FREE Shred Day!

Free Shred Day

at River Valley Paper Company, Akron, OH

Free document shredding every Saturday 8am - 12pm! 131 N. Summit Street (driveway next to The Ice House). Paper recycling, confidential shredding, no limit! Please remove & reuse: Binder clips, rubber bands, binders, paperclips, report covers & hanging files. Staples are OK!

5-Minute Stress Relievers - Spiritual Refocusing

Ok - I'm stressed. As you may know, my husband and I are Shelter Care relief house parents for our two houses of teenage girls. That means each house of girls comes to our house for eight days a month to give their regular house parents a break. And I run my businesses in the spare moments.

One set of house parents quit abruptly yesterday, so we now have their girls permanently until we hire a new set of house parents. And tomorrow the other house is joining this house during their regular time of relief. One girl is going to college, but that still leaves five teenage girls in our home.

I had had some major business goals I wanted to accomplish during our time-off-that-is-no-longer-happening, and we were looking forward to just having time to ourselves.

When I'm stressed, I like to get a spiritual perspective - remind myself that I'm not in control of the universe or even my universe. I believe that God is in control, has a reason for everything, loves me, and will provide all I need. This helps me rely on Him and not feel so overwhelmed. If this is something that resonates with you, here are some other ways to gain a spiritual perspective to combat overwhelm:

• Meditate on a verse.
• Pray.
• Write a thank-you note to God - for who He is, for your blessings, etc.
• Read a Psalm and pray it back to God.
• Enjoy nature and the God who made it.
• Journal to God.
• Picture putting your concerns in a box and putting it in the lap of God.
• Say the Serenity Prayer.
• Picture yourself sitting on God's lap and enjoying His protection and care.
• Keep a thankful journal.
• Sing, play, or listen to music that gives you hope and peace.
• Pray with a friend.

I can't imagine how stressful and hopeless life would be without this spiritual compass!

More on stress relievers:
5-Minute Stress Relievers - Being Generous
5-Minute Stress Relievers - Physical Activity
Five Health Benefits of Laughter

What do you do to relieve stress? Subscribers click here to comment on the original blog.