Rejoice Always & Give Thanks in All Circumstances

A few thoughts...

Be like a dandelion rejoicing and showing its shining, sunny head to God. It has overcome all the asphalt and traffic - the most difficult of circumstances. And still can create a splash of color and beauty amidst the concrete that tried to stop its growth. It is a reminder of resilience for all who see it.

In all circumstances, even the tough ones we are reminded to Rejoice! Pray! Give Thanks! It doesn't matter whether the wonderful or tough moment occurs at work or at home. Too often this spiritual practice can get set aside as we focus on work.

Faith & Work

When you are in the office or working, have you "walled" off this part of your life from the rest of who you are? In many large organizations, company culture and behavioral norms have made it so most people do not discuss their faith. Within some company cultures, it may be unsafe to be publicly known as a Christian with traditional views. With this control of the outer environment, are you able to stay connected to your faith internally throughout the day? Has your faith become something you practice at home? (It's okay to admit it. This is part of how work has been able to get so much of your time and energy.) 

Prayer at Work

As you seek to improve work-life harmony, can you imagine how you will feel if you leave a little space for Christ in your work day? Just like saying grace is a best practice at the start of the meal, what would it be like for you if you took a moment to calm yourself and pray. A few potential trigger points could be as you arrive at work, step into a meeting, or start working on a project?

For example, as you go into a meeting, how would your perspective be different if you invited Christ into the meeting with you to help ensure the outcomes are as He wills? What benefits would you have as you are better able to stay in connection with Holy Spirit, instead of getting pulled into the stress and drama of others? Would this help you stay in the right frame of mind to avoid overcommitting, so you can more easily protect your family time?

I know I've felt the benefits as I pray and ask for guidance on how to respond to a difficult email or go into a performance review! As a result of praying before one of the performance reviews where I needed to inform someone of a performance improvement plan, the words I used echoed something his wife had said the previous night and they really hit home. That only would have been possible through Holy Spirit!

RELATED: Prayer & Intuition As Part of Health Independence

Rejoice Always! 

I love this part! It can be hard though! When that car cuts you off in traffic, it takes practice & training to get accustomed to rejoicing in safety and not cursing the other driver. Or when you are in a tough or painful situation, it can be hard to reframe perspective and identify what God wants you to learn and how He wants you to grow from it. When you are drained and exhausted from working too much, this can feel even harder as current habits and thought patterns are what comes up.

At times we can get caught up in the stress of the moment, telling ourselves all sorts of negative lies, stress eating, or other tactics to deal with overwhelm. It can be easy at the moment to forget our strengths, capabilities, and blessings. These are the moments where we need to take a DEEP breath and ask Holy Spirit to help us rejoice and be thankful for the TRUTH that is God's view of us. (Two minutes of deep breathing along with prayer clears the stress hormones and the fog of fear.)

RELATED: Tense & Stuck? Breathe Deep and Breathe in Spirit of God!

As you begin taking small steps to improve work-life harmony, your decisions will be tested. The work phone will ring in the middle of your child's ballgame or you will get tempted to check emails because the action died down in the game. The decision of what to do next does not have to be based on your will alone, it can be based on God's will for you! With practice and His support the temptation to break work and personal life boundaries will subside.

Prayer and Journal

How are you rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks as it relates to work? During work?

To help you reduce stress at work and avoid overcommitments on your time & energy, how can you bring prayer back into your workday? What is the first step you can take toward that?

God is shaping you through your life experiences. Like the dandelion, how will you bloom as you come through difficult situations? What prayers and wishes can you help spread as you transform?

My hope for you...

I hope that these words (or what you experience through doing this as a journaling exercise) can serve to inspire and energize changes in lifestyle. Practicing small changes in mindset or habits like these only take a few seconds or minutes at a time, with enough repetition these seeds of healthy habits can lead to great transformations!

Interested in learning more about how to improve work-life harmony and reduce stress? Working with me can accelerate reclaiming your time and energy from work so you can enjoy more time with God, self, and loved ones.