Moving Tips- July 2010

15 stress busters when you're settling in to a new place

We are all like washing machines - when our load gets out of balance we threaten to shut down and may even make loud, annoying noises. When the washing machine is letting you know it’s out of balance, do you ignore it? No, you open the lid and redistribute the weight or remove some items. So it is with our lives.

When the stress of settling in after your move is causing an imbalance that could lead to an emotional or physical shut down, follow these steps to help redistribute or lighten the “load”.

Start with one room
Concentrate on getting one room settled so you have a place to rest when it seems everything else is in disarray.

Take a break from those boxes
Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day and your house won’t be settled in a day either.

Don’t get too upset over broken things
Something always breaks or gets damaged. Remember, they are just things.

Trust God
...even when it seems everything is going wrong.

Get enough sleep
A sleep researcher reported that the number of people who can get by on fewer than 8 hours of sleep each night can be rounded to... 0. Everyone needs 8 hours of sleep and if you can’t get that, grab a short nap.

Join a fitness class
This is a great stress reliever and an opportunity to meet others.

Pray
Pray about everything.

Have one goal per day
Don’t try to get new license plates, a library card, and a driver’s license all at once.

Reward yourself
What brings a smile to your face when you've accomplished a dreaded task? Reward yourself with a special treat like new nail polish, a favorite magazine, a bubble bath, or a fruit smoothie!

Browse
Visit a local bookstore or your favorite shop and browse the aisles.

Make time for you a priority
Read that book you’ve always wanted to read. Unload your thoughts in to a personal journal. This is time set aside just for you, even if it's just half an hour each day.

Feel inspired
Listen to music that energizes or inspires you.

Gain perspective
Moses was charged with moving 2-3 million people from Egypt to the Promised Land. Kind of puts things in perspective, doesn’t it?

Eat out
Watching your budget? Do carry-out or bring home a “you bake” pizza. Use one of those coupons that came in the mail. You may discover your favorite restaurant.

What would Scarlet do?
When all else fails, put on your sweetest smile and in your best southern belle accent say, “I’ll think about that tomorrow!”

Adapted from After the Boxes Are Unpacked: Moving On After Moving In by Susan Miller.

July Devotional- 2010

I am often asked by this younger generation, "what’s it all about--this freedom in Christ thing you talk about?" It’s easy for me to share my joy about the freedom that comes with knowing and living Jesus Christ! You see, Jesus is in the business of changing lives.

The more you become like Jesus, the more He releases your God-given potential and you experience a freedom that can only be found in Him. Jesus "moves" us from a "state" of bondage to a "state" of freedom! He "moves" us from a "state" of sorrow to a "state" of joy. Jesus can give you freedom, so trust Him and follow Him. His truth can give you freedom, so study His word, believe it, and obey it. Following the light on His path leads you out of darkness and takes you from despair to hope.

Oswald Chambers says it best. "Freedom is life controlled by God’s truth and motivated by His love. Bondage is life controlled by lies we believe and motivated by our selfishness. Freedom is the result of a living relationship with Jesus Christ--walking with Him, talking with Him, and learning from Him."

Let the freedom of Christ ring with every beat of your heart!

Scripture to Remember
Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
- 2 Corinthians 3:17

Question To Consider
Am I living in the freedom of Christ or in the bondage of the world?

Prayer
Lord, change my heart today. Help me to follow your light on the path of life. Release me from the bondage of lies and selfishness that I might clearly see and understand the freedom of Your truth and love. Amen

Thought for the Day
Today I will choose to stand firm in the truth of His word!

-Susan Miller

Heart Talk from Susan Miller- July 2010

Dear Moving Friends

The beach is one of my favorite places to go during the summer. Of all the beaches I have known, none holds my heart like the beaches of Destin, Florida. I grew up along the NW Coast of Florida, known as the Florida panhandle, where my dad served for many years, and later retired, at Eglin Air Force Base.

The beautiful Gulf of Mexico, with its emerald green water, and sugar white beaches, are an intricate part of my childhood memories. I have walked those beaches, picked up sea shells, climbed the sand dunes, played in the water, courted Bill there during our dating years, and took our children there for their first taste of sand and salt water. Any opportunity I have of going back to wiggle my toes in the sand, find a spot to nestle in, spread my beach towel, and gaze out at the Gulf, is as refreshing to my heart and soul as the cool water is to my body when I first go in the ocean. So you can imagine my excitement when plans began to form many months ago for a “girls’ weekend” in Destin with my daughter, daughter-in-law, and three granddaughters.

And then came the oil spill in the Gulf, affecting and changing the lives of those who work and live all along the coast—as well as the emerald green water, and the sugar white beaches we all love. When my eight-year-old granddaughter heard about the oil reaching the shores of our beaches, her spirit was not dampened at all about going there. Her response echoed the thoughts of our family, “Well Nana, if we can’t go swimming, we’ll just find a place somewhere to build sand castles on the beach!” And, that is what we will do—we won’t give up, or give in to the oil spill. We are still going to Destin. We will build sand castles on the beach--somehow, someway. We will find new things to do together as a family, and make memories. Perhaps it will be to pitch in and help--somehow, someway--to make our beaches beautiful again.

My granddaughter’s response is a lesson for us to remember. I couldn’t help but think of how many times our plans, hopes, and dreams are changed or altered through circumstances beyond our control. Never lose heart, my friends. Don’t give up, or give in, to the disappointment and discouragement that can so easily consume us when life doesn’t happen as we’ve planned. Wherever you are, whatever the circumstances may be--go out and build your own sand castles in the sand—somehow, someway. “Behold, I will do something new. Now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:19) (….and even sandcastles in the sand!)

From My Heart to Yours,

Susan Miller