Hi Sweet friends…
I am guest posting over at (In)Courage today…
And the Paula White show is airing an interview I did about my book, “Becoming More than a Good Bible Study Girl.”
Also, word has it my daughter Hope was treated like a queen in the boondocks by my good friend Karen. Pictures of Hope and Kenzie along with their own form of guest posting can be found here.
Word of caution… if you need some interpretation of what it means to be chill and oh so indie don’t ask me.
I was told by Brooke this weekend to please stop dancing in the middle of a clothing store. I am obviously not chill or oh so anything. Except a true product of the delight called growing up during the 80′s. A girl from the 80′s should never be told to stop dancing.
Ever.
Nobody puts baby in the corner, remember? Happy Monday y’all.
Monday, May 24
Guest Posting and Dancing
Thursday, May 20
Overcoming Fear
Welcome P31 Encouragement for Today Readers. I am glad you came over for a visit. Be sure to leave a comment below if you’d like to be entered to win one of two signed copies of my latest book, “Becoming More than a Good Bible Study Girl.” Or if you’d like to go ahead and order your own copy, you can do that by clicking here.
Do you ever feel consumed with fear?
For me, one of my greatest fears has been that something will happen to one of my children. Whatever your greatest fears are, I have learned to make a choice to get intentional when I feel fear creeping into my heart. I pray. I read God’s truths. I verbalize my trust in Him. And I make the choice to walk in assurance.
Does it mean my fears won’t ever come to pass? Does this mean nothing bad will ever happen to my children? No. Does it mean that my heart can finally find peace past the fears that could consume me? Yes.
The next time you find yourself being pulled into fear, try these steps:
Pray –
We should pray honestly to God telling Him what we are afraid of and asking Him to help us not live in this fear. I ask Him for His protection over whatever I fear. But I also ask God to fill my heart with the rich blessing of His perspective so that no matter what, I will be reassured.
Read God’s Truths -
Matthew 18:10 is a really amazing verse: “See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.
Do children really have guardian angels? I was always hesitant to think this because it seemed mystical and new age-ish. But here it is in God’s Word!
Not only do my children have a guardian angel that has direct access to God but because I am a child of God, I must have one as well! Think about this for a minute. God has assigned an angel to guard over our children and us every minute of every day. And there is never a second where God does not know what is going on with us. Knowing this, we are ready for what we must do next.
Verbalize My Trust in Him -
Isaiah 54:10 says, “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken.” This reminds us that God’s love is too pure not to have our best interest in mind.
Pause for a minute and let’s state that profound truth again. God’s love for me, my children, my husband, my family, and my friends is too pure not to have our best interest in mind. If I really believed this with all my heart, I could completely trust God.
That’s how we can process the fact that bad things sometimes do happen and still trust. I think we struggle at not fully trusting God because we know the realities of this world. Parents trust God and children still go missing, choke, get cancer, and die in car accidents. This is hard to reconcile apart from understanding God’s love.
God’s love is complete and able to transcend the here and now. God sees an eternal picture that we’ll never understand on this side of eternity. God is all-knowing and fully compassionate. Therefore, we can trust that even when the outcome seems tragic to us, it is still in the best interest of the one He loves. I’m convinced He allows one thing, to save that person from that which is so much worse.
Knowing this, I can say out loud, “God You are bigger than my fears. And no matter what I will continue to trust You and your perfect plan. Therefore I make the choice to reject the paralyzing feeling of fear so I can walk confidently in the truth of Your assurance.”
Walk in Assurance -
When I look back on a tragedy my family faced, I can now trace God’s goodness through it. And amazingly, it is well with my soul. Through it all God has brought me to a sweet place of intimacy with Jesus that I would not want to trade. Though the circumstances of my childhood were rotten, God’s plan throughout my childhood was good and perfect. I see that now and my trust in Him grows stronger still.
I can now face every one of my fears with a new found confidence. While I can’t control the events of my life, I can rest assured in God’s amazing love for me and my loved ones. So even when I face times I don’t understand His hand, I can always trust His heart.
Dear Lord, help me find that peaceful trust in You. Assure me of Your love. Reveal your goodness in every situation. Give me just enough wisdom to process all that I must face and just enough perspective to keep my mind fixed on You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
To enter to win a copy of “Becoming More than a Good Bible Study Girl,” click on the word comments below and follow the prompts. Or to go ahead and order your copy today, click here.
Wednesday, May 19
When your tail feathers get ruffled
“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man,” (Proverbs 3: 3-4).
Have you ever been in a situation where what is ‘fair’ and what is ‘kind’ come in conflict with each other? What is fair is that you have every right to pitch a fit over something that ruffles you. But what is kind is to extend patience and grace in your reactions to the situation.
Not that we can’t hold others accountable for their irresponsibility. But, the attitude by which we do this tells a lot about our heart.
Boy can this be tough.
When life is clicking along with only the occasional bump in the road, I am all about being kind. But if someone overturns my applecart my Italian blood begs me to break bad on somebody. I’m not sure exactly how to define what breaking bad means except to say it usually involves the lethal combination of PMS, stress, running late and someone else doing something that ruffles the few tail feathers I have left.
Is there a sister in the house that can relate?
So, I say all this to preface the graduation invitations that went forth from our home yesterday. They are late. They are… different than what I expected.
Last week I literally had to stand at my kitchen counter and decide if I was going to extend grace and laugh about the situation or break bad on somebody. Somebody didn’t bring the form home to order the proper pieces to complete the invitations.
So, instead of printed name cards you will see a scribbled name.
Instead of a cap and gown photo you will see a resurrected 8th grade photo that has been cropped so the printed 2005 at the bottom doesn’t make the recipients do mental math while scratching their head.
And I certainly know that you are supposed to have 2 envelopes- an outer and an inner. However, if you mess up the outer envelope and have no extras, you might be forced to use the inner envelope with no sticky strip by which to seal it. So, please excuse the marks left behind from the purple glue stick used for this emergency.
As I stood at the counter, I bossed my heart around a little and in the end decided to let the truth of Proverbs 3 redirect me a bit.
While our invites look a little squirrely, might you see the love sealed into each envelope.
Might you see a mama’s heart who is so stinkin’ proud of this boy that I decided it didn’t really matter what the invitations looked like.
Might you hear the laughter sealed into each one because a mama decided the joy of this occasion far outweighs the need for properly done invites.
Besides, my need for proper has certainly been tempered over the years. I’ve learned to battle snakes, raccoons, and fugitives… certainly I can lay aside my ruffled tail feathers and let love and faithfulness reign supreme in my heart.
How about you? Any situations where you want to break bad but are deciding not to?
