Chicago resident Susan Bennett was 40 years old when she gave birth to her second child, a son. One night when Ben was three weeks old, she nursed him and put him back into his bassinet. When Ben started crying a few minutes later, she tried to get up, but fell back on the bed […]
Category: Stress management
Five Answers to “How Can I Get a Good Night’s Sleep?”
Tossing and turning and watching the minutes tick by all night long? Try these tips from our sleep experts to get the zzz’s you need.
I’ll Drink to That
On my most recent birthday my husband gave me a beautiful, lush potted plant that I simply adored. A week later I took off for a three-week trip to Africa, leaving my daughter to care for my new plant while I was away. Imagine my dismay when I returned home and found a mass of […]
Overcoming Fear, Worry, and Anxiety
Are you tired of struggling with fear? Is worry wearing you out? Anxiety got you by the throat? Jennifer Jill Schwirzer offers hope and explains how building your faith will shrink your fears. A friend once told me she rejected the Bible. “All that stuff about Creation, the Flood, the Red Sea—it’s so outrageous.” Ironically, […]
Seven Ways to Boost Your Energy Level
Forget about getting ahead in life: you feel as if you’re running just to catch up! If you don’t have the energy to do what you want to do—or even the energy to do what you have to do—try these seven strategies to feel more invigorated. 1. Plan How many times have you come home […]
10 Strategies for Beating Stress
Regardless of all the media hype, you need stress in your life! Does this surprise you? Without stress, life would be dull and unexciting. Stress adds flavor, challenge, and opportunity to life. We need a degree of stress to operate, to meet a challenge or goal, to laugh, to love, to live.
Money Conflicts
Four of the most sensitive subjects in marriage are sexual intimacy, in-laws, parenting, and money. Ironically, it is the last one that is often the least talked about aspect of a relationship, but the one that causes many couples the greatest problems. In fact, a survey conducted by Citibank indicates that 57 percent of divorced couples said financial disputes were the primary reason they didn’t get along. Furthermore, a study of 2,000 men and women by Roper Starch Worldwide confirms that money, more than issues of sexuality, parenting, or in-laws, is the most common source of conflict for today’s married couples.
Such studies verify this observation made at the turn of the century by spiritual writer Oswald Chambers: “Money and marriage are the two things that make men and women devils or saints.” Here are 10 smart ways to avoid money conflicts and keep them from sabotaging your relationship.
6 Smart Stress Stoppers
Stress. We all live with it. Yet did you know that there are easy ways to stop stress before it causes harm to your body, mind, and spirit?
Let’s think about the stressors that hit us daily-mortgage and utility payments, crowded freeways, traffic jams, rising interest rates, declining mutual funds, increased taxes, upgrading, downsizing, child care, self-care, elder care, health care … and who cares! Is it any wonder that most of us feel as if we need stronger, made-to-order defense mechanisms just to make it through the day?
Taking a Daily Vacation
It’s easy to live on “automatic pilot.” Yet doing precisely the things you have to do, or are supposed to do, day after day can make you become nearly robotlike and feel life is growing stale and ho-hum.
You can change all of that. With a bit of planning and direction, it’s possible to pack the fun and excitement of a vacation into short daily spurts. You can enjoy a change of pace, a change of attitude, and a lot less stress.
Learning to take a daily vacation is learning to recreate and re-create you. A daily vacation is more than just a lull in routine. It is a piece of time when you wholeheartedly pursue something you truly enjoy.
Unresolved Stress: Calm Behind The Storm
Scott had recently turned 45 years of age and was the owner of a prosperous retail business he had spent the past 20 years building. Then, seemingly without warning, Scott sold his retail business and the night before their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary informed his wife that he wanted to live as a single man.