Karin wrote about how we need to experience the Sabbath rest however the Lord leads you. This point was brought home to me when awhile back 2 people on the same day asked me, “What do you do for fun?”

My answer: “Fun? I don’t have time for fun. I’m too busy and stressed out for fun”.

Since then I’ve been changed my schedule enough that I’m able to do things that are either fun or relaxing. Anything to take a break from my busy stressful life.

So in keeping with the Grandma Principle:
1) keep the sanctity of the Sabbath
2) take time for yourself without feeling guilt
3) Christ alone is your refuge
here are a few things you can do to rest or relax that have helped me.

Enjoy a relaxing bath.
Light candles, turn the lights down, add bubble bath or relaxing music and don’t think about anything stressful. Pray if you want too. But this is your time so shut out the world for at least 30 minutes. One thing I do is add Lavendar Oil that I buy at Whole Foods. The scent of Lavendar is relaxing. Get a lavendar scented candle.

Do something that is fun for you.
What did you used to do when you had time? Paint, scrapbook, bake, exercise, enjoy the beach? We all need to have fun, the hard part is making the time. For me, I realized I needed to find a way to bring back my creativity. Doing anything creative is fun for me. This even includes baking!

Learn to say No
So many of us are probably stressed out because we’re doing too much. You don’t have to do everything people ask you to do. If they get upset that you said no, that’s their problem and not yours. The world will not stop is you say NO. A few years back I was having coffee with several friends talking about how stressed out I was. One of them looked as me and ask me “Have you prayed about if God wants you to do that?” WOW!!! I hadn’t. When you’re asked to do something, ask God if that’s where he wants you, look at your schedule, and at your priorities before giving an answer.

Hang out with positive people.
I’m not meaning to say to hang out with people who don’t have any problems. Everyone has problems. Positive people have a good outlook on life. Yes they may have their problems, but they may not sulk about it all the time. Positive friends are restful, relaxing and fun. You can laugh together as well as cry together.

Last weekend I laid in my hammock for awhile and that was relaxing. I’m creating bridal shower invitations for my sister. Today I made chocolate chip cookies which is fun for me. If I was really stressed I’d be eating all the cookie dough but I’m not! I’m baking because it’s fun for me.

Then again it’s still hard for me to make time for myself. I don’t have time to roller blade, something I used to love. As I sit here typing I’m thinking of all the things I need to do in the next week, which as we all know is stressful because the list always stays long.

I’m still learning to rest. It’s not easy. Start little by little and eventually you’ll get used to having fun time for yourself.

It’s 1:00am and I’m stressed out. But at least I have good reason. In 250 words or less, I need to tell you how to respond to stress in a way that is spiritually pleasing to God. And guess what? All I’ve got is a four-letter-word. @*$!

Stress. It brings out the best in each of us, doesn’t it?

One of the joys of seminary was that I experienced my first ulcer. For three years, I averaged five or less hours of sleep a night and enjoyed a diet of ramen noodles and bad Chinese take-out. And coffee. Lots of coffee. But I was not alone; my “suffering” was not in vain. And so my professors routinely preached to a group of stressed-out people preparing for a lifetime of stress (otherwise known as “ministry”). I distinctly remember learning one of the most spiritual things you can ever do, is sleep.

In other words, Grandma had it right. Sleep. Eat your veggies. Drink 8 glass of water a day. Love Jesus.

There’s a principle here that I think we can walk away with. Let’s call it “The Grandma Principle.” We need a Sabbath. We need Sabbath rest. And we don’t have to wait for Sunday. True rest is found only in the Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus Christ.

1. Practically, the Grandma Principle means to keep the sanctity of the Sabbath, however the Lord leads you. For some, that means dining out on Sundays; for others, it means a home-cooked meal.
   
2. The Grandma Principle also means you should take time for yourself without feeling guilt. It is never wrong to do the right thing. You know when your body needs a break. Pushing through deadline to deadline will eventually kill you. Trust me. I know first-hand what a walking carcass looks like.
3. Finally, the Grandma Principle means that Christ alone is your refuge. He will tell you how to spend your time. He will carry you. He will be your strength. He will be your rest.

The irony is that I will wake up in a mere 4 hours, severely devoid of said sleep. Yet, even in this moment, I am experiencing Sabbath rest. As we turn to Christ with a body that is needy and fatigued, a heart that is desperate and soft, He heals us—just as He healed on those Sabbath days long ago.

Anna Limber!

Anna is the winner of our commenting contest from last week! She had the most comments (in fact, she commented everyday and sometimes twice on a post). So, Anna, we will get that Panera Gift Card to you soon.

If you don’t know Anna, I encourage you to get to know her (especially since she has a $5 gift card now - hee hee ). And we are planning to post more about her soon - so be looking for that.

We had a great week of commenting, ladies! Wasn’t that fun?! I hope you all are more use to it now. And if you still haven’t joined in on commenting, I invite you to join the conversation and be a part in getting us all more connected!

We’re spending a couple days talking about stress: how we handle it, what makes us stressed, etc. Just looking at the comments from Amy’s post yesterday, lots of us turn to various foods to handle stress. I remember a couple years ago I was leading a Biblestudy on the Names of God, and one day I talked about how I so often turn to chocolate instead of God (I can’t remember which name the talk was in association with.) I feel like it was a very importance confession to make, because ever since then I at least think before eating chocolate when stressed (even though I still often turn to it instead of God.) And yes, those of you who were in the study, may have remembered that I brought chocolate chip cookies to illustrate my point.

Anyway, last week a couple people requested that we post more salad type foods. Since I NEVER turn to salads when stressed, I thought it might be good to post one today. Kimberly makes some funky salads, so I asked her for a couple of her recipes. She didn’t name it, so I’ll call it:

Lettucy Fruit Salad from Kimberly Massari

Romane lettuce (I buy the pre-bagged/pre-washed)
sliced strawberries
canned mandarin oranges
bite size cut green apples
raisins
shredded colbyjack cheese
bacon (cooked crisp & crumbled) (I use turkey bacon)
bottled balsamic vinaigrette dressing

I put the lettuce in a large bowl, then just place the strawberries, oranges, apples, raisins all around and
top with the cheese and bacon. The dressing is the key. This is not good with any other dressing.

Stress is one of the things that everyone can relate to. It’s also one of the things that few people handle in a healthy manner. After hours of careful consideration (or maybe it was just a few minutes of pondering) I’ve narrowed it down to 3 common ways in which most women manage stress in their lives.

A. Turn to Christ and His written Word for strength and encouragement.

B. Have an emotional break down and comfort yourself with food (preferably of the incredibly fattening variety).

C Ignore the problem for as long as possible, hoping that it will resolve itself.

So how do you handle stress? Are you one of these three? If so, which one are you? If you aren’t a, b, or c, then what do you do to manage the stresses that life sometimes throws at you?