Corking the Bottle

The covid-19 scare is accompanied by our old nemesis, stress. I used to deal with stress by drinking. And then drinking some more. That didn't work very well for me (Understatement!). If it works for you I'm thinking that you wouldn't be reading this blog. I recently finished Sacred Rest by Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith. Searching the internet for more pearls of wisdom I came across an entire clam bed. Today I want to take you to her 10 steps for dealing with stress: In our desperation to cope with stress, we often turn to unhealthy quick fixes, whether it’s binge eating, drinking or smoking.  However, there are healthy ways to lower stress levels and most of them don’t require much time, money or expertise.  Chronic stress has been linked to a variety of lifestyle diseases, including heart disease and diabetes, which is why it cannot be ignored. 1. Meditation If you can look past some of the pseudoscientific mumbo jumbo surrounding meditation, you’ll be pleasantly sur...

[First published August 8, 2018] "Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be all right, and the determined choice to praise God in all things."  -- Kay Warren,  Choose Joy ( http://kaywarren.com/choosejoy/ ) How comforting! To know that God is in control of my life, to be confident everything will be all right, to choose to keep in touch with God. You know, that sounds better than getting drunk and passing out in the living room. Been there, done that. But how do I move beyond the "old me?" Even if we are convinced change is necessary, so is patience. You can't demand patience to arrive right away. Change takes time, but is well worth the wait. The Big Book comes with appendices that I  overlooked for a long time. The second, called "Spiritual Awareness," cautions, " ...Our first printing gave many readers the impression that these pe...

[First published August 8, 2018] "Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be all right, and the determined choice to praise God in all things."  -- Kay Warren,   Choose Joy  ( http://kaywarren.com/choosejoy/ ) How comforting! To know that God is in control of my life, to be confident everything will be all right, to choose to keep in touch with God. You know, that sounds better than getting drunk and passing out in the living room. Been there, done that. But how do I move beyond the "old me?" Even if we are convinced change is necessary, so is patience. You can't demand patience to arrive right away. Change takes time, but is well worth the wait. The Big Book comes with appendices that I  overlooked for a long time. The second, called "Spiritual Awareness," cautions, " ...Our first printing gave many readers the impression that these pe...

"Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life, the quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be all right, and the determined choice to praise God in all things."  -- Kay Warren, Choose Joy ( http://kaywarren.com/choosejoy/ ) How comforting! To know that God is in control of my life, to be confident everything will be all right, to choose to keep in touch with God. You know, that sounds better than getting drunk and passing out in the living room. Been there, done that. But how do I move beyond the "old me?" Even if we are convinced change is necessary, so is patience. You can't demand patience to arrive right away. Change takes time, but is well worth the wait. The Big Book comes with appendices that I  overlooked for a long time. The second, called "Spiritual Awareness," cautions, " ...Our first printing gave many readers the impression that these personality changes, or religious experien...