IS ALL THIS STRESSING YOU OUT?

Is stress killing you? Literally! There are all kinds of studies that prove that it is. However, stress can be managed and sometimes eliminated. Here are some suggestions I have found.

Sleep – your body needs 8 hours.
Train yourself to go to bed 8.5 hours before you are to get up.
• If you have trouble going to sleep, try this. Lay down on your bed, READ YOUR BIBLE in bed for 15 minutes (or until you feel sleepy) right before you go to sleep. Start with the book of Matthew in the New Testament. It will relieve so much stress to have God there with you in his written word. THANK HIM FOR EVERY THING HE HAS GIVEN YOU. LIST THEM, AND DON’T ASK FOR ANYTHING JUST THANK HIM.
• If your problem is waking up in the night, it could be caffeine, so cut it out, or cut it down. Again READ YOUR BIBLE when you wake up and you will go back to sleep. Or lie there and thank God for all the things he has done for you. Just start listing them.
DON’T ASK FOR ANYTHING, JUST THANK HIM. This will make you concentrate on the positive (your blessings), and not the negative (your problems)
• Another relaxing technique is to lie in bed and consciously relax your feet, then relax your calves, then your thighs, then your abdomen, then your chest (breathing slowly and deeply), then your hands, then your arms, then your shoulders, then your neck, then your face, and your head. Physically relax each part and it is like having a massage… so relaxing.

You need 10 belly laughs a day
10? Yes 10!
Laughter releases stress very quickly. Now you may have to work up to 10, but make that your goal. We were made by our Creator to be happy. The world makes us unhappy by placing such difficult demands on us. And we can even laugh at that. “You want me to have that done by when? Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha! Ok, I’ll try.” Go to the library and check out a funny book, audio book, or video. Go to the movie store and check out a funny movie and have movie night with the family… or the cat. There are a lot of movies and videos you can get that are designed to make you laugh. Don’t be afraid to just laugh. When you are by yourself, in the car or at home, just laugh for no reason. Laugh hard! Then you will laugh because it is so ridiculous to be just laughing for no reason.

Learn to say NO
People can stress us out with asking us to do things all the time, to volunteer, to help out, whatever... Just say no. When they ask why, say “I am just so busy I don’t have the time”. That should be enough. If that doesn’t work, laugh at them, and walk away! When you walk away, you will find you feel so much better. Mentally you can give yourself a big thumbs-up! Don’t let them make you fell guilty. It is your time, God gave it to you, and you can say no whenever you want to. By doing this just a few times, you will find that in the future, whenever you are asked, you will not feel pressured or guilty.

Volunteer
If on the other hand you are lonely, and no one ever asked you to do anything, or you have plenty of time on your hands, and find your self watching too much TV or video games, you may want to volunteer. Volunteering is always an adventure, and really relieves stress because very many times you see there are people who are worse off than you, and you are in a position to help them(which will lift your spirits). (And, Also, watching too much TV or video games can actually cause more stress. If you find you have this problem, watching too much TV, the easiest thing to do is pick up your Bible and read it instead.) Some volunteering can be very rewarding, working with children for instance, or at your church, or library, etc. There are organizations that employ so many different types of people, you never know who you will be working alongside, like Habitat for Humanity, Metropolitan Ministries to name a couple. You may be working alongside a celebrity one day. If you are out of work, you may find some good connections here too. With the Red Cross you may be asked to travel to disaster sites to help out. It is always an adventure.

Eat right
You know this… but you don’t do it. Stress quickly robs your body of B vitamins and other nutrients you get from eating right. Merely changing your diet can make a difference in a matter of days. Lots of fresh vegetables and fruits, nothing from a can or package, fresh, lean meats, and high fiber breads and cereals, Brown rice instead of white. Keep healthy snacks in easy reach at home and in your desk at work. Now we’re talkin’! Remember men made packaging, and God made it fresh. Eat fresh.

Smile
Smiling releases endorphins into your bloodstream, which gives you a natural high. Did you know that? You can get high whenever you want. Just smile or laugh! Try it right now. What do you think? Feeling better?

Breath
Breath deeply. You can do this anytime, driving, working at your desk or work station, reading, watching TV, you name it. Try it right now. Take a long slow breath. Fill your lungs to their top capacity, hold for only a moment and slowly exhale. Do this a few time and you will notice a remarkable feeling of wellbeing. Try it right now. What do you think? Aren’t you feeling better already?

Walk
Get some exercise. Start out easy. Walk around the block, park at the end of the parking lot, go window shopping at the mall, or take a walk on break at work. Walk, breath, smile. Later dust off your bicycle, and put some air in the tires. Now ride, breath, smile. How can you be stressed?

Imagine
Imagining is something we did a lot of when we were children. It was a part of our happiness of being a child with no worries. We don’t do it much anymore. And that is a shame. But it is here for you. Imagining can reduce stress because you escape the problems that are causing the stress. Imagine that whatever is bothering you is gone. Imagine what it feels like to be without that problem. What would you be doing instead of worrying? What would you feel like if you had nothing to worry about? Take a moment and feel that feeling. Now imagine you could do anything you wanted to do. What would that be? Take some time and feel those feelings. It’s like a little vacation you can take whenever you want to. Make time to imagine, daydream everyday.

Just be happy
God made you to be happy. He also made you to eat right, get enough rest, smile, laugh, imagine, and enjoy your life. If someone asks “How are you?” say “I’m happy!” And In a short while, you may just be happy in spite of all the things going on around you. Wouldn't that be great?

Talk to God
One day we will be with God….
or NOT be with God.
Right now we can make the choice of being with God. He is right here. We can talk to him everyday. We can share our joys with him, thank him for his blessings, cry on his shoulder, laugh with him about the things that happen everyday, share our dreams, share our plans, (which will make him laugh), set our goals, and just be happy……… and stress free. He knew we would do this to ourselves, so God has given us all these things to do to relieve our stress. Be happy!

May God bless you with happiness and a stress free life forever

A message from our God, Luke 8:1-15