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David felt like quitting last Friday. Working as a project manager in a fast-paced consulting firm, David loved his job until stress began to creep in. Demanding clients. Tight deadlines. A hundred things to do, not enough time to do them. Stress pushed David to the edge, making him a different person at work and at home. Snapping at his team. Bringing work stress home to his wife and kids. Feeling far from God, even when he tried hard to pray and trust.

Monday came, and it was David’s worst-case scenario come true. A major project had failed, jeopardizing the quarterly goals of his entire team. David’s boss was livid, the client was threatening to find another firm, and three months of work seemed to have gone down the drain.

What would have happened to David in the past? Well, David would have panicked, spent the entire weekend ruminating on the worst possible outcome, snapped at anyone trying to help, and probably sent a few email tirades he would have regretted later.

However, over the past few months, David had been practicing something different. Something that rewires your brain in the middle of a stress reaction to transform how you respond in real-time.

Shortly after David found out about the major failure, David had:

Calmed his racing heart.
Reframed the situation as an opportunity to get the project back on track vs. the doom-and-gloom story his brain wanted to tell.
Gained clarity on what was really going on.
Led a solution-focused conversation with his boss.
Facilitated a brainstorming session with his team to find a solution.
Turned a crisis into a reputation-building comeback for the client, him, and his team.

What made the difference? The CAPTURE method—a seven-step framework that integrates biblical wisdom with cutting-edge neuroscience to transform your stress response.
CAPTURE: A Biblical Brain-Training System
CAPTURE is more than an acronym. It is a biblically informed, scientifically backed method for rewiring how your brain responds to stress. Here is how the CAPTURE method works:

C—Capture Your Thoughts

Biblical Foundation: “Take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5, New International Version, 1973/1997).
The moment you feel triggered, your first step is awareness. Notice the mental chatter: “This is a disaster,” “I am going to get fired,” “Nothing ever works out for me.”
David’s Experience: When he heard about the project failure, his immediate thoughts were: “My career is over. Everyone will think I am incompetent. I should have seen this coming.”
Instead of believing these negative thoughts, David recognized them as his brain’s threat-detection system going into overdrive, not as truth.

A—Acknowledge Your Emotions

Biblical Foundation: “Search me, God, and know my heart” (Psalm 139:23, New International Version, 1973/1997).
The next step is not to suppress your emotions, but to name what you are really feeling: Anger. Frustration. Disappointment. Fear. Guilt.
David’s Example: “I am scared about my job security, mad at this situation, disappointed in myself.”
Do not beat yourself up for having the emotions. The first step to emotional intelligence is emotional regulation. You cannot change something you will not acknowledge.

P—Put Aside Negative Spirals

Biblical Foundation: “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10, New International Version, 1973/1997).
You have a split-second gap between getting triggered and reacting. Use this gap to drop into the present moment. Take a deep breath or two, feel your feet on the floor, and remember that you have a choice of how to respond.
“Three deep breaths.” As David quietly prayed, “Be still and know that I am God,” his panicked brain calmed down and created space for David to access his wisdom.

T—Transform Your Perspective

Biblical Foundation: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” (Romans 8:28, New International Version, 1973/1997).
Change your internal monologue from victim thinking to empowered, faith-filled thinking. Ask yourself: “How could God use this for good?” “What am I learning in this moment?” “How can I choose to respond with excellence, even in this situation?”
David’s Example: Rather than telling himself this was “the end of the world” or “he was failing as a leader,” David reminded himself that he had dealt with challenging problems before and had come through stronger. He reframed his thinking: “I have the opportunity to demonstrate leadership and crisis problem-solving skills in action,” David told himself.

U— Understand Others with Empathy

Biblical Foundation: “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” (Ephesians 4:2, New International Version, 1973/1997).
Empathy is not just an emotional exercise; it also requires putting yourself in others’ shoes and organizational awareness. Your angry boss might be worried about his performance review. Your frustrated client has stakeholders he needs to answer to. Everyone wants to do a good job, even if they are not showing it at the moment.
David’s Example: “My boss is probably stressed about the executive team breathing down his neck. My client has his internal stakeholders. We are all just trying to do the best we can here.”

R—Respond (Do not React)

Biblical Foundation: “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt.” (Colossians 4:6, New International Version, 1973/1997).
Now that you have made it this far, it is time to act. You no longer need to react from fear, but instead respond with wisdom. Which action serves the situation and your values best right now?
David’s Example: Rather than becoming defensive or shutting down, David quickly scheduled a meeting with his boss to present a recovery plan, took full responsibility for what had gone wrong without excusing or justifying, and focused his energy and attention on coming up with a solution that was better than the original plan.

E—Engage with Positive Intent

Biblical Foundation: “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” (Hebrews 10:24, New International Version, 1973/1997).
Approach the situation and the people involved with positive intent for their benefit, not just your own. How can you show you care about the other person’s success and well-being in this moment?
David’s Example: Rather than stewing over the situation and grumbling to friends about the stress he was under, David used the opportunity to gather his team and rally them around a positive response. David acknowledged the mistake, took responsibility as the team leader, and focused on how they could now turn the situation into a win for the client.

Note: The personal stories and scenarios in this post are composite illustrations based on common experiences from my coaching practice. Names and specific details have been changed to protect privacy, and no story reflects any particular individual.

The Neuroscience Behind CAPTURE
Biblical wisdom provides principles and values to guide behavior. Neuroscience provides the following facts:

Steps C, A, and P help you stop your brain’s panic button (amygdala) from hijacking your frontal lobes (seat of reason).
Steps T and U help you activate the top-down process of emotional regulation in your brain’s prefrontal cortex. Emotional regulation, by the way, is the first step in developing emotional intelligence.
Steps R and E help you form new neural pathways (patterns of response vs. reactions) that become stronger the more you practice them.
Steps A, T, and U all lower your stress hormone response by activating the rest-and-digest response of your parasympathetic nervous system.

Researchers at Stanford found that mindfulness practices, such as CAPTURE, reduce emotional reactivity by 13-28% (Vonderlin et al., 2020). Other studies show that mindfulness practices also improve:

Decision-making under stress
Emotional intelligence (Chen et al., 2022)
Burnout rates (Kersemaekers et al., 2018)
Relationship quality

CAPTURE in Action: A Real World Scenario
Sarah, the Marketing Director (from our intro post), Applied CAPTURE to a recent situation with her teenage daughter. Her daughter rolled her eyes at Sarah while Sarah was mid-sentence during a family discussion. Rather than responding with a lecture or losing her temper (past Sarah’s normal response), the Sarah who had been learning and practicing the CAPTURE method:

Captured her thoughts: “I feel disrespected,” “She is being really rude to me,” “She needs to be punished.”
Acknowledge her emotions: “I am really hurt that my daughter is being disrespectful to me like this.”
Put aside negative thoughts: “Ok, no need to get dramatic here. She is probably not even thinking about how she is behaving or the impact of her behavior.”
Transformed her perspective: “Ok, Sarah. She is a teenager. This is how teenagers roll their eyes; it does not mean they are angry at you or dislike you.”
Understood her daughter: “Oh, man, the last thing my daughter needs is another lecture from me. I bet she is having a really tough day, too. Moreover, all she wants right now is to hear I love her.”
Responded instead of reacting: “Hmm, ok, so how can I turn this around and show I love her? Oh, that is right, by asking her a simple, curious question in love and being present for her.”
Engaged with love: “Hey, what is going on with you today?” Sarah asked her daughter, interrupting her eye-rolling, to meet her in the living room with a hug and full attention. Sarah followed up the next day with a special one-on-one experience for just her and her daughter. Their first real conversation in months.

You may find yourself thinking, “This process sounds very time-consuming.” Consider these scientific facts: Our Thinking Speed is 1,000-3,000 words per minute (some estimates go as high as 4,000). Our Speaking Speed: 125-250 words per minute (average around 150-180 wpm). The Gap: We think 4-12 times faster than we speak.

Reading through the CAPTURE Framework, our load, as followed by Sarah, takes 1 minute and 30 seconds (90 seconds).

The CAPTURE Reality Check

Your brain processes information at 1,000-3,000 words per minute, but you only speak at 150 words per minute. This means while this example CAPTURE walkthrough takes 90 seconds to explain, your mind can actually execute it in under 15 seconds—faster than it takes to send a reactive email you will later regret.

The question is not whether you have time for CAPTURE. The question is: Do you have time for the consequences of not using it?”

With practice and retraining, our brains can learn to capitalize on thinking and speed differences and utilize mindfulness to our advantage.

How CAPTURE Works

Takes advantage of our thinking speed for choosing responses vs. reactions
Creates intentional pauses between thoughts and actions.
Provides “extra thinking time” productively rather than letting it spiral.

The “Gap Between Stimulus and Response”

In the book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” (1989), Steven Covey wrote:

“Between stimulus and response, man has the freedom to choose. Within that freedom lie the growth and happiness of mankind.”

The “Gap” is Where CAPTURE Lives

Your 7-step method literally fills that space between stimulus and response with:

C – Capture thoughts (recognizing the stimulus)
A – Acknowledge emotions (expanding awareness in the gap)
P – Put aside negative spirals (using the space intentionally)
T – Transform perspective (reframing your initial thoughts)
U – Understand others (broadening the response options with empathy)
R – Respond vs. React (making the conscious choice)
E – Engage positively (implementing the chosen response)

Biblical Connection

This aligns perfectly with:

“The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil” (Proverbs 15:28, New International Version, 1973/1997).
“Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19, New International Version, 1973/1997).

Considering the science of thinking and speaking, Covey’s thought leadership insights, and the biblical connection’s principles and values, I hope that you can experience a unique faith-science integration mindfulness best practice.

The CAPTURE Method Integrates all Three

Spiritual: CAPTURE is rooted in God’s Word and His design for human flourishing on all levels.
Psychological: CAPTURE is grounded in evidence-based cognitive and emotional regulation skills (Crum, 2021).
Neurological: CAPTURE is informed by the latest brain science on neuroplasticity to transform your mind and body in lasting ways (Lutz et al., 2008).

The power of integrating all three is greater than the sum of the parts.

Coming Week 4: Why Your Brain Treats Your Boss Like a Saber-Tooth Tiger
Ever wonder why your heart races during a tense meeting or why a critical email from your supervisor feels like a physical attack? Next week, we will delve into the fascinating neuroscience behind your stress reaction and explore why your ancient brain cannot distinguish between workplace criticism and a life-threatening predator.

You will learn how your amygdala—your brain’s alarm system—triggers the same fight-flight-freeze reaction that kept our ancestors alive, even when the “threat” is just an everyday work interaction. We will explore why understanding this biological reality is the first step toward rewiring your stress reaction and experiencing the peace God designed for you, even in high-pressure situations. Get ready to discover why your body is not betraying you—it is just following ancient wiring that you can learn to redirect.

Is work stress impacting your relationships, health, or spiritual life? You do not have to figure this out on your own. I work with Christian professionals who want to break free from reactive patterns and find lasting well-being rooted in both faith and science. Schedule a free 30-minute discovery call to see how coaching can help you transition from feeling overwhelmed to overcoming your challenges.

Subscribe below and receive regular, down-to-earth, practical strategies for stress-free living that honor both biblical wisdom and are informed by the latest research on the brain and stress. Additionally, as a subscriber, you will receive my gift, the “Stress Assessment for Christian Professionals,” a five-minute tool designed to help you identify your stress triggers and stress strengths.

References
Alrabadi, L. S., Dutton, A., Rabiee, A., Roberts, S. J., Deng, Y., Cusack, L., Silveira, M. G., Ciarleglio, M., Bucala, R., Sinha, R., Boyer, J. L., & Assis, D. N. (2022). Mindfulness-based stress reduction may decrease stress, disease activity, and inflammatory cytokine levels in patients with autoimmune hepatitis. JHEP Reports, 4 (5).

Chen, L., Li, X., & Xing, L. (2022). From mindfulness to work engagement: The mediating roles of work meaningfulness, emotion regulation, and job competence. Frontiers in Psychology, 13.

Crum, J. (2021). Understanding mental health and cognitive restructuring with ecological neuroscience. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12.

Kersemaekers, W., Rupprecht, S., Wittmann, M., Tamdjidi, C., Falke, P., Donders, R., Speckens, A., & Kohls, N. (2018). A workplace mindfulness intervention may be associated with improved psychological well-being and productivity. Frontiers in Psychology, 9.

Khoury, B., Lecomte, T., Fortin, G., Masse, M., Therien, P., Bouchard, V., Chapleau, M.-A., Paquin, K., & Hofmann, S. G. (2013). Mindfulness-based therapy: A comprehensive meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 33 (6), 763-771.

Lutz, A., Slagter, H. A., Dunne, J. D., & Davidson, R. J. (2008). Attention regulation and monitoring in meditation. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 12 (4), 163-169.

Vonderlin, R., Biermann, M., Bohus, M., & Lyssenko, L. (2020). Mindfulness-based programs in the workplace: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Mindfulness, 11 (7), 1579-1598.

Last week, I told you the truth about work stress: 77% of professionals are overwhelmed, including many believers who feel guilty about their struggle with anxiety despite their faith..

This week, I want to show you something that will forever change the way you think about stress, faith, and change: Your brain is literally rewiring itself every day, every hour, every moment.

And the best part? You get to choose whether it is rewiring itself into anxiety or peace.

The Brain Science That Changes Everything
Scientists used to think that our brains are set in stone by the time we reach adulthood. If you are wired for anxiety, worry, or reactivity, then you were pretty much stuck with it.

Turns out they were wrong.
Cutting-edge research in neuroplasticity is demonstrating that our brains continually change throughout our lives. Every thought you think, every feeling you feel, every reaction you have is literally carving neural pathways in your brain (Kabat-Zinn, 2013).

It is like walking through a field.

The first time you take a path, you leave a faint trail. However, if you walk that same route over and over, you create a well-worn path that becomes increasingly the default way to move forward.

Your stress reactions work the same way.

Your Brain on Chronic Stress: The Downward Spiral
When you are chronically stressed, here is what happens in your brain:
The Amygdala Takes Over: This almond-shaped structure is your brain’s alarm system. In times of chronic stress, it becomes hyperactive, seeing threats everywhere—even in innocuous comments from your boss or spouse.

The Prefrontal Cortex Goes Offline: This is your brain’s CEO, responsible for rational thinking, emotional regulation, and wise decision-making. Chronic stress literally shrinks this area and strengthens fear-based circuits.

The Default Network: Your brain develops “fast-track” responses to stress. Before you even know what is happening, you are snapping at your kids, sending defensive emails, or pulling away from the people you love the most.

The Negativity Bias Amplifies: Your brain starts scanning for problems, replaying worst-case scenarios, and filtering out positive experiences. One critical comment outweighs ten compliments.

The result? You become someone you do not recognize: reactive, anxious, and disconnected from God and others.

The Biblical Brain: What God Always Knew
Long before neuroscientists discovered neuroplasticity, God was teaching principles that literally rewire our brains for peace.

Romans 12:2: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2, New International Version, 1973/1997).

The Greek word for “transformed” is metamorphoo, the same root as “metamorphosis.” God is not just talking about thinking positive thoughts. He is describing a complete neurological transformation.

2 Corinthians 10:5: “We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5, New International Version, 1973/1997).

This is not spiritual window dressing. It is practical neuroscience. When you “capture” anxious thoughts before they spiral, you are literally interrupting stress circuits and can start the process of creating new neural pathways.

Philippians 4:8: “Whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable…think about such things” (Philippians 4:8, New International Version, 1973/1997).

God is describing what neuroscientists now call “attention training”—deliberately focusing your mind on positive stimuli to rewire your brain’s default patterns.

Your Brain on Faith: The Transformation Process
When you start practicing biblical mindfulness, amazing changes occur:

The Stress Response Calms: Practices like “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10, New International Version, 1973/1997) activate your parasympathetic nervous system (the body’s rest-and-restore mode) (Stress Management: Enhance Your Well-Being by Reducing Stress and Building Resilience, n.d., para. 2).

New Neural Pathways Form: Each time you choose peace over panic, trust over worry, response over reaction, you are literally building new brain circuits (Danet, 2018).

The Prefrontal Cortex Strengthens: Biblical meditation, prayer, and mindfulness practices have been shown to increase gray matter in areas responsible for emotional regulation and wise decision-making (Lazar et al., 2005).

Stress Hormones Decrease: Regular spiritual practices have been shown to lower cortisol (a stress hormone) levels and increase serotonin and dopamine neurotransmitter levels (Ma et al., 2017).

Emotional Intelligence Increases: As your brain changes, you become more aware of your triggers, better at managing emotions, and more skilled at building relationships (Bradberry & Greaves, 2010).

The 5-Minute Brain Reset That Changes Everything
Ready to experience neuroplasticity in action? Try this practice supported by the following verse: “Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7, New International Version, 1973/2011).

Four-Box Breathing

The box breathing method is a straightforward way to help you regain calm, steady breaths when feeling stressed. By creating a pattern of inhaling, holding, exhaling, and pausing, this technique can ease tension, quiet racing thoughts, and help you concentrate better (What Is Box Breathing?, 2024, para. 1). A valuable mindfulness technique that can aid in stress management and overall wellness (used by Navy Seals, frequently in high-stress situations, to relieve stress).

Four-Box Breathing Benefits

Box breathing does more than calm you down in the moment—it can actually help you manage stress more effectively over time. Let me break down the main ways it helps:

It is excellent for mental health. Scientists have discovered that slow, mindful breathing has a direct impact on our thoughts and emotions, helping to elevate our mood and alleviate stress.

It sharpens your mind. When you feel scattered or have trouble focusing, box breathing helps clear away mental fog. The steady rhythm of breathing helps your brain function more effectively.

It trains your body to better handle future stress. Regular practice can actually alter how your genes function—it can enhance how your body utilizes energy and insulin, while reducing inflammation and stress responses. It is like building up your stress immunity.

It helps switch off your body’s alarm system. When we are stressed, our body goes into “fight or flight” mode, releasing stress hormones that can lead to panic attacks if triggered unnecessarily. Box breathing activates your body’s “rest and digest” response instead, helping you stay calm when things get tough (Kumar, MD, n.d., para. 11).

Four Steps of Box Breathing

Step One
1. Inhale slowly through your nose while mentally counting to four.
1. Concentrate on filling your lungs and abdomen with air.
1. Let your body feel how air is filling your lungs.
Step Two
1. Take a deep breath.
1. Hold your breath and mentally count to four again.
Step Three
1. Exhale slowly through your mouth while mentally counting to four.
1. Concentrate on getting all the air out of your lungs at once.
Step Four
1. Take a deep breath.
1. Hold your breath and mentally count to four again.
1. Return to step one and repeat the process until you feel calmer and more relaxed.

Box breathing is a technique that Navy SEALs practice for approximately five minutes. (Kumar, MD, n.d., para. 11)

By practicing the Four-Box Breathing technique, you can hope for the following benefits.

Neuroscience/Social Science Connection

Research shows that box breathing (equal duration of inhalations, breath retention, and exhalations) produces improvements in mood and a reduction in respiratory rate compared to other practices, helping to regulate autonomic nervous system function (Balban et al., 2023).

Box breathing regulates the sympathetic nervous system, lowers cortisol levels, and has the potential to lower blood pressure. The counting element of box breathing provides a meditative aspect that calms the nervous system and promotes present-moment awareness (How Box Breathing Can Help You Destress, 2021).

Biblical Wisdom Connection

“In quietness and trust is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15, New International Version, 1973/1997).

Connection: Four-Box Breathing creates the “quietness” this verse describes, while the deliberate practice builds “trust” in God’s provision of peace. The technique literally strengthens our nervous system’s ability to remain calm under pressure.

“Let everything that has breath praise the LORD” (Psalm 150:6, New International Version, 1973/1997)

Connection: Four-Box Breathing transforms the automatic act of breathing into intentional worship and communion with God. Each conscious breath becomes an act of praise and recognition of His sustaining power in our lives.

Your Personal Neuroplasticity Experiment

This week, please become your own neuroscience researcher. Retraining the brain requires practice. Practice mindful breathing and Four-Box Breathing throughout your day and when triggered.

You can do so anywhere at any time. While waiting in line in the grocery store or while showering, use the “Be still and know that I am God” breathing mantra.
When you feel triggered and your emotions activate, pause and practice the Four-Box Breathing technique.

It is your secret stress-reset button. At a stressful department meeting, a long, tense Zoom call, a difficult conversation, or a volunteer church meeting, discreetly tap into this hidden power without anyone knowing you are rewiring your stress response on the spot.
Pay attention to how you feel after just one week. Notice any changes in:
1. Your stress levels
1. How you respond to difficult people
1. Your energy levels
1. Your relationship with God
1. Your overall sense of peace

Remember: You are not just trying to feel better. You are literally rewiring your brain for transformation.

What is Coming Next
Next week, I will introduce you to the CAPTURE method, a seven-step framework that integrates biblical wisdom with cutting-edge stress management techniques. You will learn how to break free from reactive patterns and respond to life’s challenges with wisdom, grace, and supernatural peace.

Is work stress impacting your relationships, health, or spiritual life? You do not have to figure this out on your own. I work with Christian professionals who want to break free from reactive patterns and find lasting well-being rooted in both faith and science. Schedule a free 30-minute discovery call to see how coaching can help you transition from feeling overwhelmed to overcoming your challenges.

Subscribe below and receive regular, down-to-earth, practical strategies for stress-free living that honor both biblical wisdom and are informed by the latest research on the brain and stress. Additionally, as a subscriber, you will receive my gift, the “Stress Assessment for Christian Professionals,” a five-minute tool designed to help you identify your stress triggers and stress strengths.
References

Bradberry, T., & Greaves, J. (2010). Emotional Intelligence 2.0. Brilliance Audio.

Danet, G. (2018). The neuroscience of well-being. Holistic Life.

Fredrickson, B. L., Cohn, M. A., Coffey, K. A., Pek, J., & Finkel, S. M. (2008). Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95 (5), 1045-1062.

Kabat-Zinn, J. (2013). Full catastrophe living: Using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain, and illness. Bantam Books.

Kopel, J., & Habermas, G. R. (2019). Neural Buddhism and Christian mindfulness in medicine. National Library of Medicine.

Lazar, S. W., Kerr, C. E., Wasserman, R. H., Gray, J. R., Greve, D. N., Treadway, M. T., McGarvey, M., Quinn, B. G., Dusek, J. A., Benson, H., Rauch, S. L., Moore, C. I., & Fischl, B. (2005). Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness. National Library of Medicine.

Ma, X., Yue, Z.-Q., Gong, Z.-Q., Zhang, H., Duan, N.-Y., Shi, Y.-T., Wei, G.-X., & Li, Y.-F. (2017). The effect of diaphragmatic breathing on attention, negative affect, and stress in healthy adults. Frontiers in Psychology, 8 .

Stress Management: Enhance Your Well-Being by Reducing Stress and Building Resilience. (n.d.). Harvard Health Publishing.

Welcome to “From Overwhelmed to Overcoming”—Where biblical wisdom meets modern science for lasting well-being

Why I am Starting This Blog Series

Over my years as a professional coach, I have worked with hundreds of clients across diverse industries—from healthcare executives to tech entrepreneurs, from nonprofit directors to C-Suite corporate managers. While their job titles and challenges vary, one thread consistently runs through nearly every coaching conversation: the struggle with stress, burnout, and the elusive quest for work-life balance.

Time and again, I interact with capable, successful professionals who have achieved what others consider impressive careers, yet they feel like they are drowning. They have tried the typical solutions—time management apps, productivity hacks, job changes, vacation breaks—but the underlying patterns remain unchanged. They react instead of respond, carry work stress into family time, and find themselves not showing up in life as their best selves.

What makes this heartbreaking is witnessing the added layer of guilt and the lingering of the negative messages of the inner critic—“You are a failure” “You will never amount to anything” “You blew it this time, better update your resume”—and countless other inner critic negative messages people have acquired over time. The result is that people lack emotional regulation, leading to counterproductive habits in life, such as becoming defensive, proving they are right, arguing, checking out, and more. They end up sacrificing joy and happiness by retaining underlying bitterness, resentment, hurts, worry, and anger (and more), the catalyst for stress and burnout.

When it comes to clients who are Christian, they know they need to trust more in God, experience His peace, and model Christ-like character, yet they find themselves snapping at loved ones, feeling anxious despite prayer, and wondering why their faith is not translating into the calm life Jesus teaches about.

It is interesting to note that Jesus does not promise external peace in this world. For example, in John, He says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33, New International Version, 1973/1997). What He does offer believers is inner peace that transcends circumstances.

After seeing the same patterns of stress, burnout, and poor work-life balance emerge repeatedly—and after discovering how biblical wisdom perfectly aligns with cutting-edge neuroscience—I realized there is a better way forward. A way that honors both our faith and the remarkable findings about how our brains actually change and heal. This is why I have written this book and blog about why people are burning out at record rates, how to move from being overwhelmed to overcoming, and where biblical wisdom meets modern science for lasting well-being.

What you are about to discover is a powerful integration of God’s eternal wisdom with today’s most effective evidence-based strategies—methods that actually rewire our neural pathways for peace, resilience, and emotional intelligence. This goes far beyond typical ‘try harder’ approaches or simplistic spiritual advice. Instead, it reveals the remarkable ways biblical truth and cutting-edge neuroscience work together, offering you practical tools that honor both your faith and your brain’s incredible capacity for transformation.”

Let me introduce you to someone who represents this struggle perfectly—and whose transformation shows what is possible when we stop fighting our design and start working with it.

Meet Sarah. She is a high-potential marketing director at a Fortune 500 company, a leader of a small group at her church, the volunteer coordinator for her kids’ school fundraiser, and, according to everyone who knows her, “has the ideal work-life balance”.

What you do not know is that Sarah’s smartphone has become her middle name: 150+ notifications a day. Alternatively, she has not slept all the way through the night in months. Last week, her anger was triggered, and she yelled at her teenage daughter for the third time that day over some dumb comment. She wakes up each morning and prays for the strength to make it through the day, all while not understanding why God’s peace seems so far away, while she has been so successful from the outside.

You are not alone, Sarah. You are part of an epidemic in America among professionals in today’s always-on culture.

The Shocking Reality We Cannot Ignore

Let us look at the facts. Recent research has uncovered a hidden crisis among employees in the United States:

77% of all employees experience stress in the workplace over a typical month (2023 Work in America Survey-Workplaces as Engines of Psychological Health and Well-Being, 2023).
79% of Americans experience stress in the workplace, with additional downstream factors: 32% experience emotional exhaustion, 36% experience cognitive fatigue, and 44% experience physical fatigue (Abramson, 2022).
52% of employees feel burned out by their jobs, and 37% are so overwhelmed by work that they cannot perform even basic tasks at the office (The 2024 NAMI Workplace Mental Health Poll, 2024),

What makes it all even more tragic is that, as followers of Christ, we experience this crisis while having the very faith that gives us the “peace that transcends all understanding” (Philippians 4:7, New International Version, 1973/1997)

The Unique Stressors Facing People in the Always-On Culture

As followers of Jesus, there are specific additional sources of stress that don’t show up on regular surveys or fit in generic corporate wellness plans:

The Excellence Pressure Trap: We want to be the best employees possible, to “work heartily, as for the Lord, not for man” (Colossians 3:23, New International Version, 1973/1997). However, excellence too often becomes a mythical perfectionism that nobody can live up to without burning out.

The Servant Complex: We love to serve others, but we also have a hard time turning down requests. That openness of heart can soon become a path to resentment, and resentment soon leads to sickness.

The Guilt Factor: We struggle with stress, then get bogged down in spiritual guilt about the whole thing: “If I really trusted God, wouldn’t I have more peace?”

The Cell Phone Connection: We are hyper-connected 24/7, making the biblical rhythms of work and rest nearly impossible to maintain.

The Hidden Costs of Chronic Stress

On top of feeling sad and burned out, the real cost is immeasurable and far more devastating:

Your Physical Health: Heart disease, diabetes, autoimmune disease, and accelerated aging are all contributors to chronic stress. Stress literally ages you.

Your Relationships: Stress makes you reactive, and can destroy marriages, parenting, and friendships, the very relationships that bring the most joy and purpose to life.

Your Spiritual Life: Stress disconnects you from the source of all joy, ironically, at the moment you need God most. Prayer becomes a “should”, Bible reading becomes a to-do-list item, and worship becomes a rote exercise.

Your Performance at Work: Stressed people make more mistakes, overlook simple creative solutions, and create the kind of workplace toxicity that holds everyone back.

Financial Impact on Organizations: Consider this: The average replacement cost of an employee who is burned out is 213% of that employee’s salary! (Somanathan, 2024). Stress-related health care costs eat up 8% of our national healthcare costs, and stress is a contributing factor to nearly 120,000 deaths in the US every year. (Goh et al., 2016).

Why Most “Stress Management” Is Missing the Mark

Most stress management approaches offer either:

Secular techniques that ignore our spiritual design and values
Spiritual platitudes that lack practical, evidence-based strategies
Quick fixes that do not address the root neurological patterns driving our reactions

We need something that combines all of the above: A faith-honoring approach based on the best of modern stress research.

A Different Path Forward

What if we started framing “stress management” as Biblical wisdom meets modern science? What if we acknowledged that Biblical wisdom has provided the truth, principles, and values for leading healthy and productive lives for over 3,500 years? What if we embraced modern science, which is continuously discovering evidence aligning with Biblical wisdom, showing how to overcome stress and burnout, while improving work-life balance and emotional intelligence? What if we intentionally leveraged neuroplasticity to retrain our brains—”by taking captive every thought and being transformed by the renewing of your mind” (2 Corinthians 70:5 and Romans 72:2). Making mindfulness best practices common practice in our daily lives as a means for overcoming stress and burnout, while improving work-life balance and being our best selves.

What if the same God who designed your brain also provided the user manual for rewiring it? This isn’t about choosing between faith and science. It’s about discovering how they work together to create the abundant life Christ promised.

The Backing Science. Major studies show that mindfulness-based interventions can reduce anxiety, depression, and stress effectively (Khoury et al., 2013). When combined with biblical principles, these practices create lasting transformation that honors both our faith and our neurological design (Khoury et al., 2013).

Your Invitation to Transformation

Over the coming weeks, I will be previewing concepts from my upcoming book “From Overwhelmed to Overcoming: Biblical Wisdom Meets Modern Science for Lasting Well-being.

The book presents the CAPTURE framework, plus 12 other mindfulness tools, and 7 critical interpersonal skills for emotional intelligence. This 7-step process, grounded in neuroscience and biblical truth, weaves in real-life stories and practical tools you can use in the moment–whether you have 30 seconds or 30 minutes–or tools to practice over time to develop muscle memory for choosing healthy, productive responses over defaulting to old counterproductive reflexes.

Take the First Step

If Sarah’s story sounds anything like yours, you are not broken. You are not weak. You are not a bad Christian. You are human, living in an inhuman world, with a God who has compassion on your struggle and solutions for your transformation.

Try this simple 3-minute practice based on Psalm 46:10 before you go to sleep tonight.

“Be still and know that I am God” (A 3-minute mindful prayer meditation for stress relief rooted in Psalm 46:10).

Sit in silence or, as you lie your head on your pillow, follow this mantra for three minutes. As you inhale, quietly say to yourself, “Be still”. As you exhale, say to yourself, “and know that I am God”. If your mind wanders (it will), gently return your attention to your breath and the words. Repeat calmly for three minutes.

This practice is a simple form of what the mindfulness research calls “acceptance”, learning to relax into God’s presence and accepting things as they are, moment by moment.

When you encounter situations that trigger negative emotions throughout the day, pause and use the “Be still and know that I am God” mindful prayer meditation for a moment or two. Try it out to see how your activated emotions decrease.

Is work stress affecting your relationships, health, or spiritual life? You do not have to figure this out alone. I work with Christian professionals who want to break free from reactive patterns and discover sustainable well-being rooted in both faith and science. Schedule a complimentary 30-minute discovery call to explore how coaching could help you move from overwhelmed to overcoming.

References

Abramson, A. (2022, January 1). Burnout and stress are everywhere. American Psychological Association.

Goh, J., Pfeffer, J., & Zenios, S. A. (2016). The relationship between workplace stressors and mortality and health costs in the United States. Management Science, 62 (2), 608-628.

Somanathan, K. (2024). The true cost of employee burnout. Forbes.

The 2024 NAMI Workplace Mental Health Poll. (2024). National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI).

2023 Work in America Survey-Workplaces as Engines of Psychological Health and Well-Being. (2023). American Psychological Association.

The CAPTURE Framework: How to Stop Reacting and Start Responding