Stress Free Tip #28 Read

"Hahaha lol Hahha I love 'Zits' it is the best comic strip out there" Jenny kept laughing. She had the newspaper in her hands. She smiled at some of the other comics but 'Zits' was no doubt her favorite comic of all times. She had to read it first before any of the others or sometimes she would savor the wait and read it last so she would end on a good note. Her father liked reading about investments, her mother about world crises, and brother the sports, but comics was her thing. Each of them would sit and enjoy their section of the newspaper. It was a daily family thing that they did. It relaxed them and got them all prepared for the day... (well sometimes her mother wasn't relaxed because of the horrid stuff she would read, or her dad because of investments going down or even her brother if his team did bad... still more than often it was a quiet peaceful time)

#28 Read

I love to read. I love that you can actually get into a book and feel as if you were someone else for a while. How you can actually become that person you feel what they feel as you read their life. You become that character yourself and you relate to the character. Reading is a past time that most find very relaxing.

When I was little I would read alot! I loved all the different books. However as I got older I stopped reading and more stress came into my life. I started to read again and the stress lowered. Whenever I start to stress I sit down on my couch grab a good book and blanket and start to read. I became a different person. Then when I have read a chapter I get back up and start to refocus on what it was that I was having trouble with. Normally I fix it as if I never had the problem after I read. ~Mel Smith

There are many books out there: mystery, sci-fi, romance, childrens, comics, self-help, biography's, etc. There are different books for different people. Not everyone likes the same things, not everyone will relax to a book about romance, some will relax to a book about how to beat a video game, how to fix up old cars, how to play the piano and more. You have to go and check out the books yourself to see what will relax you. Maybe you like the how to books, or magazines about clothes, maybe you are a child at heart and love the children books.

When I was little I enjoyed reading Dr. Seuss and now as I am older I still do. I see more of wisdom in his words and not just fun sayings as before. Dr. Seuss books are amazing you can enjoy them all through life. Mark Twain did a great job on Tom Sawyer, and the Adventures of Huck Finn, and Robin Jones Gunn was wonderful in doing books for all ages, children, teens (Christy miller series) and adults (SisterChicks). Of course then there is the greatest book of all (to me that is) Called the Bible. I look up to these authors. Their joy for writing, where it came from and how I could get it. I love to write but when I can not write, I enjoy reading. ~Kristina Hollon

I could feel the seamist breeze of the ocean as I watched the sea gulls fly above me. I looked back out at the gentle waves. Oh how the sun glimmered across the water. I dug my toes deeper into the wet sand and wiggled them around a bit. It felt good. How I wish I could stay here forever in this moment. I wonder what it would be like to live out there in such a different world. I looked down at the sand all around me. There was a few shells near by, but not many. I knew where to go if I wanted shells instead in fact it just amazed me that right here was not hardly any shells but not more then a few steps away over the rocks was another sanded rocky beach that had lots of shells. Not many people knew of this place. Nor was I about to spill my secret to them. It was my hiding place. Oh what a perfect hiding place it was. No one around to bug me, just the sound of the waves as they roll in and the seagulls talking to each other. I seen a crab scurry by busy with its ocean life. I looked back out at the ocean. I wanted to savor every bit of this moment. This was my home. This was where I was meant to be. ~Author Kristina Hollon from "Seamist of Oceanbreeze" ~ (Story is copyrighted, if you would like to know where you can read more from her, Send me an email and I will give you information on how to order her books)

You can find yourself in new wonderful places you have never been before if you open a book and begin to read. In fact alot of movies out now a days are originally from books or made into books. I am sure you can name a few like Twighlight series, Harry potter series, Lord of the Rings, Notebook, A Walk to Remember...the list can go on for hours.

Reading can also help you to expand your knowledge, learn something new, try something new, and live outside of the box for a bit. Turn your world upside down for a bit. Be an adventure, become involved in a mystery, fight for justice, become a princess rescued by a prince. Enjoy a good laugh, cry, a learned lesson from the moral. Just like the tale of Despereaux, the little mouse begins to read and learns how to be a gentleman and more, from reading a book and putting it to life.

I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, And that enables you to laugh at life's realities. ~Dr. Seuss: US author & illustrator (1904 - 1991~)

Today's Challenge: Go read a book. Take a chapter a day. Find a fun book that looks interesting and start to read. It can be a story, a biography, a how to, mystery, or anything else that catches your eyes. Just go out and read a book. Have a little imagination today.

~Hugs Keyria~
But his delight is in the law of the LORD, & he shall meditates day & night ~Psalms 1:2~

Stress Free Tip #21 Shopping!!!!

I hope you all had a fun 4th of July. I hope you didn't spend too much on the fireworks. On with today:

One of the best ways for us to feel good is through a simple activity. It is called Shopping.

Most if not all of us LOVE to shop. It is just something fun that we can do. Wether it be to the mall where we can check out clothes, to a toy store for fun and games, Candy Store or to a electronic store for the newest video game equipment it is fun to shop.

#21 Shopping

Now I know some guys out there would say they disagree, however if I said you get to shop anywhere you want then that would change. You see shopping for socks can be a bore, but for tickets to the next game or for fishing/hunting gear. Suddenly you see guys start to jump up.

Shopping is a good stress relief. It lets you get out your fustrations by buying something you want that may please you. However, you should be strict but have fun while shopping. What I mean is this: Be strict by putting a limit to how much you can spend. Look at your budget. If you have an extra 50 dollars only spend 20 that way you still have more for a later shopping spree, if you need it. Or if an emergency should arise you will be more prepared. Have fun as in go out to your favorite store and make a list of what you would love to have and then you can either save that 20 in a jar for those items or you can use that twenty for something else you want. You can even be silly and go buy kid toys.

They other day I was just having a really rotten day. The only bright side was at the end of the day I made 75 dollars in tips. I was going to go home and cool down since it was so hot and yucky when I thought no let me just go to the mall and walk around a bit. I went by my old favorite store that I used to go into as a kid. It had comic books, books, a few toys and odds and ends. I looked around at all the stuff I used to love as a kid. I ran across some water balloons for a dollar. Suddenly a thought came to mind. I picked up a couple of those water balloon packages and headed home. I filled up all the water balloons and stuck them into two buckets of water. I placed them at the corner of the house. I then took up three water balloons and took them out to the balcony. I then called a few of my friends over and said I wanted to take a dip in the pool and to see if they wanted to join me. A couple hours later we were all relaxing in our swimming gears when I said I needed to go get something. As they sat there they didnt know what hit them. I started a balloon fight. It was a blast. They found my stashes of water balloons downstairs and we just acted as if we were little kids again. It took the ease off of my whole day. - Micheal

I have been looking at this dress in this shop for over six months. I never bought it because I didn't have a need for it. One day I just had alot of stress being put on me. I was in the verge of tears. Anything that could go wrong did. I tried to fix it but it just got worse. Finally I gave up and was walking in the mall. When I saw the dress. I walked in and found my size. I tried it on and I just smiled. It was so pretty. I took it to the cashier and purchased my bueatiful dress I had been longing for. I quickly ran home put it on and wore it for the rest of the night. I felt so bueatiful in it that my troubles vanished. A few days later I rewore it and everyone complimented on it. It was wonderful. - Felicia

When me and my friends shop we tend to have fun. We love shops where you can sample things or try things out. I remember going to a toy store once and the workers there were having fun with the customers! It was funny they would challenge them to hula hoop, or jump rope games. Then they would give them a coupon for participating. The workers always looked like they were having fun as well as the customers. We love to find shops like candy stores (free candy) or stores with chairs, swings, and benches. This way if some get tired they can relax while the others shop. - Kirsten

Be wise with your money. Alot of people start to spend and then they spend it all, way to fast. They start to realize that they dont have the money for what they really needed. You really do need to look at your budget first and see what you do have that you can spare. I would not suggest spending more then 1/4th or less then that of what extra you have. If you have 100 to spare spend 20 if that.

People who tend to love money to much, tend to get into trouble.

A good way of learning how to be wise is to visit: saving-money-makes-cents.com. There you will find lots of tips on how to save money and to enjoy the simple things.

Challenge of today: I want you to look at your budget. See if you can spare 5 dollars, I want you then to take that 5 dollars and go by whatever you want. Maybe you like ice cream or are like me and love the dollar store. What ever it is you do have fun.

~Hugs Keyria~

Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. Proverbs 23:5

Stress Free Method #7 They joy of a catnap

Ok so I am sure we all have been told this one before. In fact throughout our life we were told this one. From being a child and our parent saying "You'd better be asleep when I walk in that room" whether that was our nap time or bed time we knew our parents meant it. Then as we got older we would hear others all over saying how important sleep is. I remember being little and thinking how can you want to sleep there is soooo much to do. Yet as I grew up I found myself more and more exhausted and thinking if only I could have a break.... a nap. Just a small catnap.

#7 REST

We all need it. Sometimes all it is for us to stress is that our body is lacking sleep. Go take a nap for a little bit. If you are at a place that you can’t take a nap, then take a break and rest for a bit. Just closing your eyes for 15 minutes can help your body feel more relaxed. We need to try and get our full 7-8 hours of sleep in. If we can’t then our body will react on us and not always in a good way. We may have bags under our eyes or we may fall asleep in a very important meeting we were supposed to hear. Some may get headaches or can’t focus clearly. Rest is really important if you even think you need close your eyes then do. Your body is telling you it needs to rest.

“I work long hours at a very fast pace job. It is always rushing around, loud noises, and fast talking. As soon as my break hits I do the opposite. I put on a little music and I rest my head as if everything were slow around me. I don’t move I just stay still and let the music dance slowly in my head. This helps me to feel more relaxed when I go back to work after my break. I get to just slow down and feel a refreshed start again.”

Todays Challenge: Take a 15minute cat nap today. You may be surprised about the results of the rest of your day! Well I will see you tomorrow for another stress-free method.

~Hugs Keyria~

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" ~Matthew 11:28

Tommy's Story Conclusion

"Excuse me, But you are you are in MY tree house" This red hair boy said. "And you did not ask for permission to be here." "Oh I am sorry, we didn’t think anyone owned it, there was no houses around it and it looked old, dusty and abandoned. Come on Joshy we need to go." Tommy woke his little brother up, and tried to get him moving. "I don’t want to go Tommy, pleeeeease let me sleep a bit longer" he said as he curled up tighter into a ball. "Joshy this tree house is owned by someone. We have to leave." Tommy turned to the boy. "We really are sorry" the boy looked at both of them. He saw the dirt all over their faces and clothes and the scars from sleeping on the rough pavements at night. He could see the bags under their eyes. Joshy coughed as Tommy tried to pick him up.

The boy looked back and forth. "Are you two homeless? Where are your parents?" Tommy said sorry again and he rushed Joshy out of the tree house. "Hey wait, maybe I can help." Tommy stopped and looked at the boy. "Thanks but we are ok." He started to turn when the boy said. "Are you hungry?" he looked again at the boy. "Stay here; let me get you some food." Tommy was nervous to do so but he looked at Joshy and knew he needed to eat. Tommy anxiously stayed watching around them like a hawk. Making sure no one saw them. The red head boy returned with some food and drinks. "I am Danny what is your name?" he asked, as he watched Joshy scarf down the food. Tommy placed his food into their backpack thinking he can use it later for Joshy when he needed to eat. "Mmm this is soooo good." Joshy said. Tommy wasn’t sure giving their names was a bright idea. "Thank you, so much for your kindness. We really ought to be going." He started to move Joshy while Joshy was still eating.

"Don't leave. I can help you. Please let me help. My church is always taking care of the homeless. They give FREE bags of food and give FREE shelter to those that need it." Joshy looked at Tommy with begging eyes. Tommy knew Joshy just wanted to have one night indoors in a bed. "Thanks but..." before he could finish Danny said "I have video games! Come with me. You don’t have to stay, just come play for a small bit." "We can't...." again he was interrupted but this time it was Joshy.”Oh Please, Tommy please." he looked at Joshy. Then back at Danny. Tommy sighed "Ok but only for a small bit. When I say we have to go, then we have to leave. No complaining." Joshy grabbed his waist and hugged him. He coughed again.

Danny took them down the street to a house on a corner. Tommy started to have second thoughts. "Come on. It is ok. My big brother is the only one home. Mom and Dad went to get some groceries." Danny led them into the house up some stairs to the first door on the right. Inside was a bed and lots of toys and a TV with a video game system hooked up to it. "Sit." Danny said as they came in. Danny Turned on the video system and handed both of them the controllers. Tommy turned it down "If you don’t mind, I would rather just watch. “ Joshy and you should play.” Danny shrugged and began to play a video game with Joshy.

A few hours later Danny's parents came home. His mother heard a cough coming from his room. "Oh that does not sound lovely. It sounds like Danny has caught a cold." She headed up the stairs to see if he was ok. Danny overheard his parents coming home snuck quietly out of his room and met his mother on the stairs. He put a finger to his mouth to tell her to be quiet and led her back down stairs. As soon as she reached the bottom she heard the cough again, still coming from his room.

She turned to go back up but he grabbed her hand and led her into the front room where his dad was already sitting on the sofa. "Before you ask let me talk.... We have to help them. I found them hiding in my tree house...." "Who?" His mother asked. "These two boys: Tommy and his little brother Joshy. I think they are homeless. The little one seems really sick and the older one has grabbed his chest a few times. I don't think they have had a lot of sleep. Tommy fell asleep less than ten minutes after being here and Joshy 30 minutes later." His mother held her hands covering her mouth as Danny spoke. His father kept looking to the stairs. "Please we need to help them." Both parents went slowly and quietly up the stairs. They peeked inside his room. His mother gasped. Then she whispered to Danny "Don't wake them. I need to talk to your father."

Tommy woke a few hours later and found a blanket on him and a pillow tucked gently under his head; he looked over and saw Joshy had the same thing. Suddenly he got scared. We need to go, before they call the cops to come get us. Tommy thought. He went over to Joshy and quietly woke him up "Shhh it's time to go." "But I don’t want to" Joshy said. "Remember you promised no complaining." Joshy remembered and nodded his head. They slowly moved around folding their blankets and placing them neatly next to the pillows that were given for their use. Tommy looked around. Danny was asleep in his bed. I wonder what time it is? Tommy thought. Joshy coughed. "Shhh" Tommy said. Suddenly he noticed their backpacks were nowhere in sight. He looked at Joshy "Do you know where our bags are?" he whispered. Joshy just shook his head no. He started to quickly and quietly move around the room looking for them. Fear struck him. "We have to go now, with or without those bags. He grabbed Joshy and started to leave. He quietly closed the door behind him and turned around to see a man standing nearby. His chest shot a pain like none before. He grabbed his chest and fell. "Tommy!" yelled Joshy.

Tommy was picked up and carried down stairs. The man started checking his pulse. "I am going to take them to the doctors. Go wake Jamie to watch after Danny" he said to the lady who had come to the stairs after hearing the scream. She went and woke the older brother and told him to watch Danny. Luckily both boys slept through the scream so she didn't have them worried too. She grabbed a blanket, her purse and met the guy out by the car. He had already got Tommy into the seat and Joshy next to him. "If he starts to close his eyes I need you to tell me" he told the little boy. Joshy just nodded wide eyed. "It is going to be ok" Tommy tried to protest everything but was too weak and felt the pain attacking him non-stop.

The doctor came in with the father and mother of Danny, and sat next to Tommy's bed. Tommy looked at them then looked down. He knew this was it. They were caught and would have to return to an abusive father and a bickering mother. He was prepared to do this all over again if he could save Joshy. Then he realized Joshy wasn't in the room with them. "Where is my little brother?" "He is ok, he is being looked after by Michelle one of our nurses here. He is a very funny boy that Josh" "Joshy" Tommy mumbled under his breath. "He is very brave, just like his older brother." Tommy looked at his hands. He knew the question was going to come up and here it came. "Where are your parents?" the Doctor asked. "We don't have any...we are .... Orphans" Tommy said. Hoping that would end the questioning but of course it didn't. "Orphans huh, Well you are a very brave lad taking care of your brother. However I think there is more to this story then you are telling me." Tommy looked at his hands again.

"Your brother had a very bad cough. He could have died. I know you mean well by taking care of him but how were you going to support yourselves?" The mother spoke up. "Do you know why you were rushed to the hospital?" The father asked. "Because I fell?" Tommy asked but knew better. "You are stressing your body out, both of your bodies. Your little brother is not ready for this kind of environment and neither are you. The pain you are having is from stress." The doctor said. "What is your goal?" asked the father. "My goal was to keep us safe, to protect Joshy, to take away the hurt and pain we are having and to live stress free....." he trailed off as soon as he said stress free. "This isn't stress free is it?" asked the father. "Tommy shook his head no. "You can’t run from your problems all they do is catch up with you. Your problems hang on to you so it is easy for them to catch up." Tommy fidgeted in the hospital bed.

"Here is your choice. You can keep running and never go anywhere or you can let us help you. It is up to you. My wife and I would love to help you and your little brother." The mother reached across and placed her hand affectionately on his. He never could recall a time when he felt true warmth from love. He looked up at her. "Please, let us help. Not always are things going to be easy in life but we can help you through them."

Tommy never asked for help instead he was being asked if he could be helped. His mind processes was always put up a wall, don’t trust others and protect what you have. Here was someone telling him to take down that wall and trust others, even if things get rough there is always a way out. He was not used to this. At first Tommy struggled with opening up, later he started to open up more and more. It took a long time for him to fully trust another person.

Now I can tell you it was mostly happily ever after. Tommy and Joshy's real parents lost custody of them and they were adopted by Danny's parents. The pain that Tommy had and the cough that Joshy had went away. Their life is a lot different. The father has taught Tommy that when he stressed not to run instead to face it straight on. He showed him different techniques of how to overcome things. Like instead of struggling on not remembering things for a test he makes up a rap to remember what he has to learn, or when he gets pains he goes into the front room sits down and prays. Tommy and Joshy's life have changed for the better.

Phillip opened his mailbox and received a card: Hey I am stoked over the ski trip we have planned. Danny, Jamie, Joshy You, Dawn, and I are going to have a blast lol and of course our parents will too. Dad has already rented our cabins and equipment. You don’t need anything, other than yourself!! Phillip smiled.


So as you see each deals with stress differently. Phillip ignored it, and Tommy ran from it. Both learned that ignoring and running does not make it go away. They had to confront stress and work on solutions. It is not always the best idea to do it alone. You may learn so much more with others help. They can support you.

How do you cope with stress? Send me a comment or an email and let me know.

~Hugs Keyria~

I love you, Lord, You are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my Savior. My God is my rock in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me and my place of safety. I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and He saved me from my enemies." Psalm 18:1-3

Phillip's Story conclusion

“Wow These look like the stressors!” Phillip said as he sat down next to his parents. Phillip felt overwhelmed after seeing all his stressors and decided to go ask for help to overcome the stressors and achieve his goals. He figured who best to ask other then his parents. He was sure they would have some great ideas and could help him not to feel so burdened with all his stress and he was right!

Look at what they came up with:

“I am sure there are more I need to write down but these are the main ones I can think of. Me and my parents sat down and found solutions to go along with my goals. This was to cut the stress out of the picture.”

Goals And Solutions

Catch- up work- I have three breaks at school, two breaks and a lunch. The two breaks I will be in the school library playing catch up. (lunch is with Dawn sigh) I will do catch up also 1 hour before bed time. (bed time no later than 11pm)

Balancing foot ball and games- This is going to be the same time as always from 3:30 to 5:30 during down play I will catch up on work

Hang time with friends- Parents and I discussed it supper is now going to be with friends unless I want to come home for supper. This is only allowed until I am fully caught up that this way I don’t have to worry about catching supper at home. How cool is that?

Hang time with Dawn -So from 5:30 to 7:00 it is hanging out with friends and Dawn. I am also having lunch with her at school. Once caught up I will be allowed to be out later and can take her on more dates.

Study – Starts at 7pm sharp and I must study the subject that I will be testing on the next day. To make sure I am paying attention to studing my father is going to study it with me asking questions. This will make my studing not so boring lol.

Unpacking- Father is moving all my boxes into my room closet so all I have to do is unpack. Mother has decided that they are all going into the closet until school is over. Once school is over then I will be allowed to unpack. yay! No nagging to unpack (oh sorry mom) lol.

Phone calls and house warming: If it is a phone call I am allowed only 30 minutes to talk this is so I don’t get stressed from loosing time on catch-up. Later that time will go back to be unlimited (during the summer when there is no school more likely). As far as people coming over to the house I am allowed to talk for 15-30 minutes then I must excuse myself and go start on my school work. Mother said she is going to try and have less people over so I wont be distracted. She said she may even have them come over earlier before I get there.

Fatigue: Father has postpone my working at the factory until I am all caught up. I did like working at the factory but I am glad I am getting more sleep.

Regular homework from the day before- this is to be done right after study time with father and right before catch-up time.

Phillip started his new goals. At first he struggled cause he wanted to hang out more with friends and trying to get his mind to switch from goofing off to studing was a bit harder. But then things started to change. Dawn at lunch time would help him study for tests. His friends would quiz him on tests or they would all work on thier homework together during supper. His grades improved so much that his parents told him they would throw a pizza party for him and his friends. His energy came back and he was less fatigued. In fact he had a better attitude and didnt look at stress as something that could over come him. Instead he looked at it like it was a piece of dirt that could quickly be dusted away with one swipe. Before the school year was over he had time to start up the factory again and to unpack a small bit. He was not sick or sore anymore and was excited to find out he would NOT be going to homeschool.

Amazing enough is that when we look at our goals we notice that we try and get it done ourselves. We focus on the wrong things and never get it done. Phillip did something that I think we all should do. Not only did he make the list but he went to others for help. He got advice.

Phillip was talking to his friend Tommy one day when Tommy said something that made Phillip think. "Phillip you have parents that helped you out. What if your parents only biker and fight and they dont even want to deal with you and your problems?' Phillip was taken back by this. He did have parents that didn't fight and they loved him very much.

So what do you do when not everyone can use the same advice you did for overcoming stress to get a goal done? Each person is different in how they stress, why they stress, and what solutions should be taken to cure stress.

Tommy, was failing his classes just like Phillip. Only Tommy had other problems to follow. Tommy came from a broken family. He had a older sister and a yonger brother. He was always protecting his younger brother and his older sister was always picking on him. He would often hage himself and.......

Guess what my ink ran out lol so I have to finish this story tomorrow :) Come back then to see Tommys story.

(If you like what you are reading or maybe you have something you want me to add or write about send me an email. let me know what your thinking. I look forward to hearing from you)

~Hugs Keyria~


I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. (Psalm 34:4)

Phillip's Goals and Stress Story

Phillip went to school prepared to face the day. "I can do this." he thought. As he entered the school building, he saw students running around everywhere. He got out his paper that showed him which class to go to first. His hands were a bit shaky but he took a deep breath and let it out slowly telling himself he was going to be ok. He had worried about meeting friends since it was the middle of a school year and most students would have already been settled in with their friends. You see, Phillip was new to the school. His family had just moved into town and was not to sure what to expect. Down the hallway was his first class. He straightened his backpack on his shoulder and headed for it. As he walked in he could feel some of the students staring. Others didn’t care and kept talking. “Class, Settle down. Take your seats” The teacher called. It was good to have familiar rules at each school. Everyone sat and he headed for the seat that didn’t have anyone in it. The teacher saw him and called him back to the front. This was a familiar thing too but not one he enjoyed.

“Introduce yourself and tell us a bit about you.” the teacher said. phillip placed his backpack down and went to the front and told the class a little about himself and where he was before. This continued in each of his classes always the same thing going to the front reintroducing himself to some of the students and others introducing himself. He was not one for giving speeches and used he would shake but he was getting familiar with the patterns of each school.
"Ha, well if I didnt know who I was before I am sure I do now. Having to repeat my life how many times?" he wondered iin his head.

During a break he wondered what it would be like if the class was the one that introduced instead of him. A few guys came over and talked to him that were from the football team. He tossed a ball around with them for a bit before break was over and decided to try out later for the team. However he started to realize his catch-up work was adding up. Even though he had a couple of weeks to play catch-up , he had a lot to do. He was not sure he could handle doing football on top of catching up but he didn’t want to miss out on making friends. So after school he headed into the field putting aside his work.

On the field he had a blast and met a few more good guys. They invited him out to get a bite to eat. Surely that couldn’t hurt he thought. By the time he got home it was 7:30pm his parents were upset because he hadn’t called and he got a talking to for that. He went upstairs to start on his work when he mother yelled for him to come down and get some boxes out of the car and take them to his room. They were still moving stuff in. He ran down and took each box (there was five of them in total) into his room. “Don’t forget to unpack and hang your clothes up tonight.” His mother yelled up to him. “I don’t want to go in there and see it not done. “ He sighed and quickly unpacked his clothes. “Are you hungry? Supper is a bit cold you can reheat it. We didn’t know you were not going to come home until later so we made an early supper. It is in the microwave if you want it.” His mother called up again. “K, Thanks mom” Phillip sighed and pulled his history assignments. He had over five report papers to do, end of the chapter reviews and he would be doing test catch-ups in the next few weeks. So he needed to study. “Son, don’t stay up late. We have to get up early and drive by the store to help Dan.” His father said.
Phillip had forgotten about that. He was supposed to go to a warehouse at five am and help unload truck before school. He looked at the clock it was now 9:30. "Where did the time go? he questioned already knowing the answer. " "In fact if you are not going to eat you should go to bed now.” His dad yelled up at him. “How was your day?”

Phillip sighed again. I can’t study and think while answering all these questions and sleep all at the same time. “It was fine. I am really tired I think I am going to study for a small bit then go to bed” He called down to his parents. “You didn’t study earlier???” his mother questioned. “No, mom I joined the football team” he could hear his father say to his mother “That is my boy” then his father yelled up. “I am proud of you son. You know what you want and you go for it.” He knew the speech that would come next about how when he was younger and in the football teams. So he stopped his father by yelling back. “Night Dad! Night Mom! I will see you bright and early in the morning."

He started to write one of the history papers. He wrote and wrote not paying attention to the time. By the time he was finished with his first draft he looked at the time. 11:30pm. I should go to bed he thought but I think I will just go ahead and do one chapter review in the history book. That one chapter turned into three chapters. He still had quite a few to go but at least those were finished. He was going to lie down and sleep when he looked at the time. 2:00 am. I won’t be able to get up if I sleep now so instead he started another history report. At 4:00 he took a shower to try and help him stay up and 4:15 he was dressed and ready to go. I will take a nap later today he thought. He was a bit proud that he accomplished what he had done in his history work yet he was very tired. He worked at the warehosuse until it was time for school. Then he started another day in school. Almost every teacher assigned another report paper which just added to all the other ones he needed to do. He was having a hard time focusing because of being so tired. He kept yawning and he felt slightly embarrassed when he seen a girl was watching him. During break he leaned against a tree to close his eyes a bit but that was soon interrupted by his new friends telling him to go with them to toss the ball around. At first he said no but they talked him into it. So off he went to play ball. He couldn’t wait for school to be over so he could go home and nap. As he was dreaming of how lovely that nap would feel, he closed his eyes and sat in his last class dreaming and litterly jumped when the bell sounded. He grabbed his stuff and bolted for the door. As Phillip was about to leave his friends called him. “Where are you going?” “Home” He replied as he was almost to the pavement outside. “Football practice!” They reminded him. He debated on saying he could not make it but he knew that you really cant miss any practices or the coach would be upset and think you are not in it to win. Off he trudged to the field with his new friends.

“You ok?” His dad asked as he got home later that afternoon.” Yeah I am just a bit tired. Hey I think I am going to take a nap can you wake me in a hour and a half?” His father smiled and nodded. He went up stairs to his room. And laid down. Two minutes later his mother knockson his door and walks in with a pile of clothes that just went through the washer.” I need you to go take out the trash. How was your day. You look ill are you ok?” “Yes I am ok, I am just tired. Can I take the trash out a bit later?” At first his mother was going to protest but then she looked at him and felt his forehead as if he was sick. “Sure” she walked out of the room. At last peace and quiet he thought. But that was cut short for not more then a second after he laid down and closed his eyes when he heard his mother yelling “Phillip the phone it is for you.” He went out and answered the phone. "Hello?.....Oh Hey!!! It is so good to hear from you..." It was his friend from the town before this one. He talked to him telling him about the new school, all the work he still had to do and about the team and people he met. He got off the phone and it was supper time. After supper he went up stairs and said I am only going to take a thirty minute nap he thought setting his alarm clock. As he fell asleep he started dreaming about being late, to work, late turn in home work, late to getting to football practice, late to getting home.” He woke in a panic and looked at the time. 6:07 am. He had slept the night away.

Can you see what his goals were? Can you see if he was stressing? How can you tell?

His Goals:

Meet new friends - He did this and proceeded to keep up with it by joining the football team
Catch-up homework- We can see him start to try this. He pulled a all nighter to try and get as much don as possible
Unpack- maybe not his highest priority but his mother is not going to let him slack on this goal
Study- of course he hasnt had much time to study other then doing catch-up. Even at that he hast tests coming up in the next few weeks.

Stresses:

Starting a new school
Meeting new friends
Introducing himself in front of others
Catch-up work and new work added
Time to balance football and catchup work together.

How would you feel in this situation? Would you change something differently?

Well this is not the end of phillips story. Nope this is only the beginning so come back tomorrow to see if he finishes his goals or if he lets stress take over and if that is the case what he may do to cope with it.

See you then

~Hugs Keyria~


For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29: 11-

Stress, Goals & Dust Bunnies....What a Combination

Phew!
All the dust bunnies are washed and clean. That was a task. All that havoc they made.

I wont lie at first I became stressed out! I didn’t know if I could handle it. But luckily I was able to round them all up and wash them from dust to dust and make the rust turn into shine. Of course I had some help from friends. How did I cope with the stress doing the job? Well....It wasn't easy that is for sure.

From right to left and left to right,
I raced and caught with all my might.
Sweat poured down my face and I bit my lip
As some of the bunnies gave me a slip.
I twisted and lifted and pulled and yank
The soda bottle I was prying open made me sit with a sank.
Oh the bunnies that is right that is what I was to do.
Catch each one saying "stop that!” and “You are through!"
Of course the laughed and I was stressed out.
My clothes were all dusty, laundry time where is the "Shout"
Back to the bunnies who were here and there
"Dust be gone" I say to all everywhere
Of course they don’t listen but wiggle in glee
A knock at the door... “Now who can that be?”
I look horrid but didn’t care
For I seen a mop and bucket just standing there.
I let them in, with water to drink.
I poured into bucket it came from the sink.
Off they went to my surprise
Catching bunnies and a few house flies.
Relax they said as I calmed down
For soon all the dust bunnies, now washed, headed out of town

How did you do with the challenge I gave you? Did you write down when you found a stress? How it felt? What you were doing?

This is the start of how we cope with stress when doing a job. For when you know the basis of when and how and where the stress may come then you can start to find solutions on how to over come stress. This helps getting stress to be broken down so we can do the job, task and goal at hand.

Stress! The common illness that affect s millions of people, animals and rocks…yes rocks …..ok well maybe not rocks but it affects living life. So how can we cure it?

Each person is different in how they stress, why they stress and what solutions should be taken to cure the stress.

Let’s break stress down a little deeper. We learned that stress is a negative strain on a person. Stress can happen by being mental, emotional, or physical and that it is caused by many reasons. Stress is everywhere. Its over there, over here, up there and around there. Most say you can’t avoid running into it. Well you may not avoid running into it but you can cope with it.

Hmm maybe it would be better to break it down and to understand by viewing a life of someone and that someone is Phillip! Phillip is a student at a new school....well you all know new schools, let alone any school, can be very stressful.

So be prepared to hear Phillips story tomorrow!

Until then have a wonderful day!!

~Hugs Keyria~

I can do anything through Christ Whom gives me strength~ Phillipians 4:13

Oh No!!

Oh no!
Dust bunnies came!

They lost my blog in a mess.
Oh what a pain I must confess.
I am going to have to dust them away.
"DUST BE GONE" I will say.

So as the dust clears from here and there
You'll have to wait till tomorrow I fear
To read the blog that was for today
But that is fine, it will be ok

For tomorrow is not far from now
Oh no did you hear that loud KAPLOW?
The dust bunnies are hopping everywhere
causing chaos to much to bare

I must go and round them up,
catch them and place them in the tub
To wash them from dust to dust
make them shine no more rust.

"Dust Be Gone" A new blog I will soon make
After I take a break on the lake
But as for now well have to wait
for that will be another date

So I will see you soon tomorrow
Dont be sad no more sorrow
For happiness will that day bring
The kind of blog that may make you sing

Have a great day and soon you will see
what Goals may come for you and me

~Hugs Keyria~

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalms 118:24

The Stress Challenge: Instructions Final (Day 5)

It's Here! It is finally here!

"Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to Great Places! You're off and away!" ~Dr. Suess

So are you ready for your last questions? Well lets make sure you wrote down the others first. They are:

What Symptom did you encountered?
What you were doing before it happened?
What time it was when it occurred?
How long did it last?
How did you feel before, during and after the encounter?

The last question is simple but needs to be asked.

What is the date?
Can you guess why this is important? Well this question is similar to the How long does the symptom last answer. By writing down the dates you can see how many days you have this feeling. This lets you see how often stress can control your life. Some people stress every day.

(Note: If you do stress every single day and have high, heavy symptoms dont wait for it to go away go see a doctor. Explain all the symptoms you are having and the length that they have been goin on for. Stress can be as serious as any other desease out there if not more serious. Stess does lead to death)

Can you imagine if you stressed everyday for one month. How well do you think your overall health would be? It would not be in tip top shape. Instead it could be so out of shape that it is affecting not only you but others around you. Remember to relax, breathe and wait patiently for symptoms to go away. If the symptom persists go to the doctors as soon as possibe!

There are so many symptoms stress causes, some being a life taker.

Ok now you have all the questions and you know what to look for each day. So grab those papers and pens and get to it. Start today!!! Find out how many symptoms you have and if you can Identify the main source.

Questions:
What Symptom did you encountered?
What you were doing before it happened?
What time it was when it occurred?
How long did it last?
How did you feel before, during and after the encounter?
What is the date?


So how do we cope with stress when we are trying to do our jobs?

Starts tomorrows. See you then

Hugs and Smiles

~Keyria~

Seek God’s will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take~ Proverbs 3:6
You can do anything through Christ who gives you strength ~ Philippians 4:13

The Stress Challenge: Instructions (Day 4)

Can you remember the four questions so far? If you said:
Do you sing in the shower? Do you like banna pudding sandwhiches? Is the sky really a dinosaur? and Can you sing while doing a headsand?
Then you may want to go read or reread the past blogs.

However if you said:
Can a carrot dance and sing at the same time.
Then you still need to go reread lol.

The four questions are:

What Symptom did you encountered?
What you were doing before it happened?
What time it was when it occurred?
How long did it last?

Did you get to notice how long a symptom lasted? If so did you realize if it was an actue or a chronic stress?

The next question Has to do with the feelings between you and your stress.

How did you feel before, during and after the encounter?
This is a question to get you aware of your body, emotions and your surroundings.

Take Josh for instant. Josh is a college student in his dorm studying for a final. It is quiet and he is learning a lot. In walks his roommate Jordan. Jordan goes grabs his guitar and starts to play it. At first Josh is a little frustrated because he wants to study and his friend is making noise but then after a while the music drowns away, until that moment when Jordan begins to sing. Josh turns gives Jordan a look to say stop, then goes back to studying. Jordan at this moment smiles and goes to the radio turns it on really loud to be a pain.

Josh turns around now with a higher stress level and more agitated then before. His mind is racing thinking how is he going to study with all this noise and his heart is pounding from his emotions rising. “Will you PLEASE be quieter?” He asks then turns back to his studying. Jordan turns off the radio and sighs heavily waiting for Josh to respond. Josh instead keeps focusing on his studying. So Jordan again sighs heavily. This time he sighs adding a ‘Ho Ho HUM” to the end of it. Josh still ignores his friend as much as he can. By this point josh is not only annoyed but overwhelmed with all the negative thoughts in his head. He is feeling rushed, angry, annoyed, and stressed.

“Hey, you want to hear a joke?” Jordan said “No.:” Josh replies firmly. “Ok, what has three legs, is green, sings with a lisp and eats only pickles?” No response. “do you know?” Jordan persists. Josh says nothing. “Yoo hoo you alive over there?” Still no response. Suddenly the door opens and there is Tristen his other roommate. “You guys will not believe what happened to me today” Josh gets up slams his book shut. Grabs his pencil and notebook, pushes past his roommates and leaves the room. Now with the highest anger he could have. “what’s gotten into him?” Tristen asked? Jordan shrugged.

“Ugggggh. How dare they, cant they see I am studing?” Says Josh to himself as he is walking down the hall towards the library. All the sudden a sharp pain comes upon Josh. He stops. He starts to not be able to breathe. “This is not good” He thinks. “Slow breathing , In and out, in and out” He tells himself. He slowly moves out of the isle to the wall where he leans gently against it. The pain slowly releases. He starts to think about how embarrassed he was. Why did I get so mad? They weren’t trying to be mean to me they were just being their normal selves. As the pain releases he starts to feel relief, a calmness. He then realizes it was his chest that was hurting.

It is a good thing to notice how you are doing throughout each situations. Without knowing you can actually hurt yourself. If you notice you are aware of how you are feeling mentally and phsyically. Well lets break down Josh's feelings

Before:
Josh was studing quietly. So he was on low stress. He may had a small bit of stress since he was studying but it was very low.
This is where things get interesting
Josh’s temper started to rise and caused his heart to pump faster. He became annoyed, upset and angry. He was letting stress take over him.

During:
Soon he was at the peak of anger. Josh's heart was beating so very fast that it caused him to have chest pains and not be able to breathe. The pain was so strong that it made him not be able to focus on where it was on him but instead on the fact that it was there. So he focused on his breathing.

After:
Josh started to calm himself down focusing on breathing he realized the feeling of pain was coming from the chest. He felt relieve as the pain disapeared. He felt embarressed.

Overall: He realized that all this was caused by his actions. Over all he felt anger to calm: a range of opposite emotions. All because of one word: STRESS

Only one question left and that is for tommorow: So make sure you keep your notebooks and pencils ready.

Hugs and Smiles

~Keyria~

Seek God’s will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take~ Proverbs 3:6
You can do anything through Christ who gives you strength ~ Philippians 4:13

The Stress Challenge: Instructions (Day 3)

Ok so now you know three of the six questions:

What Symptom did you encountered?
What you were doing before it happened?
What time it was when it occurre?

What other questions can there be? Well here is the next Question:

How long did it last? Why do we need to know this question? Because we need to find out what kind of stress you are having. If it only last a short time then there may be a quick fix but if it last for quite some time. Then there may be a need for a concern.

Did you know there are two types of stress?

Acute stress- which is a quick response to the situation that your body does. This could raise your blood pressure or cause your heart to be rapid. Luckly, you recover from this stress quickly most of the time without hardly any harm. That is due to your body’s response to the intensity of the stress, the actions taken to calm down the stress and get rid of it all together.

However, sometimes if you do not react cautiously this can cause a heart attack or other symptoms. So it is still a concern.

Chromic stress- is a long term stress on the body. This is a condition that could last for a life time and cause you to have difficulties in your daily routines, in your work life and in your home life. This can make any preexisting problem of health that you have to become a bigger problem.
With knowing which one of these is causing the problem we cannot find out how to fix it.

If a doctor did not know if a person was having a heart attack or a chronic back pain then how would a doctor treat the symptoms. It would not be wise to give heart attack medications to a person having chronic back pain, nor would it be wise to give chronic back pain medications to the person with the heart attack. For those are two separate medications for two separate health Conditions.

In the same way we need to know the length of your stress symptom. That way we we can look for the right treatment for the right length of the problem

Ok go take a break for a bit. See how long a symptom is that you may have had or may have today, or maybe a friend had one. See if you noticed the length of the stress. Then come back tomorrow for the next question.

Hugs and Smiles

~Keyria~

Seek God’s will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take~ Proverbs 3:6
You can do anything through Christ who gives you strength ~ Philippians 4:13

The Stress Challenge: Instructions (Day 2)

Yesterday you got the first two questions:
What Symptoms did you encountered? and What were you were doing before it happened?

Are you Ready for the next question?

What time it was when it occurred:
Why would we need to know the time? This seems like an odd question right? Well actually the time that it happens could be a reason for the symptom. The best way to describe this is by looking at allergies. Some have them in the morning others at night. They are consistent to happen during the same time. This is the same as some symptoms.

Sonya was always a very perky person. But during 2pm each day during her History class she would get terrible headaches. These would make it hard to concentrate to the class. She begin to stress major and soon she was failing the class. She didn’t understand. History was her favorite subject yet here she was unable to do the in class assignments and more importantly the tests. However, her homework was always A’s. How can this happen she wondered?

One day the teacher called Sonya to class early to discuss what was going on. She explained that each time she came into the class she would get a headache and not be able to concentrate. She explained that she was stressing a lot and she didn’t understand why this was happening since she loved history. Sonya and the teacher went through options of what it could be that was causing the headaches. They checked the lights but they were the same as in each of the rooms. They checked to see if where she was sitting was causing her to be too far back to where she couldn’t see the board or hear the teacher very well but she was fine with her spot able to read perfectly and understand every word the teacher said. They figured they would find a way for her to catch up later after class, for it was five minutes to start.

Sonya went and sat down as the teacher pulled out a spray can. She started to spray around the room this air freshener and then placed the bottle back into her drawer. Within a few minutes Sonya started to feel her head begin to hurt. Within ten minutes her headache was strong. She suddenly thought could it be the air freshener? She asked the teacher if they can open the windows a small bit cause she thinks she understands why she was getting her headaches. As the time went on Sonya’s headache started to release and she was able to comprehend more. The fresh air was helping break up the air freshener.

It turns out every day her teacher would spray before the kids got there for a pleasant smelling class. Without realizing it that spray was causing Sonya’s headaches. The headaches were causing her to not be able to concentrate very well in class. Without that concentration she was failing which then lead ultimately to Sonya’s stress.

Not such an odd question when we realize that time does make an importance to situations.

Are you ready for question four? Yep you guessed it that will be for tomorrow. So keep those pens and papers handy.

Hugs and Smiles
~Keyria~

Seek God’s will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take~ Proverbs 3:6
You can do anything through Christ who gives you strength ~ Philippians 4:13

The Stress Challenge: Instructions (Day 1)

Wow! Look at all those things on your list! And all of those whether a lot or a little are from stress.
Ok so we have our list and some have a major cause of stress, so what is the next step?

Next step will help you identify your major cause of stress if you don’t know what it is. This step takes a lot of work to stay ALERT and FOCUSED. You will need a notebook and pen on you at ALL TIMES.

Stress Challenge: Starting on Friday, Try keeping a notebook on you for one month writing in it each time you have a symptom of stress. Make sure you answer all the questions I will be giving you in the next few days.

Every time you encounter a symptom I want you answer 6 questions. The first two are:

What Symptom did you encountered:

What you were doing before it happened:

So how does this help?
For one thing most of us do not really focus on what is going on with us. Some of us however are overly aware. Either way this will help us pin point the problem or problems high point of stress. That way later we can look for the solutions.

So why then each one of those questions?
Just like a doctor needs to have all the facts so that he/she can check all the possibilities and find the right cure we must do the same. Imagine going to the doctor and leaving out how many days it happened, or how long it lasted. They may think that this is just a once in a blue moon thing and it is not to be worried about. When in reality this is happening everyday and needs to be checked.

First: What symptom did you encounter?
This question is straight forward and to the point. Did you encounter a racing heart? What about a rash? What about shortness of breath or dizziness? These are things that are very important to know. Write down all symptoms that apply.

Second: What you were doing before it happened:
This question is to find out if maybe it is a certain similarity that may be causing it. Maybe you do a lot of lifting and this is putting stress on your body. Or maybe you are watching a movie that has got you so wrapped in it that you fear as if you were the character in the show. Or maybe you are doing something that is racing your adrenalin. These are all things to be aware of. This is so that if you have the same symptom during the same activities then you learn that maybe that activity is not one that you should be doing or maybe you are doing it wrong. You may want to tone it down.

If you go to the gym and you exercise but you start to get dizzy and short of breath you don’t keep going. Instead you slow down or take a break. This is the same with finding out that it may be an activity, Try slowing it down, taking a break or doing a different activity that is similar but stress free.

So what is the next question I need to write down?

You dont have to be curious for long that will be answered tomorrow. So have your pens and paper prepared.

Hugs and Smiles
~Keyria~

Seek God’s will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take~ Proverbs 3:6
You can do anything through Christ who gives you strength ~ Philippians 4:13

Steps for Stress

So did you figure out what which stress problem happened?

Well unfortunately it wasn’t just one!

His shoulder started to give him discomfort and pain. Then He started to have headache and diarrhea . His lack of sleep came from his negative thoughts of feeling insecure, not being able to do the job, self-doubt feeling low self-worth. He started to feel the anxiety hit and became frustrated when he was not able to comprehend things like before. He was feeling overwhelmed , worried and began to have a speech problem. Then came the tensing after forgetting things he knew. But he really struggled with stress after seeing a skin irritation (stress rash) on his hands and he seemed to be going slower at work. So to him his efficiency at work was lacking the normal energy he once had.

That is quite a bit if you really look at all the problems he was having. Yet he didn’t realize he was having problems he just blamed everything on himself and not realizing that he was having heavy symptoms of STRESS. No one really sees all of what is going on until they take time to focus on each problem.

So let’s see if we can help cure this. As I said yesterday, people will turn to things to help them cope with stress. They push the stress aside and focus on their new project in front of them. Not all of these things will help in fact all it does is shield the problem. It is like throwing a blanket over the mess around your room. The mess is still there but now you can’t see it because you are focusing on the blanket. Or we push all the mess to one side of the room. What will this accomplish? If we stress but cover it up we just create more stress. This becomes a bigger problem.

“The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken” ~ Lloyd Cory

I love that quote. It puts things into perspective. We may not want to deal with our stress so we push it aside thinking it will go away. But until we face the stress, face that mess we placed along the side of the room or under that blanket and remove it piece by piece. It will never go away but keep consuming us.

To get stress out of our lives so we can focus on our goals we must do some actions similar to actions being done for our goals. This is all a step by step process. Just like picking up that mess piece by piece. To make sure that you do get rid of it.

We start by identifying why you are stressing. What is the major cause of it? It could be your Job, Finances, Relationship etc.

Did you find your major cause of stress? Sometimes this is not easy. Only because sometimes we don’t realize we are stressing. So that is when step two and three come into play. This is how the ones who may not know what their major cause is can figure it out.

Just like with goals, Make a list. This is a list of your symptoms.

So your goal for today is to go right down your major cause of stress if you know what it is if not, then just list all the symptoms of stress you have encountered while trying to get a goal done.

Tomorrow we are going to find out what to do with that list.

Until then have a great day

~“Hugs” Keyria~

Seek God’s will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take~ Proverbs 3:6
You can do anything through Christ who gives you strength ~ Philippians 4:13

S.T.R.E.S.S. Is not for Goals

STRESS…ewww another yucky word.

What exactly is Stress?
Stress when looked up is: A cause of strain that is felt by a person whether be emotional, Physical, or Mental. Or as I call it “Surviving The Real Emotions Surrounding Someone.”

Why do we dislike this word?
This word is not just a word but a word with conditions applied to it.

What does that mean?
It means Stress can cause a disturbing affect. Stress can cause many symptoms. Each symptom can be at different levels. Some of these are:

• Headaches (migraines at times)
• Digestive problems
• Soreness all over, muscle tension
• Back/chest pain (almost any pain anywhere)
• Autoimmune disease, Decreased immunity (easy to catch colds, infections and allergies)
• Feel insecure, low self esteem
• Breakdowns, feeling of not being able to cope
• Confusion, hard to make decisions, lack of concentration, trouble understanding or learning new information, hard to communicate
• Memory problems, forgetfulness, unclear
• Lack of humor
• Racing or pounding heart
• Shortness of breath and holding your breath
• Dry mouth, hard to swallow, thirst
• Tightness all over, tense, jaw clenching
• Over react to small things
• Increased minor accidents
• Obsessive or compulsive behavior
• Lack of work productivity and efficiency
• Overly defensive or suspicious
• Lack of interest
• Self Doubt, Low self-esteem
• Overall Change
• Phobias, jumpy, feeling wired • Depression, Sadness, Crying (which can lead to overeating, Obesity and sometimes under eating and/or suicidal thoughts)
• Raised blood pressure
• Skin conditions, rashes, irritations
• Heart Disease and/or heart Palpitations
• Upset stomach, heart burn and Nausea, vomiting
• Sleep problems, Restlessness, insomnia, nightmares
• Worry, racing thoughts
• Anxiety and Panic Attack
• Irritable, anger, outbursts, fustration
• Feeling overwhelmed and/or overloaded
• Negative thoughts and negative self talk, (leads to suicidal thoughts)
• Feeling loneliness or worthlessness
• Mood swings, feeling out of control, fear, guilt, denial, emotional shock
• Lack of energy, lack of motivation
• Sweaty palms, Sweating for no reason
• Butterflies in stomach, Nervousness (which can lead to fidgeting, foot tapping, stuttering, shaking, rapid or mumbled speech or other behaviors)
• Horrid Bowl movement problems like diarrhea, constipation or frequent urination)
• Tired, fatigued, weak, dizzy, light headed

Some will start up addictions to try to overcome stress by using activities to calm themselves or putting their focus on something else. These can include but are not limited to

• Drug use
• Smoking or increased smoking
• Social withdrawal/ isolation
• Physical or mental abuse against yourself
• Use of over the counter drugs
• Controlling
• Gossiping
• Taking up a sport
• Cleaning
• Excessive Exercise
• Blaming others, overly suspicious • Under eating (as mentioned above
• Alcoholic use
• Crying spells
• Over Spending, impuse buys
• Adrenalin rush activities
• Lies and excuses
• Gambling
• Arguing, fighting, Getting violent (getting into conflicts with family, friends, co-workers, others) • Try to take on others problems
• Be someone other then yourself/ personality change

Wow! That is a bit scary when you look at what stress can do to you. Now is it a wonder why having stress can affect your goals?

I have a friend that works in a very fast pace job. He has been working there for many years. His goal is to get his tasks done. He works mainly in the back area where it is usually himself while there are others in the front working with customers. Lately though his job is changing so he is dealing a bit more with the customers then before. This has caused him to stress!

Look at all the things that can happen to him when he stresses. Eeek. Do you want to guess what happened to him?

Well I will tell you tomorrow. Can’t wait to see you then!


~ “Hugs” Keyria~

Seek God’s will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take~ Proverbs 3:6

You can do anything through Christ who gives you strength ~ Philippians 4:13

Stress management

Oh, you didn’t think I was done did you lol. Of course not, Ok so now that we have our start let’s go on a bit. So we decided no more excuses, we are going to think positive from here on out and be patient with our results. We are trying to be realistic and not give in to our pressures. We are making substitutions for our sacrifices and having support from others. We have a long list and broke it into manageable time; we have found the first goal and begun.

Everything seems to be going good. But then ….

Jessica was out on her daily walk. She wanted to lose weight and she figured she was ready. She knew the steps to start her goal and she knew what to do to overcome it or so she thought. She had been doing this since three weeks ago. She started going for walks thirty minutes a day. She was thinking how wonderful it was that she was sticking to it. How great she was feeling. She was very excited. Sure she didn’t see the results but they would surely come in. I just have to be patient she thought. Then a phone call came in. Her walking suddenly came to a halt. “What? How?.... When?...... Where?...... Why?” As she said ok and hung up her eyes suddenly filled with tears. There had been a family emergency for her Father who came down with cancer. She wiped her tears finished her walk though it seemed to take forever. She got home and packed getting ready to go visit her Father and see what exactly needed to be done. You see it was just her and her younger sister who was still in college. Her sister had a lot of things still to do. So it was up to Jessica to step up and take the role of guardian caretaker. Jessica got to her father’s house. He was there instead of the hospital and was refusing to take his medications to help him. He refused all help from any person that was associated with the hospital.

Jessica looked around the house it was a disaster. It looked as if a twister came through and tore up the place. She sighed and started to pick up the dirty clothes lying everywhere. RING. She answered her phone again. This time it was her work saying they couldn’t approver her request to take a few days off to get her father settled because she was the only person not on vacation. “How can this be happening?” she thought. She tried to make a deal but no luck she had to be there. For the next few weeks Jessica started to commute. She went to work then back to her fathers to take care of him, clean his house and keep up on his bills that he had also been lacking to do. Another phone call came in and her sister needed her to sew her costume for the college play. Jessica apologized saying she was too busy but her sister begged and pleaded that she finally gave in. She had extra work on top of all of this reports she needed to finish and hand in each morning to her boss. Soon Jessica had lost track of how many months went by. She started to eat out almost every night bringing the fast food home. She was just too tired to cook. Her exercising was nonexistent. Gone. It had slowly faded without her realizing it.

Instead of realization of her surroundings and situation, she replaced her goal with overwhelming thoughts about what all needed to be done, Stressing about time management, and breaking down every second until she couldn’t take it anymore. There are always going to be things in your life that will slow you down from your goal. Things that you may not be able to control (especially on your own). However we can control our mind set. If we really try to that is. For Jessica that became hard because she became stressed. She let the stress control her to forget her own goals. It took hold of her.

For the next couple of days I would like to talk to you about stress and time management. How you can work around it to accomplish our goals. Stress is not easy to overcome and most of us push it aside and figure we can deal with it later only to realize that it builds and later we are unable to handle it when it decides to surface again. That is when we break down. This can be avoided with the knowledge of time management.

So I will see you tomorrow.

~ “Hugs” Keyria~

Seek God’s will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take~ Proverbs 3:6
You can do anything through Christ who gives you strength ~ Philippians 4:13

Rewarding Passion

Well you have made it this far what could you do next? Only something enjoyable of course.

REWARDS! Everyone love rewards. It is always fun to treat yourself at the end of each goal that you have achieved. Just something small that you enjoy would be a great idea for rewarding yourself. Be reasonable. If you are dieting and you reached your goal wieght I wouldnt go out and buy the most fattening item on a menu. Instead I would proably go to a clothing store and purchase a new clothes item you had always wanted to wear. Alot of people buy bathing suits. Those who save for a car may buy an extra feature that doesnt cost much like a steering wheel cover, or a new cd to play inside the car. Those who achieved getting a degree may enjoy taking a vaccation. It doesn't have to be the most expensive vaccation, instead it could be a one day trip to a place you never visited, or maybe a two day trip to a favorite place of yours just to relax. It is a way to say Thank You to yourself after being so loyal to achieving your goal.

Goals are always with us. Even when we finish we don't just stop what we have learned. If we did people who lost all the wieght would gain it back. No instead we keep doing what we learned. So next comes motivation. Think of ways that we can motivate yourself. These are way to stay passionate about your goals because:

GOALS = PASSION and visa versa

What I mean is: If you had goals and no passion then you would never achieve your goal. For you would not have a want or a thrill to achieve the goal. To have a goal you must have had passion for it. For you don’t make goals without passion. Exp a person wanting to be a photographer would have a goal to be a photographer because that person has a passion for it. A person wanting a car would set a goal and succeed in doing so because they had a passion to get the car. Goals and passion go hand in hand.

Without passion you have no want for a goal. A person who does not like soccer would not set a goal to be a professional soccer player, nor would a person who did not like math would not go into an accounting job. Try not to make goals complex. Let them be something simple and easy that you enjoy.

A big thing to remember is that each goal you set in one way or another represents a healthier YOU. You would not set that goal if you did not want to improve something about you. It could be losing weight, finding a job, getting a dream car or it could be setting a goal to raise money for orphan which you learn to humble yourself. Goals help people see their potential and when accomplished let the person feel great. There is always going to be goals in your life. Don’t get overwhelmed instead just have fun and work on them one at a time. You may be surprised how they can shape who you are. If you have a passion you will succeed more so then if you don’t.

So let’s go over these again:
1) No more excuses
2) Have a change of mind (have discipline and think positive)
3) Be patient (don’t rush) Take the Time to Try the Truth
4) Be realistic, especially when it comes to timing
5) Don’t give up or give into pressure
6) Sacrifice with Passion
7) Make substitutions. (Enjoy the small things)
8) Write a list, break each goal down into time & needs to achieve. Mark off finished goals.
9) Search 4 Solutions and Support
10) Reward yourself
11) Goal = representing a healthier you
12) You fill in this one ;) What did you learn?

Goals= Go Out And Learn (Love) Success

Testimony: I work with God on all my goals. We are always working on a goal in my life to help me improve and be more like Christ. There are many Goals I have achieved with God’s help, from the first job I had to the first place of my own. I have even written a couple of stories and have gotten awards for them. All of this could not be done for me without my Father in Heaven.
~K. Hollon~

I can do all things through Him who gives me strength
~Philippians 4:13~
Seek God’s will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.

~Proverbs 3:6 ~

Sacrificing with Passion

So I know all the rest that you have said what could be more then that?

Even with all the things I have mentioned before you still have another major thing that needs to happen:

SACRIFICE.
Yuck!! Now that is not a word we want to hear.

Why would I say that? Well with each goal there are things needing to be done. For getting a car you must save money. To save means to sacrifice splurging on things such as movies. To get to a certain weight you sacrifice time by going to the gym and certain foods you once ate. But it is not just enough to sacrifice.

You must sacrifice with Passion!!!

What does that mean? Well when people see the word sacrifice they already put on a face saying “Yuck do I have to?” This makes them think of sacrificing in a bad way. When you sacrifice in a way of enjoyment then that is a different story.

An example: Instead of going to the movies, you go out and work on mowing lawns, raking leaves and other yard work for a little bit of cash. As you do these things you find fun ways to keep you thinking of them as chores. Maybe you get to keep the leaves after getting them in a bag then go over to a friend’s house and dump them out for their kids to jump in. Or maybe while you are mowing you sing a song loudly and no one has to plug their ears because they can’t hear you.

You sacrifice your time to get your goal obtain. While sacrificing you have fun. Sacrifice is giving up something you love. This may be the movies, but in the long run you better yourself or that of another.

There are other ways of sacrifice that I would say is more of a substitute. Like instead of going to the movies why not enjoy staying at home watching a movie you haven’t seen in a long time with your friends. Maybe you can make your own movie with a phone camera and place it on you tube seeing how many comments you get. Or use a jar and all the money you find out and about place in that jar. Once you have enough for a movie ticket then treat yourself to the movies (better yet once you have enough for two tickets or more treat you and others). Another example is instead of rushing to become an animal trainer right now, why not work on your own animals and see if they follow your lead. This well help you in the long run to be prepared more.

And how can we prepare ourselves?

By looking up information on our goals, Searching for information online, in books, magazines, even some documentaries may have some information. Youc an go out ask others like your friends, families, others that have the same goals or have succeeded in what you are trying to do. Even doctors may be good to ask on some goals.

With good information and good support (from friends, family, support groups, etc) You will have another step closer to obtaining your goal.

What else can you do? Start by writing a list. Write down your finances, listing the goals you want to set and how long it would take to set them. (remember to be realistic) Then place then into categories. Place you priorities on top. Work on the top one and go down. Do not do more than two goals at once for it will become very overwhelming. It is better if you can just work on one at a time. Put all your focal point into that one area.

Look at each goal you want to reach thoroughly and make sure they are all realistic and can be achieved. Mark them off one by one as you make your way down the list. Make sure you are listing your solutions and supports for each goal. And never be afraid to ask family, friends and others for help.

HELP!!! .... don't forget to be respectful either. For when you are not and you are bossy or pushy others wont help out. They will remember you as being rude and try to avoid. When you are polite and respectful others are more often likely to help out. Then there are even some that will go beyond what most would when helping and may get you to where you want to be. They could even turn into mentors or great contacts.

"Oh, I see. Would you be so kind as to help me on this?" There that is better.

"So what is next???"

That you will find out tomorrow. Until then have a great day!

~Keyria~ :)

Never Again

So what do you think the number one mistake for achieving goals is? If you said quiting you are correct!

Many of us try to do too much at once that we get so fustrated and we give up. We quit on our goals. We can overwhelm ourselves with our goals and it can take as little as forgeting to do something or missing a day may make us quit. I have seen one to many people (myself included) get fustrated when they mess up on a diet plan and eat something not on the diet list, or missing a day at the gym makes them not want to go back. They fall right back into thier old routine again, just cause they feel like a failure for missing that one day.

Get that thought out of your mind!!! Change your mind set to think as a child. Remember when you were walking? You fell but then got up again. No matter how many times you fell you still got on your feet again. As a child we didn't give up. That is what we need to learn as adults. I dont know how that mind set changed during our process of growing up. I would like to talk to whoever put a damper in our world by telling us "Oh you can't" when we could and should have.

The more you practice the stronger you will be. Don’t let others put you down either. A friend I knew gave up on his goal to be a photographer because someone told him “That field is hard to get into. There are not that many jobs out there and you won’t make a living off of it.” He got bummed and stopped trying.

Another friend friend I knew was going into acting. She was a very good actress. Sadly it took only one person to tell her “I didn’t put you in the play because you are a bit on the bigger side and I need smaller actresses.” She took that as the worst thing ever. She became embarrassed and quit acting. She gave up on her goal to be an actress.

If we were to all start to do this then humans would not have gotten this far in our life with technology and other things. Plus we would not go any further. Instead we would be close to all being the same (like robots and I surely dont want to be a robot do you?).

Imagine if you went back in time and explained electricity to those that never had it. They would look at you funny or imagine what it must have been like to be the first person who landed on the moon or the first to fly a plane. What society has said to be impossible has become possible. I always hear a song from a cartoon that lyrics go "Never say Never whatever you do" Do you remember that song? Can you figure out which cartoon it is that had it in it?

The world is not flat it is round and full of ideas, so go out and have fun using them!!

Ok so far we know not to make excuses for they get us nowhere. We need to change our mind and be realistic. We need to take time to try truth and not rush into things, and now we know not to give up.

So then it looks like we know everything. Right?
Nope! There is still more when it comes to goals.
More?
Yep more. But you have to wait until tomorrow to learn more.

~Keyria~ :)

"If you believe that your dreams will come true they will come true in the end. Keep the courage don't dispair. Take heart and count to ten. Hope for the best work for the rest and never say never again." From a wonderful cartoon to watch.