Key to stress: Take it day by day

Today's post comes following a long week of working overnight shifts. I only slept a handful of hours today so that hopefully I can go to sleep at a somewhat decent time tonight to get back on "days" schedule for next week. I am tired, and easily can get overwhelmed. None the less, my first week on overnights did go pretty well but the stress of a new job, new shift, and messed up schedule did take its toll on me this week. I didn't get my workouts in like I wanted to, didn't eat like I wanted to, and it was difficult to get things done besides work and sleep. 


AND just to add to the "ugh" feeling... My family is enjoying a Florida vacation this week without me :( It just didn't work out with my new job to go, so I am bumming a little bit that I cannot be with them.


So all this stress and overwhelmingness has started to creep up over me and come over my attitude. I started to feel anxious and nervous and was having a hard time moving on. But then I remember a valuable lesson that I quickly learned in my first couple years of college... You MUST take life one day at a time. Sometimes even hour by hour... or minute by minute!!


It can get so easy to fall into a "rut" of bad attitude, ran over by stress and ungratefulness. Then add on the worry of tomorrows and you just have one crap of a day. But here is the good news... IT DOESNT HAVE TO BE THAT WAY!! We have a loving Father that is more than willing to take the big stresses in our lives, to our little petty attitudes, and turn it into gratefulness and JOY! 


I know that it is easier said than done to just let things go... And I have my days where I just want to hang on to the stress and "hardship", in hopes that maybe I will get some "sympathy" or something... but after you learn to let it go, it is unbelievably freeing. AND WORTH IT!


A tip that I have to help me leave things at the Cross and let go of todays (and tomorrows) worries, is I like to write them down. And as I write them down I imagine that I am taking them out of my mind and handing it over to Christ through this piece of paper. For me, I am a visual and hands on person, so sometimes just "letting things go" in my mind just doesn't cut it! 


Today, think about some things that you have a hard time letting go of that make you stressed or overwhelmed. Then think of how your life would be without that stress. Now... live that way! Thank you Jesus that we have that opportunity and that we can live day by day without worry!

Slow changes = Lasting changes

Right off the bat.. I am not a health freak and I do not by any means have a strict diet I am on... I'm just in the process of making healthy choices. So I just wanted to share about what I have been trying to make changes to my diet (for the better). I have tried just switching EVERYTHING and getting rid of all the junk in my house and going to a "healthy" lifestyle. Well that went well. NOT! The next week I was going through such a chocolate withdrawal I went into a rebellious mode and I was eating more chocolate than before! 


So I slowly have started to make changes, of one thing at a time, and making the change permanent. 


Here are a things that I switched and would like to switch!


Ground Beef ---> Ground Turkey (in pastas mainly)
Hamburger ---> Turkey Burger. Luke isn't thrilled about this, so he keeps his    hamburger :)
Chips with dinner ---> whole wheat tortilla chips, grilled asparagus, or other random things I try to do with veggies!
Milk Chocolate ---> Dark chocolate. Well... it would be ideal to cut chocolate out completely but that isnt going to happen!
Ice cream ---> Frozen yogurt (still working on this one)
Frozen Pizza ---> trying to get rid of it all together!
Buns/Bread ---> Whole wheat. I recently bought "sandwich thins" and i like those! I am trying to get rid of as many unnecessary carbs possible.
Pasta ---> Decrease the amount of meals we make with pasta. I have tried to switch to whole wheat pasta, but Luke isn't too thrilled about that either.


I try to add more vegetables to our meals, decrease portion sizes, try to go out to eat less, and try to pay more attention to what I am putting in my body!


What kind of things have you been doing to change your diet? What are your tips? I would love to hear them as I am trying to make my life a healthy one!


And here is today's interesting fact about me: it took me 1.5 years to get my wedding pictures ordered and 2 years to get them up on the wall. I know... its so sad. AND YES this was disappointing to my sister. But its all good now!! :)

Declaration

Yesterday when I was sitting in church, my mind was running all over the place. I wasn't really able to focus and I my thoughts were pre-occupied with petty things I was stressing about. I was feeling inadequate. I was feeling broken and defeated. Then God just gave me a word of wisdom. It was a reminder of who I am in Christ and who God has created me to be. It was a word that I needed to DECLARE over my life. I just wanted to share this with you and encourage you to make this your own declaration!

"I have favor. I have peace. I have grace. I have forgiveness.

I have no guilt. I have no shame. 

My God has taken it all!

Thank you God for how you cover me, how you place your favor upon me. 

There is no one more majestic than you. 

There is nothing more sweet tasting than you.

Your love is so perfect!

Your compassion is indescribable!

You are my home, you are my safe place.

You are my comfort, my strong tower!

I am empty without you. I am undesirable without you!

I was dirt, I was selfish, I was in bondage. I was depressed, I was poor....

I was screwed!

BUT 

in you...

I am desirable, I am beautiful, I am a lover, I am free, I am joyful, I am prosperous, I am forgiven!!

THANK YOU JESUS FOR YOUR SACRIFICE!"

Intro to me!

Heyo! Welcome to my blog! Here is the bullet point description of me! 


- My name is Brittany Amber Erickson
- Married to a ridiculously awesome Haitian, Luke
- Romeo is our black lab/retriever mix. If you have met him... I'm sorry. ;)
- RN at Mercy Hospital since February of this year
- United Outcry is my husband and I's youth and young adult ministry
- I love volunteering and working with Rivercenter, Inc, a ministry that works closely with providing the community with food and necessities. 
- I love to love on people and show compassion to others.
- I love my family (both sides!)
- I am in love with my Savior, Jesus Christ!


Hopefully as I continue to blog I will go into more depth on the above topics, but just thought I would get that out as a start!


-Brit


P.S. I think I am going to try doing something a little different at the end of each blog... (if I remember). I am going to leave an interesting fact about me or just something that I just want to say! :)


Today's is.... My favorite color. The color Purple use to be a not very liked color of mine. Growing up I had a great grandma (Dorothy) that was obsessed with purple. EVERYTHING in her house was purple; walls, carpet, bathroom accessories, clothes, jewelry.. anything you can think of. So when we were younger my  grandma would go get dresses made for my sister and I and of course they were always purple. SO WE HATED IT. But now as I am getting older, and after my grandma passed away... I fell in love with it :) It is just a reminder of my awesome grandma and what a blessing she was. I will share more about her another time!