Category Archives: Stress Management

Prayer for Time of Crisis

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Prayer for Time of Crisis

This week I wanted to share a Prayer for Time of Crisis (with some foundation scriptures). This prayer is timely during the COVID-19 crisis that our world is currently facing.

A few helpful things to remember during a time of crisis:

  • Our first response during times of crisis should be to go to the Bible to see what God’s word has to say about it.
  • Crisis happens all the time. Whenever a crisis comes up, God has something for us to grab right in the middle of it.
  • If you give the devil enough rope, he’ll hang himself. Satan often overplays his hand, and the very attacks he makes are often the very things that seal his fate. He brings about his own undoing, and God will turn the tables on him bringing his people out even better on the other side of crisis.
  • The people of God come out in victory on the other side because of faith. If we keep our faith, we will get the victory. We have to fight to keep our faith. The devil will try to steal it from us because he knows that’s how we will get our victory.

“For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.” 1 John 5:4 (NLT)

“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” 1 Timothy 6:12 (NIV)

  • Just because we experience crisis doesn’t mean that we aren’t living right or following God. Jesus even told us trouble would come to us.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NIV)

Take Some Practical Steps to Pray During This Time of Crisis:

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COVID-19: Fight Fear

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COVID-19: Fight Fear

I hesitated adding yet another thing out there having anything remotely related to COVID-19. Quite honestly I’m exhausted and overwhelmed with reading and hearing about it everywhere I look.

That being said, I do feel like God compelled me to provide resources for those who may need some extra encouragement to fight fear or who may need more reassurance and comfort. Just because I’m not struggling does not mean that others aren’t. Additionally, it would be nice to see some positive, encouraging, faith-related information out there to counterbalance and fight fear and panic inducing media that’s being shoved down our throats everywhere we turn.

Today, I’d like to provide you with some practical steps, encouragement, reminders, helpful scriptures, helpful posts/articles, and some faith and hope building resources to support you and help you fight fear during this volatile time in our world.

First and foremost: God is still God, and He can turn bad into good

God can take something bad, something evil, something the devil uses for harm and turn it into something good. God can turn the tables on our enemy. No matter how bleak things may look in our world right now, God can and will still work through this and in spite of this crisis.

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” Romans 8:28 (NLT)

“You plotted evil against me, but God turned it into good, in order to preserve the lives of many people who are alive today because of what happened.” Genesis 50:20 (GNT)

Read this helpful post:

Getting Through a Tough Time and Coming Out Better On the Other Side

God is immutable—He will not change

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Burn the Ships

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Burn the Ships title image

Burn the Ships

A couple months ago I heard a song for the first time called “Burn the Ships”, by for KING & COUNTRY (video below). I got really excited to show my son the song because he had just told me the story about the Spanish explorer and conquistador, Hernán Cortés, who burned his ships to give his men motivation to fight. I never remembered learning about this story before.

He had actually learned it from his baseball coach this year. In fact, it’s one of the team’s mantras this year. You see, last year the team made the state playoffs but just missed making it to the championship game. This year their coach didn’t want that to hold them back. He said they need motivation just like Cortés’ men did in order to conquer the new land. They have to fight in order to survive.

For the baseball team, the metaphorical ships are their past (the past losses, being an ordinary team, almost winning, etc.). They needed to burn them down, get out of their shell, and fight as a team this year. To symbolize this, the team huddles up and shouts “1-2-3-BTS!” (BTS=Burn the ships) The back of their hoodies this year also say “Burn the Ships”.

Hernán Cortés-Burn the Ships

Cortés was said to have burned his own ships upon arrival in Veracruz, Mexico in 1519 to prevent the retreat of his men. This would send a clear message—that there was no turning back! After doing a little bit of research I discovered that Cortés, in fact, may not have actually burned the ships. There is some dispute about whether or not he burned the ships or instead sank, scuttled, or ran them aground. Additionally it is debated whether or not he actually spared one ship to send to King Charles V in Spain with a portion of the treasure from his conquest.

Regardless of the “how”, it is evident from history that the ships were indeed destroyed. Thus, the result and reasoning remain the same…to prevent retreat and ensure his men were committed to their mission. Cortés knew one thing: retreat is easy when you have the option. Therefore, to burn the ships is to cut all sources of retreat. Consequently he removed any obstacles that could potentially hold his men back from giving their full effort. The message? “Succeed or die. We are not leaving this place alive unless we win.”

A reminder to me

This reminded me of a particular time that I too had to burn the ships at one time. 10 years ago our marriage was in a deep and dark place, to the point of separation and divorce papers. It was very broken—beyond any repair that we could humanly do. Only by God’s grace, forgiveness, and power was our marriage restored.

Tattoo rings...symbols of what God has done

My tattoo ring is a reminder to me of what God has done in my marriage

We symbolically burned the ships when we literally burned our divorce papers. (I had a picture I was going to post of us burning them with fireworks on the 4th of July, but I can’t seem to find it.) My “ship” was divorce, and by burning that it took that option off of the table forever. Then on our 15 year anniversary, five years later, we re-committed with another symbolic (yet quite permanent!) declaration by getting tattoos on our wedding ring fingers as a reaffirmation of our vows.

Last month (December 2019) we celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. The traditional “gift” for 20 years is china, so I made Eric a mosaic out of a broken piece of china of my grandmother’s. This mosaic represented how God made something new and beautiful out of something very broken. This was only possible because we committed to burn the ships and decided to look ahead to the possibility and promise of something new.

Mosaic china heart

Mosaic china label

Still need reminders on occasion

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Is God Enlarging Your Capacity?

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Is God Enlarging Your Capacity?

I mentioned recently that I’ve been coming across a lot of opposition in a variety of areas. At times it’s seemed a bit overwhelming, and it started getting me to question why I was getting hit with so much. My boss at the college where I teach even joked with me not long ago saying, “Why are you always the one getting all of these weird, off-the-wall situations?” To which I responded, “You know, I’d really like to know the answer to that!” Well…I think I got it.

One morning after teaching one of my classes at Glory House, I was visiting with Ms. Susie, the Executive Director, about all the junk that I had been dealing with lately. During our conversation I said, “Why am I ALWAYS the one getting this stuff and having to deal with this stuff?” Ms. Susie answered quite frankly, “God is enlarging your capacity.”

Then I was like, “Oh no! I’ve been praying exactly that–for God to enlarge my capacity!” (insert face slap) I had prayed those exact words “enlarge my capacity”. These things were happening as an answer to my own prayer…an indirect answer of course! God didn’t just enlarge my capacity. He allowed me to encounter challenges that would stretch me and force my capacity to increase, to make my normal capacity boundary lines larger. I guess this is kind of like when people warn you not to pray for patience! Because you don’t just automatically get patience, you get opportunities for your patience to grow.

Our capacity must increase

About a month prior to this conversation, I had done a Bible reading plan about growing leadership capacity. In the plan, it said that in order “to see our dreams fulfilled and to continue having influence in God’s Kingdom, our capacity must increase.”[1] It talked about facing challenges, pressure, and stress to adjust our ability to manage those things (because we need to reach our potential). We don’t get rid of these things by running from them.

“The key to increasing your capacity is to decide you will allow God to work in your life, to stretch you beyond your comfort zone and enlarge your capacity to overcome challenges.”[2]

Easier is not always better. This reminded me of a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. It HAS to go through the struggle and the challenge of fighting its way out of that cocoon. Those stresses and pressures against it are what enable it to become stronger. Without that process, the butterfly would be too weak to do what it was intended to do, and the same is true for us at times. Sometimes we need the struggle to make us stronger and to enlarge our capacity and ability to accomplish the things that God has called us to do.

Sometimes we need the struggle to make us stronger and to enlarge our capacity and ability.

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Making room for growth by enlarging capacity

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Suffering for the Benefit of Others

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Suffering for the Benefit of Others

Suffering for the Benefit of Others

Do you ever seem to have “rare” problems or situations frequently happening to you or in your realm of influence? Then, of course you’re going to be the one to stand up and do something about it, take a stand for the right thing, or even advocate for the cause and benefit of others. Do you ever seem to be the one that is constantly having to fight the battles or go through stuff that others seem to be immune to for some reason? Or does it seem like that you are always the one having to point something out?

You can’t help but ask, “Why don’t these things happen to other people? Why am I the only one to witness or notice something which needs attention? How is it that I always have to deal with these types of people? Why do these kinds of problems always happen to me or on my watch? Why am I always the one suffering?”

This seems to happen to me quite often. It just sometimes seems like I’m frequently the one holding my ground, solving the problem, fighting the fight, seeking better communication, pointing out wrongs, and/or advocating for others, and so on.

I find myself sarcastically saying things like…

“Of course it’s my kid…”

“Of course that rare instance happened in my class…”

“I’m not surprised that I’m the only one who didn’t get that or who noticed that…”

Is it just me?

These situations seem very rare and the fact I’m having to deal with “rare” situations quite often feels very isolating. I’m sure I’m not alone in dealing with this, but it feels that way at times (as I’m sure it does for you too). Even though these situations often result in the good and benefit of others, I can’t help but question why these kinds of things are always happening to me.

A good friend of mine frequently tells me it’s because God knows I can handle it. He knows I’m strong, and he knows that I’ll do something about it. I typically respond, “Well, why can’t he pick someone else!?” I even said the other day, “I’m just going to say that I’m not strong enough, and I can’t handle it.” To which she replied something like, “Yeah that’s the thing…you can’t fool God.”

Sometimes I would prefer that somebody else just address things or handle problems. Unfortunately for me it’s not in my nature to turn a blind eye. For some crazy reason, God built in me a problem solving, championing, crusader-like character trait. I will stand and fight for the right thing even when it’s exhausting…even when I feel ill-equipped…even when the end results don’t always go my way. Are you this way too?

Seeing suffering through a different lens

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Are You Flexible When Things Don’t Go As Planned?

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Are You Flexible When Things Don’t Go As Planned?

Are You Flexible When Things Don’t Go As Planned?

I haven’t always been the most flexible person when things haven’t gone as planned. I used to get pretty bent out of shape usually displaying a bit of self-pity, irritation and thus irritability, and even a bit of a negative attitude that often lingers long after the incident has passed. Previously, I would just blame it on my personality. “That’s just how I am,” or “I’m just a very organized, structured person,” or “That’s just my OCD personality” (even though I’m not OCD nor should I be confessing/claiming that over myself).

However, I was pretty convicted after reading something that Joyce Meyer wrote in her book “Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind”. In the chapter on being positive Joyce said, “In Romans 12:16 the Apostle Paul tells us to readily adjust ourselves to people and things. The idea is that we must learn to become the kind of person who plans things but who doesn’t fall apart if that plan doesn’t work out.”[1]

“…readily adjust yourself to people and things…” Romans 12:16 (AMP)

For me, when things didn’t go how I saw them going in my mind, I would typically fall apart. I was not flexible nor did I “readily adjust” myself to my unexpected situations.

After reading what Joyce Meyer said and reading Romans 12:16 in the Amplified translation, I decided that it was time that I start making some changes. Becoming more flexible has been a very hard, but rewarding, lesson that I’ve had to learn over the past several years. I can’t say that I’ve quite mastered it yet, but I’ve definitely made some great strides in this area.

Be flexible–“Readily adjust yourself to people and things…” Romans 12:16 (AMP)

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Practice being flexible this week during my first day of summer class

This week was my first week of a summer college class that I’m teaching. The first day of class was riddled with a fair share of unexpected mishaps. However, can I just tell you how proud I was of myself in hindsight!

I was able to see a significant amount of progress in myself in how I handled the situation today versus how I would have responded 5-10 years ago. I remained surprisingly calm, was quick on my feet when responding to problems that arose, and kept a good attitude the entire time! Well, actually one thing did irritate me a little more than it should have, but I recognized it quickly.

Here are a few of the unexpected things I encountered on my first day of class: Continue reading →

5 Steps to Fight Fear

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5 Steps to Fight Fear

5 Steps to Fight Fear

We just celebrated Mother’s Day here in the U.S. this past weekend. As I’m sure any mother could attest, there are a lot of joys to motherhood, but unfortunately there are some downsides too. As a mother, one of the things I’ve had to learn is how to fight fear. It’s almost laughable the things that could go through a mom’s head and the “what if” scenarios that frequently play out in our imaginations!

Learning to fight fear is not only something that comes in handy as a mother but it is also a skill that proves beneficial in all aspects of life regardless of your role. We all need to learn to fight fear. Today I thought I’d share some of my previous crazy mom fears with you in addition to giving you a few steps and strategies that have helped me to fight fear in hopes of helping you overcome your own fears.

Some of my crazy pre-mom fears

In a previous post, I mentioned that before even having kids I had fears about becoming a mom, to the point I used to swear off ever having kids. I feared that I didn’t have what it took to be a good mom. My nature is not typically very maternal, nurturing, nor very “lovey-dovey”. In my mind I didn’t fit the “good mom mold”. I just knew I would mess the kids up.

I feared what having kids would do to my body. Really, I mean stretch marks, droopy boobs, and the potential of never achieving that pre-baby body again means the end of the world, right?  Then of course the potential pain of childbirth was extremely unnerving and fear-inducing.

Now, after having 2 kiddos I know that those fears were unfounded. Although somewhat true, they were nothing to truly fear.  I was able to fight through and overcome each of them.

Crazy new mom fears I had

Then after having kids you wouldn’t believe the crazy scenarios that would play through my head. For example, I explicitly remember that every time I would go into my mom’s bedroom in her house to nurse, I would sit on her bed and immediately start having these fears of lifting the baby up with both arms only to whack their little, soft baby head on the shelves that are over my mom’s bed. In my imagination, this would of course result in severe head and brain injury…blood…death…all from a bookshelf and nursing. Yep. Told you I was crazy!

Or…In my split level home I have a set of brick stairs that go down into the living room. Walking with the baby, I would imagine myself tripping down the stairs and launching the baby into the air across the room where he/she would of course, you know…die.

Then nearly EVERY SINGLE TIME after I would drop the kids off with my mom or whoever else might be watching them, when I would exit my vehicle to go into a gas station, grocery store, or work I would have a minor panic attack…”Did I leave the kids in the car? Did I FOR SURE drop them off already?”

I had frequent crazy fears that I was somehow going to inadvertently kill my kids…forget them…lose them…or just permanently mess them up in some way, shape, or form.

Crazy current mom fears

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Biblical Examples of Waiting

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Biblical Examples of Waiting

Biblical Examples of Waiting

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT)

I love that we can look to the Bible to learn from others but also to gain encouragement. We can see from many of the Bible stories how the characters, these REAL people, were often extremely relatable and went through many of the same types of things that we endure today—maybe not identical circumstances but comparable troubles and accompanying emotions. We can see that we’re in good company. Because ALL scripture is useful for teaching us, including Bible character stories even as adults, I often use “character studies” in my lessons when teaching where we’ll explore different Bible characters that complement our current topic of study.

Today’s post comes directly from a character study worksheet I use on waiting. There are several examples in the Bible of people who had to practice waiting for various things. We’ll discuss of few of them here. I’ll also vary slightly from my typical post format and implement some “practical steps” with some questions to ponder for each character study instead of waiting to include them at the end.

We can learn a lot from and be encouraged by the extremely relatable characters in the Bible. We’re in good company!

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Unfortunately life requires a lot of waiting

Unfortunately throughout our lives, and often on a number of occasions, we will find ourselves waiting. It’s just one of those unenjoyable life truths. A few things we could find ourselves waiting on might include (but are not limited to):

    • Healing
    • A marriage or relationship to be restored
    • Our future spouse
    • Child(ren)
    • Answers, direction, guidance, and/or purpose
    • A loved one to come to or return to God
    • Financial breakthrough
    • Promotion
    • Freedom
    • Justice
    • Change
    • Fulfillment of a dream
    • Fulfillment of a promise

Waiting can be an extremely difficult and sometimes painful process. Previously I wrote a few posts on this topic that you might also find helpful…

When You’re Waiting on God—to give some ways to wait and some encouragement throughout the process

Explanations for Why We Wait on God—to share some potential reasons behind the waiting

Scriptures for Waiting on God— to give some scriptures to focus on during the waiting periods

To supplement these posts, today’s character studies will give some additional encouragement and hopefully some relatable stories from the Bible to help and give some food for thought in the process of waiting.

Abraham was waiting for a son

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