Psalm 55:22 Cast all your anxieties and cares on the Lord and He will sustain you. He will never let the righteous be shaken.
1 Peter 5:7 Cast all you cares on the Lord for He cares for you.
Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
"Oh. Well, this is someone else's daughter Sam."
I got my first non-family phone call on my cell phone this week.
Wrong number.
:-(
She was looking for her daughter- Sam. She was a little confused when I said I was Sam. I don't sound like her Sam apparently. When I figured out she was looking for a different Sam, I said, "Oh! Well, this is someone else's Sam!"
She thought it was funny.
:-)
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day.
I love Valentine's day- it's so much fun to hate.
:-P
I wore black today.
I made broken heart cookies yesterday. It was fun. :-D
Yay for the anti-pink!
Samia
Wrong number.
:-(
She was looking for her daughter- Sam. She was a little confused when I said I was Sam. I don't sound like her Sam apparently. When I figured out she was looking for a different Sam, I said, "Oh! Well, this is someone else's Sam!"
She thought it was funny.
:-)
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day.
I love Valentine's day- it's so much fun to hate.
:-P
I wore black today.
I made broken heart cookies yesterday. It was fun. :-D
Yay for the anti-pink!
Samia
Monday, February 7, 2011
So- What Is Next?
I wanted to post the most recent blog from Girl Talk- still discussing fears...
The Next Thing
There's at least one more "weapon" we must learn to wield in our fight against fear: obedience.
We fight fear, not only with prayer and promises, but with action that declares to God and everyone else: "I will not let this fear dictate my life."
This advice comes from Elisabeth Elliot (again) in the form of an old poem (emphasis mine):
“Many a questioning, many a fear,
Many a doubt, hath its quieting here.
Moment my moment, let down from Heaven,
Time, opportunity, guidance, are given.
Fear not tomorrows, Child of the King,
Trust them with Jesus, ‘DO THE NEXT THING.’
Do it immediately; do it with prayer;
Do it reliantly, casting all care;
Do it with reverence, tracing His Hand
Who placed it before thee with earnest command.
Stayed on Omnipotence, safe ’neath His wing,
Leave all resultings, ‘DO THE NEXT THING.’”
--author unknown
As an act of faith, I must pray, "Lord, I believe you are going to deliver me from this fear. I am asking for your help. I am going to keep asking for your help. I am going to keep speaking truth. But in the meantime, I'm going to do what you've called me to do."
Then I have to get off the couch and do it. Something. Anything. The next thing.
So what's your next thing? It might be to simply get out of bed and take a shower. It might be to get in the car and drive the carpool. It might be to go talk to your teenager or be consistent to teach your toddler to come "right away, all the way, and with a happy heart."
Whatever your mothering fear, cast it on the Lord and do the next thing. And, as JC Ryle encourages parents: "It is in the going forward that God will meet you."
The Next Thing
There's at least one more "weapon" we must learn to wield in our fight against fear: obedience.
We fight fear, not only with prayer and promises, but with action that declares to God and everyone else: "I will not let this fear dictate my life."
This advice comes from Elisabeth Elliot (again) in the form of an old poem (emphasis mine):
“Many a questioning, many a fear,
Many a doubt, hath its quieting here.
Moment my moment, let down from Heaven,
Time, opportunity, guidance, are given.
Fear not tomorrows, Child of the King,
Trust them with Jesus, ‘DO THE NEXT THING.’
Do it immediately; do it with prayer;
Do it reliantly, casting all care;
Do it with reverence, tracing His Hand
Who placed it before thee with earnest command.
Stayed on Omnipotence, safe ’neath His wing,
Leave all resultings, ‘DO THE NEXT THING.’”
--author unknown
As an act of faith, I must pray, "Lord, I believe you are going to deliver me from this fear. I am asking for your help. I am going to keep asking for your help. I am going to keep speaking truth. But in the meantime, I'm going to do what you've called me to do."
Then I have to get off the couch and do it. Something. Anything. The next thing.
So what's your next thing? It might be to simply get out of bed and take a shower. It might be to get in the car and drive the carpool. It might be to go talk to your teenager or be consistent to teach your toddler to come "right away, all the way, and with a happy heart."
Whatever your mothering fear, cast it on the Lord and do the next thing. And, as JC Ryle encourages parents: "It is in the going forward that God will meet you."
Sunday, February 6, 2011
"Run, Emily, Run."
Ecclesiastes 12:8 "Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher, all is vanity."
I've been sitting here for a while, trying to come up with words to convey what I'm thinking/feeling. But I haven't found any.
I'm very... content and hopeful right now.It's been a good day and I'm having trouble caring about myself right now (which of course, is a good thing). I'm not even sure what happened...
:-)
We had a great sermon this evening in church. We were in Ecclesiastes 12. The last chapter of Ecclesiastes where Solomon comes to the end of his thoughts and concludes with this:
Ecclesiastes 12:13 "So, let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."
Then the teacher quoted a commentator (who's name I cannot, for the life of me, recall, sorry) who said this:
"How shall we arrive at this blessed fear? Let us set God ever in our eye and study His immensity... Let us pray for this fear of God which is the root of all holiness..."
I've been quite distracted the last few weeks and this sermon got my attention and totally reminded my of where my attention should be.
And then....
I read this. It's an old post from The Rebelution Blog. I'm glad I came across it.
I'm not going to post the whole thing... It's kinda long- but follow the link above and go read it!
I've kinda been stuck the last few... well, years! I was basing everything on how I felt and that's not what God has commanded me to do.
So- I have a To Do list sitting next to me which will be addressed first thing in the morning. Right now, I'm going to bed- sweet dreams world! I don't need them, not tonight!
:-)
Samia
I've been sitting here for a while, trying to come up with words to convey what I'm thinking/feeling. But I haven't found any.
I'm very... content and hopeful right now.It's been a good day and I'm having trouble caring about myself right now (which of course, is a good thing). I'm not even sure what happened...
:-)
We had a great sermon this evening in church. We were in Ecclesiastes 12. The last chapter of Ecclesiastes where Solomon comes to the end of his thoughts and concludes with this:
Ecclesiastes 12:13 "So, let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."
Then the teacher quoted a commentator (who's name I cannot, for the life of me, recall, sorry) who said this:
"How shall we arrive at this blessed fear? Let us set God ever in our eye and study His immensity... Let us pray for this fear of God which is the root of all holiness..."
I've been quite distracted the last few weeks and this sermon got my attention and totally reminded my of where my attention should be.
And then....
I read this. It's an old post from The Rebelution Blog. I'm glad I came across it.
I'm not going to post the whole thing... It's kinda long- but follow the link above and go read it!
I've kinda been stuck the last few... well, years! I was basing everything on how I felt and that's not what God has commanded me to do.
So- I have a To Do list sitting next to me which will be addressed first thing in the morning. Right now, I'm going to bed- sweet dreams world! I don't need them, not tonight!
:-)
Samia
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Facing My Fears
After writing the title to this post my youngest brother runs by and asks, "You have fears?"... evidently I've done a better job of keeping them to myself than I had thought.
Well- yes, I have fears. In fact, I have many fears. I've held onto them, kept them to myself, and denied them. But they are there and they are not mine to bear.
Today I was reading Girl Talk and getting caught up with the blog and I came across some old posts that stuck out to me. My biggest fears are things that I don't know or understand- like the future, strangers, and dark water. They are the types of things I should be trusting God about- things that worry me and really shouldn't at all!
So, here are the blog posts from Girl Talk- and I hope I can take it all to heart and trust God for everything- even when I feel that I have reasons for being fearful. Because God trumps all of those reasons.
Learning to Trust
"Recently, I heard a story about a woman who was gripped by fear in the middle of a dangerous storm. She got on her knees and asked God to help her trust Him, and instantly her fears vanished. She got up from her knees, got into bed, and fell asleep. Just like that.
"I wish that would happen to me more often!" I thought. But I don't usually feel less fearful the instant I pray or read Scripture. And then I worry that I'm doing something wrong or (mistakenly) assume that God's solution for anxiety "isn't working."
But my fearful feelings don't mean that God hasn't answered my prayers. Instead, as Elisabeth Elliot explains, "[God] wants us to learn to use our weapons."
He wants me to learn to persevere in prayer, he wants me to form habits of casting cares (1 Pet. 5:7) and befriending faithfulness (Ps. 37:3). He wants me to become proficient at speaking truth to myself. He wants me to learn to trust Him, even when I don't feel like it.
So if you think God has abandoned you in your fight against fear, think again. The ongoing fight isn't a sign that He's forgotten you, but that He's teaching you to trust. "
A Good Laugh
"In addition to tuning out our fears and turning up the volume on truth, we must fight fear with laughter. Sound ridiculous, even a little irreverent?
Irreverence is precisely the point. We must not dignify our fears--sin-generated, false predictions of a graceless and God-less future--by giving them the attention and obedience due only to God and His Word. Laughing at our fears is entirely appropriate, because up against God's promises they not only look, but actually are, ridiculous.
The Proverbs 31 woman doesn't take herself, or her fears, too seriously: 'She laughs at the future in contrast with being worried or fearful about it' (ESV Study Bible note, Pr. 31:25). This may sound flippant or naive if we don't already know her to be a woman of diligence, wisdom, and strength. She trusts God, and so she laughs.
'One of Satan’s great lies is that God—and goodness—is joyless and humorless,' explains Randy Alcorn:
'In fact, it’s Satan who’s humorless. Sin didn’t bring him joy; it forever stripped him of joy. In contrast, envision Jesus with his disciples. If you cannot picture Jesus teasing them and laughing with them, you need to reevaluate your theology of Creation and Incarnation. We need a biblical theology of humor that prepares us for an eternity of celebration, spontaneous laughter, and overflowing joy.'
Laughter, not fear-filled wonderings, will properly prepare us for our future: our immediate future and our eternal future full of celebration and overflowing joy. So thank God for His promises today and 'laugh at the days to come.'"
Well- yes, I have fears. In fact, I have many fears. I've held onto them, kept them to myself, and denied them. But they are there and they are not mine to bear.
Today I was reading Girl Talk and getting caught up with the blog and I came across some old posts that stuck out to me. My biggest fears are things that I don't know or understand- like the future, strangers, and dark water. They are the types of things I should be trusting God about- things that worry me and really shouldn't at all!
So, here are the blog posts from Girl Talk- and I hope I can take it all to heart and trust God for everything- even when I feel that I have reasons for being fearful. Because God trumps all of those reasons.
Learning to Trust
"Recently, I heard a story about a woman who was gripped by fear in the middle of a dangerous storm. She got on her knees and asked God to help her trust Him, and instantly her fears vanished. She got up from her knees, got into bed, and fell asleep. Just like that.
"I wish that would happen to me more often!" I thought. But I don't usually feel less fearful the instant I pray or read Scripture. And then I worry that I'm doing something wrong or (mistakenly) assume that God's solution for anxiety "isn't working."
But my fearful feelings don't mean that God hasn't answered my prayers. Instead, as Elisabeth Elliot explains, "[God] wants us to learn to use our weapons."
He wants me to learn to persevere in prayer, he wants me to form habits of casting cares (1 Pet. 5:7) and befriending faithfulness (Ps. 37:3). He wants me to become proficient at speaking truth to myself. He wants me to learn to trust Him, even when I don't feel like it.
So if you think God has abandoned you in your fight against fear, think again. The ongoing fight isn't a sign that He's forgotten you, but that He's teaching you to trust. "
A Good Laugh
"In addition to tuning out our fears and turning up the volume on truth, we must fight fear with laughter. Sound ridiculous, even a little irreverent?
Irreverence is precisely the point. We must not dignify our fears--sin-generated, false predictions of a graceless and God-less future--by giving them the attention and obedience due only to God and His Word. Laughing at our fears is entirely appropriate, because up against God's promises they not only look, but actually are, ridiculous.
The Proverbs 31 woman doesn't take herself, or her fears, too seriously: 'She laughs at the future in contrast with being worried or fearful about it' (ESV Study Bible note, Pr. 31:25). This may sound flippant or naive if we don't already know her to be a woman of diligence, wisdom, and strength. She trusts God, and so she laughs.
'One of Satan’s great lies is that God—and goodness—is joyless and humorless,' explains Randy Alcorn:
'In fact, it’s Satan who’s humorless. Sin didn’t bring him joy; it forever stripped him of joy. In contrast, envision Jesus with his disciples. If you cannot picture Jesus teasing them and laughing with them, you need to reevaluate your theology of Creation and Incarnation. We need a biblical theology of humor that prepares us for an eternity of celebration, spontaneous laughter, and overflowing joy.'
Laughter, not fear-filled wonderings, will properly prepare us for our future: our immediate future and our eternal future full of celebration and overflowing joy. So thank God for His promises today and 'laugh at the days to come.'"
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