenging tasks or events
c. Approach
people, stop avoiding them
d. Invest
more in current relationships by revealing the “real” me, stop
pretending to be someone or
something I’m not. Be me!
e. Try
new things, go on new adventures
f. Believe
with Christ I can do all things
g. Fulfill
my dreams
h. Speak the truth (no matter how hard it may be) in love and humility
3.
Give 100% to
my health
a. Make
sleep a priority. Nothing less than 8
hours will do.
b. Drink
water…..lots and lots of water.
c. Be
extremely selective about what I let enter my mouth.
i.
More fruits, veggies
ii.
Vitamins every day….twice a day!
iii.
Less sugar, refined or processed food
iv.
No more sodas
d. Spend
time outdoors, soaking up sun, reading and relaxing…..at least
20 to 30 minutes each and every
day.
e. Daily exercise -walking, rebounding,
doing the elliptical, sit ups
f. Be mindful and conscious of my posture. Work on it daily.
g. LAUGH!
LAUGH! LAUGH!
h. Hug, kiss and embrace each day!
i. Spend
time daily in prayer and reading God’s word
Now, a few years beyond my plan . . .
Have I been successful in faithfully implementing this plan ? NO!
Am I living a stress-free life? NO!
Do I still fall back into some of my hold stress habits? YOU BET!
However . . .
Am I much more aware of what causes me stress? Yes, indeed.
Am I making positive strides in taking a bite out of the stress in my life? No doubt.
Are my shoulders looser,
is my tension tamer,
is my heart more peaceful,
am I enjoying my life more?
ABSOLUTELY!
It's time to do something about it.
It's time to take your life back, and in turn, MAKE. IT. COUNT.
It's your turn.
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