Category Archives: Stress

Jan3

Day 3 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…JESUS

Posted on January 3, 2026 by lsgrlr

Today, while doing my devotion, I wondered out loud if there was a way to live this life not feeling like a hamster on a wheel, continuously repeating the same mistakes, working hard (in my own strength) to figure out the lessons God wants me to learn, so I can move forward. I constantly feel like Paul, wanting to make the right choices, wanting to do what pleases God, but falling constantly. Do you ever feel the same? Wonder what you’re missing, not seeing clearly? Living that Romans 7 cycle?

“For in my inner being I delight in God’s law;but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am!” (Romans 7:22-24A).

How do we free ourselves from the cycle, the never-ending rolling wheel of sin and shame? Here’s the truth, we can’t. If we could right our wrongs and wipeout our misdeeds and missteps, God would not have needed to send His Son. But fear not, friends, for we are not as those without hope. Our salvation does not depend on us, it is not for us to right our wrongs. This sin that we cannot tame or control is exactly why Christ came. We have hope, the same hope that Paul expresses in Romans 7.

“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25).

What am I thankful for today? Jesus Christ, my Lord!

Jan20

DAY 20 (2015)

Posted on January 20, 2015 by lsgrlr

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God has our hearts and our lives in His hand… And His grip never fails.

Yesterday was a long day, I felt overwhelmed and tired. It felt like my world was spinning out of control. I talked to my boyfriend, who gave me this advice, “Go find a quiet place. Relax your mind and pray.” The BEST advice ever! I wasn’t able to completely follow his advice at work, but when I got home, I took some time to be alone, to quiet my mind, and to take my frayed emotions to God. Today I woke up and not much had changed situation wise, there is still a lot going on, and a lot of it is overwhelming. However, today I felt peaceful ALL day. I felt like someone more able than myself was in control. I know that despite the situation or circumstance I am facing, God is in control of my day. Life can feel like it’s slipping from our grasp, but here is some hope… Nothing slips from God’s hands.

“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, or with the breadth of His hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?” (Isaiah 40:12).

So what am I thankful for today? That nothing slips from God’s grasp.

Oct29

DAY 301 (2014)

Posted on October 29, 2014 by lsgrlr

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Give God the 1%… Smashing only makes the problem worse.

I dislike when things don’t go my way. Actually that’s not completely true, I don’t, what I actually dislike is not being able to fix a problem. Remember my “functional savior” post? This is the biggest issue in my walk with God. That innate desire/need to fix whatever problem is at hand. The problem with this “gift” is that it tends lead me into making bad choices and wrong decisions. Right now I am in a position where I want to “fix” an issue that I am facing, but God is telling me to allow Him. But the feeling that I am experience is akin (I think) to a drug addict who needs a hit. I am sitting on my hands, but everything inside of me is screaming, “I NEED TO FIND A SOLUTION NOW!” Can anyone else relate or is it just me? God had already worked out 99% of the issue, but that one percent… that one percent is what is killing me. Crazy, right? (I never claimed to be sane)… I have been thinking about this particular habit of mine. Today especially because I really want to find a fix to what is going on. Then I remembered my functional savior post (stolen from @Lacrae), and I see clearly that I am searching for something to cling to instead of just waiting for God to do what He does best, which is be my REAL savior. What’s my point? Sometimes God leaves the 1% till the end, because He is waiting for us to let go of it.

“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

Lesson: The verse says ALL needs. Give God the one percent. He’ll meet the need.

Jun30

DAY 181 (2014)

Posted on June 30, 2014 by lsgrlr

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God is the DIRECTOR of my path.

Isn’t weird, that even when we are aware we’re are making the right decision, change is still incredible stressful. I am finally make a step toward my future, stepping out and trusting God to do what He promised. He has closed doors and narrowed avenues in my current situation leaving me in a state of in-between (seeing where I want to be, but with no possibility of arriving there…from here). He is directing me to different waters, waters where “feet may fail”. This is where the stress comes in. I hate failure it is painful and depressing and it makes you feel all shades of inadequate. The problem however, is that in order to not experience failure we end up not experiencing ANYTHING at all. Which to me is much, much , worse. Today as I continued reading, Take The Risk, by Dr. Ben Carson. He talked about the idea of taking “self” out of the equation. Our fear is pride… self pride. We don’t move because we are fearful of how we will look, how we will be perceived. If we take ourselves out of the picture, then we can see the picture for what it really is a chance for change. A chance for a deeper faith and relationship with God. A chance to fulfill our call. Today I am stressed, not gonna lie. I feel it in my body and in my mind. But I a trusting God, because I know He said, “Go.” So I am making a conscious choice to NOT fear, and to trust the One who has promised to go before me.

“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:3).

So what’s the plan? Go where God is.

Jun14

DAY 164 (2014)

Posted on June 14, 2014 by lsgrlr

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Our perspective determines our direction.

Okay so this is me asking for the opinion or insight of those of you who read this post. I have a situation and the best way I can figure out the direction is to look at it from all opposing angles. The problem however, is that in my limited view I only have one angle that I can see. So feel free to comment, tell me what you think (honestly). I really want to hear. In order for you to know what you need to give an opinion about I should tell you clearly what I am facing. I have made a decision to move, one that I am quite at peace with (or was, but still am…ahhh geesh!) I have decided to go back to school, I am planning on leaving our home in Florida and traveling to the coldest place on the planet (not really, but compared to Florida), Buffalo, New York. I have many good reasons, my brother is there, cost of living is lower, my mom will be with her two kids, and I function much better in a small town atmosphere. The school is pretty amazing too. What’s the downside you ask? Well as of right now I won’t have a job, this scares me a bit. I want to be able to take care of my mom and all my other responsibilities. I will be going with money that I have saved up, so I won’t be penniless, but that can only last for so long. My fear about staying is if I stay (because I am comfortable), then I will always be stuck here. My fear about going, we die or have to leave under a bridge (which is a problem because there are no bridges where we’ll be moving). To add more confusion, this morning my mom had this dream: “I dreamt we were in Jamaica going to visit my uncle, and I kept feeling I was going in the wrong direction and a girl (I didn’t know) was telling me the way to go. As we approached the area we saw all these men with guns. One of the men came up to me and said, ‘What are you doing here? You need to leave because we’re having a gun fight in thirty minutes.’ So I told you all we needed to leave, and thanked the man for keeping us safe.” My mom’s translation, “God will protect us.” My translation, “We’re heading into gun fire.” Both very apropos to the dream, but completely different perspectives. Our perspective determines how we approach a given situation. I want to approach this situation with the correct view.

“And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:21).

So what’s my plan? Walk on the path God has prepared for me.

Mar25

DAY 84 (2014)

Posted on March 25, 2014 by lsgrlr

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If you’re in the dark and waiting. It’s not the dark that scares you, but the waiting.
(Picture by Lisa R.)

We are having a stress moment here. We can’t get in touch with my brother, which wouldn’t normally bother me. However, recent events have me a little nervous, coupled with the fact that not one, but both of my parents are worried. I am learning (right now) that the most horrible thing in the world is waiting. It’s one thing to wait, when you know what to expect. It’s a whole other ball game when you have no idea if anything bad has happened. Every scenario runs through your head and most of the time what comes to mind is the worse situation possible. I am watching my mom worry because she doesn’t know if her child is okay. My father (who we normally don’t talk to) has called several times. I am not a panic-er by nature, but hearing the concern in your parents voice has an effect on you. When I lived away from my family I use to be irritated when my parents worried about me. However, today I realized it is love, it’s sacrifice. Today while my brother may be upset. I pray he knows that all of it is because he is loved. Many people in the world don’t have that. Tonight I realized how blessed I am to know that God has put people in my world who are more concerned with my well being, than my anger at them. Oddly, for that I am extremely grateful.

“Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger…” (Ephesians 4:26).

So what’s my plan attack? Learn to appreciate what I have been blessed with.

Dec14

DAY 348

Posted on December 14, 2013 by lsgrlr

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The journey can be stressful. Press on the “real” resolution is not hiding.
(Picture by Lisa R.)

I have stresses (I know I’m surprised too). Here’s something else that will surprise you. I’m a psychology major. Why do I bring this up? Well the goal of my studies is to better understand human beings, human nature and how our reaction toward situations and circumstances affect our health and life in general. So it comes as no surprise to me that it is not stress itself that harms us, but how we choose to cope with it. Some people use alcohol, others sex, and others anger. My coping skill use to be food. That particular stress reliever actually produced more stress in my life. Because it made me feel bad about myself, which ironically led to me doing it more. I am normally very logical in nature so this very illogical behavior had me confused (which produced more stress…it’s a horrible cycle). These days my stress reliever is cleaning which is a win, win. What’s my point. Many times it is how we chose to deal with circumstances and situations in life that sends us spiraling out of control. We innately know right from wrong, it was instilled at our creation. We have also been given the right to choose (freewill), unfortunately many times we choose “easy” over “right”. We more often than not will choose what feels good for the moment, instead of what IS good for the long haul. Today as I cleaned I thought of what needed to be done to deal with my stress properly. Stress like every other problem has an answer, and like every other problem the answer is not hiding, but it requires some work on our part to find it. Don’t run to the quick and easy fixes they don’t take care of the real problem they only mask it. Instead push through find the “real” solution. Kill the source, kill the stress.

“But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:13).

So what am I thankful for today? Pushing through till I found the answer.