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Give Me 5 Days and I’ll Give You a Stress Free Week

Who said you have to be inundated with stress this holiday season? We’re on day 17 of a 20-Day Countdown to Thanksliving. On this journey we are reducing stress and embracing thanksliving by being intentional about where we focus our time, energy and efforts.  Thanksliving embodies the true spirit of what Thanksgiving is supposed to be about; not just food and the impending Black Friday but instead GIVING THANKS.

If you missed any of the days on the countdown, catch up by clicking here.

Continuing on this journey with me for the next 5 days  will duly equip you to look your frenemy stress in the face, say no thank you and proceed to bask in your week of thanks-LIVING. And we LIVE when we love. So for the next 5 days, let’s eradicate stress by choosing to love God, love our neighbor and love ourselves. We will embrace life now by beholding the beauty, majesty and splendor of the now moment and by honoring the temple.

You don’t want to miss a single post this week. So let our journey of Thanksliving continue.

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5 Sanity Savers for a Stress Free Week

 

  1. Give Thanks

Day 17 The Gift Of Thanksgiving

Believe

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving Colossians 2:6-7. The gift of Jesus was extended to you.  Prayerfully you received the gift with your hands extended and with gratitude.  When you receive a gift, the hope is that you keep it and use it, not for it to be regifted. Likewise, when you receive Jesus, you are expect to do as the scripture above says and walk in Him.  You don’t take what He tells you to do and discard it like the regift, but you apply His word to your life so that you are fortified and established on all sides.  And when you do this, you WILL abound in it with thanksgiving.

Do

Everything suggested in this post

 

  1. Protect Your Quiet Time

    Any manner of things is sure to crop up this week to try and rob you of your quiet time with God.  Extra running of errands, preparing your home for guests, travel, extra time spent in the kitchen, all of these distractions can aid in taking your eye off God.  Make Him your 1st appointment of the day, especially this week when activity can be a little more frenetic.

 

  1. Know When To Say NO

    Do you really need to prepare 100 cupcakes for the school?  Do you really have to visit 3 different homes on Thanksgiving day?   Protect your time and maximize on your energy and efforts by focusing on that which is essential.  Ok, I hear you.  Yup you.  You think everything is essential. Not all of you but that one person that I see cringing right now.  The task may need to be completed but does it have to be by you?  God told me several years ago, “I will grace you to do what I’ve called you to do.  If you pick up anything else, you’re on your own”.  I keep that in mind when I decide how to use my time.

 

  1. Pay It Forward

    Be intentional about listening for the Spirit’s promptings to bless another. Doing for others is equally if not more of a blessing to the giver than to the receiver.  Keep your giving in alignment by being open and listening to God.  He will prompt you on what to give and when.

 

  1. Embrace The Now Moment

    Slow down. Use your senses to connect with what is happening now.  See the last of the autumn leaves on the trees. When you are in the grocery store, slow down and look at the bounty of produce.  See the array of colors.  Perhaps the grocery store is offering some sample.  Taste and savor the flavors.  Give someone a tight embrace.  Listen to a child laugh.  Smell the intoxicating aroma of some goodies baking.

 

1 Easy Recipe for a Stress Free Week

Click here for a tasty, easy slow cooker recipe for your Thanksgiving dinner

 

I look forward to connecting with you again tomorrow as we examine how to beat the holiday blues.

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired to Live Fully!

Give Thanks 2014

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Why I Choose to Embrace Thanksliving

Who doesn’t want to reduce stress?

I would venture to say we all do.  With raising 5 young children, caring for a husband who works tirelessly to provide for our family, meeting the needs of the women I serve, and running my household, I can become overwhelmed and inundated with a bevy of things to do.  The list never seems to end.  In fact, the moment you wash all the clothes, here comes another pair of socks.

To take my eye off of all the “many things to do” and to focus on what matters most, I choose to embrace Thanksliving.  That list of things to do will always be there waiting for me but an opportunity to minister to the hearts of those whom I love may not be.  I don’t want to miss a God moment in the midst of “DOING”.  I am a HUMAN BEING not a HUMAN DOING.  It is in moments of being, of giving thanks, that my perspective is aligned with HIS eternal perspective and I see how infinitely blessed am I.

So join me in my 20-Day Countdown to Thanksliving. Seven days ago I began this journey of doing away with Thanksgiving to embrace Thanksliving (Read that post here). To catch up on prior days, please visit Inspired Life on Facebook by clicking here; and while you’re there, LIKE the page because you don’t want to miss any subsequent posts.

 20-Day Countdown to Thanksliving

Day 7: The Service of Thanksgiving

Believe

You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.  This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 2 Corinthians 9:11-12

 

Standing in a dark, rainy parking lot I unloaded my 5 children from the car. With my hands full of people, purse, laptop and workshop materials, I couldn’t even hold up an umbrella to keep from getting wet. As my sweet children proceeded to help me get everything and everyone inside, someone I know walked pass. I called her name to say hello and she immediately came over to assist. She ended up helping me further once we got inside as I need to set-up for a workshop I was delivering. Additionally, she ended up entertaining one of my children because he wasn’t comfortable without his siblings or me. I believe she had intended on attending the workshop but she surrendered her plans to allow the Lord to use her to be a blessing to me. Her availability, attentiveness and willingness to serve, gave me the opportunity to service 40 others. Her service to me was really unto God and He received it as an offering. The scripture above shows that we are blessed to be a blessing. We’ve been blessed with time, resources, abilities and more. Will we reinvest what we’ve received to be a blessing to someone else? Or will we take our blessings and keep them for our own use? I thank my sister for blessing me with her time.

 

Do

Today be more attentive, aware and sensitive of what’s happening around you. Who knows if God needs to use you to make someone else’s burden just a little lighter.

 

Reducing Stress, Embracing Thankliving

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired to Live Fully!

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I’m Doing Away With Thanksgiving

Well actually…I’m reframing Thanksgiving to pursue a lifestyle of thanksliving and I urge you to join me as we as embark on a…
20-Day Countdown: Embracing Thanksliving

Thanksliving: Maintaining a heart of gratitude and thankfulness for every blessing received.

For the next 20 days I’ll post daily Thanksliving inspiration on my Facebook fan page. Then the week of Thanksgiving, I’ll post in depth coping strategies, how to’s, recipes and more on my blog. If you aren’t receiving the blog posts via email, please visit www.inspiredtolivefully.com today. Go to the blog link, fill in your email address and simply click the green button that says Get Inspired. I want you to be INTENTIONAL about following the posts that entire week. Please don’t get lost in holiday pomp and circumstance or Black Friday sales that you miss reading a post. Remember our goal is Thanksliving: reducing stress and living an Inspired Life.

Day 1: Sacrifice of Thanksgiving
Believe
And when you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, offer it of your own free will. Leviticus 22:29

When you extend thanks to the Lord for ALL He has done for you, do so voluntary, from your heart with joy and gratitude. No one needs to beg you to give thanks. Even me writing this here is not to try to make you give thanks but serves as a gentle reminder to posture yourself for thanksliving. And when you give thanks, do so lavishly and cheerfully.

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7

Do
Today, record at least 5 things for which you are grateful. You will do this each day leading up to Thanksgiving. You can do this in a journal, notes on your phone, or there is even an app called 1000 Gifts that lets you keep track of what you’re grateful for (you can even add photos). Whatever method you choose, write it down.

Thanksliving: Reducing stress, embracing the Inspired Life

I’m thankful for our next 20 days together.

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