Stress Tip #24 Dim the lights

"Hahaha that is great do it again of on of on of on!" Tabitha said to her older sister Danielle. Her older sister was making her laugh as she turned on and off the lights to make a strobe look for her. "haha I love it. I wish it could do that all the time." Danielle turned on the lights full and left them there as she went over to her bed. "O.K time for us to do homework." She said and pulled out her workbook. Tabitha giggled then calmed down. Tabitha got up went over to the lights and started to flicker them on and off. "Come on Tabby we had fun lets do our homework before mother yells at us." But Tabby kept going. She giggled and giggled. Then she stopped the lights went off and there was no sound. "Tabby?" Danny said confused. She could barely make out the form near the light switch. "Turn on the lights" but the form didnt move. Danielle got up and moved slowly to the lights. Her sister still didn't move. "Tabby, are you ok?" She said as she turned ont he lights. "AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Her sister screamed at the top of her lungs. danielle got scared. Something was wrong. "Turn them Offfff!!!! Tabitha screamed. Danielle could see the tears coming from her sisters eyes. She shut off the lights quickly. Tabitha was still making noises but she wasn't screaming. "What is going on?" Danielle asked after a while of waiting with her sister in the dark. "My head hurts" Tabitha said through the sobs. Right then Danielle understood...Migrane. "lets get you to the bed. Lets lie down and relax you can see the glowing stars on our cielings it will relax you because it is not to bright. I will go get mother for her to help with meds." Danielle got Tabitha into bed and went and got her mother. As her mother talked to her they realized the flickering lights were fun at first but then they caused a migrane on tabby and that wasn't fun. Her head was hurting when they first started but because Danielle kept stopping it was slowly becoming intense. Then with Tabby she kept going which caused it to peak. After sleep and her medication Tabitha felt better. But to be on the safe side they lowered all the lights and made it a calm setting house for her.

#24 Lower the lights

You know how when you have a migraine you can’t handle sound or light. Well to relax yourself you turn off or lower them both. We do this cause it causes more of a relaxed calm setting. This helps wtih the pain we have to lower itself or vanish completely. In this same way we can relax by doing the same. We feel at ease after we lower the lights.

Bright lights are good for certain activities but we lower the lights for alot. I like to watch movies but I dont like bright lights in the room. It draws away from the movie and distracts me. It makes me to focused of what I may need to do around me then for me to relax. So if I lower, dim, or shut the lights off and watch a movie. I am more relaxed and focused on the movies. -Jim

The only bright light I want to see is Jesus Christ. There are so many bright lights that they do give headaches. You walk into a store and thier lights are on so bright that you are blinded and want to leave as quickly as possible. I tend to shop in a low light setting stores. I like when they have one light on one light off throughout the store. For one it feels like they are saving energy and for two it is not so bright that it hurts me. Usually they tend to be the smaller stores. It does help cause if you want to draw attention to a paticular selling items you can use a light right there and it drowns out what you may not want to be noticed around it. But dont think it will drown out all things. When I go into a dim lighted store I want to stay in there longer checking everything out and seeing what I want whereas when I go into a bright light store I may quickly walk out or I may try to grab what I want really fast and then run out. (of course I pay for it first). -Amy

I like when the lights are low or off because you get to see more light! What I mean by that is we just had fireworks for the Fourth of July. If we did it during the day it just would not look as nice but at night it looks wonderful. At Christmas we use lights to decorate our houses. During the day they are not much to look at but at night they are bueatiful and we have gone to a black light mini golf. It is dark but bright on the course. It is neat to see these things. Had the lights been on brights we would not see them to thier full potential. -Chris

I love candles. I use them to unwind at the end of the day. Instead of having on all the lights I put on a candle. Read a book and just injoy. Besides candles are very romantic and what girl does not like romance? -Elaine

Bright lights, Low lights, no lights. It is amazing how a light can affect us in different ways:

• No lights makes us want to sleep
• low lights we are at eased (typically romantic, relaxed or stress free)
• Bright lights is more for having fun (waterpark, concerts here we come!)

Todays challenge: Take 15 minutes or more and lower the lights at your workplace, home or where ever you may find you need. Sit back and relax. You can put on music, watch a movie, just do something in low lights. Check out the difference.

~Hugs Keyria~

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12

Stress Free Tip #23 Have a good meal

The aroma coming from the kitchen was almost to much to bear for Martha. She knew she was not allowed in the kitchen still she stared at the door. She could just barely taste each of the smells that were being released out of the kitchen on her tounge. She never really had to sit at a table and wait for a meal. In fact she never really got to have a meal other than what she could scavage from the garbage bins. This was her first "True" meal that she could remember. She couldn't even imagine this moment a day ago even if she tried but here she was now in brand new clean clothes not the rags she had worn for years. She kept fidgeting with her dress and looking back at the kitchen doors. She never wore a dress and it would have been more of a concern to her but the smell of the food was more exciting than anything.

"Hang in there. It wont be much longer." Josh, a blonde hair blue eye lad said. He was near the same age as her and was all dressed in a nice pant and shirt. She smiled weary at him. He chuckled. Josh was the son of the family that took her in. They had met her the day before. She was in a alley way being bullied by a few boys. She had been bullied by them before. Josh had seen it and said something to his dad. Less then 15 minutes later she was in a car being driven away from the world she used to live in. They had finalized everything with lawyers and others on her legalization to become part of thier family. "Family" How wonderful that sounded. She never had one before...well agan not that she could remember. She looked at the plate and silverware in front of her. She was unsure of those items but she thought if it has to do with food it can't be bad.

Suddenly a wiff of the most tasty aroma hit the air and onto her tounge. She looked up to see Chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes, and more being brought out to the table. Martha's eyes widen as she looked at all the food. She had never seen so much of it before. She had seen parts of a chicken that was left but never a whole one. She couldn't take her eyes off the food. This had to have been the happiest day of her life.

#23 Have a good meal

I have heard it said "A way to a man's heart is through food." It is true. It pleases him. He becomes happy and satisfied. Have you noticed that if you are stressed out you tend to go out to eat. This helps lower the stress level of cooking a meal. Then you tend to eat something you enjoy and it seems to take the edge off things. This may not be a complete way to cancel the stress but it does lower the stress.

"Eat something you are going to enjoy eating. Whether it is a home cooked meal or a out to eat restaurant. Indulge in something that will fill those taste buds with pleasure. Or skip the meal and just indulge in a desert. Sometimes all we need is that sweet taste and we are more relaxed." ~Janelle

Tip: Dark Chocolate has been known to bring out the happiness in you. So, go ahead and have that apple a day..... but make sure you ask for it to be dipped in dark chocolate lol.

Todays Challenge: Have a piece of dark chocolate!

~Hugs Keyria~

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!~ Psalm 119:103

Stress Free Tip #22 Grumpy and Friends

Do you remember the 7 dwarfs? Doc who was like the head of the house hold, Sleepy who was always tired, Sneezy who couldn't stop sneezing, Bashful that kept batting his eyes, Dopey who most everyone loved. He was the quiet yet sweet hearted one, Happy was always cheerful and then there was Grumpy.

#22 Grumpy and Friends

Sure we all find Grumpy so cute on Snow White, but in this day if we saw someone else being grumpy we would not find them cute. Nor would we be happy around them. We would actually more then likely be pulled down to thier level, thier emotion.

When you smile you have a high chance of someone smiling back at you. Same goes for Grumpy when you are grumpy you can actually make othes around you just as miserable. Funny how that works. It doesn't take much to bring someone into a grumpy state either. You could say one thing wrong and hurt or offend someone. You really do have to be careful.

When you hang out with someone that is down, grumpy, angry, or just being rude, you tend to take on the same qualities. You become upset, down, angry, and rude right back. This is not healthy nor is it helping your situation let alone thiers. I am not saying if a friend is having a hard day to avoid them, but I wouldn't hang out with them for a long period of time. I would say try to cheer them up by taking them on a fun trip to the local zoo, go out for a bite to eat, go see a movie or just go to the park and walk and talk. But if they are still being grumpy after half in hour I would call it a day. Tell them you hope they feel better and if they feel up to something fun later on to call. Then check on them the next day. Sometimes people just need that one day to themselves. At times there is not much we can do for others when they get into this state. They have to pull them out of it themselves. But dont let yourself get consumed into the wallowing and pity.

Grumpy (not Snow White Grumpy) has other friends. These are the ones I would try to stay away from if you can: (using nicknames)
Downer -Down
Loner- Lonely
Saddner- Sad
Angry- Angry
Whiner- whining/Complaining
Dopey (not our cute sweet hearted from Snow White) The drug user
Depress- Depression
PP- Peer Pressure
Lazy- Lazy
And a few others

Instead I would make friends with:
Happy
Joyful
Excited
Laughter
Friendly
Funny
Fun (funny's little sibling)

Peaceful
Harmony
LOVE

Try to only surround yourself with positive.

Todays Challenge: Watch Snow White and the 7 dwarfs. Which character best resembles you? Why? I want you to watch your actions and write them down during the day. This is so you can see your attitude during the day. Are you like happy always laughing and smiling? Or like Grumpy always seeing the bad?

~Hugs Keyria~

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23

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

Happy 4Th Of July

Oh No, Is it here?
I am not even ready I fear.

I forgot all about today,
In almost every way

I forgot to get the hotdog buns,
off to the store I must run

grab katchup, hotdogs, chips too
don't forget soda, and snacks ok through.

Now back to home I must clean,
wash the dishes, wheres Mr. Clean Green?

Straighten the living room, the bathroom, bedroom ok,
what is next on my list today.

Invite friends with a few calls
All are coming good now to the mall

The perfect outfit I must wear
Yay I see sale tags everywhere

Found it! It's perfect how much does it cost
Ok well that is a few bucks now lost

Well now I am all set lets get started on the food
Oh no I forgot the fireworks, now what must I do?

Run out really fast grab the next cab
The next fireworks stand, heres pay for my tab

Run up, I am lost so much to choose
"Here is the best one, with this one you can't loose"

Run back home get changed, food is ready to go
Sit on a coutch, catch your breath, ding dong, they are starting to show.

Hi, How are you? I'm fine Thank you,
You looked stressed, how funny I felt stress too.

I was on my way here when I started to fear
I would have nothing to bring to your fourth of July thing.

So I went out and grabbed all I could find
I grabbed a lot I hope you dont mind

Here is a box with decorations, one with food
One with fireworks, to put us in a happy mood.

In walks another friend, all smiles to bear
I didn't have anything, But I decided to share

My services tonight, all you do is rest
I am going to take care of everything, since I do that best

Relax, Unstress, I clean and I'll cook
I want to do this, so dont give me that look

So everything worked, I got to destress
while Jenna, and Martha cleaned up all the mess

We went outside and watched firework lights
This day was amazing, With a bueatiful sight.

Happy Fourth of July
To Everyone Now Go Have Some Pie!

Todays Challenge: BE SAFE!!! Don't stress about getting everything ready for tonight. Call some friends and see if they want to come over and help. Have a potluck so you don't have to do all the food. Have everyone pitch in to get fireworks. Just relax and enjoy the day. Today was meant to be a fun day not a rush around stress day. Watching the fireworks always calmed me, It was the best part of the day. Be safe! Happy Fourth Of July

Available from Phantom Fireworks

And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. Genesis 1:3

Stress Free Tip #20 To Bee Humble

I remember a time when there was this lady, who went to my church. She didn’t have much money but she gave all that she could. She never complained about anything. One day she went to go visit some friends of hers out of town. She would be back in a few days. The youth pastor was in care of her home. He knew everything that was in need of fixing and for those few days us youth came over and we fixed things.

Some of us cleaned the yard up, planting flowers in front of her house and mowing, raking leaves and getting rid of all the weeds. Some of us were painting her house a purplish pink light color. She had mentioned once that she would love to have her house painted that color but she was grateful for the house she had. Others had done some inside cleaning and fixing up. When we were through it looked like a new house.

The lady came back after her trip and she didn’t recognize her house. She stared at this house that was in front of her thinking this can’t be mine. But when the pastor showed up to drop off the key she realized for sure it was her own house. She asked him how it became like this at first he said he didn’t know and it must have been angels but she kept on asking so he explained that us kids needed to get some energy out. He said we were being too rowdy and he decided to calm us down. She laughed, yet had tears rolling down. She said this was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done.

Our Youth pastor said it was God who did it. God made sure all of us kids were free for those days to work on that house. Had it been a few days earlier or later a lot of the kids wouldn’t have been able to do it for many of reasons. That was the best time I had. The best part was she didn’t even know us kids.”

#20 Humble

Don't you love when you give a gift to someone to see thier smiling faces? It brings joy to your heart as well as theres. I love giving gifts. I remember there was a program called Secret Sisters and what we did was we would get a name and then send secret gifts to that person. They never knew who we were not until the end. The joy was to send something to them. For me that stuck with me. I would try and send secret gifts to others that I thought needed them as I grew up. Just the joy of knowing they are getting something they need filled me with happiness. I didn't have to be there to know thier smile. Sometimes I would hear about it later.

I once found this angel statue at a store. It was the only one and I knew exactly who I thought should have it. This lady from work is always smiling, always kind and she is an angel. It needed to be given to her. So I bought it, snuck into work early and placed it on her desk. Later that day I seen her crying. She came over to where I was and I asked if she was ok. She said "You will never believe this. My mother just passed away yesterday. I wasn't even going to leave the house today but when I walked into work and saw this bueatiful angel statue on my desk I felt better. I couldn't help but cry but a cry of calmness. Like I know she is ok. I know everything will be ok. You see my mother collected angels and the one on the desk is the last one she needed. So it just made me feel as if she where here still saying it will be ok. I dont know who placed the angel there but I really believe it was an angel themselves."

I love the smile of another person, it actually can make me smile. If you are stressed out and need a break go volunteer to help others somewhere. The smile on thier face can bring a smile on your face. Don’t do it to get credit but do it to actually help. If you do it to get credit for yourself then you can’t really understand the meaning of helping for all your focusing on is greed.
Todays Challenge: Do something for others and not so much for you. Here are a few ideas that you can do. Go to a person’s home that you know cant care for their yard very well. Ask if you can take care of it in return for some of the flowers they have growing, or do it for free. If you can get flowers take those flowers to the hospital and randomly give them to someone who is in pain. Become anonymous and give items to people that need them. Then come back and send me an email or commet below what you did or even how you felt.


Until Tomorrow...

~Hugs Keyria~

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you ~1 Peter 5:6

Stress Free Tip #19 Compliments

"Wow you have some really nice muscles there" Josh smiled. "Thanks." Josh was just finishing up his last rep of wieghts when he ran into Betty. He was not doing good earlier and decided to go to the gym to let some of his fustrations out. Guess going to the gym is paying off. He thought. They chatted for a bit then Betty went off to do her own exercising. Josh started to work out again but in a better mood. He felt better and happier.

Betty went upstairs to the treadmill room. She wasn't having the best day in the world but she wasn't going to tell others about her problems either. She pushed start and started to walk. Her thoughts running through her head. She wasn't paying attention to anything around her only her thoughts. "Wow, I love your nails!" A woman had gotten on to the treadmill next to her and started walking. She hadn't noticed her. "Huh?" "Your nails they are bueatiful, where did you get them done at?" "Oh thank you. I got them over at FingerSpa." Betty said looking down to see the artwork on her nails. "They are bueatiful. I am Jenna by the way." The woman held out her hand. "Betty" As they talked all of Betty's troubles seemed to vanish. This lady was so kind, telling her how nice her nails, clothes, and hair was. She felt so good. Betty and Jenna ended up becoming workout buddies.

#19 Flattery Flirtatious Fun

This is seriously silly but it can help. Did you know words are a powerful thing? Of course you did. Words are very strong like Honor, Love, Friendship, Supercalafragilelisticexpealadosous (Mary Poppins song), haha ok well most words. You see a word can go along way and when we use them positively we can actually calm ourselves. Flattery, flirty, and compliments are ways that others and you feel good about yourself. If someone were to come over while you were stressed and say “Wow you are such a bueatiful person, or wow how talented you are. You suddenly feel better. You don’t feel as stressed. So why not use that same action. Either tell someone else a compliment or (here comes the silly part) sit in front of a mirror and tell yourself positive things about you.

Wether you see someone looking stressed or it is you that are stressed we need to remember we all need a nice word once in a while.

Today's challenge: I want you to go out and compliment at least one person. If you can make it someone you DON'T know. Yet if you are to shy for that then go ahead and compliment a friend, family member or someone else that you may know. A Smile and a Hi go along ways.

~Hugs Keyria~

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. ~Deuteronomy 31:6