Becky Crenshaw

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”  Phil 4:6 

“Be anxious for nothing”

What if we really could be anxious about nothing? 

What if worry was a weapon of the past devoid of power to defeat us?

We live in a high-stress society.  Pressure is all around us to do more, be more, achieve more.  Activities pull on our shirt tail, begging our attention.  It is easy to become engulfed in the world’s enticements that yearn for our engagement.  Not all of these activities are necessarily bad, some may be very good.  Yet, we must remain on guard — taking control of our calendar rather than our to-do lists dictating our destinations to us.

Stress is defined by Merriam-Webster as a “constraining force or influence”.

Wow!  Stress constrains.

Stress and worry hold us in bondage and hinder our level of influence.  

When we allow too much on our already overloaded plates, we are in real danger of our schedule “constraining us.”

Stress, anxiety, and worry all constrain our ability to be effective for God’s kingdom.  It is hard to show the love of Christ when we are focused on the busyness or concerns of our lives.

“Now the ones [people] that fell among the thorns are those who, when they have heard[the Word], go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.” Luke 8:14 (parenthesis added)

Stress, whether it is due to the cares of this world or overindulgence of activities (pleasure), constrains and chokes us of our fruit.

Isn’t it time to put stress in its place?!  And put it in its appropriate place which is under our feet in Jesus’ name!  He came so we could have life and have it more abundantly.  It is time to turn the tables and constrain stress.  It is time to pray and let the peace of God guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Are you ready for “Stressed-Less Living”?  I know I am! 

Proverbs 31 Ministries Online Bible Studies with Melissa Taylor is beginning a new study, “Stressed-Less Living” by Tracie Miles.  The study begins April 7^th.  Becky and I actually met the author, Tracie, during the She Speaks Conference last year.  We had the privilege of eating dinner with her, and I have to say she seemed very not-stressed!

WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN US ON THE ROAD TO STRESS-LESS LIVING?

To register, visit Melissa Taylor’s website HERE and follow the simple prompts to sign up!  I am a small group leader on Facebook with Proverbs 31.  If you are interested in joining my small group, you can leave me a comment below or contact me on my Living Free In Him Facebook page!  If you are new to online Bible study, they are wonderful!  Online studies are great options for women who find it hard to get out of the house for Bible study.  You can follow along in your pajamas at your convenience!  How awesome it that?!

I hope you will join Melissa Taylor and all of us on the Proverbs 31 team as we learn to live “Stressed-Less”!

Thank you, Becky, for promoting this study today on your blog!    – Sue Molitor, Living Free In Him

{Thank you, Sue!  I have prayed and it is confirmed!  I AM DOING THIS WITH YOU!  Come on readers!!  Join in!}