Responsibility

I will not lie to you ..these last couple of weeks of learning how to integrate Steedly School into our life, has been a challenge. There have been some challenges that have caused some moments of stress, to say the least. We have a five year old that is not loving giving up his life of no worries and all day carefree playing/using his imagination. He has had to adjust to this new life of mommy-imposed school days, where he doesnt get to do exactly what he wants to 24 hours a day!

I have had some moments where I have had to really work on not letting stress effect our school day. Some days I have been successful, many days I have not.

Working through that stress, though, has given me some insight into the degree of responsibility I have in my own stress!

I have realized that when I am in those overwhelmed moments I am the only one who can move myself through it ...It is up to me to do what needs to be done to not feel that way any more. No one is going to do it for me, the world is not going to adjust so that I wont feel so stressed out.

Its not my 5 year old or my dog's fault, its not the banks fault, the car's fault, the lady at the grocery store who cant get my coupons right ...it is my responsibility to not be so stressed out that I effect myself, my children, my husband, my home or others around me.

Despite not being responsible for the situations that are beyond my control, I am responsible for how I deal with them and to what degree they affect my underlying sense of balance and calm.

By saying this, I dont take away from God' role in bringing peace to my heart. God does bring the True Peace to me, my home, my family and my circumstances.  Only He in me can bring about that calm despite of the chaos that may surround me.

However...it is my responsibility to a) accept His peace and b) do what needs to be done to experience it.


Some things that I noted this week that were well within my responsibility ...

* Whether or not I deal with the stresses at all...some days I chose to just let the stress continue, that is my own fault!

* My fluid and nutrition status ...if I dont eat or drink enough or the right thing, I feel awful ..ready made stress waiting to happen

* How much rest I get ...to a degree, of course (I DO have a 4 month old!) but remember that sleep isnt the only way to rest our bodies, and sometimes rest is as or more important than sleep. And, often we can control our sleep, by going to bed earlier or giving up things that keep us up late.

* Whether or not I take my medicine ..I have thyroid problems, and I can TOTALLY tell when I dont take my medication in the morning

* If I take time to pray/read scripture ...you cant blame anyone else if you dont find the time to do this!

* If I dont stop and get control emotionally when I feel like I am out of control ...you chose to deal with your stress!

* Whether or not I blame others, or look to myself for my reasons for stress

* Whether or not I chose to do what it takes to get control, get rid, get over, get a new perspective, or get a new plan*  (the *LPLS Stress Strategies)


If you find yourself constantly under a tremendous amount of stress...you need to look to yourself and find out why. Why are you feeling that way? What needs to be done to decrease that feeling? How do I need to respond that will decrease my own and others' stress right now? Who am I blaming for my feeling of being overwhelmed? Where do I need to look to find the solutions to this feeling?

We have much more power and control when we realize that we can indeed control our stressfulness ...when we make an effort, and do what needs to be done to make it less stressful!

Remember..."I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!" Phil 4:8  ..that includes taking a deep breath, evaluating your stress, taking responsibility for it and doing what needs to be done to get you in a better place to be affected by God's peace!