36 Christian Ways to Reduce Stress

1. Pray

2. Learn to praise God wherever you are and whatever the circumstance.

3. Go to bed on time and get up on time so you can start the day unrushed.

4. Say “No,” to projects/activities that won’t fit into your time schedule, or that will compromise your mental health.

5. Delegate tasks to capable others.

6. Simplify and un-clutter your life.

7. Less is more. (Although one is often not enough, two are often too many.)

8. Allow extra time to do things and to get to places.

9. Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time; don’t lump the hard things all together.

10. Take one day at a time.

11. Separate worries from concerns. If a situation is a concern, find out what God would have you to do and let go of the anxiety. If you can’t do anything about a situation, forget it.

12. Live within your budget.

13. Have backups; an extra car key in your wallet, an extra house key buried in the garden, extra stamps, etc.

14. K. M. S. (Keep Mouth Shut.) This single piece of advice can prevent an enormous amount of trouble.

15. Do something for the Kid in You everyday.

16. Carry a Bible with you to read while waiting in line.

17. Get enough exercise.

18. Eat right.

19. Get organized so everything has its place.

20. Listen to a podcast while driving that can help improve your quality of life.

21. Write thoughts and inspirations down.

22. Everyday, find time to be alone.

23. Having problems? Talk to God on the spot. Try to nip small problems in the bud. Don’t wait until its time to go to bed to try and pray.

24. Make friends with Godly people.

25. Keep a folder of favorite scriptures on hand.

26. Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is often a good “Thank you Jesus!”

27. Laugh.

28. Laugh some more!

29. Take your work seriously, but yourself not at all.

30. Develop a forgiving attitude (most people are doing the best they can).

31. Be kind to unkind people (they probably need it the most).

32. Sit on your ego.

33. Talk less; listen more.

34. Slow down.

35. Remind yourself that you are not the general manager of the universe.

36. Every night before bed, think of one thing you’re grateful for that you’ve never been grateful for before or that you always forget to thank God about.

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Original Post

Seeking God

It is a great good to seek God; in my opinion, the soul knows no greater blessing. It is the first of its gifts and the final stage in its progress. This gift is inferior to none and yields place to none. What could be superior to it, when nothing has a higher place? … What virtue can be attributed to anyone who does not seek God? What boundary can be set for anyone who DOES seek Him? The psalmist says: ‘Seek his face always.’ Nor, I think, will a soul cease to seek Him even when it has found Him.

It is not with steps of the feet that God is sought but with the desire of the heart; and when the soul happily finds him, its desire is not quenched but kindled… there will be a fullness of joy, but there will be no end to desire, and therefore no end to the search.

Think if you can, of this eagerness to see God as NOT caused by His absence, for He is always present; and think of the desire for God as without fear or failure, for grace is abundantly present. (St. Bernard of Clairvaux)