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Hi, welcome back to episode seven We actually have a new name. We are now the Christ Gives Hope Podcast, Same podcast, new name, it better reflects the underlying purpose of Stephen Ministry. True and lasting hope is through Jesus Christ. And Christ gives hope and He does that in many ways, one being through Stephen Ministry and the many one-on-one caring relationships within it. In today's episode. We're going to look at some practical tips when you find yourself feeling overwhelmed. But before we explore that, If you're new here, this is a podcast all about you. We aim to bring you Christ's healing love during the hard, the crises, the grief. The difficult life challenges that you may be facing. And if Stephen Ministry is something you are not familiar with. We as Stephen ministers. We're all about caring for you when you need it. Most Stephen Ministry is a free, confidential, safe space for you to talk through the areas of your life that you're struggling with. We want to be Jesus' hands and feet for you. As we walk alongside you. My name is Lisa Stasik, and I am your host. I am also a Stephen Minister. I serve alongside many men and women in our St. Lorenz Stephen Ministry program. who have a heart for the Lord. They are full of compassion and truly wish to support you and be that steady calming presence as you face. Life's many challenges. If you are local to St. Lorenz in Frankenmuth, Michigan, we have a team of Stephen ministers ready to support you. But if you are listening from elsewhere around the country, I encourage you to check with the local church. Stephen Ministry is a national Ministry with headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri. And chances are very good that there is a local Stephen Ministry program. Near you. You don't have to be a member of St. Lorenz or a member of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod to receive care from a Stephen minister. You don't even need to have your faith all figured out to receive care from a Stephen minister. It's okay. If you have doubts and questions. All right. Our last episode talked about loving others when the relationship is difficult. And it was almost like a reset. A redefining of the God given gift of love. Specifically in relationships when that feeling of love doesn't come easy. It's rooted in Biblical truth, and it's a good foundation for your relationships. I encourage you to listen to it when you have a few moments, if you haven't had a chance to do that yet. So today we're going to discuss some practical tips. When you find yourself overwhelmed. Have you felt overwhelmed today? Maybe this past week. This past month, this last year. Most of us probably have When we feel overwhelmed. Inconsistencies can abound. We're going to talk about being consistent and give you some actionable advice. If you are feeling overwhelmed right now. So consistency. What are some things that you are consistent with? Are you consistent with planning, maybe meal planning. Maybe you're consistent with cleaning your home, keeping it tidy. Have a good schedule to keep it clean. Maybe you're great at keeping your family schedule altogether you're organized and your kids and spouse and your schedule runs smoothly. Perhaps you getting your kids off and ready on time is a breeze for you. But what if you're listening and those examples just don't seem to ring true. And you find yourself wandering. Hm. What am I consistent with? I'm consistently inconsistent. Can anyone relate? The only thing I'm consistent with is being inconsistent. If you find yourself stuck and consistently not completing any of those tasks, the plans to-do's as you want for today. You can find yourself continually overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by everything you are juggling. As time passes half a day has gone. And before you know it, your whole day is behind you. And we tell ourselves we'll do it tomorrow, but tomorrow the same thing happens and the next day, and the day after that, and that can turn into procrastination. When you feel overwhelmed. Those are the times that we can easily procrastinate. There's a quote. I really like it's about procrastination that a dear friend shared with me. It's by poet, Edward Young. And the quote is this It says "procrastination is the thief of time". "Procrastination is the thief of time", how that rings true. So what can you do? If you're feeling overwhelmed today. Maybe you're overwhelmed with grief or overwhelmed with the health of a loved one. Maybe you're overwhelmed with a big decision you need to make. Maybe your, to do list and items you want to accomplish seem to have no end leaving you in a pit of overwhelming fear. I love that quote about procrastination being the thief of time, because when we're overwhelmed, we can find ourselves putting things off. Feeling stuck. Believing the lies that there's no way out and no way to get past it. But where we go from here. When you find yourself overwhelmed and stuck is crucial. You can either build on a foundation of fear. Or you can build on a foundation of faith. The lies of fear will keep you stuck. The truth rooted in faith will give you a way forward. And that way forward the foundation. I like to settle on when feeling overwhelmed. It comes from two versus almost like building blocks. So we're going to look at a couple. scripture passages. That's going to give you a foundation and hang with me after that, I'm going to give you some practical, actionable tips that have helped me. One is for my husband that he often reminds me of. And another is something I had found that has really stuck with me. All right. the first verse is from Psalm 46, verse 10. And it says this be still and know that I am God be still and know that I am God. The second is Philippians 4, 8, and it says this. Finally brothers, whatever is true. Whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely. Whatever is commendable. If there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise. Think about these things. There is truth laid out in each of these verses. Be still. there's a calmness that settles in with that. And whatever is pure commendable. Excellent. Anything worthy of praise? Think about these things, the enemy he wants you trapped in the lies of fear that can leave you overwhelmed with the difficult situation. Life circumstance, grief. Broken relationships, whatever it is that you are facing. You may feel trapped. Feel so overwhelmed. And what happens is this you've still have items or tasks that you need to complete today. It could be groceries or meal planning, maybe picking up your kids or grandkids, taking them to sports or appointments. Maybe appointments for yourself. Deadlines at work or in your career? The list can go on. There can be so much on your plate that needs to get done, and it can be overwhelming, especially when you are facing difficult situations in your life. And when your typical or normal day-to-day items or things you would normally get done are added to the difficult situations you are facing, whether it's our own health or the health of a loved one, divorce, broken relationships, the hurt and pain can become overwhelming. And you feel absolutely stuck. If you feel stuck right now, one advice or tip we can give you, is this. Try not to ruminate on it. That is not to say to gloss over it or brush it aside. but try not to ruminate on it. Meaning not consistently thinking about it. Over and over and over again. And that's not to say that you need to just snap out of it. You know, push it aside, pretend that you're not facing it, that it's not a big deal. Or that it's not hurtful that it's not painful. That's not at all what I am saying, but if you find yourself stuck emotionally, where you just constantly, you cannot get your mind off of it. Giving yourself permission to not ruminate on it, can we really helpful, and really powerful. That brings us back to that foundation rooted in truth. Be still and know that I am God and whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, whatever is commendable. If there's any excellence. Anything worthy of praise. Think about these things as Philippians four eight, again, be still think about these things. And it starts there. What are you allowing your mind, especially when you are overwhelmed to think about. When you find yourself constantly just stuck in thoughts, it could be thoughts of anguish and despair of how you want your life to look different. Or how you wish, whatever it is you are facing was not happening. Or you're constantly, you think about ways you can fix it. Maybe you can go down that rabbit hole of endless rumination, worry and fear. And before you know, it. How much time has passed in your day and then all your items that you would have liked to have done or completed seem insurmountable. And you're back to being overwhelmed, right where you started. So how do we stop that cycle? If that describes how you feel today? Or perhaps last week or in the season of life that you are currently in. Start here Psalm 46:10, "Be still" and think on what is good, what is right, what is pure. Turn to Scripture if you have a favorite verse, go to that. Or it can be a simple prayer: "Lord direct my steps today." Or Lord, what do you want to show me? What can I learn from this? Or how can I get to know you more through this? And He'll prompt you. It could be with a certain verse. Or the presence of a trusted friend. But go to Him in prayer, hand it over to the Lord, wherever it is you're facing. If you can't stop thinking about it bow your head and talk to God about it. And He already knows. He already knows how he is going to carry you through. He knows how you are going to grow through it. He knows how He is going to equip you in it. If you are feeling overwhelmed right now, you have a Savior who already knows. And let that peace settle in with whatever it is you're facing. So first our foundation it's rooted in Scripture. And we can build upon that with a couple actionable tips. When you are overwhelmed. The first one is this. It's a quote from David Allen. He's actually, it's a workflow management method called Getting Things Done And one of his rules is this, it says, if you face a task that can be completed in two minutes or less, Do it immediately. By just taking action and starting on those quick items and doing the first thing, that next thing can be one of the best things you can do when you're feeling overwhelmed. And doing the next thing, it's often advice we give when someone's grieving. We talk about it in the podcast episode, Coping with Grief and Loss, if you are grieving, sometimes The best thing to do is simply the next thing maybe that's get up and you get dressed, then you brush your teeth. If you're overwhelmed right now. Consistently inconsistent. And underneath all of that, just finding yourself continually feeling like. I am completely stuck It can be so easy to fall into that. Like we talked about earlier. If you find yourself continuously ruminating on whatever it is you're facing, I encourage you again, to think on what is good. What is right. And what is pure that will help you stop ruminating over it. And if something will take two minutes or less, that you need to complete today, do that next instead of waiting. By doing the next thing, it can pull you out of that trap of feeling stuck. And not knowing what to do. The second piece of advice. This is something my husband often shares with me. And it's from the, it's called The Behavior Gap by Carl Richards. The enlightening advice he gives and what to focus on is this. "Focus on things that matter. And the things that you can control." They both have to be there focus on things that matter and things that you can control. Plenty of things matter, but you can't control them. For example, if you're facing a broken relationship. Or difficult relationships that have course they matter to you, but you can't control how they treat you. How they react to you? Don't focus your time and thoughts on all the past hurts of that relationship. If there's a relationship that is wrought with difficult situations and you find yourself going over and over and replaying those conversations and ruminating on it. Maybe how you could have said something different. Maybe if I would have just said that, or if I would've just said it in a different way, or if it at a different time, right. We can constantly, we can repeatedly rehash it, what we have done or what they have said to us or what we have said. But you can't control it. And since you can't control it, even though it matters to you, the advice from the Behavior Gap, encourages you not to focus on it. Do not ruminate on it. Simply do the next thing. Take action on the next thing. As you take action, it will start to shift your focus and your mind. And God, He is a God of action. Let's look at Matthew seven, verse seven. I love this verse. It says this "Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find knock and it will be open to you". Each of these are an action ask. Seek knock. Each one of these are actions that we are to take. But how does this verse relate when you are feeling overwhelmed? It's reminder to take action. So when you feel stuck, use it to remind you and give you encouragement to do that next thing, especially those simple things that you can get done first. Also, don't be afraid to pray over it. Like we said before, Even if you haven't bowed your head in years, that's okay. It can be as simple as you bow your head in prayer and you ask. Ask your Heavenly Father who holds all things in His hand, who knows your situation, who knows you who loves you unconditionally. And the truth of His grace and His peace, that same peace that surpasses all understanding that peace will start to settle in. It will start to settle in with the situation you are facing. So remind yourself when you're feeling overwhelmed first, think of what is good. What is right, what is pure and especially when overwhelming thoughts of your difficult situation are swarming around you. It could be something as simple as. "I know this to be true. God, you are always good. You are abounding in steadfast. Love. You are gracious. You are merciful." And last but not least. If you are feeling overwhelmed, finding yourself, inconsistent. With completing those items you want to get done today. And when you're overwhelmed with the difficult life situation you're facing, we as Stephen ministers, we can come alongside you. We come alongside you, whether you are grieving, grieving the loss of a loved one. Maybe you're grieving the loss from a divorce. Maybe you're in a broken relationship, maybe it's broken with your children or your parents, your sibling, or a friend. Maybe you're facing a personal crisis or a spiritual one. Maybe you are waiting to make a big change with your career or your job or you're facing financial difficulties or a job loss. Maybe it's your health or health issues of a loved one. When you are faced with unexpected situations and challenges in your life. You can find yourself stuck and not knowing where to turn. Not knowing how this is going to turn out. And feeling so overwhelmed with it all. But we are here to tell you that you don't have to face it alone. When you are feeling stuck and overwhelmed with life and circumstances surrounding you. a Stephen Minister, can faithfully come alongside you. Stephen Ministry is confidential. It's a free Ministry, it's nonjudgmental, it's a safe space and talking with a compassionate, trustworthy Stephen Minister. May just be what God has planned to help carry you through. If you are feeling overwhelmed and broken right now through the cross of Jesus, God can make you whole. And the heart of Stephen Ministry. Is rooted in the biblical principle that Christ cares for people through people. And at St. Lorenz, we have a team of Stephen ministers ready to support you, to care for you. More information about our Stephen Ministry program can be found at ChristGivesHope.org.. If you are interested in Stephen Ministry for yourself or a loved, one more information can be found at ChristGivesHope.org And a quick note, this is not medical advice. If you need professional care or care from a physician that is beyond the scope of Stephen Ministry. Thank you so much for listening. God's blessings to you.