Anxiety Help Notebook

For the past several months, my 10 year old daughter has been having trouble getting to sleep.  She tells my husband and I-- that she's scared.  She can't explain exactly what she's scared of, but she 'just is.'  She's been double checking the locks on the doors and windows because something scary could come in.  She's been spending hours awake, not able to relax and sleep. We have tried everything to calm her down!  Special prayers, Bible reading, night lights, sleeping with the lights on, new pillows, different beds, music playing, white noise playing, set bedtime routine, warm baths, door open, door closed, later bedtime, earlier bedtime, no movies or books that may have scary things, no TV, no screen time before bed, etc. etc. etc. 

(Can you sense my exhaustion with this matter?)
 

Well, after much prayer and basically 'crying' out to God for help,
prayers were answered with this notebook idea. 

Yes, it sounds crazy, but this 'FEAR NOT NOTEBOOK' has really made a difference!  Take a look!

We took the 'use what you got' and the 'get it done, quick' approach with this notebook.


Using old magazines, we ripped out pages of pictures that brought my daughter happiness and joy.
 She loves animals, oceans, flowers, fields, etc. 
We also cut out words that would bring a sense of calmness. 

Words like: rest, bloom, relax, sleep, love, rejoice.

We already had a small yellow binder (7"x 9") that worked perfectly.

Next came the assembling. 
We taped (yes, good old Scotch tape) the magazine pictures and words right onto a piece of hole punched paper (5 1/2"x 8 1/2"). 

 We then looked up Bible verses that had to do with God's protection, peace and sleep and wrote them on the pages.
Here's a look at some of the pages we made.

I lay down and slept yet I woke up in safety. For the Lord was watching over me. 
Psalm 3:5

I will lay down in peace and sleep, for you O Lord will keep me safe.
Psalm 4:8

Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?

Matthew 6:26

 

But my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19

Do not worry...  Matthew 6:25


On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.
Psalm 63:6

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:6

 

Be careful for nothing but in everything let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7

This page would totally GIVE me anxiety (8 babies holding juice on white carpet), but my daughter loves babies!
Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7

And this is the confidence that we have toward Him,
that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
1 John 5:14

 

We made about 15 pages and then put in a section of lined paper for my daughter to write down her prayers to God.
Her written prayers made me cry. 
To see inside the mind of a very scared/confused adopted 10 year old...it's tough stuff for a mom.

We also put in an envelope to hold extra pictures and words to make more pages.

Using the Cricut cutting machine, we cut out vinyl letters to decorate the notebook.
(I used the Opposites Attract font cartridge.)

And of course, every project needs ribbon!  I punched three holes into the binder's spine.
(The Crop-o-dile punching tool is the best!)

Three different ribbons were threaded through the holes, tied into a double knot and trimmed.

It's been 3 weeks since we have made this notebook. 
(It took me awhile to post this...not to mention that I wanted to see if this book actually worked.)
Week 1:  My daughter used this Fear Not Notebook every night.
She read through each page, wrote out a prayer to God AND went to sleep quickly!!
Week 2:  The Fear Not Notebook was only looked at once or twice with no troubles sleeping!
Week 3:  The Fear Not Notebook is sitting on her nightstand untouched!  She's sleeping effortlessly! 

An answered prayer!


Now we may need this notebook again sometime...
so we're continuing to add new pages, photos and scriptures every so often...
Just so we're ready.


Sweet Dreams!

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