High Five For Friday ~ Fall Is A Great Season To FALL In Love.....

High Five Number One ~ This week has been a crazy week of change.  I left my job at Covenant to start a new job working from home.  Definitely bitter sweet.  I left a group of girls that I adored working with and I have been praying like crazy that they find a replacement for my position quickly and that the burden is not too heavy on them.  Even though leaving was a hard decision, the last couple of days have been stress free and I can truly feel the effects stress was doing to my health and body and spiritual self.  My cardiologist has told me several times to eliminate as much stress as I can from my life and I strive on that.  Little did I know, my job at Covenant was probably the biggest stressor in my life.  Stress eliminated!

High Five Number Two ~ Yay for time now!  I have had time for my Bible study every morning since I left that job and time to catch up on my blog!  Wow!  I used to write in my blog almost daily if not daily at the VERY LEAST weekly!  That stopped for a while.  Writing is something that makes me happy so it feels good to be back at it.

High Five Number Three ~ Fall weather has peeked it's BEAUTIFUL face this week and I hope it lasts.  Living in Texas, it can be fall one day and back to summer the next, so I'm hoping this will last for a while......at least until winter. ;)

High Five Number Four ~ The weekend is here and I'm looking forward to it.  Not sure what is in store but I'm sure it will be lovely!

High Five Number Five ~ This week, my amazing boyfriend really came through for me.  He is so amazing and I'm so blessed to have him in my life.  Everyday spent with him is a blessed day and I thank God for him every morning!  He is answered prayers that's for sure!  :)

Understanding Your Own Anger

"In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent." Psalm 4:4 (NIV)

The first thing to understand about anger is that it's not a sin to be angry.  There is a difference between rational anger and irrational anger.  There is a difference between handling anger the biblical way and handling anger the worldly way.  There is a difference between keeping our peace and giving into our flesh. 

Anger is not always bad. It's unhealthy to suppress anger.  What is bad; however, is being angry at the wrong situation or wrong person.  80% of the time when we get angry at something, deep down we are really angry at something else.  Ask yourself, "What am I angry about? Why am I so upset? What is really the root of my anger?" 

It's so important to understand the why of anger and to really understand where the anger is stemming from.  Anger itself, is never the root problem. There is always a deeper issue. Anger is simply an emotional reaction to one of three primary emotions. If you want to understand your anger you've got to find out which of these three you are feeling.  Maybe it's one specific emotion or maybe it's a combination of all three. It's important that you know this because it's much easier to deal with the roots than it is to deal with anger itself. When you get angry it's either because:

You are hurt - either physically or emotionally. 
You are frustrated - Things don't seem to be turning out the way you want them to. When you're angered by frustration, ask yourself two questions: Would getting angry change the situation? Is it really worth being upset over? And am I really frustrated with this person or situation or just projecting my anger and frustration in the wrong direction?
You are fearful - you feel threatened or insecure.  Lots of times, insecurity sparks jealousy and jealousy sparks anger.  What are you really fearful of and work on that and stop projecting that fear onto others.

When you focus on the real cause, it's easier to control your anger.

The fact is, you can't eliminate hurt and frustration and fear from your lives. Those emotions and feelings are inevitable. But you can learn to deal with these things without becoming upset and angry and lashing out at the wrong people and situations. Anger is a choice. And when you get angry, it is because you've chosen to be angry. 

Change is a part of life and sometimes it starts within ourselves.