Stop thinking

 By Shastin Stracener

I wasn't even listening to the lesson. I was six

paragraphs ahead, rehearsing the word

"particularly" like my entire future depended on it.

Then somebody would read two paragraphs 

instead of one and ruin the whole operation. Now

I'm recalculating like NASA, my heart is racing, and

suddenly I don't know how to pronounce "the."

So when somebody tells me to relax and stop

thinking so much, please understand: I have

YEARS of experience preparing for situations that

haven't happened yet.

I can turn a slightly different tone in a text 

message into a full investigation. You said "okay"

instead of "okayyy," and now apparently I need to

review our entire relationship.

It's funny until you realize how exhausting it is.

Rehearsing conversations. Replaying what you

said. Trying to anticipate every possible outcome

so nothing catches you off guard. Sometimes

you're sitting somewhere perfectly peaceful, but

your mind has already created three problems and

an emergency exit plan.

If you relate, I hope you get a little break from your

own thoughts today. You deserve to enjoy a good 

moment without having to figure out what could

go wrong with it.

But if we're reading out loud, please stick to your

assigned paragraph. Some of us have a system.

"Stop overthinking."

I used to count how many kids

were ahead of me so I could

figure out exactly which 

paragraph I'd have to read

out loud.

You think I developed this

personality last week?

Weight of it all

 By Steve De'lano Garcia (posted by Nona)

"When the world goes silent around you and the weight of it all presses so hard you can barely breathe, I will not look away; I will not flinch, and I will not leave you to carry it by yourself. I will stay beside you in that aching place where words fail, and pain speaks in a language too deep for most people to bear, not to fix you, not to preach at you, and not to force you into some neat little version of healing, but simply to let you know that your suffering does not make you unworthy of company. There is a kind of grief that strips everything back and leaves a person feeling unseen even in a crowded world, and that is exactly where I would choose to meet you, quietly, steadily, without judgment. You would not have to perform strength for me or pretend you are coping when you are barely holding together, because some forms of love do not rescue; they remain. So if you find yourself in that place where sorrow feels endless and the night inside you will not lift, know this much at least: I would still be there, sitting beside your pain, making sure you do not have to face it as if you were the only soul in the world carrying it."

Accept the help

Accept the help

when it comes.

Being capable 

doesn't mean

you were meant

to carry

everything by

yourself.

Your side

 God knows when to

send you exactly

what you need.

God is on your side.

Way you love

 The way you love might be the only

sermon someone ever listens to.

You may be the closest picture of

Jesus someone encounters today.

So let your life preach.

Let your character preach.

Let your kindness preach.

Let your forgiveness preach.

Let your love preach.

Because the way you love someone

today might be the sermon that leads

them one step closer to Jesus.

My weaknesses

 Telling people about Jesus while I

still struggle with my own faith and

sin feels so hypocritical. But then I

remember, it's not my perfection

that tells the story. It's His grace

and mercy working in me even in

my weaknesses. If He can love me

where I am, then maybe someone

else can know and be loved right

where they're at, too.

Good heart

 Don't regret having a

good heart.

All good things come back

and multiply.

Even when you are

 "Having faith doesn't mean you're never afraid:

it means trusting God even when you are."

~Edd Elick

She knows

 See Habakkuk 2:3

A woman who trusts in God will wait.

She'll pray. She'll get frustrated.

She'll question everything.

But she'll continue to be patient.

She'll keep waiting and praying.

Because she knows: God is so ready to

give her everything she's ever dreamed 

of. But it will be on His timing, not hers.

Habakkuk 2:3: For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.

Equip you

 "You might be surprised by the

difficulty of the course laid

before you, but the Lord is not.

He knew beforehand the

challenges you would face, and

He has promised to equip

you to overcome them."

~Chuck Swindoll

Pearls

 Pearls start as irritation.

Something gets inside the

oyster and the oyster keeps

 covering it until something

beautiful forms.

That feels like such a

God-shaped little metaphor.

Some of the prettiest things

in us were formed around

something that hurt.

~Madison Overby

Whatever

Whatever comes.

Whatever stays.

Whatever leaves.

Whatever changes.

Whatever I gain.

Whatever I lose.

I remain His.

Breakthrough

 I pray your

breakthrough is so

undeniable that the

world calls it

impossible and you

simply smile and say,

"Jesus did it."

~Mav Coronado

10x

 God will literally sit you 

down and break you to

humble you, then will

isolate you to build you.

Then give you back everything

10x to prove to you He's real and

everything is for a reason.

Keep your trust in Him.

Emotions

 By Patrick Weaver

It's not that you don't trust God...it's that emotions

don't trust God. I don't know about you but when

you've been through trauma, emotions have a

hard time trusting.

It is an absolute fact that a trembling nervous

system does not equal a broken faith.

Emotions are completely incapable of processing

the eternal. They are blind to the unseen. They

possess zero capacity for revelation. Your feelings

are a reaction to what is happening right in front of

your face. They look at the deficit, the betrayal, or

the crisis, and they panic because they only know

how to survive the immediate threat.

Stop expecting your emotions to act like they have insight. They don't.

You do not need your feelings to agree with truth

for truth to remain the truth. You can be terrified,

overwhelmed, and completely blind to the next

step, while simultaneously standing flat-footed on

the certainty that God is in control.

Acknowledge the panic, but strip it of its authority.

When your nervous system overheats, remember

that that's your temporary condition not your

permanent position. Use your tools, acknowledge

that's what's happening in your body is not what's 

happening in the spirit realm. I have to practice

daily letting the Holy Spirit run the ship, and let my 

feelings throw their fit in the back seat until they

learn to fall in line.

Have you ever had to tell your feelings to shut up

and sit down because God already gave you the

answer?

For fun

One of the biggest things my therapist ever told me was:

If you're an anxious person, do everything for fun.

Go to a job interview for fun.

Exercise for fun.

Start a blog for fun.

Anxiety feeds on importance. Don't treat everything like a life-or-death situation.

Incredibly serious

From Joshpsychology

Anxiety has a way of making everything feel incredibly serious.

The conversation has to go perfectly.

The decision has to be the right one.

You have to make a good impression.

You can't embarrass yourself.

You can't mess it up.

And suddenly something that could have been an experience becomes a test you have to pass.

Sometimes one of the most freeing things you can do is deliberately lower the stakes.

Go on the date and see what happens.

Apply for the job because it could be interesting.

Start the hobby even if you're terrible at it.

Post the thing even if nobody cares.

Try something new without needing it to become anything.

Not every decision needs to determine the rest of your life.

Not every interaction needs to mean something about you.

Not everything needs to go perfectly to still be worth doing.

You're allowed to approach your life with curiosity instead of constantly evaluating your performance in it.

Sometimes, "I'm just going to see what happens" is enough.