Breathe: A 6-Day Plan to Transform Chaos to CalmSample

Introduction: What Can I Do to Stop the Stress?

“Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest,” (Matthew 11:28)

Have you ever felt Jesus whisper this beautiful invitation to better nurture yourself with rest?

From the moment we wake up, we are inundated with noise, pressures, and expectations that wear us down. While we can be heroes when it comes to loving and caring for others, it can be so hard to give ourselves permission to rest and refresh when we’re stressed and need it the most.

Perhaps you’ve always been the encourager, always the one responsible for taking care of others, and you never felt the need to take care of your own mental health before now.

Perhaps you didn’t feel comfortable sharing your needs, or maybe you just didn’t have time to figure it out, so you did what you had always done: put your heart to the side and carried on.

But here, today, perhaps for the first time ever, you wonder if it’s okay to pay attention to your own diminished wellness.

You wonder: What can I do to stop the stress?

The passage from Matthew 11 continues with these instructions from Jesus in verse 29-30: “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.”

Right in the midst of all the division, chaos, and worries swirling around us, Jesus is quietly loving you. He invites you to take His easy yoke in exchange for your burdensome one. He is leading you to a posture of trusting Him with your exhaustion. He wants to be your resting place.

You Are Worth Taking Care Of

Over the coming days, I’m going to walk you through scientific and Scripture-based methods to help you restore calm to your body and emotions, stress less, take better care of yourself, and create new rhythms of rest.

A Rhythm to Renew, Release, and Restore

As you take this journey to transform moments of chaos to calm, I will guide you to experience a simple, powerful rhythm to breathe and respond to stress.

Each day you will be invited to participate in one of the following responses:

• Breathe in Truth. Refresh your spirit with God’s loving words of affirmation. Encourage your heart with God’s loving promises in Scripture to empower you in your true identity as God’s beloved daughter. Renew your mind with the truth of what God says about you.
• Breath Prayer. Release your stress using calming, breath-oriented prayers. Use each short, simple “breath prayer” to relax, following the rhythm of your breathing, bringing focus and calm. You will feel closer to God and experience His peace and presence.
• Soul Care Challenge. Restore peace and joy to your body and emotions using simple soul care tips based on science.

Scriptures for Day 1

Matthew 6:25-34

Matthew 11:25-30