When we trust God with our lives, we can see how He, through His grace and promise of salvation, can take us from things in life that keep us from thriving and place us in a garden of growth and beauty.
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The Bible tells us that we can be set free of everything because of Jesus on the cross. When we feel anxious, we know we can go to him and tell him why we are anxious and ask for peace and whatever we need.
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If we let our feelings control us, we are giving the devil a foothold. A door opens and the devil will use that door to trap us in our emotions. The devil knows what sets our emotions off, he knows our weakness, he knows our unhealthy coping skills… When we submit our troubles to God, He promises to deliver us from our troubles and the pain we may be feeling, whatever that may be
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We can experience true rest when we spend time in God's presence praying or reflecting on his Word. God wants to give us rest; he wants us to have peace in his presence.
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Like I said I don’t run so here, I am walking through singleness. I wish I could rush past this, but God has me in this season for a reason, and it’s only for a season. Seasons always change. After the winter comes the spring. We sometimes have to face the fire before we get the rain. Walking through singleness means you might face some fires before the rain. But going through the fires makes dancing in the rain with your significant other and every blaze worth it.
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A couple of years back when I visited Appa, he took me to his room and opened a draw, as if to show me a treasure. There in neat piles were all the letters, cards and paper clippings I had posted to him over the years. My eyes clouded with tears. That day I saw the soft tender part of my tall, dark, handsome and strong father.
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In three out of the four gospels - Matthew, Mark, and Luke - we read about Jesus sending the disciples onto a boat into the Sea of Galilee, only for an unforeseen storm to head their way. Despite Jesus being near them, fear overpowered the disciples to the point they believed they would die. (Luke 8:24)
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It was the fifth consecutive day I woke up with a headache. After trying my own remedies and finding them all useless, I asked my father, a general practitioner with over 50 years of experience. Dad said that early morning headaches were often caused by worry.
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I would like to consider myself a woman reasonably gifted with words. I normally know how to string sentences together, but I also tend to talk way too much and too often (even making a career out of it!) so perhaps I’ve just had a lot of practice. My greatest God-moments, though, are when He is working in a way that I can’t explain or write down, and He gently whispers to me, “Rest in Me, instead of needing to define Me.”
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It is safe to say that no one knows what this year will hold. None of us expected 2020 to turn out the way it did. Life as we know it has been turned inside out and upside down. While this is unnerving at times, as a Christian, it is vital to remember that nothing takes God by surprise. The most important thing we can do for ourselves this year is to dwell in intimacy with God.
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For several months, I had been having surreal, petrifying nightmares startling me awake in utter panic and terror that something tragic was happening to my loved ones. These weren’t premonitions or ordinary “you-had-too-much-to-eat” nightmares, but I believe, were demonic attacks from the enemy in an attempt to strike inordinate fear and panic into my mind to keep me from the pursuit and surrender toward Christ.
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Be honest with me for just a minute—have you had a moment (or two or eighty–three) during this pandemic with those you most love? Have you totally lost your focus, your emotions, and the tight reign you try to keep over your tongue? I have. I’ve had several of these moments, if I’m being honest, and just earlier this week I was in the throes of one such time. I have this issue that I am always working on, with having high expectations of people.
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I did a crazy thing today. It’s not the first time and it probably won’t be the last. But most people would probably call this one of the craziest. I signed on for a new (more expensive) apartment. Not a big deal, right?
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Jesus told His disciples after they had been on a mission, “Let’s get away from the crowds for a while and rest.” They left by boat to a quiet spot by themselves. When they got there, crowds of people were already awaiting their arrival.
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In the midst of the craziness of the coronavirus, I was reminded of a couple of stories of how to have peace when everyone around you is in a panic. One is from a time in my life in January where I spent the day in Washington D.C. with several friends
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I was a young Christian and dutiful to follow the Christian checklist exactly. I glued my eyes to the page. I read this verse with all my might and slowly, so that I would not miss one single word of it. But however hard I tried to read and get it in my head, I could not seem to understand it with my heart.
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A trip to the grocery store this time of year is an opportunity to witness balance at its finest; families are often seen roaming the aisles together, putting boxes of crayons and boxes of graham crackers into their shopping carts in equal quantities. The start of the school year is right around the corner, but that doesn't mean that there still isn't time for one more camping trip, one more opportunity for quiet and reflective family time, and one more new memory of summer before the dinner table becomes a site for homework help and weeknights get busier with the start of after-school sports and clubs.
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Camp stove. Fuel. Pot. Fork. Breakfast. Dinner. Coffee. Water purifier. Granola bar. Tea bags. Extra socks. Sleeping bag. Down jacket. Long underwear. Change of pants. Fleece vest. Mere Christianity. Water bottle. Apple. Toilet paper. Toothbrush. Toothpaste. Pack cover. Fujifilm XT2. Coffee mug. Cord to hang a bear bag. More extra socks. Trekking poles. A hat. Phone charger/lantern. Overnight permit. With one last run-through of my mental checklist, I hefted the pack on my back. I adjusted the shoulder straps, clipped the hipbelt and tightened the chest strap. And I headed to the trailhead.
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Have you ever thought about where your worry stems from? I think when we are made aware of the root of our worry, it can help us understand it. Most times, worry feels uncontrollable. Maybe that's why us worriers dislike it so much.
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