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Living Fearlessly ~ Overwhelmed?

And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”
~ Matthew 14:28-30 (ESV ~ emphasis mine)

Did you ever try to walk on water? Me neither. To be honest, I have had my fair share on being overwhelmed and I might as well have tried to walk on water. I used to get panic attacks at least once a week; mostly when I thought about the day ahead of me. All the things on my ‘to-do-list’ just seem too much to handle.

One of my favorite quotes in Max Lucado’s book “Fearless” hits really close to the core…

“Feed your fears, and your faith will starve. Feed your faith, and your fears will.”

You see, if I don’t keep my eyes fixed on our Savior, I start sinking — fast like Peter. I noticed that when I get up too late for some quiet time, my day does not go well. I still have challenges during the day, however if I do spend time before my day starts, my mindset is different. Not sure how to explain it.

During my day, I usually listen to Christian music or sermons so I keep focused; I do not panic (too much) on what still needs to be done. Max Lucado is right; we need to feed our faith daily. I want to challenge you over the next 30 days: feed your faith; listen to Christian Radio, sermons on your media player, memorize Scripture passages.

How do you ‘feed’ your faith? I would love for you to share your thoughts on this topic; either in the comment section or your on own blog.

‘No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ ~ Romans 8:37-39 (ESV)

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: Feed your faith, not your fears…

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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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Pursuing Love ~ Love is Patient

Pursuing Love

Click on the link above to take you directly to the hostess of the series, Marsha at Marsha’s Musings.

“Love is patient…” ~ 1 Corinthians 13:4 (ESV)

PATIENCE: An active endurance of opposition, not a passive resignation… Patience is endurance, steadfastness, long-suffering, and forbearance. ~ Holman Dictionary (emphasis mine)

My husband and I are absolute opposites when it comes to sleep. I am totally a morning person – always have been. My dad used to wake us up with a cheery call “rise and shine”. I guess it is just ingrained in me – I still “rise and shine” (except my bones take a little longer to get in gear these days 😉 )…My husband is the total opposite. He comes to life when the sun sets…and likes to stay up late — really late.

There was a time in our marriage when we went to bed at different times. Believe me when I tell you – that was not good. Some nights my husband didn’t get to bed until 2am. There were nights when I waited and waited (not very patiently)…Looking back, it still pains me (just a little).

What do you do in a marriage when you are not on the same page? It took me a very long time to get where I am today.

I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.
~ Psalm 40:1 (ESV)

Through praying and staying in His word, God heard my cry; not changing my husband — but working on my heart first. You see love, patience, respect all go hand-in-hand. I have learned that I can not change my husband (and should not). But I can ask God to make things clear to me, to change me, to help me see others like God sees them.

Working through the process in my marriage, helped me to also become more patient with others outside my marriage/family. I do still have impatient days, but they become less and less. Being patient brings peace and things seem to work smoother.

As for bed-time? We have compromised…we go to bed between my husbands and my time. I still rise early (I need a little quiet time in the morning before my day starts), but I wouldn’t want to give up the cuddle time before falling asleep for anything in the world…I just sleep less 😉 …

Thank you for stopping by today. Make sure to stop at Marsha’s blog “Marsha’s Musing” to link up and read other posts about “Love is Patient”. Remember: ask God to change your heart first before you ask God to change someone else.

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Glorious

Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power,
your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.
~ Exodus 15:6 (ESV – emphasis mine)

I woke up with this song (from the album “In the Hands of God”) by Newsboys in my head…so I thought I track it down for you to share:



Thank you for stopping by today…Remember: He is always there to pick you up if you allow Him to.