Colombia Jackets and Stress

Only 12 more days until I leave for vacation! I am so ready for it. I have not had a break from school and work since March. If six days in the Colorado Rocky Mountains doesn’t rejuvenate me, than I’m a goner!

Colorado holds a very special place in my family’s and my heart. Estes Park, Colorado is were my dad grew up, and throughout my whole life, I have never had a real hometown, but Estes has always felt like it. Estes Park is my constant. It has never seemed to change throughout the years—I know it has though, just ask my dad—but it still feels homey and safe. My Grandpa is absolutely awesome too, so I love spending time with him.

Anyway, so I found out that they got 5 inches of snow on the pass, and I realized I don’t have a nice ‘in-between’ jacket (By ‘in-between,’ I mean somewhere in the middle of a sweat-shirt and a down coat). So I decided I needed to get one before the trip. I started looking around on-line ( I have been buying so many things on-line lately. I just don’t have time to go to the store anymore) and I knew I wanted one that said “Coloradan” when you saw it. I really wanted a Colombia jacket, because everyone in Colorado has one, but the brand is really expensive. However, I found an awesome website that sells really nice brands at inexpensive prices, so I got my Colombia jacket!

Anyway, am I a dork for sharing all of this with you? I am just happy about it! Thinking about the jacket, made me realize I could write an entire blog post about the differences of dress throughout the regions of our country. People from SoCal have an unique style, compared to people from Oklahoma or Colorado.
But to jump onto other things……I have been very emotional lately and have realized that I am under a lot of stress. I started to think why I was getting stressed out…..school is pretty much down hill from here….work is going fine……but it struck me that I have been worried about my future out of college. To be honest, I don’t know what type of career I want to get into. I have a lot of ideas, but I feel overwhelmed and don’t know how to sort through them to God’s will. I know God’s timing is perfect, and He his preparing my dream job (whatever it may be) right now. I just need to leave it to him. I am a planner though, and I hate not knowing, thus the stress. But I need to get over that and just be laid-back. I know God is trying to teach me something through this because the sermon last Sunday was on not worrying, in Organizational Behavior I am studying about stress in the workplace, and everyday in my Bible study has been about relying on the Lord. It was 2 days ago that I came across this verse:

“Search me, oh God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there be any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Psalms 139: 23-24.

In my Organizational Behavior textbook it says that a lot of organizations are urging their employees, when they feel stressed, to lay on their backs and do ‘belly breathing’ while reciting something that calms them. So I decided to try it. Whenever I start getting overloaded or stressed out, or just need a break, I lay on the floor and recite Psalms 139: 23-24. I know this ritual is not going to make the stress go magically away, but I want to turn my focus on God and rely on Him. I just need to get the ‘belly breathing’ down! :)
I give it all to you, God!
L.s.R