Thursday's Thoughts on: What causes me stress and what will make my life easier

A while back, I started a list of questions that I'm trying to answer.  As I've wrestled with these subjects, I've learned a lot about myself. No, that's not exactly right.

I have made peace with myself. 

I have accepted things about myself that, up to now, I have believed were flaws to be hidden or changed. I'm learning to embrace who God created me to be. Goodness, I have typed those words so many times... for other women to read. I still find it ironic that I have refused to accept the grace I share so freely with other women. Satan is a crafty beast, no doubt about that. He has kept me in bondage for far too long.

As with all my writing, this is for me. Writing gets my scrambled up thoughts and emotions into print and seeing them in print often helps me put them in proper perspective.  Anyway, here are this week's questions and (hopefully) answers.

What is consistently causing me stress?

What will make my life easier?

I giggled a little (and shook my head a lot) the past two weeks as I considered the things I do and don't enjoy.

I do not like clutter, nor do I like chaos.

Now, you would not believe this if you visited my home on any random evening.

At some point over the last 21 years, I gave up. I gave up asking my people to pick up their shoes. I gave up reminding my people where the trash can is in the kitchen. I gave up asking my people to put their belongings in their bedrooms instead of on the living room couch. I gave up asking my people to put their clean clothes away and their dirty clothes in the laundry room. I just gave up. I resigned myself to my mother's pattern of barely making it through the week only to spend the majority of the weekend "catching up" laundry and house work.

A messy house causes me stress. Clutter causes me stress. Chaos causes me stress. I like clean surfaces, neatly made beds, clean floors, and fresh smelling bathrooms. You would not know this if you visited my house without notice.

Being fat causes me stress.  Now, you would not believe that if you were with me for any length of time. I have grown accustomed to eating junky foods and insane amounts of calories. I have allowed myself to grow lazy and unwilling to move my body in the ways it needs in order to be fit. (this has actually improved this week, as I will attest to in tomorrow's post.)

Finally, my finances cause me much stress. Again, you would not know this based on my spending habits. I am also working on this. I am currently in a "no spending" pattern...

These three things are the greatest sources of stress for me. They are all areas where I am self defeating, self sabotaging, and areas where I have convinced myself I am a helpless victim.

Thing is... I am actually in complete control of all three of these areas of my life... at least for the most part. I mean my people live with me and I can't control them, but for the majority of my day and night, I really am in control of these things.

There is one thing that will make my life easier.

I am no longer going to believe that I am a helpless bystander in my life. This has much more meaning than it seems here in print.

I'm no longer believing the lie that I have no control over what happens in my world day to day. 

I'm taking control of my body, my home, and my finances.

I truly believe that this simple step will make a huge difference in my quality of life.

Just my thoughts,

K


I wanna know....
What causes you stress?
Have you too believed Satan's lie that you are a helpless bystander in areas of your life?
What can you do TODAY to make your life easier?

Other questions I'm pondering....

What determines my worth?
What do I LIKE about me?

What do I truly value?

What is holding me back?