What If…

Worry gives our minds an unnecessary workout. We run through all the possible outcomes of our situation. We jump to conclusions before getting all the facts. We weigh ourselves down with all the “what ifs.” Worrying is an exercise in futility. Worry leads to fear and stress instead of faith and rest.

Jesus talked about worry and redirected our focus onto God. The thing is worry does change the character of God. Gasping God’s character changes how we handle our worries.

Perhaps the most poignant phrase Jesus said to those who worry is: “your Heavenly Father knows” (Matthew 6:32).

God knows what’s going on in your life. He cares about your situation. He loves you.

Worry steals your peace and joy, but God gives them abundantly.

I used to be a “chronic worrier.” One day I realized that no matter how much I worried it wasn’t going to change any situation. It was only causing me unnecessary headaches and ulcers. When I realized that God controls everything a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders.

We can find freedom and joy as we look to the Lord.

“I prayed to the Lord, and He answered m. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to Him for help will be radiant with joy” -Psalm 34:4-5 NLT

God wants you to remember that He is good and gracious and has compassion for you.

“The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all, He has compassion on all He has made” -Psalm 145:8-9

God wants you to remember He promises to meet your needs.

“My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus” -Philippians 4:19

God does not want you to live in a state of worry.

“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of it’s own” – Matthew 6:34

God is with you when you’re worried and afraid.

“So, do not fear, for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” -Isaiah 41:10

God wants you to look to Him when you’re filled with worry.

“When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy” -Psalm 94:19

God wants you to tell Him your worries and Thank Him for all He has done for you.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” -Philippians 4:6-7 NLT

Letting go of worry and releasing it to God.

First identify what worries you -every issue, every situation. Then go to God in humility and surrender the situation and yourself to God.

Worrying makes us feel completely powerless. But we have to power to release our worries to Him.

“Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you” -Psalm 55:22

Historical Events

What major historical events do you remember?

As a child, I remember the Watergate scandal. Which became synonymous with illicit activities conducted by President Nixon’s aides. Which included bugging political opponents, unauthorized investigations, and the misuse of government agencies for political purposes. Causing many to lose faith in government, and led to a campaign reform.

Apollo 13 was the goal of America landing on the moon but was aborted after an oxygen tank exploded during the flight.

I remember the anti-war protests during the ongoing Vietnam War, solely because my Father was a combat Veteran. So it was a big deal in my family. My father sacrificed many things during his service in the military. I always thought the President was commander in chief of the military. I never understood why the soldiers were targeted when President Johnson was the one who called these men and women to war.

Biggest Risk

What’s the biggest risk you’d like to take — but haven’t been able to?

The biggest risk I would like to take is driving to Oregon to see the red The Redwoods in Oregon. But I haven’t found anyone to go along. And it’s not safe to drive that far alone. 

Sadly the way the world is today it would be far too dangerous.

Sins Of The Spirit

Sin is not always obvious. Some sins are, however, such as murder, adultery, and stealing. But others are more subtle like pride, selfishness, and gossip. Sometimes we will sin in ignorance or presumption. That is why David prayed,

“Who can discern his errors? Forgive me from hidden errors. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. Then I will be upright I will be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, Lord, my rock, and my redeemer” -Psalm 19:11-14

The Bible talks about sins of the flesh and sins of the spirit. Paul pointed out in 2 Corinthians 7:1,

“Therefore, having these promises, dear beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfection holiness in the fear of God.”

When we sin against the spirit, we knowingly go against what is true. We talk about some sins being worse than others. But it may not be the sins that we think.

My pastor always says, “I’m glad you’re not out there robbing banks and stealing.” But there may be sin in your spirit we may have that needs to be dealt with.

Jesus said to Pontius Pilate,

“You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin” -John 19:11

Jesus was talking about either Caiaphas or Judas. Caiaphas was the high priest who had a hand in putting Jesus up on false charges and then sent Him to the Romans to do his dirty work and crucify Him. Then there was Judas, who betrayed Him.

Either way, it’s the same. Judas was one of the hand-picked disciples of Christ who betrayed Jesus, and Caiaphas, the high priest, should have known better. The point is when you have been schooled in the scriptures like Caiaphas or exposed to the truth and the power of God like Judas, you are without excuse. With knowledge comes responsibility.

Being Proud

What are you most proud of in your life?

I take pride in raising successful children. It’s difficult to raise children there is no doubt that it takes hard work and patience.

As a mother, you have to create a loving and supportive environment. Let your children know that you are there for them no matter what the good and the bad.

Discipline lets them know that bad choices have consequences. The good choices have rewards

Setting high expectations for them. Encourage them to aim high, and set ambitious goals for them.

It was my job as a parent to get them ready to survive in a dog-eat-dog world without me and have them be successful in doing so.

The hardest part of being a parent is knowing your children don’t need you anymore. But it’s also a sign that you have done your job.

Warnings And Hope

One of my favorite books in the Bible is Isaiah. It not only warns us, it gives us hope.

I thought I would give you a brief rundown of what Isaiah teaches us;

  • God’s Mercy:

God calls people to return to Him, even after they have sinned, and offers to cleanse, heal, and forgive them.

  • Trusting God:

Isaiah 7:13-14 says that if people trust in the Lord, He will be their security.

  • God’s Judgement:

God’s judgment can be harsh, but He always gives people the chance to obey and follow Him.

  • God’s promises:

God’s promises bring peace. This peace will keep our hearts and minds safe as we trust in Him.

  • The coming Messiah:

Isaiah offers a message of hope about the coming Messiah who will establish God’s Kingdom on earth.

  • The consequences of sin:

When we sin we bring on ourselves the justice of God. Sin tears apart marriages, families, friendships, and communities. The justice of God is a soul-shaking, pride-scattering justice.

  • The importance of repentance:

God is always ready and willing to extend and mercy and forgive sin if people repent.

  • The consequences of trusting in our own strength:

Trusting in our own strength can lead to sin and destruction. When we trust in God’s strength instead of our own we will have His peace and no anxiety. He will never leave us alone in our struggles.

In the book of Isaiah, we see that Israel was in a state of deep moral confusion. Kind of the place America is today. In Isaiah 5:20 it says,

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who puts darkness to light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”

God’s Word should be the standard for truth. God defines what is good and evil. Apart from God, our entire value system will be upside down. We will be confused as to what is good and what is evil. But God’s Word is light.

No matter what happens God is still on the throne. No matter what happens in our world. No matter who is ruling, which nation, which country, which King, which President. No matter if there is sickness, earthquakes, or war.

Jesus is still on His throne and He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

What Have I Been Working On

What have you been working on?

I have a few things I’ve been working on. One is trying to eat better and stop drinking brown sugar water, aka Soda. It’s the hardest thing I am dealing with.

I’ve also been trying to get a few things organized for Christmas. I have a few things for my gift baskets. I like living in a small town but come the holidays, trying to get things for Christmas is slim pickings. And I don’t like to order online because I like to physically look at the product I’m buying.

Changing The Way You Think

We’ve all been there our minds spinning into a downward spiral of self-defeating thoughts. No matter the circumstances our mind tells us we are destined for failure. Self-defeating thoughts can be powerful and take a minor toll on our emotional and physical well-being.

Fortunately, there is a little secret tool that can be used to literally change the way you think and it’s called reframing. It’s how I changed my life, from doom and gloom into something positive and life-giving. Simply put refrain is changing how you see something and then expressing it differently.

It’s a psychological paradigm shift that replaces your old way of thinking with a new and improved mindset. Reframing not only changes the way you see, think, and respond to situations, but it can also keep your thoughts from sliding down a slippery slope of impending doom.

Doing it is pretty tricky. Logic doesn’t jive with emotions and emotions frequently trump logic. This happens way more often than we’d like to admit. Trying to get the logical and the emotional self in sync is a real challenge but not impossible. It begins with changing your perspective. You just have to put on those rose-colored glasses.

If we see the glass as half-empty rather than half-full or think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence then perhaps you could use a little reframing.

5 Steps to reframing your thoughts

  1. Ride the wave. Thoughts are just a bunch of concepts produced by your brain. They have no emotion or inherent meaning. You are the author of them and you assign them meaning by how you interpret and respond to them. Just like waves in an ocean, some thoughts are strong and others are weak. Teach yourself to recognize that your thoughts are separate from who you are and allow them to freely come and go. Don’t try and hold on the unhelpful or negative thoughts, and don’t try and fight them because they can take up under. The next time a colossal thought comes crashing toward you, don’t let it pull you out to sea. Choose to ride that wave. Not only will the view be better but it may help you see the big picture (why am I having these thoughts?)”
  2. Look at the situation from the outside looking in approach. Remove yourself from the situation by looking at the circumstances from the outside. This allows you to observe what’s happening from different angles. You might even ask yourself, “What advice would I give someone else in this situation?” Sometimes looking fro the outside in can help you put some distance between the circumstance and the emotion, all while helping you look for the best possible solution.
  3. Put on your detective hat. Ask yourself “What are the facts about the situation and what are my feelings? Do they match up or are my thoughts magnifying the situation?” Emotions can easily steal the limelight from reality. They can make a mountain out of a molehill. By keeping your eyes on the supporting evidence, you may be able to crack your case and move on to the next mystery.
  4. Hold your horses. When your internal dialogue is screaming out pessimistic negativity, it’s time to mediate the situation. Rather than jumping on the bandwagon and going along with whatever your thoughts tells you. Stop! Hold your horses. Often emotions can run wild, and when they do, you can end up making reckless, impulsive decisions. It’s best to slow down and consider all of the options before hastily acting out or jumping to conclusions. Think “Am I reacting or responding?”
  5. Sift through the dirt to find the gold. Challenge yourself to look beyond the doom and gloom to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Just like a gold miner, you may have to sift through a lot of dirt to get to that priceless nugget. Don’t let unhelpful negative thoughts make you miss a golden opportunity.

Reframing is one skill that can truly change the way you think.

The Bible And Current Events

I’ve been thinking and praying about what’s going on in the world. As I’m sure many people have.

History seems to be hurtling toward the Last Days, as we find ourselves trying to navigate through an increasingly hostile world.

Politics are dividing our country and even our churches. People are becoming more cold-hearted, selfish, and angry. We are experiencing a breakdown that feels irreversible. While these problems do not have simple solutions, there is guidance in scripture.

America was originally founded on Christian principles, but this foundation seems to have started eroding after World War II. These days it seems the downward trend in building faster.

The government, the educational system, the entertainment industry, and the media no longer share these values, which means Christians are becoming alienated from the dominant forces in society. To have good, decent values means being demonized, ridiculed, and marginalized.

Persecution is what is happening to Christians in America. To be presented for righteousness sake means that we are hated or opposed for solely following Jesus and living for God.

We are experiencing religious suppression, stereotyping, threats, intimidation, and litigation. I think America is a long way away from persecution that involves the torture and death that took place in the New Testament and occur in other countries today. But who knows what lurks around the corner? I never in my wildest dreams thought following Jesus would be under fire as it is now in the United States.

I think about how early Christians suffered more severe persecution than anything we currently face, and we never find them responding in anger. Instead, they found that suffering had positive benefits.

They discovered suffering promoted character. In Romans 5:3-5 we find that it promoted courage. Acts 4:19-20, Acts 4:19-20 proved godliness, and 2 Peter 5:10 produced joy. there are more scriptures I’m sure).

There are three decisions we must make during these times, to stand for truth, draw support from each other, and derive our security from the Lord.

When we view the current political climate in light of God’s eternal plan, there are decisions and steps we must make in advance in order to prepare ourselves for that moment when persecution comes.

How do we prepare ourselves:

  1. Be determined to stand for truth. It is imperative that fear of rejection, criticism, and loss does not cower us into hiding the truth. We must be prepared to stand for God’s truth without bending.

“Watch! Stand firm in the faith! Be courageous! Be strong. Let all that you do be done in love” – 2 Corinthians 16:13-14

2. Draw support from one another. We cannot be believers alone. We need the company of others like ourselves who we can share encouragement, struggles, and victories. It’s easy to feel alone and discouraged, but the fellowship of others who have your beliefs will draw strength, discipline, knowledge, encouragement, support and love. It’s important to have a “church family.” A courageous example can spur any one of us to say, “If they can do it, by God’s grace so can I.”

I think the key to standing firm in the face of persecution is to remember who we belong to and where we are going. We belong to Jesus, and He secures us in His hand. Therefore we do not need to fear the danger of losing our reputation, our jobs, our finances, or even our physical lives. Jesus said,

“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” -Matthew 16:25

In Matthew 24 God predicted the future of world history and the end of the age. I think Matthew 24 represents a description of the first half of the tribulation period, but I may be wrong, many have different theories concerning this. But these trends are not going to happen at the speed of light. They are going to increasingly characterize the last days leading up to the rapture of the church, as they vibrate through time.

3. Derive our security in the Lord

It is in God that we find security. Throughout the Bible, there are aspects of God’s character, we find the depth of His goodness, love, hope, and sovereignty during changing and seemingly hopeless circumstances that are more firmly rooted and understood in the hearts of the sufferer. None of us want to suffer if we walk with Jesus, we know it will come. And we need to be prepared for it.

About Me

What’s something most people don’t know about you?

I march to the beat of my own drum. Some people say I’m cold, but I like to spend time by myself. I have an energy that makes it hard to make friends, but when I do I am a true friend.

Lazy Days

Do lazy days make you feel rested or unproductive?

Lazy days make me feel rested. It has been proven that rest days do wonders for your emotional health, making it easier to keep your cook when you’re sad, angry, or irritable.

Rest days are crucial to resetting our overload button. Too often guilt and self-judgment get in the of taking time off for self-care.

Society has made people think that resting means lazy, which isn’t the case at all. It’s easy to get brainwashed into thinking that we never work enough or that we are slackers. But the human body needs rest to function properly.

Rest helps us think clearly, focus and make good decisions. It also helps us handle our emotions and reduces stress.

Spiritual Awareness

Spiritual awareness is being conscious of spiritual ideas or matters. Some think of their soul, a spiritual path, a spiritual leader, a religion, or even unseen forces in the world or their lives.

The Apostle Paul writes a lot about spirit focus and flesh focus throughout the Bible.

The Bible makes it clear that there is a real spiritual realm where activity happens constantly. While most people pay no attention to anything that they can not see physically others cultivate their spiritual awareness through a relationship with God.

Spiritual awareness is precisely explained in Ephesians 6:12,

“For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

There are several ways to see and understand spiritual awareness in scripture. One of the most enlightening ways is when Daniel is trying to understand the truth of God’s will.

While Daniel was speaking and praying, confession his sins and the sins of his people in Israel, God instructed him in 9: 22-23,

“Daniel, I have now come to give you wisdom and understanding. At the beginning of your petitions, the commandment went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved. Therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision.”

While Daniel was still in prayer and confessed sin in making his request of God, Gabriel the angel came to him and told him that there was heavenly activity to respond to Daniel’s spiritual activity of prayer.

Just like Daniel, we need to be spiritually aware that God is working behind the scenes when we pray. God pulled back the curtains for Daniel and He can do it for us. This is why prayer is so important.

When we think about the sources of temptation, conflict, and confusion being a result of unseen dark spiritual activity. We begin to live spiritually aware lives, understanding the limited power of people, and the immense need to learn to exert spiritual power if we are going to flourish in this world.

My pastor explained it this way, “there is a spiritual war going on above us. The war that is going on with Isreal and Hamas is what is going on above us right now in the spiritual realm.

When we develop this awareness that the most recent activity taking place at any one time is spiritual, and recognize the insignificance of human action in comparison to the invisible spiritual power at work in the cosmos, we then lose our fear of people and discover what it truly means to be in awe of God.

Spiritual awareness is about seeing the world spiritually, getting beyond the superficial view that human resistance is responsible for our difficulties.