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Living Fearlessly ~ Fear of Change

As you remember, Karon had a wonderful guest blog on February 1st. Karon’s new book “Unafraid” so perfectly fits for my 2010 theme “Living Fearlessly”…

Some of the questions Karon posted at the end of her blog:

  • What change are you facing now? What has your response been – to fear or to build?
  • How have you overcome a fear of change in the past, or what have you learned from your fear in the past that helps you now when change happens?
  • Why do you think we fear change so, and how do you think God wants us to respond to it in our lives?

I haven’t handled some of my life chances well; honestly I down right struggled. My dad’s death, my move the US, my son moving out just to name a few. Today, I do not want to share anything from my past, but would like to respond to Karon’s first question. I want to encourage you with my words…

Girls, I am turning 50 this year!?! Standing before a fork in the road I am wondering what I would like to do with the rest of my life…

Several weeks ago I open my Bible to the epistle of James. The following verses the Lord impress upon my heart:

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”” ~ James 4:13-15 (ESV ~ emphasis mine)

James is telling us not to look too far ahead. Hm, interesting…Don’t get me wrong; I still make plans and have dreams for the future…but I am looking now first to get His approval to move ahead. I am not waiting to see a direct sign from heaven, however I know that He has my blue-print of life in His beautiful hands. He will open or close doors.

I am excited to step out in faith, knowing that He will be there all the way. I know that I will still encounter valleys but that does not strike me with fear. He has a pretty good ‘track-record’ in my life. He is always ready to send someone special into my day to encourage me.

Sweet one, I know that this life is not easy. God placed some special women in your life as well. They are more than willing to share your fears, dreams and hopes by praying over you. Don’t be afraid to ask your girl friends to stand by you. I am blessed and thankful that I have these special women in my life…they help me to live life with less fear.

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: Live life for the here and now…giving your hopes and dreams to Him; He has your blue-print in His hands.

My series based on Max Lucado’s book “Fearless” will continue on March 8th. I hope you will join me than again for “Living Fearlessly in 2010″…

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Living Fearlessly in 2010 – “Do I Matter?”

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” ~ Matthew 10:29-31 (ESV ~ emphasis mine)

“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” ~ Psalm 139:14 (ESV)

Did you ever wanted to be famous? I did. When I was a teenager I wanted to be a backup singer for T.Rex; I even learned all the lyrics to all their hit songs… Me, a backup singer to tour with a famous 70’s British band? Thinking back makes me giggle, because I was only 13 years old at their height of fame.

Max Lucado writes in his book “Fearless“:

“Ah, There it is. There is the question. The Amazon River out of which a thousand fears flow: do we matter? We fear we don’t. We fear nothingness, insignificance. We fear evaporation. We fear that in the last tabulation we make no contribution to the final sum. We fear coming and going and non one knowing” and “Connect to someone special and become someone special, right?”

Yes, there it is “connect to someone special…” and maybe, just maybe I can catch a little ray of their lime-light that I too would matter…

That was me when I started blogging some 5 years ago. If you look way back into my archives, I tried so hard to matter. I connected to famous woman so I too would matter in bloggy-ville. I wanted to change the world just like they did. I wanted to be heard – loud and clear. How can I archive that? Link up, hook up…

Well, God had a lesson for me on that…I truly believe that we have to be humbled before He can truly use our gifts. The word “discouragement” was often on my mind; as much so that I wanted to just quit blogging all together — “I didn’t matter”…

But God kept after me; to stay with it. I mattered to Him and His message. He reminded me that we all have different gifts. Not all can be a Beth Moore, Lysa TerKeurst, or Lisa McKay. He gives even ‘small’ people like me a voice – to share about His incredible love, devotion and grace with others.

Sweet one, you too matter to Him. Would’ve sent His only Son into a cruel world to die our death? Would Jesus go all the way up Calvary to be nailed to the cross if we would not matter? I don’t think so!

Today I link up/hook up because men and women are an inspiration to me. I no longer need their lime-light to matter – I matter to Him, and that is enough for me.

Where there times when you linked up so you could catch a lime-light ray? Please do share – it does not have to be connected with blogging; maybe in your immediate surroundings? Did you ever wish you could be like ________?

Over the next week I would like you to ponder the Cross. What does the Cross say about how much you matter to God? Come back here to share either in the comment section or write about it on your blog.

Also, if you have not read Karon’s guest blog last Monday, I would like to encourage you to read it. Karon has a marvelous message about “Fear of Change“. I will be sharing my own thoughts on change next Monday.

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: not matter how small you think you are, you matter to Him who wonderfully created you.

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Living Fearlessly in 2010 – The ‘What Ifs…’

“And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.” ~ Matthew 8:23-26 (ESV)

‘Imagine your life wholly untouched by angst. What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats? If you could hover a fear magnet over your heart and extract every last shaving of dread, insecurity, and doubt, what would remain? Envision a day, just one day, absent the dread of failure, rejection, and calamity. Can you imagine a life with no fear?’ ~ Max Lucado

Can I imagine a life without fear? Can you? Oh how I pray that my head would follow my heart at all times. Let me share something with you that I never shared publicly on my blog…

You do know that my marriage was rocky about 5 years ago. It was so rocky that I wanted to get out – out of the boat because I didn’t wanted to get soaked. I was ready to walk out — twice. You see, I always battled insecurity (some days I still do – just not to that extend).

I guess when women reach a certain age, they believe some lies that the enemy likes to put into our head…

Our son was close to the end of his studies at that time. What if my husband and I grew too much apart? What if my beloved would no longer desire me as his wife? What if my husband finds a younger, more beautiful woman…

Oh, all the what ifs that came to mind and made me fearful of the future. I was so fearful my husband would leave that I truly entertained the idea of moving back to Germany — after 22 years of marriage. The storm was the worst in our marriage. After tearful months and inner turmoil, I could only hold on to the One who could calm the storms — Jesus. I had faith that He could see us through this really, really rough spot. And He did!

Are you battling any “what ifs…” right now? Would you be open to share them with us on your blog or here in the comments? You see, the enemy likes to use those “what ifs…” to make us fearful of the future. Yes, these “what ifs…” make us do things that are not very rational — we panic (I did — almost ending my marriage). Remember: cast your ‘what ifs…” on Him — He is with you in every storm and has the power to calm it.

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Fearless – Free MP3

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
~ John 16:33 (ESV)

I just wanted to pop in really quick to let you know about a free MP3 that you can download from Max Lucado’s website (download here). Max Lucado encouraged the audience to fear less…and trust more!

Remember: God is always with you, even when you think/feel that He does not hear you — He does. See you on January 25th with more on living fear-LESS in 2010…