Just for fun, here are a few more quotes I pulled off the internet about anxiety and worry. I could never read too many of these. They truly do help when my thoughts are getting off track!
"Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy." -Leo Buscaglia
"Troubles are a lot like people; they grow bigger if you nurse them." - Unknown
"You can't wring your hands and roll up your sleeves at the same time." - Pat Schroeder
"Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow." - Swedish Proverb
"Anxiety is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained." Arthur Somers Roche
"Worry is interest paid on trouble before it comes due." William Ralph Inge
"Do not be afraid of tomorrow, for God is already there." - Unknown
"No man ever sank under the burden of the day. It is when tomorrow's burden is added to the burden of today that the weight is more than a man can bear." - George MacDonald
"There are two days in a week about which and upon which I never worry... Yesterday and Tomorrow." - Robert Jones Burdette
"Never bear more than one kind of trouble at a time. Some people bear all three - all they have had, all they have now, and all they expect to have." -Edward Everett Hale
"He who fears he shall suffer, already suffers what he fears." - Montaigne, Essays, 1588
"Do not anticipate trouble or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight." -Benjamin Franklin
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
The Power of the Word
The most powerful weapon against erroneous thoughts is scripture, "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (Eph 6:17). It is an essential part of our armor against all that attacks our minds. Jesus used it to combat temptation. Evil cannot stand against its power. In scripture we find truth to combat lies, we find promises to claim, we find hope to cling to, and we fan our faith which is our shield. There are countless scriptures that, when committed to memory, can come to our aid when our thoughts start running down a dark path. Here are just a few. If any really strike you, I challenge you to write them out and read them often until they become embedded in your mind. Then you will be able to retrieve them when you need them!
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." Phil 4:6-8
"I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Phil 4:13
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Tim 1:7
"I sought the Lord, and He answered me; he delivered me from all my fears." Psalm 34:4
"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1
"Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7
"But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Cor 12:9
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28
"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." Jeremiah 29:11
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." Phil 4:6-8
"I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Phil 4:13
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Tim 1:7
"I sought the Lord, and He answered me; he delivered me from all my fears." Psalm 34:4
"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1
"Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7
"But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Cor 12:9
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28
"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." Jeremiah 29:11
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Mental Pep Talks
I have this pesky tendency toward pessimism. I'm a worst case scenario kind of thinker, a worrier, and in general, an overly anxious and sensitive person. Needless to say, these tendencies cause me a great deal of stress, and I really don't enjoy the way that my mind works much of the time. My thoughts often lead to physical symptoms as well such as stomach problems and tension headaches.
My struggle to control my mind has been ongoing for many years. Over time, I have accumulated a few "tools" that help me to rein in the anxiety beast. The trick seems to be catching a thought before it runs away with me, and combating it with several truths that help put it into proper perspective. In some cases there is full on spiritual warfare going on, in others, I simply need to give myself a mental pep talk. I do believe that by inviting God into our thought struggles, we can literally "take every thought captive to the authority of Jesus Christ" (2 Cor 10:5) simply by commanding the thought to be captive to Him and asking God to bring that thought under His authority.
I'm going to share some of the mental pep talks I use in the hope that they may also be helpful to others. A lot of these stem from a single quote that rings true with me. When I find such a quote I memorize it (or a close approximation of it - no need for legalism, just function!), and when an applicable situation arises, I simply think of the quote until my perspective resets.
"The world will little note, nor long remember..."-Abraham Lincoln (Gettysburg Address)
I picked this one up from my dad. He says this all the time, specifically when I am stressing way too much about something that won't matter in the big scheme of life. When I was working, my department had reviews that needed to be completed every quarter. We were always in a tizzy at the end of a quarter; frantically worried that we wouldn't finish on time. I would be very stressed, and my dad would say to me, "The world will little note, nor long remember whether 2nd quarter 2009 was completed one week late. In 5 years, no one at the company will even remember or care." Very true!
Along this same line is a blurb from Don't Sweat the Small Stuff... and it's all small stuff by Richard Carlson. "Almost every day I play a game with myself that I call "time warp." I made it up in response to my consistent, erroneous belief that what I was all worked up about was really important. To play "time warp,' all you have to do is imagine that whatever circumstance you are dealing with isn't happening right now but a year from now. Then simply ask yourself, "Is this situation really as important as I'm making it out to be?" Once in a great while it may be - but a vast majority of the time, it simply isn't. Whether it be an argument with your spouse, child, or boss, a mistake, a lost opportunity, a lost wallet, a work-related rejection, or a sprained ankle, chances are, a year from now you aren't going to care. It will be one more irrelevant detail in your life."
"Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda."
My husband is to thank for this one. I tend to beat myself up over mistakes I've made, or things I wish I had done or said differently. His invariable response to my mental torture, is to shrug, and nonchalantly say, "Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda." Basically, you can't change it, so let it go.
"I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened."- Mark Twain
Think about that for a second..... How often do we put ourselves through the mental, emotional, and physical turmoil of what we fear, only to never end up facing it? Our minds and bodies take the real toll of a theoretical threat. It's pretty crazy that we do this to ourselves when you think about it. Jesus himself addresses this in the book of Matthew when He says, "Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (6:34) and "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" (6:27) Worrying about perceived threats has no value.
So when those anxious thoughts begin to creep in, take a deep breath, think about whether what you're tormenting yourself about really matters, and remember, most stuff is small stuff, so don't sweat it!
~Heather
My struggle to control my mind has been ongoing for many years. Over time, I have accumulated a few "tools" that help me to rein in the anxiety beast. The trick seems to be catching a thought before it runs away with me, and combating it with several truths that help put it into proper perspective. In some cases there is full on spiritual warfare going on, in others, I simply need to give myself a mental pep talk. I do believe that by inviting God into our thought struggles, we can literally "take every thought captive to the authority of Jesus Christ" (2 Cor 10:5) simply by commanding the thought to be captive to Him and asking God to bring that thought under His authority.
I'm going to share some of the mental pep talks I use in the hope that they may also be helpful to others. A lot of these stem from a single quote that rings true with me. When I find such a quote I memorize it (or a close approximation of it - no need for legalism, just function!), and when an applicable situation arises, I simply think of the quote until my perspective resets.
"The world will little note, nor long remember..."-Abraham Lincoln (Gettysburg Address)
I picked this one up from my dad. He says this all the time, specifically when I am stressing way too much about something that won't matter in the big scheme of life. When I was working, my department had reviews that needed to be completed every quarter. We were always in a tizzy at the end of a quarter; frantically worried that we wouldn't finish on time. I would be very stressed, and my dad would say to me, "The world will little note, nor long remember whether 2nd quarter 2009 was completed one week late. In 5 years, no one at the company will even remember or care." Very true!
Along this same line is a blurb from Don't Sweat the Small Stuff... and it's all small stuff by Richard Carlson. "Almost every day I play a game with myself that I call "time warp." I made it up in response to my consistent, erroneous belief that what I was all worked up about was really important. To play "time warp,' all you have to do is imagine that whatever circumstance you are dealing with isn't happening right now but a year from now. Then simply ask yourself, "Is this situation really as important as I'm making it out to be?" Once in a great while it may be - but a vast majority of the time, it simply isn't. Whether it be an argument with your spouse, child, or boss, a mistake, a lost opportunity, a lost wallet, a work-related rejection, or a sprained ankle, chances are, a year from now you aren't going to care. It will be one more irrelevant detail in your life."
"Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda."
My husband is to thank for this one. I tend to beat myself up over mistakes I've made, or things I wish I had done or said differently. His invariable response to my mental torture, is to shrug, and nonchalantly say, "Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda." Basically, you can't change it, so let it go.
"I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened."- Mark Twain
Think about that for a second..... How often do we put ourselves through the mental, emotional, and physical turmoil of what we fear, only to never end up facing it? Our minds and bodies take the real toll of a theoretical threat. It's pretty crazy that we do this to ourselves when you think about it. Jesus himself addresses this in the book of Matthew when He says, "Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (6:34) and "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" (6:27) Worrying about perceived threats has no value.
So when those anxious thoughts begin to creep in, take a deep breath, think about whether what you're tormenting yourself about really matters, and remember, most stuff is small stuff, so don't sweat it!
~Heather
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