Sorry to be offline for so long. First I was tied up with traveling, then life threw me a curve ball. I normally am an upbeat person, so trying to write while my mood has not been the best had been just too painful. But I need to look forward and have faith that things happen for the best, even if we can’t understand why at the time. Onward …
I haven’t yet even been able to pick up my knitting needles — I am still feeling so stressed out. Although sometimes I find knitting helps relieve stress, this particular emotional anxiety has quelched any motivation towards creativity. That’s bad! So I need to do something about that because I DO love to knit.
A nice thing happened yesterday and I want to share it with you. I stumbled across an email that my friend Margaret Pittman (Heritage Yarns) sent me several years ago. I believe the original might have been posted on her Christian friends yahoo list. Yesterday I quickly read through, but today I am going to re-type every word here so that I can better reflect on each point. I think there is some really good stuff here, and I hope it might be helpful to you somehow, also. Thank you Margaret.
36 Christian Ways to Reduce Stress
- Pray.
- Go to bed on time.
- Get up on time so you can start the day unrushed.
- Say NO to projects that won’t fit into your time schedule or that will compromise your mental health.
- Delegate tasks to capable others.
- Simplify and unclutter your life.
- Less is more. (Although one is often not enough, two are often too many.)
- Allow extra time to do things and to get to places.
- Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time; don’t lump the hard things all together.
- Take one day at a time.
- Separate worries from concerns. If a situation is a concern, find out what God would have you to do and let go of the anxiety. If you can’t do anything about a situation, forget it.
- Live within your budget; don’t use credit cards for ordinary purchases.
- Have backups; an extra car key in your wallet, an extra house key buried in the garden, extra stamps, etc.,
- K.M.S. (Keep Mouth Shut.) This single piece of advice can prevent an enormous amount of trouble.
- Do something for the Kid in You everyday.
- Carry a Bible with you to read while waiting in line.
- Get enough exercise.
- Eat right.
- Get organized so everything has its place.
- Listen to a tape while driving that can help improve your quality of life.
- Write thoughts and inspirations down.
- Every day, find time to be alone.
- Having problems? Talk to God on the spot. Try to nip small problems in the bud. Don’t wait until its time to go to bed to try and pray.
- Make friends with Godly people.
- Keep a folder of favorite scriptures on hand.
- Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is often a good “Thank you Jesus!”.
- Laugh.
- Laugh some more!
- Take your work seriously, but yourself not at all.
- Develop a forgiving attitude (most people are doing the best they can).
- Be kind to unkind people (they probably need it the most).
- Sit on your ego.
- Talk less; listen more.
- Slow down.
- Remind yourself that you are not the general manager of the universe.
- Every night before bed, think of one thing you’re grateful for that you’ve never been grateful for before.
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