Too Blessed To Be Stressed!

Remember my "Go God!" post from last year? Well, tonight was the 2009 Ladies Banquet, and again, I was blessed to be able to go with 3 of my coworkers; Jalaine, Tricia, and Beth. The speaker, Alice Kemp DeWitt, was fantastic!

Alice spoke about stress... Let me start by saying this lady has been through more than I could EVER possibly imagine! Her marriage of 20 years ended, after that her son died in an accident going to buy diapers for his 3 day old daughter, she was beaten and raped after a church event, got remarried to a man that was a fake and had her buried in debt after she signed her name to the dotted line, the list goes on and on.

She started by telling us all to remember that Stressed is nothing more than Desserts spelled backwards... so when we are stressed we must ALWAYS look for the dessert we get in the end!

So... how do we deal with stress?

Well, 10% of our life is what happens to us... the other 90% is how we react to what happens to us! Makes sense, doesn't it?

Think about it a minute....

There are 24 hours in a day, right? Well, my morning at work yesterday consisted of a 2 hour meeting with my boss that I was not real thrilled with AT ALL! She left, and I was STRESSED! The rest of the day I was miserable and was determined that nothing was going to make my day better. That 2 hour meeting... that 10% of my day made the other 90% of my day just awful!

So - how do we fix it? Four simple steps.... and I do mean SIMPLE!

1) Motivation
You have to WANT to make it better!
Quit blaming others for where you are in your life that's causing you stress!
Get motivated and GO where you want to GO!

2) Humor!
Laughter is God's natural healing gift to us!
Laughter is NEVER unfaithful and always makes you feel better

Besides, she says that when you hold in laughter the air you would let out laughing goes to your belly and makes it bigger! You are MUCH prettier with that smile on your face than that extra air in your belly!

3) Tears
Tears are God's way of eliminating all that stress!
When you see a man crying, you are seeing a very strong man!
Did you know that females living longer than men is actually attributed to CRYING!

4) Communication
No complaining, no belly aching
50% of those you complain to don't really care!
The other 50%.... they think you deserve your troubles when all you do is complain
Honest, open communication will keep stress of holding it in and hiding things away

So - during these stressful times, remember that our Lord is ALWAYS with us!! Our life is always worth living. Trust in HIM because there is ALWAYS dessert in the end when we do... that dessert... our Salvation in Heaven!

Want to know why she says even after all she's been through? She says she's to blessed to be stressed!

That marriage that ended abruptly after 20 years? Her dessert was her children that love her and care for her each and every day.

Losing a son in a tragic accident? Her dessert was that 3 day old baby granddaughter that she has been able to watch and grow and tell stories about her son to.

Being beaten and raped? Her dessert is all the young rape victims she's able to counsel and pray with that stand up strong and are able to face their attackers.

The financial ruin she experienced at the hands of her 2nd marriage? Her dessert is a closeness to her daughter like she could never imagine after they moved in together while she rebuilt her life.

Remember... we get caught up in the stress of every day life and material things that don't matter. We really are "Too Blessed to Be Stressed!"