The hardest yet simplest thing we all need. is. less. mind. clutter!
This title is somewhat ironic, considering I struggle with cutting away the mind clutter! But that's just the point! Not to mention March Madness! Today my mind is racing about all the racing, and it's a lot of good stuff that's racing through! But. I'm. slowing. it. now.
There is too much information out there for me to process. I can't possible drink it in. I don't want this blog to be another "thing" that gets in the way of people really living! I started this blog because I wanted to bring hope to people with anxiety.
I did not set out to prove that one can ask for, and have anxiety divinely removed. I hope to share that when we surrender our anxiety to God, we can believe He will use it for our good. We all have a weakness. It can either drive us to God or away from God. If it's not anxiety, it's something else...it doesn't matter what it is. With the beautiful truth of Easter upon us, I just had to boil it down! It's all about JESUS.
If my story points you to Him, than great, if not, stop reading it. You can put your email address in the box at the top to get this in your email, or you can unsubscribe. I don't care, I want what God wants for you...freedom. I promise you I will fail you, JESUS NEVER WILL FAIL YOU.
The tendency for me to worry is not a choice to sin. Some say that worry is a choice. I will say that worry has kept me at the feet of Jesus. Paul had a thorn in his flesh, no one knows what it was, but He asked God to take it away and God did not. But Paul says it kept Him close to God. I gave my anxiety to God a long time ago. Every time I feel it creeping in, it leads me to Him. This is because, as in Psalm 34 (pasted at the end of this post), I have learned to go to Scripture first, "taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him." I don't always do it, but more than not!
Yes, I've needed medical help to handle the diagnosis of an anxiety disorder. But by putting my story out there I hope to show that God, family, friends, medicine are all tools He has given me. My beginning testimony must always shine through the daily stories/blog posts, or I am not pointing to God. Yes, I have an anxiety disorder, I went through some hard times, I sinned in the process, and I began a healing journey! Sometimes that cycle continues, but God's healing changed the size cycle! Yes I still cycle, but by God's grace, He lets me recognize it, and He has taught me how to short circuit the cycle directly to God Himself!
Identify your weakness, surrender it to God, get medical help if you need it, study His character using the Names of God as a wonderful lens, study His Word which if full of living power ( Hebrews 4:12), praise Him in the good and the bad, meditate on His love, meditate on His forgiveness, be accountable to a friend, support a friend in need, and abandon yourself to His call.
Why all this? To honor and glorify Him, to love Him and to love others as yourself. Matthew 22:37-38,
"Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
When we truly understand how God loves us, and wants us to love ourselves, then we will understand how to love others. And in loving others we share hope, the gospel. Jesus came to pay for our sin and shame so we could put on His purity! It was beautifully prophesied in Isaiah 53:4-6,
"Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."
Because of Jesus we can freely be in relationship with God the Father through grace alone. Jesus desires to be in relationship with us. He gave His life as a GIFT to be in relationship with us! The God of the Universe GAVE His life for us...GAVE! Ephesians 2:8-9 "8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Relationship! We've just spent a few short days with our family up north. There is nothing more important to me (outside of Jesus) than being with family, friends...true relationship that feeds the soul. Make time for it. Things and places are temporary...relationships are forever. Jesus is forever.
If you don't know where to begin, stop reading all the blogs! Including this one! Start by reading the Bible. Stop the incessant onslaught of face book blog posts, books on parenting, marriage, mission, etc. Yes, we need books, but if you have anxiety which also causes a little ADD, you have a million blogs and books you want to read and don't have time to read and then you continuously feel guilty and always feel like your missing out on something! In the process of prayer and God's Word, ask Him if there is anything else you should read, He will lead you, I promise! My promise is not enough, His is: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." John 10:27
It doesn't have to be complicated! Even when I read a few verses, I am always moved to pray either in confession, thanksgiving or intercession. So here is a passage to start with, one of my many faves!
Psalm 34
1 I will praise the Lord at all times.
I will constantly speak his praises.
2 I will boast only in the Lord;
let all who are helpless take heart.
3 Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness;
let us exalt his name together.
4 I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.
He freed me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy;
no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
6 In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened;
he saved me from all my troubles.
7 For the angel of the Lord is a guard;
he surrounds and defends all who fear him.
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!
9 Fear the Lord, you his godly people,
for those who fear him will have all they need.
10 Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry,
but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing.
11 Come, my children, and listen to me,
and I will teach you to fear the Lord.
12 Does anyone want to live a life
that is long and prosperous?
13 Then keep your tongue from speaking evil
and your lips from telling lies!
14 Turn away from evil and do good.
Search for peace, and work to maintain it.
15 The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right;
his ears are open to their cries for help.
16 But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil;
he will erase their memory from the earth.
17 The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.
He rescues them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.
19 The righteous person faces many troubles,
but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.
20 For the Lord protects the bones of the righteous;
not one of them is broken!
21 Calamity will surely destroy the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
22 But the Lord will redeem those who serve him.
No one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.
There is too much information out there for me to process. I can't possible drink it in. I don't want this blog to be another "thing" that gets in the way of people really living! I started this blog because I wanted to bring hope to people with anxiety.
I did not set out to prove that one can ask for, and have anxiety divinely removed. I hope to share that when we surrender our anxiety to God, we can believe He will use it for our good. We all have a weakness. It can either drive us to God or away from God. If it's not anxiety, it's something else...it doesn't matter what it is. With the beautiful truth of Easter upon us, I just had to boil it down! It's all about JESUS.
If my story points you to Him, than great, if not, stop reading it. You can put your email address in the box at the top to get this in your email, or you can unsubscribe. I don't care, I want what God wants for you...freedom. I promise you I will fail you, JESUS NEVER WILL FAIL YOU.
The tendency for me to worry is not a choice to sin. Some say that worry is a choice. I will say that worry has kept me at the feet of Jesus. Paul had a thorn in his flesh, no one knows what it was, but He asked God to take it away and God did not. But Paul says it kept Him close to God. I gave my anxiety to God a long time ago. Every time I feel it creeping in, it leads me to Him. This is because, as in Psalm 34 (pasted at the end of this post), I have learned to go to Scripture first, "taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him." I don't always do it, but more than not!
Yes, I've needed medical help to handle the diagnosis of an anxiety disorder. But by putting my story out there I hope to show that God, family, friends, medicine are all tools He has given me. My beginning testimony must always shine through the daily stories/blog posts, or I am not pointing to God. Yes, I have an anxiety disorder, I went through some hard times, I sinned in the process, and I began a healing journey! Sometimes that cycle continues, but God's healing changed the size cycle! Yes I still cycle, but by God's grace, He lets me recognize it, and He has taught me how to short circuit the cycle directly to God Himself!
Identify your weakness, surrender it to God, get medical help if you need it, study His character using the Names of God as a wonderful lens, study His Word which if full of living power ( Hebrews 4:12), praise Him in the good and the bad, meditate on His love, meditate on His forgiveness, be accountable to a friend, support a friend in need, and abandon yourself to His call.
Why all this? To honor and glorify Him, to love Him and to love others as yourself. Matthew 22:37-38,
"Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
When we truly understand how God loves us, and wants us to love ourselves, then we will understand how to love others. And in loving others we share hope, the gospel. Jesus came to pay for our sin and shame so we could put on His purity! It was beautifully prophesied in Isaiah 53:4-6,
"Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."
Because of Jesus we can freely be in relationship with God the Father through grace alone. Jesus desires to be in relationship with us. He gave His life as a GIFT to be in relationship with us! The God of the Universe GAVE His life for us...GAVE! Ephesians 2:8-9 "8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Relationship! We've just spent a few short days with our family up north. There is nothing more important to me (outside of Jesus) than being with family, friends...true relationship that feeds the soul. Make time for it. Things and places are temporary...relationships are forever. Jesus is forever.
If you don't know where to begin, stop reading all the blogs! Including this one! Start by reading the Bible. Stop the incessant onslaught of face book blog posts, books on parenting, marriage, mission, etc. Yes, we need books, but if you have anxiety which also causes a little ADD, you have a million blogs and books you want to read and don't have time to read and then you continuously feel guilty and always feel like your missing out on something! In the process of prayer and God's Word, ask Him if there is anything else you should read, He will lead you, I promise! My promise is not enough, His is: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." John 10:27
My new favorite song is I Need You, I Love You, I Want You, by Tenth Avenue North
It doesn't have to be complicated! Even when I read a few verses, I am always moved to pray either in confession, thanksgiving or intercession. So here is a passage to start with, one of my many faves!
Psalm 34
1 I will praise the Lord at all times.
I will constantly speak his praises.
2 I will boast only in the Lord;
let all who are helpless take heart.
3 Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness;
let us exalt his name together.
4 I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.
He freed me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy;
no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
6 In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened;
he saved me from all my troubles.
7 For the angel of the Lord is a guard;
he surrounds and defends all who fear him.
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!
9 Fear the Lord, you his godly people,
for those who fear him will have all they need.
10 Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry,
but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing.
11 Come, my children, and listen to me,
and I will teach you to fear the Lord.
12 Does anyone want to live a life
that is long and prosperous?
13 Then keep your tongue from speaking evil
and your lips from telling lies!
14 Turn away from evil and do good.
Search for peace, and work to maintain it.
15 The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right;
his ears are open to their cries for help.
16 But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil;
he will erase their memory from the earth.
17 The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.
He rescues them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.
19 The righteous person faces many troubles,
but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.
20 For the Lord protects the bones of the righteous;
not one of them is broken!
21 Calamity will surely destroy the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
22 But the Lord will redeem those who serve him.
No one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.
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