Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Pillow Talk

Relieving Stress

I have a job that sometimes wants to make me scream. My house is a mess, and I just want to run away. Oh, and don’t forget the never ending bills that make you contemplate stripping as a career choice. We all deal with stress, and we all deal with stress in different ways.

Not only can stress effect your emotions and thinking, but it also has physical manifestations that may present itself when dealing with stress for long periods of time:
-          Headaches
-          Insomnia
-          Depression
-          High blood pressure
-          Increased risk for heart attack or stroke
-          Increased risk for diabetes
-          Heartburn
-          Diarrhea or constipation
-          Muscle tension
-          Irregular menstrual cycles
-          Impotence
-          Decreased immune system function

Stress effects nearly every body system. What quality of life is that to live with daily stress, especially when Matthew 11:28 reads,  “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” Laden, means to be heavily loaded or weighed down, aka stressed. So God is telling us when we are stressed, give it to him and have your peace. Let it go, and your problems are taken care of.

As human beings our bodies are not meant to carry stress over long periods of time. Maybe God made us that way because he does not want for us to carry such heavy loads…

Now, don’t get me wrong, not all stress is bad stress. Sometimes God tests our faith to see how we will react to stressful situations and see if we turn to him. An example, when God told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as an offering. Even though the Bible doesn’t say, do you mean to tell me that Abraham didn’t feel even a little uneasy about this situation? But he walked in faith, and gave the situation to God. He obeyed and God was pleased with this. Isaac was allowed to live and Abraham was presented with a sacrifice to give to God for his obedience.

“My brethren count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations. Knowing this, that ye trying of your own faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:2-4).

Stress is also needed for our bodies when we are presented with a threat or attack to our survival. This is known as the flight or fight response. The body releases hormones that increase the heart rate, increase breathing, constricts pupils and tightens muscles. This prepares us to either fight for our lives or run for our lives. In short term situations, the stress hormones are helpful. Over time, these increased hormones become dangerous to our health.

When God tests our faith through stressful trials, the goal is for us to win! So, we can either let the stress consume us or give it to God, remain steadfast, and be patient. And in the end he will give you everything that you need plus more!

I have an example. I moved to Atlanta in 2013. The job that I had set up fell through and I became late on ALL of my bills. I finally got a job after 2 months but then totaled my car 1 month later. Mind you, the job that I had gotten was working out of my car. Since I had just started this new job I was still behind on most of my bills. My insurance was not going to pay for the accident. My insurance had been inactivated because it was more than 30 days late. The accident was my fault and both cars were totaled. I hit rock bottom. I kid you not I went from being ok one second to being in a full blown depression the next. Thank God for my family back home that were in a position to help financially, so that I could get a rental car so that I could still work. About 1 week later, I got a call from my insurance company. They said that since the accident happened within 30 days of my account deactivation, they would cover everything! The explanation didn’t make sense to me, but that’s ok. I had a new car that weekend and was able to start fresh. Glory to God!

I wish I would have handled the situation differently. I let the stress get the best of me from the start, and God still brought me through even though I deserved none of it.

How will you handle stress? Will you let it get the best of you and cause it to make you have headaches, diarrhea, depression and a heart attack down the line? It will you give it to God, and live in peace and be physically healthy? Let the world have their problems, because we are not of the world.

Give your problems to God before you hit rock bottom and see how far he will sky rocket you to the top for your faith!

So what is pillow talk??? I don’t know about you guys but my comfy place is my bed. Some people find solice in the bathroom, the gym, on their porch, etc. Relationship therapists encourage couples to have “pillow talk” to help keep their relationship exciting and to continue to learn about each other. God also wants us to have this kind of relationship with him. I encourage you to have pillow talk with God on a regular basis. What rule says you need to always be on your knees to be in the presence of the Lord. Go to your comfortable place, and take God there with you. Tell him about your day, the good and the bad. Tell him your stressors, and then give them to him. Over time watch as your stressors become your strengths.

It is important for us to deal with our stress. In addition to pillow talk, there are other activities that can also be done. Find a hobby, this can include writing, sewing, exercising, group sports, volunteering, etc. It just needs to be an activity that brings you joy. Take breaks! At work we can get so busy that we also forget to take care of ourselves during the day. Then we clock out at the end of our shift and are physically and emotionally pooped. Every couple hours I take a bathroom break, even if I don’t have to use the bathroom. If we are not busy I will find a bathroom further away from my work station, so that I can take a small walk and clear my head for a few minutes before jumping back into the chaos.  Relaxation exercises such as deep breathing are great at relieving stress and tension, and can be done anywhere, even if you only have a few minutes to spare. And a great thing about living in 2016, learning how to deep breathe is only one youtube video away.
 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” Matthew 6:25-34.
Remember, we are God’s chosen. He wants to take care of us and live a happy, enjoyable life. Negativity, hardships and stress do not belong in our lives, and only stay present if YOU let it.
Lord thank you for your grace and the ability to take our burdens. Teach us to give those stressful situations, big or small to you, so that we may be able to live in peace. Let that peace be a blessing to others. Give us the patience needed to pass tests placed in front of us and come out of the storm with a victory. Amen. 

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