Fear

Faith takes over…….

Sometimes the words aren’t there, but the gratefulness still is.
Sometimes faith has to take over when you have momentarily misplaced hope.
Sometimes you have to be reminded that God is still God, and that
everything is going to be okay.

And things are still very good indeed, it is your mind that is
temporarily looking at things askew. Temporarily is the key.
Because things always turn around, I know that for a fact.

I am so thankful for those in my life that have surrounded me over the years,
when I have felt like this, come alongside and believed with me…..

Yes, it will be okay.

There are many more reasons for praise than for despair.
You start counting, and before you know it,
you are restored, I am restored.

Thank you to all of you……….you know who you are.
This post is dedicated to you today.

sun through clouds, voices of hope, hands grabbing mine, prayers sent with my name on them, smiling eyes over lunch, beautiful songs that leave you breathless, God in the silence listening always, listening, dawn breaking inside and knowing where it is coming from, blogger friends, friends old and new, memories that bring smiles, laughter in the midst of tears…….#609-621

The LORD is gracious and righteous;
our God is full of compassion.
The LORD protects the unwary;
when I was brought low, he saved me. Psalm 116:4,5

holy experience

photos: google images

He will see you through

“I call on the Lord in my distress and He answers me…….” Psalm 118:1

Let any words that do not encourage you upward–toward freedom from this world–be put far from you. They are shameful, they are criminal. Defend yourself from these words by being steadfast in prayer. Cry out to your God, who is your shield: Deliver my soul from treacherous tongues.” Homilies on the Psalms” Augustine

My thoughts are scattered today.  I am trying to help my dear friend out of the shadows. Trying to make sense out of something that makes no sense at all. Trying to help her see daylight through a forest that refuses to yield its light. I have traveled through the shadow lands myself and that is why it is so painful to watch. I recognize the paralyzing fear that colors everything. Fear that makes it impossible to move, that makes you look forward to a day off so you can just sit alone and cry, and that makes you angry.

Angry that someone has the power to do that to you……to throw their blackness, their lies, their misery onto you. Especially since you have cared for them, shined the light of your kindness on them for years. Angry and sad because you thought that fear was gone forever…..buried deep, resting in peace. You even had a funeral for it all those years ago, but now circumstances have pulled it up out of the grave, resurrecting old feelings.

Behind the anger, sinking like a small stone at the bottom of your heart there settles grief, for things have changed and they will not be the same again. For that, you grieve. But here is the reality that is true despite everything we feel……The fears, anger and grief were and remain buried with Christ forever. Not only were they buried for good, everything that resembles death was done away with when He rose again. No one and nothing can ever snatch that away from us. Though they are part of our reality now, they have no power over us, they can never again destroy us.

And I know one thing…….about blackness and forests and lands of shadow……they don’t last forever. Mine didn’t and neither will hers, or yours, or mine. I know another thing too, that my own times of darkness can help someone else out of theirs. I can say this with full confidence because I know who My deliverer is. Malachi 4:2 “But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.”

Each moment of the year has its own beauty . . . a picture which was never before and shall never be seen again.- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Lost Sheep

“He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.” Isaiah 40:11

I am always looking up facts about sheep because the more I read the Bible, the more I see that there are endless illustrations about sheep, shepherds, lambs, pastures, and sheep gates. It goes on and on. The latest fact I learned was that the Shepherd sometimes breaks the legs of the lambs. At first that sounded cruel, well it still does, but then I found out why they did it. It was to make it easier to carry the lambs on their shoulders in order to keep them safe from predators.

I can’t eat lamb. I tried it once and didn’t like it. Probably because I was envisioning a little face like this in my mind. I can’t eat veal for the same reason. But my main point was, (and I do have one somewhere) is that sometimes God allows certain things to happen in order to put us in a safer place. And sometimes after repeated warnings, He lets us wander in the wilderness for a bit so that He can teach us a valuable lesson, but it hurts Him to do this.

I can remember times in my life when I have felt, so scared, so surrounded, so vulnerable. This life can be a scary place, and sometimes we do feel totally alone. Vulnerable to the shadows of night, aware that unless help comes we are finished. Everything becomes distorted…requests become harsh demands and all fingers are pointing at you. Mercy is nowhere to be found. But never fear. Your Shepherd has counted and found that you are missing, and even now he is bounding up the path, staff at the ready.

Feel his strong arms lift you into safety today as you nestle in the warmth of His love, hammering hearts of panic slow and rest in His own strong heart’s rhythm. Know that whatever happens, you remain in His safe place.

No worries….


When we dwell on something from the past or worry about the future, our present is immediately snatched away. Worry about something we can’t change is a death sentence for the here and now and it renders us useless to ourselves or anyone else. Whenever I catch myself going down the rabbithole of regret over something that has already happened, or something I think might happen, I am no longer alive to the victory I have in Christ right now, today. In effect, I am putting myself back into a prison that Christ set me free from. The Bible says, “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” By worrying I am bringing life to something that Jesus has put to death. Why do I try to resurrect what God has put to death? As long as I have that mindset, I can’t live a life that glorifies Christ, and I am robbed of the peace of Christ. And if I allow fear and worry to rob me of the peace of Christ, I can’t give it to anyone else!

Thank you Lord, that I don’t have to waste time dwelling on the past, or bogged down by worrying about the future, for You alone hold the future in Your mighty hand. It is a hard lesson to learn, and I am still trying to learn it. Only with You is this even possible. In my head I know my future is secure and so is my present, help the lesson reach my heart. Thank you that I don’t have to fear either one of them as I look to You to breathe hope into all my days, for I know that circumstances always change but You never do. Amen

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Col. 3:15

Continuing the gratitude counting daily, weekly, monthly….#331 wise friends, #332 curling up with a good book, #333 furry companions who comfort, #334 babies that smile with wonder at the world, #335 air-conditioning to escape desert heat, #336 quiet moments in the morning, #337 children laughing, #338 public libraries, #339 good co-workers, #340 visiting with a long lost friend who I hadn’t seen in 25 years!
holy experience

Pushing through fear


Have you ever met anyone who would just try anything? They seem to sail through life devoid of fear, embracing change and leaping over roadblocks and challenges that would cripple the faint of heart. The reality is: they DO have the fear, they just don’t let it stop them.

My best friend is one of these people. I think it comes from living in an “unsafe” environment growing up. She had a mean older brother and every day she was faced with waking up having to push through her fear of what he might do. She knew that her folks would do nothing to stop his behavior; they never had. So it was up to her to push through…..As a result it left scars, but it also made her a survivor.

When she was 18 a friend offered her a job driving a logging truck. Here was his lesson, “I will drive up the mountain, you watch what I do and it’s your turn on the way down.” Mind you, these trucks have two gear boxes and sometimes as many as 16 gears! She made it down the mountain and got bit by the professional driving bug.

Later on she drove a cement truck for several years, until the day another truck driver pulled out in front of her. He was completely stopped at a stop sign. (Tell me how you miss a cement mixer?) He looked right at her and pulled out. She sustained a broken back and the other driver was unhurt. His license was revoked and he was cited. The police officer said that if it hadn’t been for her exemplary driving skills, they both might have died. She has since said that the accident was the best thing that ever happened to her….I met her not long after that and as a result, I introduced her to the One who not only could heal her body, but her soul as well.

I never had to fear that much growing up. My home was a calm, peaceful, happy place. However, when I was 27 and my husband died unexpectedly I was introduced to real fear. It stretched out in front of me like a “black hole.” I got reintroduced to prayer like never before and I learned that when I didn’t have the courage to get out of bed, I rolled out anyway on raw faith; knees hitting the floor first! Everytime He met me there. Through those experiences, I learned that His promises are true.

Now all these years later I am working at a place I never dreamed I could be, doing things I never thought I could do. Fourteen years now at Intel,Corp. Always there has been help. At every turn He has been with me, and sent special “angel” people (and undoubtedly real ones too) to surround me during times I felt like I would cave in and run home. (Well, I did do that but only once.)

Whenever I feel fear nipping at my heels, telling me I can’t do something, I rest in this verse: “I can do ALL things through Him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13
Depending on Him through prayer, reading His word, believing Him for His promises. That is the only way to banish fear and send it packing back to hell, where it belongs.

For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7


“Nothing fosters courage like a clear grasp of grace.”
“Feed your fears and your faith with starve. Feed your faith and your fears will.”
“Fear corrodes our confidence in God’s goodness.”
From “Fearless” by Max Lucado