Stress is a Choice

So I'm still reading One Thousand Gifts.  Sometimes I just need to put a book down and come back to it a couple of weeks later if I'm not completely focused on what I'm reading.  I'm in the middle of Chapter 8 which talks a lot about stress and fear.

I know I can easily get caught up in day-to-day things and think that I am stressed.  This definitely happened more when I was working, as I always felt like I was either coming or going.  I was worried about meeting expectations at work and also meeting my expectations as a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend.  It was difficult for me to find an appropriate balance between all of my obligations.  Voskamp points out that stress and fear really are the opposite of having a strong faith.

One Thousand Gifts

I have been reading a lot lately.  Mainly books on infant death, grieving, and Heaven.  I ordered 3 books on Wednesday that I thought would have nothing to do with grieving, pain, etc.  The books that I ordered are "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp, Made to Crave by Lisa Terkeurst, and Organized Simplicity by Tsh (no, I didn't leave out a vowel) Oxenreider.  I found these titles on the www.incourage.me website which I stumbled upon while reading Angie Smith's blog, audreycaroline.blogspot.com.  All 3 books arrived last night (a day earlier than expected!) and I decided to begin One Thousand Gifts.  On the (in)courage website, there is actually a video book club (by chapter) that you can use as you read the book.  I am 3 chapters in and I really do think it will be a life-changing book.  There is a lot of talk about death (even infant death - a topic I was hoping to avoid) in the first chapter.  It has really helped change my perspective on why things happen the way that they do and that we really do have a lot to be thankful for in the midst of some difficult situations in our lives.

You can order the book from the (in)courage website, but I found it on Amazon for a little less $$.  Here is the link to the book club for Chapter 1 of One Thousand Gifts.  **The woman on the left is Angie Smith who wrote another book that I just read "I Will Carry You".

Chapter 1 Book Club - One Thousand Gifts

Enjoy!