DE-STRESS DEVOTIONAL

MINI DE-STRESS

FAMILY

"Forsake foolishness and live . . ."

~ Proverbs 9:6

Is it the imagination of the riled, or does stress indeed run rampant in our families?


Although families are perceived as primarily being loving and supportive and protective of each other, sadly, much of the anxieties that stress survivors face originate in the family. 


Granted, countless families have strong bonds of love, happiness, peace, and oneness fortifying their family structures, but then, there's an unprecedented amount of stress in far too many families.


Stress survivors accept the fact that dysfunctional families exist--family feuds are real! And, more often than not, there're ever so stressful. 


Through the years, and the heartaches and tears, we've learned--and are still learning--to wade through the deep trenches of family foolishness--quarrels--jealously--greed--deceit--sins of omission and commission. 


Because stress survivors ABSOLUTELY REFUSE to partake of stressful living, or risk being victims of suppressed immune systems, migraines, hypertension, depression, or any other stress-related illness, we vow to not entangle ourselves with unnecessary family confusion, drama, and stress.


In spite of adverse opinions, we are neither uncaring nor unconcerned; quite the opposite. Because of our fervent desire to uphold harmony, health, and peace,  stress survivors  choose to forsake foolishness and live with less stress . . . even when it involves family. 


Peace I leave with you . . .  

DE-STRESS DEVOTIONAL

MINI DE-STRESS

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

DE-STRESS DEVOTIONAL

MINI DE-STRESS

HURT REALLY DOES HURT

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; 

and lean not unto thine own understanding. 

In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." 

Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV

ONE QUESTION that has entered most of our minds is, Once we become full-fledged stress survivors will our hurts from the past finally stop haunting us? 

Quite honestly, our answer depends largely on us. 

As much as we all agree that hurt really does hurt, harboring hurts--old or new--can tremendously increase levels of stress. And stress survivors can't afford to let hurt hinder us in our quest to stress less. We are survivors and we're resolved to doing what survivors do: SURVIVE! 

So, we wonder, how do we deal with the hurts that bombard us and brutally rob us of our peace?  

To begin with, we "Trust in the Lord" with every, blessed beat of our heart.  No matter how unbearable our hurts may seem, we keep trusting in God.

Then, we STOP catering to what "they say," especially things like: "God gave us five senses and he expects us to use them." Instead, we START concentrating on what God says:  "and lean not unto thine own understanding."     

And, by all means, we put GOD FIRST AND FOREMOST in every area of our lives, and be alert to His messages and miracles. (Don't worry, if we miss Him, He won't miss us.)

Here again, we agree . . . hurt really does hurt; BUT God has the power to remedy all of life's hurts, stress, and struggles--IF WE TRUST HIM. 

Peace I leave with you . . . 

DE-STRESS DEVOTIONAL

MINI DE-STRESS

A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS

"For as he thinks in his heart, so is he..."  Proverbs 23:7 NKJV

A Penny?  For my thoughts!?
Nine times out of ten, this exchange would provoke lots of STRESS. As insulting as this proposition may seem, truth is, there are those who value their thoughts much less than what they're worth. 
 
Actually, we reveal how we think by what we do--and the stressful ways we do it. Our actions are authentic indications of our thoughts. In other words, we act according to how we think. 

Ever noticed how positive thinking leads to pleasant lives; and stinkin' thinking leads to stressful lives?

Stress survivors seriously take heed to awesome insights like . . .  Our thoughts determine our attitudes, our attitudes determine our actions, and our actions determine our lives. 
  
Through senseless stress, trial and error, we're learning to monitor our thought patterns and apply tried-and-true wisdom, so that we may edify our lives by the power of our thoughts.

When we render our thoughts toward positive people, places, and things, and refrain from entertaining negatives and nonsense, we'll experience a remarkable reduction of stress. 

As we've been told many times before, "We are the MASTERS of our own thoughts. And if we intend to live the lives we love, we must start thinking thoughts that lead in those directions. 


Peace I leave with you . . .   
 

DE-STRESS DEVOTIONAL