Cure for anxiety


Photo by Robert Koehler, “Ada Prayer Chamber, Pfeiffer Hall, Korea”

Prayer for anxiety:

Oh Lord, may I focus on You today.
Let me give you the first fruits of my time;
as I lift you up here in the quiet.
Still my soul,
Quiet my spirit of all other voices….thoughts…worries.
Until I can hear Your Spirit whisperings.

I come before You to smooth out the wrinkles of my day.
Let the furrowed brows relax, let the churning waters of the
mind become as a still pond reflecting Your peace.

Release my heart to love myself and others with
Your love; for You have enough to go around.
Some days it seems I barely have enough
for the ones I say I love.

Help me to live this day in the present, and not be looking back
to yesterday….or forward to tomorrow….

Let me seek Your kingdom first in my prayer closet today.
For I know that when I do that, the rest will fall into place.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:33,34

Napoleon saves kittens….

Sometimes the animals give us lessons on love and sacrifice…….English Bulldogs are notoriously bad swimmers. With a giant head and chest compared to a lighter tail end, they have a tendency to go bottoms up in the water. It’s hard to keep that head up above the waves when it’s the largest part of your body!

Most owners are very aware of this problem, and will take care to see that their dogs have a good life vest on if they’re going to be boating or there’s a chance the bulldog could end up in some deep water without someone right at hand to save them if they look like they’re starting to struggle.

Because of the breeds history of poor swimming ability, this morning’s news came as a bit of a shock to me! Napoleon, an obedient and well behaved two year old white English Bulldog in Michigan abruptly left his master’s side yesterday and raced out across a road and into a nearby lake.

Napoleon’s owner met him in the driveway as the bulldog came back up out of the lake dragging something in his mouth. It looked like a burlap sack, and Napoleon appeared determined to drag it up from the shore and back to his master’s side.

It was then that Napoleon’s owner heard the meowing and realized that there were abandoned kittens inside the bag! Six kittens in total, although two of them didn’t survive and the remaining four were in bad shape. Napoleon’s mom cared for the survivor’s for the next two weeks until they could be taken in to the city pet adoption center and found new homes.

Napoleon got a much deserved hero’s welcome at the adoption center as crowds gathered to praise the brave bulldog and cuddle the rescued kittens.

I was looking for something else entirely on “Google” but I couldn’t resist posting this story. Animals, part of God’s wonderful creation, sometimes give us glimpses into His own character….love, sacrifice, loyalty, self-denial. I think back to the way it must have been when He first set Adam and Eve into their perfect home. Everyone co-existing happily, everyone eating plants, even the lions and tigers. Wow, hard to imagine.

I have tried to give up meat, so far no luck. Had some last night as a matter of fact, but I am still looking forward to that day in the future when….

“The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the LORD. Isaiah 65:25

Go here for an interesting article on a scientist’s perspective on how a lion could eat straw like an ox.

Gratitude

I am grateful for rain last night, drumming on the roof, silly sideways rain that we hardly ever seem to get anymore….It was making me laugh out loud as I scooted my clean car up closer under the carport and tried to wipe the back bumper dry…God said, quit trying to be so perfect….cars can be washed again, as He laughingly side-swiped me with a gush of windrain. I laughed back as I thanked Him for that which I have been praying for lately.

I am grateful that as I study His word more, know God more, I ask where He is less and less. I ask Him why less too. No longer needing to have all the answers, I rest my hope in the One who does.

A miracle is when you see faith giving birth to knowledge, through God’s infinite grace.

Why should we ask God why when He has told us all along how to treat each other? The rules are in the Book.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, for God is love. By this was God’s love revealed in us, that God has sent his one and only son into the world that we might live through him.” 1 John 4:7-11

Random thoughts…..

Did you ever notice that you only get irritated at seeing a police car when you are speeding? That little accusing voice usually rises to the surface when I am late for work. I think: “Now why do they have to be here now?? Yet, how glad I would be if one showed up when I needed one! Kind of like when God is whispering in our minds to do a certain thing we know will be uncomfortable or difficult. Asking forgiveness, praying for someone who has wronged us…..We rise up, thinking of reasons why not….”Well, he said, but they….” And God waits patiently for us to see His side of things.

Why did God start us out in a garden and not someplace that looked like Wallstreet? Broadway? Maybe because He knew it would be easier to find Him there. Maybe He knew it would remind us of where we came from….dust. There is a little saying about gardens that I find to be true, “We are nearer to God’s heart in a garden than anyplace else on earth.” Go here for full poem.

It is easy to feel the breath of God when you are close to growing things. The morning dew reminds us of the manna that fell in the wilderness….God’s provision in the desert. Dealing with stubborn weeds that threaten to choke out the life that we have so carefully cultivated reminds us of the stubborn sins that so easily rob us of sweet communion with God.

My grandfather loved growing things. Though he died of stomach cancer when I was around two, I feel very close to him. Everyone says that he had a very kind spirit, and he loved his garden…and his God very much.

My one and only memory of him is holding me in his arms next to the grape arbor. I remember a white trellis and little green grapes. I hold it close against my heart. His favorite hymn was “In the Garden” I imagine him walking with God in the cool of the evening, even now. Someday Grandpa, I will be walking with you. I can’t wait to meet you….

Oswald Chambers

PRAYER CHOICE AND PRAYER CONFLICT

“When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and pray to thy Father which is in secret.” Matthew 6:6

Jesus did not say – Dream about thy Father in secret, but pray to thy Father in secret. Prayer is an effort of will. After we have entered our secret place and have shut the door, the most difficult thing to do is to pray; we cannot get our minds into working order, and the first thing that conflicts is wandering thoughts. The great battle in private prayer is the overcoming of mental wool-gathering. We have to discipline our minds and concentrate on wilful prayer.

We must have a selected place for prayer and when we get there the plague of flies begins – This must be done, and that. “Shut thy door.” A secret silence means to shut the door deliberately on emotions and remember God. God is in secret, and He sees us from the secret place; He does not see us as other people see us, or as we see ourselves. When we live in the secret place it becomes impossible for us to doubt God, we become more sure of Him than of anything else. Your Father, Jesus says, is in secret and nowhere else. Enter the secret place, and right in the centre of the common round you find God there all the time. Get into the habit of dealing with God about everything. Unless in the first waking moment of the day you learn to fling the door wide back and let God in, you will work on a wrong level all day; but swing the door wide open and pray to your Father in secret, and every public thing will be stamped with the presence of God.

Thought this was beautiful and fitting today since I was having a very difficult time focusing and praying….Oswald Chambers always sets me on the right path…

Be still

I called my Mom yesterday. Calling her now is not the same as it was 10 years ago, or 20, because now she is 80 and it has occurred to me many times lately…..what will I do when I can’t call her? I was feeling low yesterday and again, she lifted me up. She says I do the same for her, but I don’t see it. I guess because I am feeling it from the inside out. All week she had been caring for my niece who has been very sick….washing, wiping, taking temperatures, giving medicine, cleaning, more wiping, more laundry. And still encouraging me, still making me laugh.

That is why I posted the powerpoint message today. To remind myself. I pray it blesses you as well. Because we are all distracted. And because I have been worrying more than ever about how much time I have left with my folks. How many more conversations? How many more Christmases, Thanksgivings, Birthdays? The time with them is oh so precious right now.

Each of us has our own valleys that we’re walking through, but thanks be to God….the backdrop of sorrow that we live in has been vanquished forever by His life….death….resurrection. So we can all take heart and have courage! He has passed from death to life, and so will we.

So I emerged this morning from my prayer closet renewed with hope and peace….

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. John 5:24

God moments…..

You know those times when you are just going about your day and you feel an inexplicible feeling of joy? It’s as if for one solitary minute everything is perfectly peaceful…..you pause, and thank God knowing that you must embrace it, and you look up, knowing exactly where it is coming from. I’m talking about the kind of feeling that is not the result really of anything happening, it’s just mysteriously washes over you. A God moment. You realize where it comes from, this small miracle in your day.

James 1:17
17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

But does God care about the little things that nag at us, those things we wrestle with? Those habits we can’t seem to shake off? Those little circumstances in life that are petty and irritating, but annoy us nonetheless? See, sometimes we feel as if we don’t want to bother God with our little stuff. We feel like He has His eyes focused on those caring for dying AIDs patients in Africa, or the persecued church in China, so He surely wouldn’t bother with what we would think are “small” problems. Oh but He would….If it is a concern to us, His children, then it is a concern to Him as well.

In the parables, Jesus demonstrates that God cares about things like lost coins, lost sheep, a lost son…….And yesterday He cared about my lost earring. You see, I got some very precious earrings for my Birthday and I was on my way to get my hair done. I put the earrings on and went to the bank. When I went to get out of the car, I noticed I was missing one earring. I didn’t have time to go back to the bank, so for 2 hours I fretted about it. (I confess, I prayed about it too)

After the appointment, I went back to the deserted bank and parked where I had parked before, not really expecting to find it. I retraced my steps all across the parking lot and almost turned back at the door, when I saw a little glimmer of gold right at the bottom of the entrance door, stuck in the crack! There it was!

I joyfully cupped in my hands as I danced back to the car. I know that God kept it safe for me, I know God was smiling, I know God cares about lost earrings, because He cares about me!

The firetruck dream

The other night I dreamed I was driving a fire-truck like the one above. Everyone who knows me knows I have strange dreams about driving. Sometimes I am driving on the freeway and I can barely see, like in twilight without my glasses. Sometimes I am driving very tiny little cars with no bottoms, like a pedal car, but on the freeway! Those are pretty neat, I can pick them up and turn them around just like a kiddie car. And then there are the times I am riding in the backseat when I realize I should be driving, and no one is driving or steering the car! I am afraid to look all this up, Freud would have a field day I am sure.

The other night it was a firetruck. I was heading into a town from a lonely country road. I stopped and got out. Everywhere I looked it seemed there was some bedraggled soul that needed some kind of help. Homeless, wandering street people. I saw a church and headed in that direction, feeling like I was guided there. I saw a minister praying for people behind the church. I wandered into the dark, dimly lit building where a service was going on….a little blonde girl who looked about 3 or 4clutched my hand as I walked by. Her hand was gripping mine, and she wasn’t letting go. When I looked closer I saw that she had some kind of deformity in the face, like a cleft palate.

I just wanted to get out of there. I woke up….It seemed that the Holy Spirit was whispering in that quiet way He has, “You were supposed to rescue them.” But I just wanted to leave….it still troubles me 3 days later.

When was the last time I went to a prison to visit someone?

When was the last time I went to visit the sick (someone I didn’t know)?

Matthew 25:34-40

34″Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37″Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40″The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

What encourages you?

God’s word encourages me daily, and the loved ones surrounding me encourage me as I see the obstacles they overcome and still remain positive; they inspire me to do the same! The birds encourage me each morning. They never question whether they should sing or not, they just do. They remind me that praising God should come just as naturally to me as singing is to them because he has done great things in my life and He is worthy!

A special little face I am thinking of encourages me too, because I want to be a good role model for her. And voices I have heard from my earliest memories, my parents who weren’t often encouraged themselves, but thought it important that they encouraged their kids….”You’re great….keep going, you can do it. I have faith in you.” Their presence in the crowd of all those choir concerts, and their joy in all my accomplishments!

I am also blessed to have a best friend who is my daily encourager…she is my advocate, the “Gail to my Oprah” or vice-versa. Everyone needs one like her, who speaks the truth in love, one who says in her actions, “I’ve got your back.”

And of course, so many friends through the years that have touched my life with kind words and acts of love. And all my sisters and brothers in the faith who have encouraged me in this journey toward Home. Like lights along my path, sometimes they show the way; and sometimes we walk side by side holding each other up. And to all these wonderful bloggers who encourage me without even knowing it with their beautiful artful blogs, to keep going with my humble beginning blog.

Click this link to see how other wonderful women find encouragement and share your own ideas!

Milestones…..

Many thanks to my best friend for the beautiful cake.

The cake on which broadcasts the number that I can no longer deny. I have been asking myself as this day has drawn near, “How do you feel turning “GASP” dare I say it out loud? FIFTY. Half a century. I have lived more years than I have left (I think) although, that number rests with God. I guess I feel extremely grateful and thankful, to all who have made my life so good, filled it with such beauty and meaning, you all know who you are, and of course God, who breathed the breath of life into me as I entered the world at 3 pounds, 3 ounces and determined that I would live. The words that best describe it are in the opening lines of a song by Andre Crouch, written years ago.

My Tribute

How can I say thanks
For the things You have done for me,
Things so undeserved,
Yet You gave to prove Your love for me.
The voices of a million angels
Could not express my gratitude.
All that I am and ever hope to be,
I owe it all to Thee.

My wish for the next half of my life is that I will love better. Yield to God much more than I do now; instead of constantly wrestling the reigns away from Him who knows what is best for me. To love myself more, see myself as God sees me. To not look into the mirror and see what I want to change, but what I am grateful for! To forgive myself for things long past so that I can be more forgiving to everyone else I meet. To love God more and more, so that that light may shine in me to others.

Lori