Today I come to discuss Stress. Allowing the cares of Life to deplete us of LIFE – to suck us dry. Our spirit and bodies respond to an overload of things of the world. Of not enough time with God in His Love, of not enough Love of self, and a lack of Love shared with thy neighbor. Getting caught up in the world alone lends to: Headaches, tension from the neck down, sinus troubles (which run all thru your body), tummy upsets, depression, anxiety, and the list goes on…ultimately leading to life threating diseases such as heart attacks, strokes, studies are revealing stress is a major player even with cancer. We were not designed/created to function Alone. Our bodies require Love and care as it is with all things on Earth; plants, pets, cars, homes, the earth, lakes, oceans, and so on and so on…Think about it a house sits empty for years..it rots & ultimately falls apart, the garden left unattended will be consumed by weeds, choked out & die Unless, caught in time to be restored.

It is the same with our minds and bodies; without Renewal and Rest we will be consumed by the stressors (weeds of life) choked out and yes we too can die before our time. So I say take heed of the words in Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. ”  What is the perfect will of God?  Walking with Him in the way of Love..not only toward Him and others but, of yourself. Because How can you love and serve others if you yourself are falling apart?

All this said, that brings me to the ” Dancin’ thru Life”. A dear friend was saying how stressed she was & how by mid week a pain was running from the base of her head, down her neck and arm..she thought she was having a heart attack..but, No…it is stress from life’s overload. She & I are criminals of biting off more than we can chew which leads to ignoring the screams of our own spirit and body. We aren’t big on yoga, going to the gym, and such but, instead prefer time away from it all to Rest and Restore. While talking we both commented on how we have strayed away from caring for our own selves. How we need to become more Active and not just sit at a computer all day. (Our day is consumed by working on a computer) We chatted about a couple of things and went on back to work. My friends face did not look like our discussion struck any cords. For me, it got the wheels turning. One thing I have learned in life is when I clock out of work…I am OFF. I literally tell myself, You are OFF.. It is now My Time. My time to do things for me, for those I love, and to care for the blessings of “things” given to me by God, such as my patio garden. My consciousness still caught in our conversation made me aware of things I do to Relax and Renew that I take for granted. Like turning on music while I putz around the house and cook my dinner. All the while, dancing, whirling, and twirling around, which most of the time, creates some really good laughs at myself too. That same day another friend posted a video of Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers & I proceeded to try to dance along…talk about a WORK OUT! & a boat load of laughs as I stumble stepped along. Then I decided to find a dance video online..so if you really want to engage in some fun dance exercise check this out:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRqMnMdMv3s   Once dinner was completed I sat myself down to renew my mind in His Word & share my day with my BFF Yeshua. You see Jesus is not only my BFF, He is family, has a great listening ear and as I always say,” He is on time all the time” revealing the Light of Life in His Word. He reminds me of how to keep my armour on so the weeds of the world don’t choke me out. Last but, not least I have learned to do some body maintenance before I retire: wash the grime of the day off in a nice hot bath or shower then oil up with some relaxing Lavender. And If the day has been extra stressful I indulge in some Sleepy time tea or add a half packet of Emergen zzzzzz to a 6 oz glass of water 1/2 hr before I retire. Then top off the day with more music..only this time it is meditative music..sounds of nature or waves and off I go for my 6 – 7 hrs of sleep. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5OcA_0VZq8

Oh and I almost forgot.. Don’t you forget to step away and Take at least a 30 min. Lunch..Here is a great site for guided meditations to listen to at lunch. http://www.fragrantheart.com/cms/free-audio-meditations. It sure does help to take some deep breaths and let my mind rest as listen to some uplifting words of encouragement. Yep, these are some of the ways to keep yourself in His Light of Life while constantly growing in His Love.

Take care and I pray you enjoy the Dance(s) of Life.