Posts Tagged 'peace'

help with being stressed

Published February 27, 2012 enemies to intimacy , Holy Spirit , living , prayer , relationships , spiritual 3 Comments
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I know that many of you don’t need any help with dealing with stress.  In fact, you may be a person who is completely immunized from anything stressful so you might find these ideas to be boring.  If, however, you find yourself struggling with stress from time to time, these are some things that have helped me of late:

  • if I get jittery about the future, it’s really helped me to re-adjust my focus to keep it on Jesus, being confident that when I get to the future, Jesus will be there.  More importantly, I can be with Jesus now in this moment
  • provision challenges: sometimes God’s provisions come on a day-to-day basis.  With this in mind, I can trust that He is giving me what I need for this day and even this moment
  • while this may sound cheesy, it’s really helped me alot lately to praise & worship God just on my own without music or even a specific song but just singing my own songs and words that are from my heart
  • finally, the other day I was up really early & really stressed out;  I read an email about a friend who is going through a REALLY DIFFICULT time.  Reading about her hardship made me instantly want to pray for her – taking my mind off of me

I believe that God has huge help available for us, even in stressful times ,)

aid for charades

Published November 16, 2011 enemies to intimacy , Holy Spirit , living , prayer , spiritual Leave a Comment
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Charades is a fun game to act out lots of different things.  If you’ve played this game in a group, you know that you’re supposed to act something out & help your team guess your word(s) based on your acting.  This game can be lots of fun, but unfortunately, I think we play this game in our life, from time to time.  Here are a few examples:

  • Sometimes I think we pretend to be humble, when the reality is that we’re merely insecure.
  • Sometimes I think we pretend to be confident when the reality is that we’re arrogant
  • Sometimes I think we pretend to be peaceful when the reality is that we’re apathetic
  • Sometimes I think we pretend to be strong when the reality is that we’re scared
There are lots of other ways we live the charade game & ultimately, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with wanting to be humble, confident, peaceful, strong, etc.  But my sense is that we can’t really have these things well integrated into our lives as a normal reality without God’s help.  Just some food for thought :)

calm in chaos

Published November 9, 2011 enemies to intimacy , family , Holy Spirit , living , prayer , spiritual 3 Comments
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 There are lots of things that can be stress-ers in our world – dr reports, kids, traffic, news reports, relationships, finances, job situations, school deadlines, health struggles, to name a few.  In our world, there’s no shortage of a stress supply.  On the flip side, I think we should consider that possibly there’s a shortage of peace & serenity.  I also think that genuine peace is not normally found in the external world with all of the news reports, traffic, school deadlines, etc.  I believe that genuine peace is a gift from Jesus & that it is best experienced through our relationship with Him.  In John 14, He tells us that He’s giving us His peace & it’s been my experience that when I snuggle in with Jesus that His peace immunizes me from the stresses all around me.  It’s not so much that I’m oblivious to what’s going on around me as much as His peace inside me has more gravity & strength than the external stresses.  May your day be filled with Jesus’ peace :)

finding the still in the storm

Published August 29, 2011 Holy Spirit , living , prayer , spiritual 1 Comment
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 The last few days have been kind of a whirlwind – traveling to a few cities, lots of driving for end of the season swim parties, ministry opportunities, car challenges, etc.  Sometimes when we are in those super busy seasons, it can feel like we’re running on fumes.  If we’re not careful, we can get impatient, sharp & dismissive.

It is particularly helpful in these seasons to do our best to keep our eyes on God and we can do this in many different ways:

  • good worship tunes
  • reviewing Bible verses that have been helpful
  • talking with a friend about God
  • endeavor to find some quiet from time to time
Job 20:20 says, “Because he knew no quiet within him, he does not retain anything he desires”

stress relief

Published April 13, 2011 enemies to intimacy , Holy Spirit , living , prayer , spiritual 1 Comment
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Ok, here’s some transparency – I’m kind of stressed at this moment.  There are alot of moving parts in my life right now & it seems that whatever topic that I focus on leaves me stressed.  I know that there are seasons of pressure times in life & we all get to learn to manage through those seasons with hopefully few, if any, casualties. 

Nevertheless, the last few days & evenings have had some intensely stressful moments, but here’s also some encouragement:  this morning in my quiet time, as I’m doing my normal Bible reading routine, the verses I read in the NT were about Jesus calming the storm (when He had been sleeping while everyone else was freaking out).  Furthermore, I read Ps 94:19, “When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul.”  Finally, the verses I’m memorizing in John start with Jesus saying, “Do not let your hearts be troubled – you believe in God, believe also in Me.” 

So here’s my take aways that you might also find useful:

  • I can have peace in my heart as I fellowship with Jesus regardless of the storms occuring around me
  • When I bring Jesus into the storms of my life, He brings peace
  • There are times that Jesus wants to work through me to bring peace to stormy situations – blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called sons of God (Matt 5)

May the peace of Jesus guard your heart and mind today, my friend

Flying home Thanking God for His goodness

Published October 24, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
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Well, saving Moses is now working in Asia & I can’t say how cool that is to me. Looking back over the last week has been simply astounding. I’ve experienced poverty that is nothing less than sub-human. I’ve experienced cold realities & warm delusions. I’ve seen God do the miraculous & questioned His seeming lack of involvement. As I come home today I find myself deeply fulfilled & equally unsettled – an interesting paradox. Lots to do for Jesus & to express my live to Him by helping others.
Thx heaps for praying!!

ever worry about anything???

Published March 18, 2009 living , spiritual 5 Comments
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Today, these are some of the things I worried about:

  • Isabell having a sore throat
  • David’s bday party this weekend
  • my message on worry that i’ve been working on (now that’s funny!)
  • work & people issues
  • getting my schedule mixed up (i was trying to remember what day of the week it was at 530pm – that’s sad)
  • the baked chicken being raw (long story)
  • finances

Most of us have our list of “concerns”, worries, uncertainties, etc.  Here’s something interesting to consider, of the things that we worry about:

40% — are things that will never happen

30% — are things about the past that can’t be changed

12% — are things about criticism by others, mostly untrue

10% — are about health, which gets worse with stress

8% — are about real problems that will be faced

 

There are many places in the Bible where we’re told not to worry but to trust God.  So with this directive, what are some things that you’ve found helpful in learning not to worry?  I understand that we’re all growing & not so many of us have achieved “worry-free” living – but if you could share some of your ideas, they could probably help others who read this blog – just leave a comment above.  Thanks!! :)

focus grasshopper

Published March 4, 2009 living , spiritual Leave a Comment
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Life has LOTS of distractions.  Since i’ve sit down to write this blog, i’ve erased it 3 times, turned on my itunes, checked my blackberry, told David to be nice to Benji while playing chess & thought about the funny story of construction men looking in my window after i gave birth to Benji (its funny now but it wasn’t at the time).

Focus is a big deal.  Right now, there’s alot of bad news you could focus on or you could chose to keep your eyes on God.  I find that when i focus on God, its easier to give myself to Him, even during the busy-ness of the day.  When i get my eyes & thoughts on other things, like concerns, worries, uncertainties, people frustrations, work issues, etc, i find that my heart gets jittery & unsettled.  I pray that you would have God’s grace to give Him your focus throughout your day, its activities & demands.

pressure management

Published October 8, 2008 living Leave a Comment
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You probably don’t need me to list anything that may add to the pressure in your life, so here’s something good to think about:  God has your future in His hands and you can trust Him.  For me, this was really helpful  to hear this morning in my time w Him.  From time to time, when I feel lots of pressure, sometimes I find my mind wanting to escape from the pressure.  In prayer this morning, I was kind of daydreaming when I felt God inviting me to settle into Him rather than go down the daydreaming path.  This was an interesting experience because when I was daydreaming, I was really restless.  When I followed God, the restlessness stopped & I felt a calm serenity with great depth.  In my prayer time, I stayed w God & received an internal confidence that is even lingering w me now. 

We all have pressures & stresses – from our own choices & from things beyond our control.  I’d encourage you to be mindful of how you deal with such pressures & stresses.  God designs our needs to be met in Him.

sarahbowling

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