The Howell Blessings

Week 6 of the OBS Stressed-Less Living by Tracie Miles  gets us into the chapter "I Can Do It Myself....Or Can I?". Tracie describes her young son trying to tie his own shoes when he was at a stage where he was not yet able to. Then when he was offered help he would get frustrated and proclaim "I can do it myself!" Not that long ago I found myself frustrated with just about everything that was happening around me. I thought after quitting working for someone else since I was 14 would be liberating, so why was I so irritated all the time? I was irritated so frequently that I was becoming frustrated with myself for being so irritated! I felt like I was in a downward spiral and wasn't sure how to climb back up.   Frustration is defined as: The feeling of being upset or annoyed, especially because of inability to change or achieve something. Well that fit me to a "T". It's been a little over a year since I quit my corporate job and I am just begin...

Week 2 of the online bible study Stressed-Less Living-  Finding Gods Peace in Your Chaotic World by Tracie Miles   took me on an emotional roller coaster ride.  Emotions of awe, sadness, frustration, stubbornness and brokenness took their turns on me as I read through chapter two. From the scriptures to the exercise and the reality check of my attitudes that causes some of my stress, I realized how much I try to fix that I cannot fix and how unwilling I am to work on things that are in my control. This week's scripture is Psalms 107:19-21: 19.Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress. 20. He sent out His word and healed them; He rescued them from the grave. 21. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind. We were asked by Linda Kuhar , our OBS leader this week, to write out these verses using our names so to make it personal to us in order that it comes alive in our spirit. ...

I began an online bible study today over at Melissa Taylor, Real Hope for Real Life  using the book by Tracie Miles called Stressed-Less Living.  The folks that are participating are encouraged to leave comments so that we can uplift each other, reap from what others are sharing and for me, realizing I'm not the only control freak out there. The comments are beginning to pour into the first day of study. As I read through them, I realize that I am in the same boat as many of the women on this study.  I try to take control over my own life when God doesn't seem to move fast enough for me.  Many of these women are saying the same thing, but in different tones. Overall, we all want to control our own circumstances. We, as women, were created as natural caregivers. The world has thrown us into  roles where we wear multiple hats. We care for our children, our husbands as God created us to do, but we also care about what others think of us in all the oth...