Hey there, my friends. How are you, today? Lately, our household has been extremely busy. In the past month alone, we’ve been to Ohio twice, it’s an 8-9 hour trip one way. This usually becomes at least a two to three day trip. I love to travel, but needless to say, these were not really pleasure trips. In an earlier post, I told you I would soon be an empty-nester. Well, the truth is, before one can become an empty-nester, there is work to be done. As a homeschooler, there are exams that a child still must complete; there are documents that must be sent to the school district and to the college. There are graduation ceremonies and parties that must be planned. The list goes on and on and that’s just for one child. When I sit for a moment, I feel guilty because there is still so much that needs my attention. All the empty-nesters out there, how did you handle this busy period? 
A sweet friend and I were talking about God’s wonderful creation week. In Genesis 2:2, the Bible says that God ‘rested’ from all His work. We know it was not a necessary or actual sleep rest because Psalm 121:4 tells us that our ‘God does not slumber or sleep’. Praise the Lord! I do need His attention every minute of every day. I must be His most exhausting child. But that’s okay, because He loves me. Of course, He ‘rested’ to set an example for us, because He knows we are prone to work this frail body too hard, sometimes even to a literal death. I knew it was time to stop and take a deep breath, when I began to forget what day of the week it was. Remember this verse, Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. A day has only 24 hours for a good reason. Can you imagine what we can conjure, if our day had 30 or more hours? I am convinced we would have much shorter life span! Praise the Lord for a 24 hour day! I guess our God is pretty smart, huh! 
My favorite down-time activities are;
- Read my Bible and talk (out loud) to God
- Listen to my favorite music while painting my nails (Mandisa, Hollyn, Natalie Grant and Blanca are a few of my favorites). My husband says I’m partial to women singers, I wonder where he got that idea from?
- Go for a leisure walk. Thankfully my city is literally surrounded by lakes, there are some amazing views out there
- Go running/jogging while listening to my favorite music (probably louder than I should, because I don’t want to hear the sound of my feet hitting the pavement). My favorite singers are listed above.
- Read a book while sipping white chocolate Peppermint tea from Teavana. It’s actually a Christmas tea, but who cares? It is the perfect blend of chocolate and fruit!
I found myself asking the Lord to forgive me for not appreciating the winter months more. I definitely should have taken the time to rest. These are a few of my de-stressing activities. What are yours? Please do share; I know we can learn from each other.
Becoming HIS Tapestry 
27 responses to “LIVING YOUR BEST STRESS FREE LIFE”
Psalm 121:4 tells us that our ‘God does not slumber or sleep’… ‘Praise the Lord! I do need his attention every minute of every day’….
Love these words of truth!!! Thanks for sharing!!!
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I know I take up a lot of His time 😁 I come with a lot of baggage. I rest in His promise where He reminds me daily thAt He will never leave me nor forsake me
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Ohhh I love that!!!!!
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That tea sounds delicious and this is great advice. Thanks again for the time you invest in your blog all the time.
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To God be the glory. His absolute love for me does influence what I say 😍 thanks for sharing and I love your blogs. The amount of work/research you put into it
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Thank you so much! That means a lot to me and I’m glad you enjoy what I do as well 😊 I’m so blessed to have met you and God really knew what He was doing the night He led me to your blog.
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That’s the beauty of this community, we get to ‘meet’ people who love the Lord, that perhaps we would never meet in real life. Thank God!
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I do most of your activities but my walks include my precious puppy too! Right now my life is in chaos because we’re in the middle of a move, literally! It started six weeks ago looking axing a POD and then Thursday loading cars and moving vans, yesterday we closed and unloaded the vans and cars, today the POD was delivered. Praise Jesus our grown daughters are living with us right now and they are a huge blessing. Hubby has been up since 7 working and he’s let me spend my time with Jesus and catching up. Now I’m headed to help! I’m so grateful to know Jesus and to know how to find His peace. God bless and have an awesome weekend!♥️
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Amen for the quiet time with the Lord. The packing and unpacking in any move can sometimes be so tasking! Praise the Lord for your daughters. May the Lord bless you and your family in your new home 😃
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One of my biggest grievances against the corporate culture that the whole world has been drug down into is the pace created by the pressures of modern life. There’s so little time for actually living.
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Amen and 🙏🏽. But why do we feel the need to accept that pressure? 😢 BUT GOD…
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Well, the answer is complicated. For me, the solution I see is homesteading and becoming more self sufficient ( economically). I have a strong desire to return to a simpler lifestyle. The reward being more time to live life as God intended and therefore get closer to God.
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Amen 🙏🏽.
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Sometimes I shut my eyes, think on the Lord and cry. Take a moment, enjoy the beauty surrounding me and thank my heavenly Father for always being with me.
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Amen and amen 🙏🏽 our Heavenly Father is always with us! That’s a blessing that we can never take away, in spite of what we do. Praise the Lord!
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I too am a homeschooling mama whose last daughter just finished up and she just moved out to explore her next chapter. Big transition for sure. I’ve been enjoying journaling about my feelings and I encourage you to take a little rest time to reflect on such an awesome accomplishment!!! My favorite rest-activity is to get lost in a fiction book (I tend to read a lot of devotion/self-help type books so it is a treat to read just to get lost in a story). I also like the quiet morning, a cup of coffee, God and writing in my journal somewhere in nature.
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I love the idea of journaling. I do keep a prayer journal, but that does not sound like the same thing. The lost in a fiction book is the best idea, that’s my favorite past time, I must admit
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That tea sounds heavenly! The past couple years God has been drawing my attention to taking Sabbath rest. So good for the soul, and I’m more productive the rest of the week!
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amen and amen! I have found The busier I get, the more my family bear the brunt of my feelings. I have it very wise to take the time to decompress
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I love your list of female artists! Music is so good for the soul…I would have a hard time getting by without it! As far as resting (and de-stressing) goes I do many of the same things you do. When I really need to rest in His presence, I go into my prayer closet, shut the door, and keep the light off. In the dark, I rest sometimes in silence and sometimes with music. Either way I always feel recharged!! 🙂
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I love the dark too! My husband finds that very unusual, but I love it. Just the quiet that comes with the dark. Thanks for commenting and may the Lord bless you
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Yes, being the teacher and the guidance counselor is a huge job! But God carries us through just like with everything. sash just graduated SU, and Nicholas will be starting his SECOND college in the fall. Transfer isn’t quite as much work as getting to freshman year, but close!
When I have down time, I love to read from something just for fun!
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wow! He graduated already!! How quickly time flies!! I know Nick can’t wait to get back to school. I love the reading for fun. Thanks for stopping by, Kirsten.
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First of all, I commend you for being a homeschool teacher. That is incredible, Lord knows I don’t have the patience, nor the smarts…lol…to pull that one off. I would ask you how does it feel to be an empty nester, but I think I’ll wait – you’re trying to get some “rest time” in right now =) – I know you’ll keep us updated on that one. I like Mandisa, I feel she really doesn’t get the exposure that I feel she needs – she has such a beautiful, positive nature. I haven’t heard of those other ladies. Personally, for down time – I just like to lounge in some big pajama’s and a huge shirt and watch movies….I love action, drama and comedy. Me and the kids have a pizza and movie Friday, every week – so that’s my down time outside of reading my word and I feel you about talking to God out loud; for some reason I feel our relationship is most effective that way. Of course I love to write and just eye shop (when the funds are low..lol) I also like taking nature walks. Lastly, I’m so glad God never sleeps nor slumbers – can you imagine what the world would be like if he just “closed” his eyes for a second? My, My….Great Post and I love the picture! xoxo
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I love, love the pajamas nights. We love movie nights too, but in my household, there is so much talking during the movie 😦 😦 everyone has an opinion :). I could not imagine a world where the Lord takes His eyes off it, even for a minutes. The chaos!! the anarchy!!
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I know right? and no worries, my son and daughter (especially my son!) talk through every movie…lol lol
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😂😂
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